How was your recent trip re:COVID risk

[TN Bigfoot]

Hi there folks. Looking for your recent experiences at the World relative to COVID safety. Did you feel re protected and safe? I have an upcoming visit planned and am still a bit torn whether to proceed. Thanks so much.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Following for recent reports. I have concerns about what I'm seeing, especially re: loading vehicles all the way full again.

 

[stephk1981]

We live about 15 minutes from the parks and have been going weekly. We also try to do a resort stay every few months just for a couple of nights( to use dvc points.) We homeschool, so are able to go when the parks open throughout the week days. Touring plans really has a great indicator normally of crowd density, although our last day in the parks was this past Wednesday, we are taking a week or two off due to the 50th crowds. There is very little if any social distancing, in ride queues, I have my DS13 go in the queue and stand a few feet from party in front of us, I stay near the other end and let DD3 be in the middle between us as a ' buffer'. DS13 and I have been vaccinated. If we see crowds mingling, we reroute and go the other way. People are not distancing themselves, so I try to do what I can. We only stay in the parks a couple of hours and leave after a mobile lunch order. We do not go on weekends! Oddly enough, we have only gotten sick during times that we have done resort stays. Both of my children came down with RSV after staying and VGF, then with the flu after BCV stay. We take precautions, but we also won't do rides like Test track right now, because they PACK you in like sardines. It doesn't feel safe at all. I do feel relatively safe on outdoor rides, and so far we have had great luck doing lunch ADRs at 11 am for CRT and BOG, we also had zero problems distancing at Teppan Edo for a 12 noon lunch time. To me it's more is it worth it to someone visiting from further away right now. If there is a huge gathering of people or really long ride queue, we move on and skip it, we can do it another day.....if I were paying for a once a year trip, I'm not sure it would be worth it to me right now. Crowds have thinned out greatly from summertime, and I'm sure will thin out again in January. Nothing will ever be completely safe obviously, but you can choose to not go into high crowd situations in parks...yes that may mean skipping some of the more popular rides etc. You can still have a great trip if that's what you choose to do!

 

[DeeBee3]

We were there in mid-August and have 2 kids. It was great. We come from a state that has been heavily restricted/shut down since March 2020. Obviously now some of those things are lifted, but we are used to being masked and socially distant. We are very serious too - no restaurants, curbside pickup etc. The downside was that my kids really had little interaction with other kids and school was very limited until this September.

We needed a mental break and also had cancelled numerous times. So, we went at a time we normally would never go. It was actually the least crowded we had ever seen, BUT we also avoided super packed walkways and mobile ordered food. I think we ate inside 2 times.

We just set different expectations and if there were long lines we skipped the ride (except Runaway Railway). Wait times were typically great and we had a fantastic time. However, we hadn't left our limited location in 2 years so basically we would have been happy irregardless.

I guess my not so short answer is that if you go at Christmas, expect large crowds and more "back to usual." If you go at a time that is less popular, expect lower crowds. If you don't want gigantic crowds like were at the 50th, then I would avoid Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

Either way, we were all find and we were soooo happy we went. Humidity and all!

 

[Allison6785]

We're in the same boat-- approaching the cancellation date for a November trip and still so unsure about what to do. When we planned this trip, we assumed our preschooler would be vaccinated. I'm just not sure if I feel safe bringing her. Would love to hear more about anyone's recent experiences.

 

[zackiedawg]

I took a solo trip Sep 24-28 - my second trip back since the whole Covid thing. My first trip over 4th of July weekend was when all mask requirements had been lifted for vaccinated folks, but there were still more things closed or canceled, so though the trip was fine, it felt like Disney being run at 2/3 speed - and passing so many restaurants closed, bus stops to resorts empty with those resorts closed, boat options in some cases stopped, etc...was sort of odd. There was still mask requirements on busses, and compliance seemed to be 100% around me at least. For September's trip, more things were open, and the overall feel seemed to be closer to normal Disney, though the mask requirements returned for indoor spots...again, compliance seemed very good - close to 100% around me at least...I admit I didn't go in as many indoor locations mostly just for the inconvenience of putting the mask on and of constantly, with a sweaty face in September heat...so I stuck to things I really wanted to do or see - the mask requirement became a good decider on how much I really wanted to do something.
I felt Disney was doing a nice job of cleaning. I saw more employees who seemed to be roaming in the seating areas of the quick serve seating areas, cleaning the tables and chairs before another party sat. And though the crowds were very high, and there's no social distancing requirements or enforcement in lines, I was able to just hang back from the person in front of me a bit, and most times, whoever was behind me saw that as a hint or a good idea, and would do the same courtesy behind me. Not always, so some fair warning that if you're really worried about someone getting in your space, you're probably going to have some uncomfortable moments. I will admit I'm less bothered with crowds/proximity than some others may be - most of my distancing is done out of respect for others, as opposed to for myself.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If you are COVID-hesitant or COVID-nervous or whatever term you want to use, I would absolutely not go to Walt Disney World right now. When you're outside, you're going to be packed into crowds with unmasked people. When you're inside, you're going to be packed into crowds with masked people. If you're comfortable with that, go and have a blast. If it makes you nervous, stay away.

