BadPinkTink
Republic of Ireland is not part of UK
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2015
Final Thoughts
Its now been two weeks since I came home to Ireland, and I'm still cold, lol
I'm so glad I went, yes the months leading up to my trip were stressful and rules and requirements changed a lot and it was hard to keep up, but it was so worth it.
I just went went the flow and made sure I kept up to date. I used various sources and checked websites and social media on a daily basis, everything from here on Disboards to USA online news like CNN and ABC, to social media and websites of The White House, The State of California, Disneyland, Universal, my airline Delta, Hilton hotels, LA Metro transport as well as Irish Government websites and Irish news websites.
A big thank you to all the So Cal locals who post on a regular basis, your on the ground live reports are invaluable to those of us travelling from outside of California and especially to people like me travelling internationally. Another thanks to all the Canadians who have travelled to California over the last few months. Your experiences and updates both here in the California section and in the Canadian section of Disboards has been amazing and really helped to keep me in a positive state of mind during the long 20 months of the travel ban.
I downloaded Apps from Delta airline, Hiton Hotels, Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland and Play Disney.
I researched the hotels I stayed at, finding room layouts on Google images and room tours and reviews on YouTube.
About a month before my trip I started checking the departures and arrivals of my flights. I bookmarked Dublin airport departures, JFK arrivals, JFK departures, LAX arrivals and LAX departures.
I researched JKF Terminal 4, finding shopping and food options and walk through videos on YouTube.
I knew that on this trip, I would be very conscious of crowds and being around people. Since March 2020 I have been working from home and in my day to day life I am still very much keeping to myself. I have not eaten in restaurants, gone to the cinema or theatre or been in "normal" social situations.
Going to California and Disneyland, I was in the mind frame of just going with the flow. I knew if I wanted to do this trip that I couldn't stress out about people not wearing masks, being in large crowds both indoors and outdoors and sitting beside people in planes or on rides in Disneyland.
I just made choices to keep me safe and to find a way of doing things in my comfort zone.
I purposely made the choice to only eat in restaurants which had an outdoor dining option. In places where this was not possible, like on the plane or in airports, I made sure to find a quiet area away from people and to put my mask on between bites or sips of drink.
I chose not to eat at buffets and I chose to take food back to my hotel room instead of eating at the hotel restaurant.
When waiting in line both at airports and in shops, and at Disneyland, I made sure to leave space between me and the party ahead of me. Theres no need to be bunching and shoulder to shoulder with people, everyone will still get to where they want to go. The plane wont leave without you because you stayed 6 feet behind the people in front of you! At Disneyland, I was more conscious about places where people would crowd together, such as when watching a parade or fireworks. I made sure to pick viewing places where people would not be crowding around me.
I wore a double mask even when not required. I had hand sanitizer on a hook on my bag and anti bac wipes in my bag. Whenever I took off my mask, I cleaned my hands before eating. I didnt bother wiping down airline seats or tables, but whenever I passed a hand sanitizer station I used it.
I brought a lot of home Covid tests with me and tested myself almost every morning before I left my hotel.
I had a contingency plan, a cancel at no cost motel booked, and I had studied my travel insurance policy and knew exactly what would be covered in the event I needed to extend my time in California if I got Covid. Work wise I am self employed and as long as I have internet access I can work from any location. I had talked to my clients and they were aware of my travel plans so if I needed to extend my stay we would figure out a work schedule.
These last 2 years have been hard for everyone. To be able to travel again, be around people, eat different food and just not be in my house 24 / 7 was something I really really needed.
The world will never be like it was in 2019, but it also wont be like March / April / May 2020.
Covid is part of our lives now and we just have to adapt and adjust. We have to find our comfort zone and make choices and take personal responsibility.
Being adaptable to change and open to new ways of doing things is something that people just have to get used to. Putting off travel or going to Disney parks or cruises because xyz is not how it was in 2019 is just stupid. You are just missing out on experiences you enjoy all because you can't accept a new way of doing things.
This includes the big shift to digital and the use of phones and Apps. That was one thing which excited me about this trip, seeing the digital changes.
I just loved using the Apps, everything from online check in at hotels and using a digital key to open my room door, to scanning QR codes at restaurants, online check in for flights and OMG, the new Genie system at Disneyland, just wow, soooo cool.
Theres lots of new things I did on this trip that I will continue for future travels.
The world is moving and changing fast, and its soo cool to be part of this new digital era.
