Disney World 2020 vs 2025 -- What's CHANGED?!

Our December 2020 trip was, hands down, our best family trip! In the top 5 with it are the trip I got engaged, my first time going for Christmas, and my first trip ever, so my standards are high.😅

Unfortunately, since Covid, Disney isn’t what it once was
Magic is gone.
Seems to be run by accountants rather than amusement park managers. It’s a crying shame 😢😢😢😢😢

I think we need to go back to pre covid😂

Gosh I miss package delivery……

Guardians of The Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is the greatest change disney has made in the 2020s decade easily.

Long live Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. 🐰🦊🐻

I want them to be meet and greet characters again. I never got to meet any of them.

Fast pass return/ do not want to pay for it( I already paid to get in the parks)/ You forgot that if you skipped Mousekeeping you would receive a gift card for not using MK

I hate how Disney tried to save $500 million on unpaid leave employees during the C-19 closures. The fact the parks have been opened for 4 years now with HIGH HIGH price hikes, to recoup their "LOSSES" on income.....foul foul foul practice. I love DWD and DLand but damn these corporate schmucks are so money hungry.

I like social distancing 😊

I really miss having the option of a premier pass! I would get it every year! I live here in Southern California and it made it really easy to go back-and-forth between Florida and California! Going to WDW for a week, then the last day spend the morning in the Magic Kingdom, then flying home and ending the same day at Disneyland was awesome!

We had our first trip planned for April 2020, which obviously didn’t work out. But rescheduled to September 2022. We had a great time, and now we’re going again May 2025 🎉 I’m excited to see all the ways it’s changed ❤

Our family 2020 trip was cancelled (glad I always get travel protection) and I'm glad my wife and I didn't go back until June 23. No outlandish rules, but we did have to have park reservations. I really miss the old Disney World. It was much simpler and more relaxing. Less phone and more fun.

Leaving in a little over 16 days haven’t been there since 2017… this is soooo helpful.

Great video! It would be a great to see videos of other DW time periods (DW in the early 2000’s, 1990’s, etc). It would be so cute to have a look back! 😊

Disney during Covid was great. Less crowded and everyone kept their distance. I loved it

First time going to Disney was right before Covid then 3 times during Covid! Not going to lie, that was kinda nice not having all the crowds.

Had our 2020 trip postponed for 2021, still very much under many strict rules, by today’s standards, that felt so liberating back then! We have such fond memories of Boo Bash, of no Fastpass+ (we always used DAS and back then we got weird looks going in the Fastpass side, no Minnie Vans, social distancing, and so forth.
Weirdly enough, some of our fondest Disney memories are from that trip, which was the longest we spent outside the house in a year and a half!

Thanks for this video. We were there in February 2020. Wierd how much changed.

So you get much less for more money

Bring back the old castle colors. Not as bad as the taco barges that were at EPCOT but not the best look. It looks fine on Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland though. I miss the old sky ride and the Penny Arcade. Trying to merchandise every square inch of a park makes it lose some of its charm.

I am going to miss the view across the water to Tom Sawyer’s island with the Paddle wheel ship. I love Cars Land in DCA, but it just won’t look right up against Frontierland. Disney really has done a terrible job in land management the last 20 years. They needed a 5th gate rather than adding luxury homes on property and micro expansions that just inconvenience guests for years.

And here I am waiting for Disneyland to get rid of park pass reservations. It's crazy that DL still has them!

We did a family (grown kids) trip to WDW in fall of 2019; didn't expect to go again for a long time, but two of our kids now live in Central Florida so the Disney parks are a convenient meet up family vacation. I've found myself wishing I'd paid more attention in 2019 because some of those things are missing now (streetmosphere!)...but that was the First Trip and I was overwhelmed, lol. We have a trip in a couple of weeks that is going to be resort based; we only have one after hours park ticket. I watched some of the old DFB videos for ideas of things to do at the Springs and various resorts and...wow...so much has changed. We ended up going on a kind of spontaneous trip early in 2021...masks in all the pictures. We foolishly got parkhopper (it was right after they started offering it again) but never used it because the parks closed so early. The lines were LONG, because of the 6 foot rule, but they moved very fast. It was just me and my hubby and it was one of the best times we've had, masks and all...

AJ, I have to say I love your videos. They have turned in to a nightly routine for me and are strangely comforting. Thank you for your dedication to Disney Food Blog!