 

[StageTek]

Hi there folks. Looking for your recent experiences at the World relative to COVID safety. Did you feel re protected and safe? I have an upcoming visit planned and am still a bit torn whether to proceed. Thanks so much.

Sept 20 to 30 of 2021. The CM's were very vigilant about masks indoors and on transportation. But even so, I saw a lot of people not complying. Even arguing with CM's.

But outdoor queues where guests were back to front and side by side (switchbacks) and choke points were worrisome. Waiting for the fireworks people without masks were right up on us, talking, cheering, even coughing. And the buses at the end of the day (or for early entry) were packed.

 

[jameybano]

If you are COVID-hesitant or COVID-nervous or whatever term you want to use, I would absolutely not go to Walt Disney World right now. When you're outside, you're going to be packed into crowds with unmasked people. When you're inside, you're going to be packed into crowds with masked people. If you're comfortable with that, go and have a blast. If it makes you nervous, stay away.

I 100% agree with this assessment. I was there for September 15th and 16th and crowds outside, especially at F&W, are packed.

 

[loves to dive]

We were there the week after Labor Day. Me, totally vaccinated, son 40 yr old not vaccinated, his SO 30 yr. old, not vaccinated and their 5 month old daughter. We live in Georgia, where it has been open almost the entire pandemic. Our city (college town) has tried a couple of times to put mask mandates in but the wording of the mandate is so loose all a business has to do is post a sign saying masks are not required. My son works in CS at a grocery store and his SO was a school teacher before the baby came, elementary school and they had in school classes last year. Masks were required at school, my son's store does not require them. Neither of them wear them unless they are required and they have no problem putting them on when required. We stayed at the Dolphin, which said they required masks but they only really enforced it in the check in line and the shops. We didn't eat at any TS inside but that was just because of the baby, we did sit in the Land QS a couple of times to feed the baby. I wore my mask probably more than they did, we all wore them when required and when in elevators if other people were in there. We all came home healthy and fine. I think part of it might be my son and I probably had it in Feb. before everything locked down and he most likely has some natural immunity. Because our city never really enforced the mask mandate very tightly, he and his SO were exposed a lot and neither ever came down with it. Might be luck, might be over exposure, might be immunity, who knows. I usually wear my mask when indoors here in town unless it's not real crowded.

It was crowded that week but I didn't notice much blatant non-mask compliance when it was required. They were back to filling in all space in Haunted Mansion but were still doing some social distancing at RoTR. Lines were pretty much however you managed to social distance your group. I usually stood in the back and they did separate themselves from the people in front of them. The baby was in a stroller, most of the time with the hood closed since it was raining a lot.

It really depends on your comfort level.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

Can anyone who has been in late September or the last week comment on what sort of compliance they are witnessing among small children? We have been 6 times since the reopening, but haven't been since May, and have a trip booked for later this month.

Curious with the numbers dropping so drastically in Orange County and Florida generally over the past few weeks. Florida is now ranked 35th in the US for positivity rate with 6.1% of tests coming back positive. Yesterday there were 3,782 new cases reported in Florida and the rolling 7 day average is 4,030, which ranks 43rd in the US. This down from being #1 at the height in August. The number have been trending down, practically cutting themselves in half week over week and if the trend continues we will be back at early June numbers in another week or two.

I guess what I'm really wondering is whether this is resulting in less compliance for indoor masks among younger populations at Disney, in the resorts and in the parks. Like are cast members still asking 4 year olds to pull their masks up and cover there noses (or wear them at all) they way they were before ?

