For a stress-free Disney or Universal Studios vacation, let the FREE expert planners at Royal Carriage Vacations take care of every detail including dining reservations, applying discounts, and onboard cruise credit.
As wait times increase, Disney World is meeting those demands while still maintaining health and safety standards. Check out which ride has been added to the list of attractions with plexiglass dividers and how this will affect your experience.
Dividers
Attraction dividers were first introduced at Disney World’s reopening in July. Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom employed the use of plastic dividers in between each row on the ride vehicle. Additionally, the monorail also has blue canvas-type dividers between each car. Shortly after, Living with the Land at EPCOT did the same.
Then Rise of the Resistance and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway implemented some type of divider on ride vehicles. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, it’s a small world, and Frozen Ever After received plexiglass treatment on the ride vehicles.
The logic behind these dividers means Disney can load more Guests onto the ride, thus lowering wait times. It also means they are able to maintain some level of precautions as physical distancing is still implemented in the parks.
Several attractions throughout the four theme parks also implement plexiglass dividers in the queue lines. This helps keep another barrier in between Guests as they walk the maze leading up to their favorite rides.
Animal Kingdom
While Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest do not use any type of dividers between the ride vehicles, one ride at Animal Kingdom is testing plexiglass today, March 2.
The Na’vi River Journey attraction is a boat ride taking you through the bioluminescent water of Pandora. The highlight of the ride is the chance to see Shaman of Songs, the Na’vi legend who sends positive energy out into the forest through the power of her music.
A friend of the blog shares the following photo of the dividers in place on the boat.
How will this affect your ride experience?
Thankfully, since the dividers here are the hard plexiglass and not the soft fabric, your view looking out won’t be too distorted. It won’t be a perfect sight, but it’s definitely better than what you see looking out at Living with the Land or the Kilimanjaro Safari.
I would recommend trying to get a seat at the front of the boat or on the sides so you aren’t solely relying on looking straight ahead.
There are no ride photos for this attraction so no need to worry about less-than-ideal PhotoPass photos (I’m looking at you, Frozen Ever After).
The dividers will also help with the wait times. In the past few weeks, we have noticed Na’vi River Journey often has a higher wait time than Flight of Passage. The queue often extends to the entrance of the land while the queue for Flight of Passage moves quickly.
Check out all the other ways the Guest experience is affected by the pandemic HERE.
What are your thoughts on the dividers? Do you think they are helpful or not? Let us know on Facebook.
Share the love!
Erica M
Sunday 7th of March 2021
I am sad to hear this. My kiddo has always asked for the front row and we are more than happy to wait to be accommodated. IMO, is ridiculous to remove that.
Ted
Friday 5th of March 2021
Research shows that surface transfers are almost non existent. Also, when you exit you separate from people as you walk...so exits not a problem.
Joe S Schrimsher II
Friday 5th of March 2021
My wife and I spent some time at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I did not get bothered by them. They were no in the way and made my wife feel much safer.
goat
Friday 5th of March 2021
It's an indoor ride, where are the UV rays? ♂️ When everyone gets the vaccine things will get better, but that means we need to push people to do it, until then expect Disney and other responsible companies to do what they think is safe, whether you like it or not.
Wanda
Thursday 4th of March 2021
Agree 100% with Steve S. Dont be afraid to be more objective ktp. Also your writers are misleading ,never factual only speculate.
Monica Street
Thursday 4th of March 2021
Hi Wanda, thanks for reading. I try to be as objective and factual as I can when writing. I don't want to impose my opinion on the reader unless necessary. I am simply here to present the news as it comes. We do sometimes write opinion articles but clearly mention that when writing those. In the case of this article, a friend of the blog sent the photo of the plexiglass in place on the ride vehicles proving that there are barriers in place on Na'vi.