August 2020 Reservations-still going?

[Epcot242]

More and more I’m thinking that although case numbers are terrible in FL right now, that a) Disney is taking a ton of measures the state itself refuses to set into place as guidelines, and b) the fall/winter are supposed to be far worse in terms of Covid (which you could certainly argue is because of things like Disney being open). We’ve been to Disney plenty of times and the low crowds and limited park hours are appealing because we’ll have more down time in the room to just relax, potentially at the pool as well. We won’t be crushed if we go to DHS for instance and have to leave because it’s too crowded for us to be comfortable.

Part of me views this as the only time where I’ll be most comfortable going because it’ll probably only to get worse as time goes on, particularly if they begin to increase capacity. So as of now we’re leaning towards going because if worse comes to worse we can chill at the resort and just play it by ear in terms of how comfortable we feel. It’s that or flat out cancel and don’t reschedule for a while.

 

[marjorieeeee]

I have an annual pass that I bought in November 2019. I cancelled a January trip for personal reasons. Disney cancelled my April trip. I had Tokyo Disneyland booked for July, and beyond bummed that it is cancelled. So now I have an August booked. I got a room at the Dolphin, my pass + resort stay let me make park reservations. I was still on the fence about going, but then airfare went on sale. Airline offering free cancellation, so still not committed. But then my coworker asked me to trade the exact shifts I had booked at the Dolphin. That was my sign that I should definitely go. Now off I go to make my dining reservations. I wish everyone well!

 

[ckelly14]

I canceled yesterday and moved my park reservations to my Spring Break 2021 trip. The first couple of days of reopening looked fantastic, but I have seen less favorable reviews for Hollywood studios and Epcot. The last straw was seeing RoR boarding grounds gone in less than a minute. The main reason for this trip was for SWGE, and I’m not seeing much of an advantage right now.

 

[Ccstctc]

Parks were great for pass holder previews. think Hollywood will be a nightmare all summer. I have been enjoying MK and AK U
instead. Heading there for a week starting Monday

 

[doleddanielle]

I have a mid-August trip planned after rescheduling a handful of times due to the closure. It's a makeup birthday trip and now it's also being turned into a celebratory trip since I'll be stepping into the teaching world a week later! I also can't pass up on our upgrade from AKL to Poly lagoon view...! I live in South Florida and as many have been saying, I honestly feel like I'll be safer in the "Disney Bubble" than going out and about here. Luckily, my teaching position will be fully online and many restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers are doing curbside pickups so that minimizes the chances of getting COVID, but it will be nice to actually be able to get out and get away from this just for a few days. Sidenote: We have a curfew now so, hopefully, our positives will decline in the coming weeks. As many have said also, I've noticed that HS has been not-so-great at social distancing and I'm glad that we have it only planned for the day we leave. It's definitely our 4th favorite park so we're fine with not spending much time there. We're not SW fans and mainly just go for TSL and the goodies at Woody's Lunch Box (totchos are my fave!) but that'll be closed. I actually may even forgo our plans there and choose another Epcot day to enjoy the festival more.

 

[tnolan]

I actually may even forgo our plans there and choose another Epcot day to enjoy the festival more.

If you do, remember to get a park pass for Epcot for that day.

 

[ScubaCat]

Just booked 2nd week of August at Copper Creek. Looking forward to the low crowds!

 

[ScubaCat]

As of now my flip flop is set on going. I went to Walmart today and they were not cleaning carts, people were not wearing masks, and they were not social distancing. There were a few older people wearing masks including myself, but that was it. If I can make it through Walmart I can surely make it through Disney!

I survived Destin over July 4th weekend. There is no pandemic at all on the panhandle! At least, according to how everyone there is acting. I think Disney will be fine.

Also, I understand concerns about flying, but they're really not grounded in reality. Flight attendants are on several flights a day and they're generally doing well. I talked to a few and none knew of any coworkers that had gotten sick. We kept masks on and just cranked up the little air vent and were good to go. Most of the air is actually NOT recirculated and even that that is passes through is HEPA filtered. Southwest has "middle seat open" through September which definitely helped, too. In Destin, the safest place was on an airplane.

The measures Disney and Universal are taking are rather extraordinary. I'm excited to be there with the much lighter crowds. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity going forward and I'm not about to skip out on it.

 

[wp4lf189]

August 12-16, from NJ waiting till last minute to decide...Florida numbers go down, travel restrictions lifted (even though EO stares departure origin vs. residency). Seems like Disney could be safest place on earth.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm still waffling on my trip. Numbers in Florida are still high, but they seem to have stabilized somewhat this week.

I wore a mask outside while doing yard work today for a few hours. My main reason was to keep my sinuses from getting angry from allergies, but it was good practice for Disney!

 

[Jen81NYC]

Also, I understand concerns about flying, but they're really not grounded in reality. Flight attendants are on several flights a day and they're generally doing well. I talked to a few and none knew of any coworkers that had gotten sick. We kept masks on and just cranked up the little air vent and were good to go. Most of the air is actually NOT recirculated and even that that is passes through is HEPA filtered. Southwest has "middle seat open" through September which definitely helped, too. In Destin, the safest place was on an airplane.

