Considering a Christmas trip to WDW: anyone else?

[Madame]

Hit a Kohl’s and Target in the area between 8:15 and 10:00 (we picked up a Sunpass for the tolls so easy peasy) then sat at the Walgreens in the lot until 10:25.
We had 5 appointments between 10:30 & 11:30 and were out of the drive-thru by 10:44 with all 5 tests completed in less than 10 mins (there were 2 cars ahead of us)

 

[Madame]

Hit a Kohl’s and Target in the area between 8:15 and 10:00 (we picked up a Sunpass for the tolls so easy peasy) then sat at the Walgreens in the lot until 10:25.
We had 5 appointments between 10:30 & 11:30 and were out of the drive-thru by 10:44 with all 5 tests completed in less than 10 mins (there were 2 cars ahead of us)

2/5 are already back negative (testing completed at 10:44, first 2 test results received at 12:01).

 

[Madame]

2/5 are already back negative (testing completed at 10:44, first 2 test results received at 12:01).

Everyone negative. The 5th result came about 1:00 so less than 2.5 hrs for all results. Added the PDFs to a folder in my Google drive and we’re off to shop at DS

 

[mommasita]

Everyone negative. The 5th result came about 1:00 so less than 2.5 hrs for all results. Added the PDFs to a folder in my Google drive and we’re off to shop at DS

Awesome . Have fun
Safe travels home

 

[lisaviolet]

Everyone negative. The 5th result came about 1:00 so less than 2.5 hrs for all results. Added the PDFs to a folder in my Google drive and we’re off to shop at DS

Yay! So wonderful to hear. Have fun.

 

[damo]

Everyone negative. The 5th result came about 1:00 so less than 2.5 hrs for all results. Added the PDFs to a folder in my Google drive and we’re off to shop at DS

Woohoo! It felt like a weight off my shoulders when we got our results.

 

[CaptainCook]

I thought I’d come back to report on our trip. I kind of disappeared from this thread right when the government issued the non-essential travel advisory; we were so stressed out trying to figure out what to do that I had to take a media break while we collected our thoughts.

Obviously, we went ahead with the trip, from December 18-23. We spent 5 nights at Caribbean Beach and had 4 park days + the December 21 after hours event. This was our first WDW trip since 2014, and the purpose was to check out the parks at Christmas for the first time, and to see the newest attractions we hadn’t seen before. The trip was planned in 2019 for December 2020 and then deferred to December 2021. So it wouldn’t work for us to defer to spring or summer 2022; if we had deferred, it would have been til December 2022.

We decided to go as vaccinated but un-boosted, healthy individuals with no underlying medical conditions and time available to quarantine should it be needed. But we used every precaution - masks everywhere (including outdoors in busy spots), no indoor dining or shows, and in fact on our arrival day we spent a small fortune on Ubers to avoid exposure to others on Disney transportation. It took a bit of time for us to relax into things.

Crowds were not as bad as I expected as someone who normally visits in late August and has heard horror stories about the holidaysHowever, as someone who still has not returned to the gym or church or a live concert since covid began, it was a shock to the system to be around so many people again. Genie+ and ILL worked well for us; no glitches, and we made use of the trick of pinning our e-ticket attractions to the top of the page for faster access.

We did notice more garbage and less pristine paint, landscaping etc as compared to the past. We even saw a couple of garbage carts being pulled around, stuff that’s normally hidden behind the scenes. But given that we’re still mid-pandemic, and operations aren’t back to normal yet, it’s understandable. I wouldn’t go now as a once in a lifetime trip, but as a repeat visitor, it’s perfectly fine. We did find some of the customer service/magic to be lacking. We were on Ratatouille when it broke down and we had to be evacuated, and we barely got an apology from the CMs. In the past, something like that would have been compensated for.

Beeper MD was flawless for us. Our agent communicated well, was early to our appointment, and we had our results in 30 hours which allowed us to cancel our backup rental car (to drive instead of fly home if we’d tested positive) and Walgreens appointments.

Crossing the border in both directions was fine. Coming home, the CBS agent checked our ArriveCAN receipt and test results, but not our vaccination records.

I’m very glad we went (still have fingers crossed that we don’t test positive in the coming days and will breathe easier once we’ve been home for a bit). It wasn’t a perfect trip, but it ticked all the boxes we wanted it to. It was a great mental and physical break from home. Our kids are teens, and we really didn’t want to have to defer for another year as they continue to age out (to some extent) from Disney.

