We just got back last night. I figured I'd write some thoughts about our trip for you other April folks.
First, the restrictions. I mean, I'm not going to start another mask debate here, but from a comfort perspective, they're obviously not the best especially when it's 80+ degrees out. Mask adherence was fine all around. The distancing makes the lines look longer, but it's pretty nice to not have people breathing down your neck at all times. The plexiglass is annoying, and the temperature check was just a minor inconvenience. I hope both of these things go away soon, as this is the definition of safety theater (my kids' school announced they're doing away with these measures, so there's really no reason for Disney to keep them around much longer).
For the positives related to a pandemic trip, I'd say the crowds never seemed overwhelming (which I guess is what 35% will do to you). Sure, if you're on a line for a big ride, there are a lot of people, but it never got to the point that there were large bottlenecks or impassable parts of the hub for example. On a related note, I was wondering how I would feel personally after not being around people for 13+ months, but as soon as we got to the airport and saw the long security lines, it felt totally normal. With the exception of masks, this was how life was pre-pandemic.
Also, I LOVE the cavalcades and I hope they stick around when things are more normal. Seeing the characters randomly pop up repeatedly during the day really felt magical. It was nice to just hear them coming, stand there and get front row pictures. I don't know how realistic this will be with normal crowds, but it was something I definitely enjoyed.
I was always a big proponent of FP+ and I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a trip without it, but I have to say, standby worked out beautifully on this trip. I don't think we waited more than 45 minutes for anything all week. That, combined with rope dropping, allowed us to ride basically any big ride at least twice (except SDD, which was down for a bit on our last half day and we ran out of time to fit it in). We did FOP three times in one day! That would have been unheard of for us previously. We also rode ROTR twice - my wife nailed the boarding group both times. Again, in normal times, I don't think this would have been as easy, so they need SOMETHING to replace FP in the long run, but for now, I liked the more casual nature of planning.
The fact that we were able to pull this off at all given the circumstances was amazing, and I'm so happy it worked out so nicely. I hope everyone else who has gone or is now going has the same experience. Thanks for sharing all of the April planning excitement here!