In case people are interested, the Times had an in-depth article this weekend about COVID-19 cleaning procedures. Some cleaning has improved obviously but the article notes “workers from a number of airlines said that many between-flight cleanings were rushed and inconsistent. Pilots registered the same concerns in a union report last month...the entire plane was supposedly wiped down in less than 10 minutes...only 44 percent of flight attendants said their planes were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between flights during the day.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/us/coronavirus-janitors.html

 

[Jen81NYC]

August 12-16, from NJ waiting till last minute to decide...Florida numbers go down, travel restrictions lifted (even though EO stares departure origin vs. residency). Seems like Disney could be safest place on earth.

I had a late August trip that was a rescheduled trip from April and I canceled it—for the good of society, I think the goal should be to reduce community spread as much as possible before school and flu season starts. That being said, while I recognize other people have a different tolerance for risk (or a different assessment re: the risks involved), saying that “Disney could be the safest place on earth” is just not reality based. And I feel like being fact and reality based is more important than ever now! A vacation in a theme park in Florida, a COVID hot spot, in a country where 41/50 states are facing increases in cases, is just...not the safest thing to do. Even if cases in FL start to decrease, they certainly won’t be flattened like NY now is by next month. If people want to accept the risk, it’s of course their prerogative! But framing it as potentially the safest place or thinking there’s some anti-COVID bubble that protects tourists in it is odd to me.

 

[reposado]

I had a late August trip that was a rescheduled trip from April and I canceled it—for the good of society, I think the goal should be to reduce community spread as much as possible before school and flu season starts. That being said, while I recognize other people have a different tolerance for risk (or a different assessment re: the risks involved), saying that “Disney could be the safest place on earth” is just not reality based. And I feel like being fact and reality based is more important than ever now! A vacation in a theme park in Florida, a COVID hot spot, in a country where 41/50 states are facing increases in cases, is just...not the safest thing to do. Even if cases in FL start to decrease, they certainly won’t be flattened like NY now is by next month. If people want to accept the risk, it’s of course their prerogative! But framing it as potentially the safest place or thinking there’s some anti-COVID bubble that protects tourists in it is odd to me.

Totally agree. Thousands of employees going back to their community nightly and thousands of tourists coming and going.... and somehow some believe Disney can create some sort of magic “bubble.”

 

[ScubaCat]

In case people are interested, the Times had an in-depth article this weekend about COVID-19 cleaning procedures. Some cleaning has improved obviously but the article notes “workers from a number of airlines said that many between-flight cleanings were rushed and inconsistent. Pilots registered the same concerns in a union report last month...the entire plane was supposedly wiped down in less than 10 minutes...only 44 percent of flight attendants said their planes were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between flights during the day.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/us/coronavirus-janitors.html

Bring some lysol or other alcohol wipes and wipe down the tray table and seat. Some airlines are providing purell wipes but southwest did not.

These anecdotal and hyped news stories referencing increasing stats are freaking everyone out, but they lack appropriate nuance. The real problem is the millions of people who don't take it seriously and just carry on like it's not real. Case in point, 20+ people, drinks in hand, piled into the indoor hot tub at the hotel in Destin time and time again throughout my stay. Or the people packed into restaurants or night spots dancing to a local cover band, again like there is no pandemic. I saw that a few times and walked by (with my mask on) shaking my head.

THERE is your risk, not airplanes or disney parks. If you're not comfortable going, definitely don't go. But if you choose to go, you really will be fine.

 

[maryj11]

I'm still waffling on my trip. Numbers in Florida are still high, but they seem to have stabilized somewhat this week.

I wore a mask outside while doing yard work today for a few hours. My main reason was to keep my sinuses from getting angry from allergies, but it was good practice for Disney!

I wore a mask yesterday to. It’s made it pretty hot around my face from my breath. I think I will be going to every resting place at Disney to take my mask off

 

[maryj11]

Bring some lysol or other alcohol wipes and wipe down the tray table and seat. Some airlines are providing purell wipes but southwest did not.

These anecdotal and hyped news stories referencing increasing stats are freaking everyone out, but they lack appropriate nuance. The real problem is the millions of people who don't take it seriously and just carry on like it's not real. Case in point, 20+ people, drinks in hand, piled into the indoor hot tub at the hotel in Destin time and time again throughout my stay. Or the people packed into restaurants or night spots dancing to a local cover band, again like there is no pandemic. I saw that a few times and walked by (with my mask on) shaking my head.

THERE is your risk, not airplanes or disney parks. If you're not comfortable going, definitely don't go. But if you choose to go, you really will be fine.

I believe these people like the ones in the hot tub and the ones dancing in the night spots are the ones causing this virus to spread.
It’s the same here in Ohio people out taking no precautions.

 

[Sandiz08]

Well crazy how life works, we are rescheduling not because of Covid, but because I’m in the hospital for a severe herniated disk. Don’t think it would be wise to go walk around theme parks after this. Have fun you guys! We are probably rescheduling for next year.

 

[Shula]

We finally rescheduled our Aug/Sept trip to Oct/Nov. Hoping we don't have to quarantine upon return by then.

 

[Leigh L]

Well crazy how life works, we are rescheduling not because of Covid, but because I’m in the hospital for a severe herniated disk. Don’t think it would be wise to go walk around theme parks after this. Have fun you guys! We are probably rescheduling for next year.

I'm so sorry, I know that must be painful and I hope you can get relief soon!

 

[Sandiz08]

I'm so sorry, I know that must be painful and I hope you can get relief soon!

Thanks, so nice of you to say that. We were all set to go, the only thing that we thought would stop us was Covid.