Since the gradual reopening of the Central Florida theme parks, I’ve been able to visit most of them. I still haven’t been to Universal’s Volcano Bay. I have visited the four Disney parks, two Universal parks, and two SeaWorld parks.

Each of the parks is taking steps to keep guests and employees as safe as they can during the pandemic. You are still taking a chance on being infected by going into these public places with other people.

You are required to wear an appropriate face cover while in the parks. They are to be two layered, so neck gaiters are out. They need to be secure on your face without gaps. You are allowed to remove them in resting areas as long as you maintain social distancing of at least six feet. At Aquatica you are allowed to walk from ride to ride without the mask, but you will need to wear it when going to restaurants, stores, and when entering and leaving the park.

Each park has many signs reminding you to social distance, wash your hands, and to wear a face covering. If you are walking the park with the face covering under your nose, or off, a Team Member, Ambassador, or Cast Member will remind you to properly wear it. The only way they are going to be able to remain open is if the Guests follow the safety rules. If you don’t want to wear the face covering, don’t go to the parks.

The parks have areas where you can stop and rest and take the face covering off. Most of them are outdoor, with a few indoor. You must remain socially distanced when in these areas.

Disney and SeaWorld parks provide hand sanitizer for guests in some areas. The SeaWorld parks have it out everywhere, which I greatly appreciate. Universal only has sanitizer before and after you get off rides. There are Team Members who are holding pump sanitizer to put on your hands before you board. I highly recommend carrying your own sanitizer to any park while you’re there. People touch pretty much everything and you’ll want to sanitize after anything you may touch. Also stop in the restrooms to wash your hands often!

Disney has hand washing stations in the parks. These are convenient and remind you to wash your hands. I stop at them when I see one. You push the button on the bottom with your foot to get the water going.

One thing that Disney is doing that I love is propping all of their trash cans open. It was pretty gross to accidentally touch the flap when you were trying to throw something away anyway. This offers you a touch-free disposal.

While at Universal, I saw one sanitizing wipe station near a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. I’d love to see more of them. I use a walker and it was very good to use one of the wipes to clean the handles and seat. I’d imagine it would be helpful for people with strollers and wheelchairs as well.

Most of the park maps and restaurant menus are in each park’s apps or available via a QR code you can scan. This is actually pretty awesome and I hope they keep it because it’s also eco-friendly. Paper free means no trees cut down, no paper in the garbage, and you don’t touch what others have touched.

There are social distancing markers on the ground for queues in any area where guests would normally be crowded together. You’ll find them in transportation areas, in stores and restaurants, in queues, and on some rides and attractions.

Disney has installed partitions in some of the ride queues where the ground markers aren’t enough. They have stickers on them reminding you not to touch them.

I haven’t been on all of the park rides, but I have seen partitions on some of them where they can be installed. I’ve also seen them on the monorail at Disney World. Some of the attractions load ride vehicles with only your party if you can’t be socially distanced on them. I’ve been alone on E.T. Adventure which was pretty great! The attractions may also experience a short period of down time while the ride vehicles are being cleaned with sanitizer. Please remember to sanitize before and after riding.

Aquatica has their beach chairs set apart and in small groups so you’re not sitting too close to anyone else. They also limit the number of people in the wave pools. I haven’t been to Volcano Bay yet, but I’m hoping they have done the same thing. I detest the way they had nearly all of their chairs lined up and touching each other so you’d be up against someone you didn’t know and couldn’t get on the chairs from the sides. It was completely awful!

Character meet and greets are also socially distanced now. They are all socially distanced and there are no more hugs or autograph signings. They are still fun!

The parks also have park services employees who are dedicated to cleaning and sanitizing high-touch areas of the parks. I stopped for a moment to chat with a friendly Team Member at Universal Studios about what she does. At Universal they tote a case of supplies and clean things like benches and railings as well as anything else guests might touch. If you see any of these folks in the parks, be sure to thank them!

The parks are doing what they can to keep guests safe, including updating policies as they need to. Some of the policies have been updated because guests find a way to violate them. It’s not just the parks who need to be responsible and safe, it’s also the guests. If we don’t want the parks to have to re-close, everyone needs to follow the rules. It’s very hot and humid in Florida and wearing the face covering can be very difficult for some. I’ve gotten a heat rash under mine and it’s no fun. If you don’t want to wear it, don’t go to the parks. It’s that simple. Everyone who works in the parks is wearing them all day, every day for everyone’s safety. You can, too.

Please let me know if you have any questions about my experiences in the parks with the new policies. I’ll be happy to share with you!