It made me think differently about the pandemic, too. Seeing thousands of people at the parks every day, many of whom clearly aren’t concerned about masking or physical distancing - I’m not saying that’s behaviour I approve of, but… covid is not lurking around every corner waiting to pounce, if you’re taking precautions. Thousands are taking no precautions and are still making out ok. Some who are taking precautions are getting unlucky, but I think the number is smaller overall than I’d made it out to be in my head. I’m fine with continuing to mask for as long as it’s required, and because of that, I won’t hesitate to travel again when I have another opportunity. Luckily I get my booster in 5 days’ time, which will give me some extra peace of mind when that time comes.

 

[lisaviolet]

Crowds were not as bad as I expected as someone who normally visits in late August and has heard horror stories about the holidays

First, so happy to hear about your trip.

I am forever trying year after year trying to share that even into and including Christmas Day is really not that bad. It is the 26th where you feel the difference. I have been fortunate enough to have been at Christmas quite a few times, just magical. And in the past long late hours everywhere.

I am one of those weirdos that loves crowds and loves the energy. But nevertheless Christmas Day is not the mouth-dropping crowd issue that some make it out to be on here.

-----------

As for people being out and about, wonderful I am too. But the people that really do not care at all and show such bravado and ego, coal in their stocking. It might not affect them but they could be giving it to those who are not as lucky. And they never will know. And no thought to how it all is impacting hospital staff.

I just got a life-changing operation cancelled yesterday as my hospital is cancelling every single operation on the books unless it is an "emergency", after already waiting so long, so ignore my grinch-like presence.

Merry Christmas CaptainCook. Happy to hear all about your time away. Can you tell us your favourite part?

 

[TammyLynn33]

First, so happy to hear about your trip.

I am forever trying year after year trying to share that even into and including Christmas Day is really not that bad. It is the 26th where you feel the difference. I have been fortunate enough to have been at Christmas quite a few times, just magical. And in the past long late hours everywhere.

I am one of those weirdos that loves crowds and loves the energy. But nevertheless Christmas Day is not the mouth-dropping crowd issue that some make it out to be on here.

-----------

As for people being out and about, wonderful I am too. But the people that really do not care at all and show such bravado and ego, coal in their stocking. It might not affect them but they could be giving it to those who are not as lucky. And they never will know. And no thought to how it all is impacting hospital staff.

I just got a life-changing operation cancelled yesterday as my hospital is cancelling every single operation on the books unless it is an "emergency", after already waiting so long, so ignore my grinch-like presence.

Merry Christmas CaptainCook. Happy to hear all about your time away. Can you tell us your favourite part?

I am so sorry about your surgery .

we are supposed to have beeper md today but not a word. Feeling very thankful we have a backup plan

 

[igrsod]

We are not fans of G+ at all - not the cost, just the inability to preplan when you already have to reserve a park and dining. It worked well for MK, but DHS was just awful for us and AK we got EE, Dinosaur & Safari but had to pay for FoP to be able to sleep in….

We only ever do 3-4 rides per day but now zigzag all over and are frustrated by the return times. Wouldn’t cancel over it but we got only 3 day base tix for the 1st time ever. Never gone without length of stay tix in about 15 visits.

My friend and I just returned, and she said that too.... "next time we only get tickets for a few days not the whole length of stay"

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

well so far so good. Having a good time despite the crowds. Managed to get on Remy, rise of the resistance and flight of passage. The 3 rides we wanted to check out. Will see fireworks at Epcot Christmas Day and attempted to see them at magic kingdom but the crowds were terrifying. So many unmasked people and witnessed security breaking up a fight . I’m annoyed about the cost of g+ but it has saved the day most day.
we’ve had nothing but problems with the busses - we have a scooter and our ee day at mk the busses kept driving by full so it took us an hour of standing to get a bus. Took us 2 hours to get to studios - we actually had one driver tell us another was right behind him just because he didn’t want to load the scooter. We did send off a complaint to dvc and they are looking into it and they added some g+ selections to our magic bands.
we have been confirmed for beeper today - Anna is supposed to come at 1. If we all test negative I’m going to buy a lottery ticket!! We’ve been careful wearing masks always and using the bigger n95 masks at anything indoors And so much hand sanitizer. But there are just so so many people And so many only wearing the mask covering their mouth.

 

[Kenzientysmom]

For those of you that have booked a car rental as a back up for the way home and live in the GTA...did you also book a hotel half way as well? If so, where? We have never drove to Disney before, so I have no idea.

