For the first time since March 2020, Walt Disney World is allowing guests to visit four of its parks in one day with the return of its Park Hopper experience.
A Park Hopper pass gives guests the ability to travel between the Disney parks in Orlando, Florida, which include Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot.
According to the Disney Parks Blog, the current Park Hopper experience looks a bit different than it did at the beginning of 2020, as guests were previously able to visit each park whenever they wanted.
Now, guests have to make a reservation for the first park they want to visit, which helps Disney control how many people visit every day. Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced Walt Disney World was operating at 35% capacity in November, and a Disney spokesperson confirmed in an email to Insider that the park has not changed its capacity since then.
Disney also requires masks for guests aged 2 and older, checks all visitors' temperatures upon their arrival at the park, and encourages guests to practice social distancing and use sanitizing stations.
Park-hopping guests aren't required to make reservations at any of the other parks they plan to visit throughout the day, but the Disney Parks Blog noted that admittance to the other parks will depend on whether or not a location has reached capacity.
According to a Disney representative, guests can park hop using a few transportation methods: complimentary buses, the Disney Skyliner, a watercraft, walking paths, or their own cars. Many parkgoers opt for the buses.
In addition, Park Hopper hours will begin at 2 p.m., but the end time varies at the different parks, according to the Disney Parks Blog.
At the time of writing, visitors can park hop to Magic Kingdom until 8 p.m., to Epcot until 9 p.m., to Hollywood Studios until 7 p.m., and to Animal Kingdom until 6 p.m.
Those hours are also subject to change, according to Disney; guests can check the Park Hopper hours at the time of their visit here.
Read more: Disney World is losing its magic, and as a lifelong fan I worry it will never come back
Although the return of park hopping might be exciting for Disney lovers, a medical professional says it could be dangerous.
Dr. Scott Weisenberg, an infectious disease specialist and the director of the travel medicine program at NYU Langone Health, told Insider that going to Disney World at all during the pandemic is dangerous, as it puts guests in a position where they're surrounded by other people for an extended period of time.
But the Park Hopper experience puts visitors at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus since many of them will likely use the complimentary Disney buses to move between parks.
Riding a bus is risky in-and-of-itself because it requires people to be in close proximity to each other, but Weisenberg said it becomes more dangerous if that bus is poorly ventilated.
That ventilation issue becomes even more of a problem when the bus is crowded.
"There's a risk just from being indoors with anybody in a poorly-ventilated area, but the more people there are, the more different possible sources for getting infected," Weisenberg said.
Ensuring the buses are properly ventilated and have limited capacity would make travel between the parks safer. According to the Disney World website, structural changes have been made to the buses to ensure there is adequate space between guests. As a Disney spokesperson told Insider, the park has added "physical barriers in select transportation places where it is difficult to maintain strict physical distancing guidelines, such as partitions inside our buses and monorails."
However, the spokesperson did not specify any ventilation adjustments on the buses.
Wearing masks on the bus will also help protect visitors, but it likewise doesn't completely mitigate risk.
It would be in guests' best interest to drive their own cars, walk, or take a watercraft when park hopping instead of getting on the buses.
Like any activity that involves other people, there is a risk of contracting the coronavirus by going to Disney World during the pandemic, whether you use the Park Hopper experience or not.
If you are going to go to Disney World, Weisenberg recommends staying outside as much as possible during your visit.
For instance, the risk of contracting the virus on an outdoor, fast-moving ride while wearing a mask is likely similar to the level of exposure you'd get at a normal park in your neighborhood, according to Weisenberg.
But if you're on a slower moving ride or at a restaurant indoors, without your mask on, the risk of exposure is much higher.
"Keep wearing your mask, and try to maintain social distancing from others," Weisenberg advised Disney visitors.
He also said to be particularly careful when you're eating or drinking, as you'll have to remove your mask during those times. The Disney World website states that guests "may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking," however, they "should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing."
In addition, Weisenberg urged parkgoers to remember that you can't tell whether someone is infected by looking at them.
"People spreading this may look completely healthy and may not have had started to have symptoms themselves, or may never get symptoms," Weisenberg said.
And if you're going to park hop, just keep in mind the risk you're adding to your visit. As Weisenberg said, there's going to be a chance of exposure whether you go to one park or four, but you will be increasing your risk by traveling between locations.
For more information on what visiting Walt Disney World is like right now, visit the park's "Know Before You Go" page.
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