Happy Wednesday Scribblers I hope you are all staying safe and taking good care of yourselves. This week I want to talk a little about traveling during a pandemic and sharing what I learned. My hubby and I went on vacation for ten days. Sounds crazy right. I know. If I’m honest I was worried about traveling during this time, still we did it and I wanted to share my thoughts and my experience with you.
We decided to go to DisneyWorld and spend ten days. We had been there in February and we’re familiar with the location so we were comfortable enough making the trip.
We weren’t worried about DisneyWorld in general because we have seen all the safety precautions they’ve taken in the parks, resorts, and restaurants, but the flight was another story.
We did our research and found that Delta Airline was keeping the middle seat empty and doing deep cleanings before each flight. We also noted that Delta had changed all the air filters on their planes to the ones that are supposed to get rid of all the nasty bugs and viruses. So, those safety precautions made us feel a better, why they haven’t been doing them all along is beyond me.
When it came to the actual travel some of the things we noted were how empty the airports were (both San Jose, Seattle and Orlando) air travel is nothing like what it was back before the pandemic. I will say the airline and the airport did a good job with keeping places clean and ensuring people wore their masks. Unfortunately there were issues with social distancing, but that is the same thing you would experience at a grocery store or anywhere if we’re honest.
Boarding the planes was back to front (with the exception of First Class), which seemed to work well and kept people apart. As each person got on the plane the flight crew handed them a sanitizing whip that they could use to clean the area around them. Also, facemasks were required and you could only take your mask off to drink or eat. During the flight passengers were given a ziplock bag with a bottle of water, bag of crackers, sealed cookie, napkin, and a single use of handsanitzer. This was actually one of the better snacks/services we’ve received in economy in a long time, so the pandemic has really made the airlines step up their game…
I approve.
We had a single lay over in Seattle, which gave us time to get some real food and walk around. Again, the airport was pretty empty. All the restaurants (that were open) had tables distanced from each other making us feel more comfortable. Again most (not all) people wore masks and practiced social distancing.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got to Florida, but it wasn’t like it had been in the past. The airport was strange and surreal. I’m used to my trips to Florida to be filled with rushing families and people chatting, laughing and all of that. Yes, there was some of that, but not a lot. Everyone was focused on getting to where they needed to be. We made our away to Disney Transportation and once there and checked in we were ushered to our bus with other travelers. We were distanced on the bus (which was filled back to front). At every step of the way we were reminded to keep our masks on and to keep our social distance.
The cast members did everything they could to make sure everyone was safe and having a good time (or as good a time as possible after traveling all day).
Because of the lack of guests, limited resorts, and social distancing our bus went to more resorts and took a bit longer to get us to where we were staying. We were staying at the Contemporary and the travel from the airport to resort took little over an hour. Our driver did some trivia questions, which was nice and the banter was very much appreciated.
Once at our resort we got a text with our room number (there was no need to go to the guest services desk).
Everywhere on property signs reminded guests to wear masks, keep your social distance and a new reminder that guest not wearing their masks would be asked to leave.
If you’ve ever been to DisneyWorld you will know that not only is it the most magical place on earth it’s also one of the busiest. Not now. The resort was quiet and there weren’t a lot of people around. The staff we saw were cleaning and wiping down everything, while chatting and waving.
A lot of waving these days.
Regarding our actual stay, the parks were clean and Cast Members were waving and greeting everyone. Some of the things I noticed in the parks were:
The Noise. I’m used to a lot of noise at these resorts and parks, but they seemed quitter, there wasn’t as much chatter, which may have had to do with the attendance, the parks from what we found out were at 25% capacity.
What was Open: All four parks were open, however, inside each park a lot was closed. We found that stores, restaurants, and some attractions were closed.
The Wait Times: Most of the wait times were what you would expect. We were hoping they would be less, but most of the wait times were between 40 – 90 minutes.
FastPass: Nope not right now.
Mask Policy: Cast Members made sure that everyone wore their masks and there were signs everywhere saying that if you don’t wear a mask you’ll be asked to leave.
Masks: Masks are everywhere and honestly, its kind of fun to see all the masks people wore and finding out where they got them.
Social Distancing: This is an area that even though most people tried, it amazed us at how hard it was for people to stand on their markers and to stay out of people’s personal bubbles. Cast Members did what they could and I applaud them for all their efforts, but this is an area that is hard to succeed in.
Yep, me with Mary Poppins… Love her.
Rides and Attractions: Cast Members were on top of this. They were cleaning everything (even the drinking fountains) and ensuring that high touch points were whipped down and cleaned. At points you could even smell the cleaner through your masks.
Dinning: Every restaurant we went to had limited seating and had limited menus. The Cast Members again were amazing and ensured that we were well taken care of. Of course, the food was good, but offerings were limited. Most menus offered; beef, chicken, fish, vegan, and vegetarian. The limited offerings were disappointing, but understandable.