 

[CaptainCook]

Merry Christmas CaptainCook. Happy to hear all about your time away. Can you tell us your favourite part?

How do I decide! Lol. It would probably be either the after hours event parade - the snow falling on Main Street, the music, and the toy soldiers! - or Rise of the Resistance, which I knew nothing about before our trip and it absolutely blew me away. But honestly, spending 5 days together 24/7 with my teenage kids, reminiscing about all our past trips - that was pretty great, too.

 

[CaptainCook]

For those of you that have booked a car rental as a back up for the way home and live in the GTA...did you also book a hotel half way as well? If so, where? We have never drove to Disney before, so I have no idea.

Sorry, no. We have 2 drivers in the family and had planned to blitz it and drive straight through.

 

[Princess KP]

For those of you that have booked a car rental as a back up for the way home and live in the GTA...did you also book a hotel half way as well? If so, where? We have never drove to Disney before, so I have no idea.

I have a rental car and hotel booked for next month. I picked a hotel in Richmond, VA (about 10 hours from Orlando) that looks to be just off the highway. I will be solo (going down for Marathon Weekend) so wanted a route that was well traveled / busier.

 

[chezcurrie]

It made me think differently about the pandemic, too. Seeing thousands of people at the parks every day, many of whom clearly aren’t concerned about masking or physical distancing - I’m not saying that’s behaviour I approve of, but… covid is not lurking around every corner waiting to pounce, if you’re taking precautions.
[/QUOTE]

THIS. Oh THIS!

After my DL trip in September with my sister I came back a much less anxious person - covid wasn’t this oppresive force weighing on me. You can acknowledge it and protect yourself without living in perpetual fear.

We just returned from 10 days in LA/Disneyland and I am so glad (A - we left before things changed again) and B) that my kids got to experience more normalcy, especially my 12 year old. Our youngests airport tests came back negative (they only have 1 shot, second on Jan 2!) and we test again on the 28th. We were smart and masked (with some really fun KN94 I might add, the kids loved picking out their colours each day), and enjoyed a much needed rejuvenating trip as a family.

All the best to those heading out soon!

 

[mommasita]

We leave tomorrow. We are going to Nashville until Tuesday, and then to our place in Florida. Just paid for our tests, negative we will come back the 7th or 8th of January, back to work the 10th. We booked Beeper, but will book back up in case. Just going to stay around the pool, some , shopping, taking it easy.
I am finishing laundry, cleaning, packing, very tired, and can’t wait to get some .

 

[mommasita]

First, so happy to hear about your trip.

I am forever trying year after year trying to share that even into and including Christmas Day is really not that bad. It is the 26th where you feel the difference. I have been fortunate enough to have been at Christmas quite a few times, just magical. And in the past long late hours everywhere.

I am one of those weirdos that loves crowds and loves the energy. But nevertheless Christmas Day is not the mouth-dropping crowd issue that some make it out to be on here.

-----------

As for people being out and about, wonderful I am too. But the people that really do not care at all and show such bravado and ego, coal in their stocking. It might not affect them but they could be giving it to those who are not as lucky. And they never will know. And no thought to how it all is impacting hospital staff.

I just got a life-changing operation cancelled yesterday as my hospital is cancelling every single operation on the books unless it is an "emergency", after already waiting so long, so ignore my grinch-like presence.

Merry Christmas CaptainCook. Happy to hear all about your time away. Can you tell us your favourite part?