 

[zackiedawg]

I would say most kids I saw in the 12 and under range seemed to be masked most of the time - I would see a few without masks outside, if I had to put a rough number on it, probably around 20% or so didn't have masks...I never saw a cast member tell parents or the children who weren't masked to put on a mask outside - but since I was traveling solo I wasn't really close to any family groups or paying attention to them;, and at least everywhere I went, mask compliance indoors was 100%. For older children and adults, there were fewer people still wearing masks outdoors - probably less than 20% of the overall crowd stayed masked at all times.

 

[Disturbia]

I would say even if it’s not required, have the younger kids who are not vaccinated wear masks as international travel is picking up again. It’s about whatever makes you feel safe. I don’t think any measure is 100%. If you’re masked, the risk of transmission drops drastically even if others are not properly masked.

In June, people were really close on some rides with plexiglass in the queue; even closer than they normally would be pre pandemic which did make me uncomfortable sometimes (Mexico ride, big Thunder etc). I couldn’t turn around without elbowing someone. We also keep the unvaccinated kids in the middle and try to distance. Oga’s has no distancing anymore but if we feel uncomfortable, I plan on asking for our drinks to go. The crowds for the fireworks have me a bit concerned as well (considering a dessert party or paying for genie+ if they have fireworks reserved area).

If you are going, take a handheld fan for air flow, sanitizer, wipes and sprays (EO for hands and Lysol for toys/toilets). I also have a breath refresher spray with alcohol if I feel we’ve been too close for too long.

I wasn’t following the numbers but I feel community immunity is probably going to be at it’s peak in the next few weeks. It helped me to research how Disney quarantines.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ne-is-like-at-the-most-magical-place-on-earth

 

[OldDisneyFan]

My cousin and I were there the 3rd week of September. For the most part, guests were very compliant with mask wearing including young kids. We only encountered one person who was fighting the mask—an adult. Every time the CM walked away, she pulled the mask down around her chin. I finally said something to the guest about keeping her mask on.
Since my DH is immune compromised, we were hyper-vigilant and masked any time we were around people. if an area looked too crowded, we went the other way. Ate outdoors for most meals. We had fun, but were a bit anxious. We both tested negative after the trip.

 

[StageTek]

I am as anti-mask as you can get.

Well, maybe not. I was stunned by how man adults pushed back against CM's reminding them to wear their mask - and properly. It's the rule there and even though I thought is was a stupid rule in many cases (alone in the Skyliner, on the People Mover) I complied all the time. I felt bad for the CM's who had to deal with some pretty rude, stupid people.

 

[kanerf]

I have been 3 times since the shutdown and have another trip coming up in a few weeks. Was there during masked and unmasked requirements (masks always needed inside). Felt perfectly safe and did not get sick. I am fully vaccinated. If you are not, I would not go.

 

[chi_disfan]

We were there Sept 26-30 and indoor compliance was 85% with about 10-14% having exposed noses. Anywhere outdoors I saw maybe like 10% wearing masks and people were crammed together in lines.

I'm pretty Covid-conservative and wore my mask nearly 100% of the time indoors and out and felt a little out of place. Cast members were pretty vigilant about making sure guests put them on immediately when a queue went indoors and would pull people out of line if they indicated they didn't have one on their person (the cast members said they would provide the masks but the maskless guests would need to leave the line while that happened).

That being said, I honestly didn't have a great time. I just couldn't ease into what I wanted my vacation to be. Even when I was outdoors for the last showings of Happily Ever After, I just couldn't shake the icky feeling of being jam packed so close to people. If you feel like you'd be thinking about it constantly, I'd really consider rebooking for a future visit as it's currently such an expensive venture to not feel super comfortable.

Sidenote, we also spent a day at Universal where mask indoors was not required and NO ONE wore a mask indoors and those queues inside are long and you are crammed like sardines. We had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and the tables are filled full at maybe 14 inches apart or the long, shared bench-style seating. That definitely added to my anxiety.

 

[MrsSLF]

We went at the end of July through August 9th and while the masking requirements were different then than they are now, we felt pretty good about being at WDW and overall mask compliance. We’re fully vaccinated and possibly fully vaccinated for my daughter (she’s in the Pfizer trial and we should be finding out soon if she got the placebo or vaccine).

I’ve planned another trip for January with additional trips to come next year.

 

[robinb]

We went earlier this week. Mask usage outside was pretty rare, even among children under 12 and in packed situations like the MK Enchantment fireworks. We wore our mask outside when we could not set ourselves apart. Masks were required on attractions that were inside or which had inside queues. Mask compliance was surprisingly good in those situations and much better than when I was there in May.