Here are my recommendations (general and specific) if and when you travel during the pandemic:
Have a Sense of Humor. I know these are difficult times. None of this is easy and everyone wants to keep safe (even those that may not act like it). Try to laugh and try to keep a sense of humor. It’s the only way we are going to get through this.
Have Multiple Masks. You will want to take several masks with you. I suggest one new mask a day, and if you sweat a lot then maybe bring extra, there is nothing worse than having stinky wet mask on your face.
Get to Places Early. It sucks, but get to the airport, the plane, the parks, the hotel, the restaurant, the wherever early. This will make your life so much easier…seriously it does.
Hand Sanitizer. Use it, bring your own, use the free staff all over the place. We touch a lot of surfaces without even knowing it, so keep using hand sanitizer.
Wash your Hands. You can never wash your hands too much right now. So, do it. Some locations will have hand washing stations, use them.
Mobile Ordering. You really need to use this. It is something that will make your life a lot easier and most places require it.
Cash. Despite what you may hear to the contrary everywhere we went they accepted cash and made change. There was one location that only did cashless transactions.
Expect to Wait. No matter what you do, you are going to have to wait for something. Be prepared to wait, it’s part of life even when we aren’t in a pandemic.
Walking. You are going to do a lot of walking. I cannot emphasize this enough, you will be walking between 5 – 10 miles a day. So be prepared. Bring good shoes. If you have little ones understand you are going to be carrying them at some point. If this doesn’t sound fun to you, then don’t go.
Transportation. Yes, Disney has all kinds of free transportation, however, it can be slow. So, you are going to be waiting. Same with the airports (slow and a lot of hurry up and wait).
Cost. Whatever you think you are going to spend…double it… no triple it… this has nothing to do with the cost of DisneyWorld it has to do with being human and wanting stuff. There will always be something shiny to catch your eye, there may be a sweet treat you can’t miss out. Be prepared to fork out the dollars.
Plan a ‘Resort’ Day (or Three). Okay, here is the thing. There is a lot to do and you are going to want to do it all, but the reality is you are only human and if you have little ones you are going to be exhausted. You need to take a day off and relax. It is Eric and I and for our trip we planned two resort days were we did nothing but relax and take it easy, this is more important than you can realize.
California Grill at sunset.
Dinning. Look there is no way around it. You need to make reservations as soon as you can for the restaurants you want to eat at. You may get lucky and swing a walk-up, but don’t count on it. So, plan your eating accordingly. Especially if you want to do a nice dinner or something like that. There is no room service and the food at the counter service locations is good, but limited. Plan ahead!
Free Water. Are you hot and thirsty? Most counter service places will offer free cups of water. Get them, they are a life savior.
First Time. Use a travel agent, find one that specializes in Disney Vacation. They will know all the ins and outs and they will know about special prices and dinning and all that. Find one, check their reviews, and use them.
Weather. Ugh. Florida… Hot and humid. Plan for rain, hot, humid, etc.
Polynesian resort
Hotels. Limited services are now the norm, don’t expect daily housekeeping. You can still get towels and things like that, but no daily cleaning… so if you make a mess you are going to be stuck with it.
The Bubble. When you go to Disney or Universal you are going to be in a bubble and I suggest, if you are worried about anything, you stay in that bubble. We never left Disney property, that may not work for you and your family, and that is fine. However, the standards at one location (or park) may not be the same everywhere. The bubble can be your friend especially right now.
Don’t be an Ass. You are hot, you are tired, you waited all day for Rise of the Resistance and you find out that your boarding pass isn’t going to happen. Be kind. Be nice. Laugh. Smile. Be flexible. Don’t be the family making a fuss and yelling at each other in front of other guests. We all see them. We all laugh at them. We all make fun of them. We don’t want to be them.
Lastly there are tons of YouTube Channels that focus on travel and provide tips and tricks for you, these folks all do their best to provide you with good information check them out. Some of our favorites for DisneyWorld are: DFB (Disney Food Blog) click here, Michael Kay click here, WDW (although sometimes they can be a bit much) click here, and there are a bunch more so check them out.
Be prepared to get photos you may not get during ‘normal’ times.
That’s all I got for you. Overall, our trip was enjoyable, but different. We had fun. Disney and Delta have all done a great job making us not only feel safe but welcome. If you are worried about traveling during the pandemic, then I don’t suggest you travel, because you are reminded about the pandemic everywhere you go. I do think that all the safety precautions that have been taken have made it as safe as possible (as long as you stay in the bubble). If I’m honest I feel safer in the parks, at the resorts, and on the plane then I do at the grocery store or Target.
Want more insight into our travel. Here are some links to some of our other travel adventures (pre-pandemic):
Summer Vacation 2019 - click here
Why Authors Need to Travel - click here
Random Wednesday - click here
That is all I have for you this week. I hope you enjoyed. Please remember to drop me a heart/like letting me know you stopped by. If you found this information helpful share it. Got a question feel free to ask it in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer it. Until next time I hope you stay safe and have a great week.