Oh I’m sorry about the cancellation. I have no words for what is going on right now. I wish we could blink and it would be over. Love and hugs to you.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I finally have a few moments to post an update. We crossed into the US on the 19th, (land then flight from Buffalo) - today is Christmas Eve and I’m just sitting by the Christmas tree in the French Quarter lobby, feeling so grateful that we got to come. As someone said above, the trip wasn’t perfect, there is the added stress of testing etc but it has been overall amazing. Especially when it comes to taking a mental break from everything covid at home. I really feel like so many of us in Canada totally put our lives on hold for 2 years now, living in constant fear that it’s quite a shock to the system to see people enjoying themselves. I have to say indoor mask compliance is over 95% at Disney, cast members are great at reminding people.
Some Disney highlights for us were: Christmas after hours with the parade & fireworks, almost all rides walk on.
Epcot - candlelight processional- so so beautiful and worth the crazy expensive dining pkg.
Early entry for resort guests worked great this week, we made ourselves (OK - I made my family) get up early and had tons done by 9-10 am. Used genie plus a couple of times, almost didn’t need it unless you planned to stay late or come back later in the day.
Main drawback of this week were crowds, but it wasn’t horrible until about 11 am each day.
Weather …well I forgot how cold Nov to Mar time frame can be in central Florida. For 2 days it was downright cold, sweater not enough cold. Also rained those 2 days which made it feel even colder. The rest of the time it’s just cold in the mornings and at night, so bring layers. I wasn’t expecting the Caribbean but didn’t bring enough sweaters/hoodies.
Last negative was spotty/lacking merchandise. I wanted a Christmas spirit jersey and ears. Sold out for weeks I was told.
Not a single mug left in the World of Disney store. They had them but sold out a month ago. No Mickey’s Pantry store Disney Springs, my favourite.
What else… tested with Curative for our return trip, had Walgreens booked too but we didn’t want to risk an Uber driver being uncomfortable or something and Curative is not a drive through. We took an Uber to the Hawaiian Rumble near Disney springs, they have a tent/kiosk set up there, showed them our QR codes they emailed us when we booked our appts, then were supervised while we performed our own nose swabs.
We were told results normally 1-4 hrs but took like 6-7 hrs for us… I started to curse in my mind that we should have gone elsewhere, but they finally came. It’s the RT-PCR test. All negative. We also tested along the way with the rapid antigen just for our own peace of mind.
I just have to do the ArriveCAN app thing and otherwise tomorrow is our last full day.
We arrive home on the 26th.
Thanks to everyone on this thread for all the advice and encouragement.
It’s partially why we went through with this trip. We have a cruise Jan 16 but I think I’ll cancel or reschedule it when we get home.
If you have any questions about this Disney trip , let me know.
Happy holidays to everyone!

 

[podgirl]

I finally have a few moments to post an update. We crossed into the US on the 19th, (land then flight from Buffalo) - today is Christmas Eve and I’m just sitting by the Christmas tree in the French Quarter lobby, feeling so grateful that we got to come. As someone said above, the trip wasn’t perfect, there is the added stress of testing etc but it has been overall amazing. Especially when it comes to taking a mental break from everything covid at home. I really feel like so many of us in Canada totally put our lives on hold for 2 years now, living in constant fear that it’s quite a shock to the system to see people enjoying themselves. I have to say indoor mask compliance is over 95% at Disney, cast members are great at reminding people.
Some Disney highlights for us were: Christmas after hours with the parade & fireworks, almost all rides walk on.
Epcot - candlelight processional- so so beautiful and worth the crazy expensive dining pkg.
Early entry for resort guests worked great this week, we made ourselves (OK - I made my family) get up early and had tons done by 9-10 am. Used genie plus a couple of times, almost didn’t need it unless you planned to stay late or come back later in the day.
Main drawback of this week were crowds, but it wasn’t horrible until about 11 am each day.
Weather …well I forgot how cold Nov to Mar time frame can be in central Florida. For 2 days it was downright cold, sweater not enough cold. Also rained those 2 days which made it feel even colder. The rest of the time it’s just cold in the mornings and at night, so bring layers. I wasn’t expecting the Caribbean but didn’t bring enough sweaters/hoodies.
Last negative was spotty/lacking merchandise. I wanted a Christmas spirit jersey and ears. Sold out for weeks I was told.
Not a single mug left in the World of Disney store. They had them but sold out a month ago. No Mickey’s Pantry store Disney Springs, my favourite.
What else… tested with Curative for our return trip, had Walgreens booked too but we didn’t want to risk an Uber driver being uncomfortable or something and Curative is not a drive through. We took an Uber to the Hawaiian Rumble near Disney springs, they have a tent/kiosk set up there, showed them our QR codes they emailed us when we booked our appts, then were supervised while we performed our own nose swabs.
We were told results normally 1-4 hrs but took like 6-7 hrs for us… I started to curse in my mind that we should have gone elsewhere, but they finally came. It’s the RT-PCR test. All negative. We also tested along the way with the rapid antigen just for our own peace of mind.
I just have to do the ArriveCAN app thing and otherwise tomorrow is our last full day.
We arrive home on the 26th.
Thanks to everyone on this thread for all the advice and encouragement.
It’s partially why we went through with this trip. We have a cruise Jan 16 but I think I’ll cancel or reschedule it when we get home.
If you have any questions about this Disney trip , let me know.
Happy holidays to everyone!

Glad to have a trip update from you! Christmas is such a magical time to be at WDW and I’m so glad you went!