A Disney World ride is testing new plexiglass dividers because of high wait times

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.