Keep an eye out over the next few months, spoiler alert, I am planning to return to La and Disneyland for a second trip sometime in 2022
Its now been two weeks since I came home to Ireland, and I'm still cold, lol
I'm so glad I went, yes the months leading up to my trip were stressful and rules and requirements changed a lot and it was hard to keep up, but it was so worth it.
I just went went the flow and made sure I kept up to date. I used various sources and checked websites and social media on a daily basis, everything from here on Disboards to USA online news like CNN and ABC, to social media and websites of The White House, The State of California, Disneyland, Universal, my airline Delta, Hilton hotels, LA Metro transport as well as Irish Government websites and Irish news websites.
A big thank you to all the So Cal locals who post on a regular basis, your on the ground live reports are invaluable to those of us travelling from outside of California and especially to people like me travelling internationally. Another thanks to all the Canadians who have travelled to California over the last few months. Your experiences and updates both here in the California section and in the Canadian section of Disboards has been amazing and really helped to keep me in a positive state of mind during the long 20 months of the travel ban.
I downloaded Apps from Delta airline, Hiton Hotels, Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland and Play Disney.
I researched the hotels I stayed at, finding room layouts on Google images and room tours and reviews on YouTube.
About a month before my trip I started checking the departures and arrivals of my flights. I bookmarked Dublin airport departures, JFK arrivals, JFK departures, LAX arrivals and LAX departures.
I researched JKF Terminal 4, finding shopping and food options and walk through videos on YouTube.
I knew that on this trip, I would be very conscious of crowds and being around people. Since March 2020 I have been working from home and in my day to day life I am still very much keeping to myself. I have not eaten in restaurants, gone to the cinema or theatre or been in "normal" social situations.
Going to California and Disneyland, I was in the mind frame of just going with the flow. I knew if I wanted to do this trip that I couldn't stress out about people not wearing masks, being in large crowds both indoors and outdoors and sitting beside people in planes or on rides in Disneyland.
I just made choices to keep me safe and to find a way of doing things in my comfort zone.
I purposely made the choice to only eat in restaurants which had an outdoor dining option. In places where this was not possible, like on the plane or in airports, I made sure to find a quiet area away from people and to put my mask on between bites or sips of drink.
I chose not to eat at buffets and I chose to take food back to my hotel room instead of eating at the hotel restaurant.
When waiting in line both at airports and in shops, and at Disneyland, I made sure to leave space between me and the party ahead of me. Theres no need to be bunching and shoulder to shoulder with people, everyone will still get to where they want to go. The plane wont leave without you because you stayed 6 feet behind the people in front of you! At Disneyland, I was more conscious about places where people would crowd together, such as when watching a parade or fireworks. I made sure to pick viewing places where people would not be crowding around me.
I wore a double mask even when not required. I had hand sanitizer on a hook on my bag and anti bac wipes in my bag. Whenever I took off my mask, I cleaned my hands before eating. I didnt bother wiping down airline seats or tables, but whenever I passed a hand sanitizer station I used it.
I brought a lot of home Covid tests with me and tested myself almost every morning before I left my hotel.
I had a contingency plan, a cancel at no cost motel booked, and I had studied my travel insurance policy and knew exactly what would be covered in the event I needed to extend my time in California if I got Covid. Work wise I am self employed and as long as I have internet access I can work from any location. I had talked to my clients and they were aware of my travel plans so if I needed to extend my stay we would figure out a work schedule.
These last 2 years have been hard for everyone. To be able to travel again, be around people, eat different food and just not be in my house 24 / 7 was something I really really needed.
The world will never be like it was in 2019, but it also wont be like March / April / May 2020.
Covid is part of our lives now and we just have to adapt and adjust. We have to find our comfort zone and make choices and take personal responsibility.
Being adaptable to change and open to new ways of doing things is something that people just have to get used to. Putting off travel or going to Disney parks or cruises because xyz is not how it was in 2019 is just stupid. You are just missing out on experiences you enjoy all because you can't accept a new way of doing things.
This includes the big shift to digital and the use of phones and Apps. That was one thing which excited me about this trip, seeing the digital changes.
I just loved using the Apps, everything from online check in at hotels and using a digital key to open my room door, to scanning QR codes at restaurants, online check in for flights and OMG, the new Genie system at Disneyland, just wow, soooo cool.
Theres lots of new things I did on this trip that I will continue for future travels.
The world is moving and changing fast, and its soo cool to be part of this new digital era.
Keep an eye out over the next few months, spoiler alert, I am planning to return to La and Disneyland for a second trip sometime in 2022
I remember you on the DLP board and you trying to get to the concert, thats great that you are finally getting to go.