The last trip I enjoyed was February 2020. Covid policies and money grabs killed the magic.

toppings bars are also germy when you share the same forks,

I haven't been to WDW since March 2021

Haven't been since 2012

I think I might have had a slightly easier time with temperature checking because my temperature is lower than most people's

change?? hmm….
oh yeah, prices doubled.

I went during Covid. It was awesome. Fewer people and better quality everything not having to accommodate crowds. Service was more attentive. Food was better quality. Waiting times for rides were virtually nonexistent.

Went a year later after most restrictions were lifted except for masks and the place was chaos and way worse. Just glad I went during Covid and got to experience DW the way it should be.

My family and I went the April week that Disney changed the rule about removing your face masks for pictures. In the pictures from the first two parks we visited, our face masks are on, in the pictures from the second two parks, our face masks are down. 😂

It’s crazy that you guys just posted this because two days ago I was doing all this reflecting myself trying to think about everything that’s changed. I went from being an annual passholder to not even knowing they were closing Tom Sawyer Island :( Just now coming back to being a die hard Disney fan but things are definitely very different.

I was there in August and loved it.

One of the things that I wanted to share with you was that you know pre-Covid, I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World and really really wanted to stay on property because I wanted to take advantage of The Magical Express pre-Covid but ever since The Magical Express got discontinued in 2022 and now that Mears Connect is servicing other reserve area hotels in the Disney Springs area Now I don’t have to worry about having to stay on property anymore if I don’t want to so now I can stay at the resort that Mears Connect picks up and dropped off at besides just a walk dizzy with world resort like for example the Renaissance resort which used to be B Resort&spa but now it’s the Renaissance resort in spot Disney Springs area and they just added the Doubletree Disney Springs hotel couple years ago and then recently they added the Drury Plaza, Disney Springs Area and they’ve already added Orlando World Center Marriott, which is really nice because that hotel has a waterpark in it and it will be so nice to be able to stay there that way I can take Transportation to in front of the Parks And Wyndham. Buena Vista will be really nice too because then I’ll be up. I’ll be able to stay there and still take advantage of transportation to and from the Park and, Gaylor, Pond and convention center also has a waterpark inside the hotel, which is also really nice so just know that I’ve always wanted to stay at Disney World pre-Covid and I’ve been wanting to take advantage of The Magical Express because I really wanted to stay on property so I could take advantage of that service but ever since 2022 we Magical Xpress went away and when nearest Connect took over it took over Disney Springs area Hotels That kind of made you think well I don’t have to stay on property so I just wanted to share that with you

Pretty much the same as in the real world.
Almost everybody is short-staffed because nobody wants to work on-site.. Stock availability is limited and variety is reduced. Prices are higher. Requesting services at home are delayed. Perks and freebies are reduced or eliminated.

I miss when you could check in to your flight at the resort and even check your bags! You didn't see your luggage again until you were home! It made leaving Disney easier

Feels like yesterday I was at WDW in January 2022 getting ready to begin my DCP. Having to wear masks at our locations and on the busses, still having the safety barriers up at Merchandise locations, and us having to constantly tell guests coming off of Flight of Passage coming into Windtraders to put their masks on.

Next thing you know it's March 2022 and it all disappears. Certainly was a ride in those first 2 months of my program, and I still miss it all

I love this research. I would not mind doing research at Disneyworld! If i wasn't working in a hotel, i would not mind do tourism in Disney world

Twice the price, and half the value.

Going ot disney shortly after the reopen was awful. Masks in the heat (it was october when we went, still uncomfortably warm) cast members seemed generally unpleasant. You couldnt seen anybodies smiles. Really was not fun.

I haven’t been to WDW in so long, last time I went I had to wear a face mask indoors (2021)!! 😅 But it’s okay because since then I have visited Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris! But I’d love to visit WDW sometime in the next few years.

I went in January 2021 and remember all this, but I didn't mind because it was also less people in the parks.

I love mobile order and checkout. I despise needing to make park reservations!

I watched DFB all the time during the pandemic. It was a welcome lifeline.

This is a great video, I love it, my LV bag is a kisluxs , the quality is perfect and the price is great, I was not disappointed

I wonder how people now choose not to by the enormous Stitch plushie because they'd have to carry it around?

Disney has since used covid to take away alot of things they didnt want to keep doing anymore, and have since started monetizing tf out of some of things as they bring then back. Good bye fast passes, hello $37/guest lighting lanes. Good bye disney after hours for guest, hello $200/guest extended experience.