Naomi Rohrbaugh
Distracted By Disney
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2016
Part 1 - Deciding to Travel
My husband is the supervising system administrator for a large hospital network. We have taken the Covid-19 pandemic very seriously. My husband has been privileged to be able to do most of his work from home during this unprecedented time. My family has been home, with my husband tucked away in the office for 12 hours per day, since March 16th. When I make my once every two-week venture for groceries, I wear a mask and try to keep my distance. We've always been diligent hand washers. My active kids are not happy with the distancing situation, but we were fortunate to acquire a desk and PC for both of them. They have been able to learn and socialize online. For the most part, they take the distancing in stride. They are compassionate and understanding. Kids are amazing like that.
I broke first. I am happy with limited social interaction, but I am not a homebody. My son's school trip to Spain & Italy was canceled. Our DCL Wedding was canceled. Then our WDW trip was canceled. After two months of pacing like a caged tiger, I cried...a lot. Then I felt selfish for crying over my first world problems whilst other Americans and people all around the world were facing genuine hardships. Then I cried some more because I was ashamed of my selfish behavior. My husband appealed to my charitable side and reminded me that we are distancing to help others, like my mom who has an autoimmune disease and his father who is diabetic and doing chemo treatments. He also reminded me that it was okay to feel frustrated and sad because the situation is just frustrating and sad.
We continued staying home as Georgia opened up first. We live in a densely populated suburb with consistently high numbers of Covid-19 cases and disproportionately high death percentages. The majority of people do not wear a mask here and many people are being more social than they were before Covid-19 just out of spite. Meanwhile, my husband continued working 12 hour days trying to keep things up and running for the hospital. Political tensions were rising in our area. And my overworked husband was becoming more irritable by the day. His boss took notice and said, "you need a vacation." And that was it. After three months of diligent distancing, he broke too. He asked me to research vacation locations that we could travel to by car.
I'm a Disney Parks and Experiences gal. I trust Disney to put our health and safety first but WDW wasn't open yet. I researched our favorite remote barrier island. Shockingly, it was packed with people. No safety measures were being enforced on the island. And the staff at our favorite restaurant had already fallen ill. Nix that idea. Then I learned from DisUnplugged that Universal was re-opening. I had been there once many moons ago, but I didn't have the same affinity for or knowledge in Univeral as I do Disney. Could I trust Universal?
I watched some vlogs and I compared Orange County Florida's Covid-19 data with my home county. Universal was requiring masks and temperature checks. By most accounts, Universal seemed to be genuinely trying to enforce distancing. Vacationing in Orlando seemed safer than buying groceries at home, so I sent an email to my Dreams Unlimited Travel Agent. One week later, our masks were packed and we were on I-75 South heading for the Cabana Bay Resort at Universal Orlando.
Part 2 - Arrival at Cabana Bay Beach Resort
On Monday, June 15th we pulled up in front of the lobby at Cabana Bay. It was late afternoon and there were no other vehicles around. We weren't sure where to park, so I put on a mask and checked in while my family waited in our car. There was an employee stationed at the door. She greeted me, took my temperature, and issued a wrist band showing that I passed my temperature screening for the day. I was then directed to the front desk.
The front desk queue was lined with 6 ft distancing markers, but there was no one else in line. An employee motioned me to the counter and we began our awkward yet friendly exchange. We were both wearing masks and there was a plexiglass divider between us making it a little difficult to understand each other, but we managed. He gave me a map of the resort explaining that the Thunderbird section and the pool with a slide would be closed during our stay. He marked our room 071103 and wrote the hours for the diner, pool & buses on the map. I was given personalized key cards for everyone in my party and instructed to check my phone for a text from the hotel. There would be no housekeeping or room phone service during our stay. If we needed something, we should reply to the text. I did not receive a text that day and was concerned about how I would ask for fresh towels, toilet paper, etc. (We would later discover that there was a nationwide cellular outage on that particular day and the text was there when I awoke the next morning.) I went back out to the car and sent my family in to get a temperature check wristband.
We drove to building 07, a tall tower at the end of the resort. Based on the number of cars, there were maybe a dozen families in the entire Bayside section of the resort. Our room was on the top floor near an elevator. There was a hand sanitizer station next to the elevator doors and a sign asking people to limit themselves to one family per elevator. We didn't run into any other humans on our way to the room. Lots of adorable Florida lizards, but no people.
Thankfully, the standard room was more spacious than I expected from the pictures I had seen. The beds were clean and comfortable. The linens were a little cheap and thin, but they met our needs. There was a coffee maker in the room which my husband used every day. The remote was wrapped in plastic. My only complaint about the bed area was a large stain on the curtains. Our room overlooked the parking deck, Aventura pool, and the tallest buildings at City Walk & Islands of Adventure. That also meant our room was flooded with bright lights at night and we had to interact with the stained curtain quite a bit. The bathroom had been wiped down, but housekeeping had not done a great job. There was baby powder on the bathroom door, thick dust on the back of the towel shelf, and a little bit of mildew between the shower tiles. I broke out a couple of my Lysol wipes and started cleaning the areas that had been missed. The water pressure was fine and the tap water tasted much better than the swampy water at WDW. My boys enjoyed the colorful room and thought it was Nickelodeon themed because of the colors.
After we settled in, we walked the length of the pool to the Starlight Diner. 3 out of 4 food bays were open during the length of our visit. One was hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, etc. One was Italian food: pizza, spaghetti, alfredo. One was a grill with meats and vegetable sides. There were vegan burger & salad options available too. There was sanitizer at the entrance and distancing markers in the queues. I selected a half citrus chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was delicious, but too much food. Unless you're a big eater, I recommend ordering a kid's meal or splitting a meal. Freestyle machines were not available yet, so we selected bottled drinks from the refrigerator. The checkout line was business as usual and the staff was very friendly. This was our first time eating in a public area since we began isolating in March. 3/4 of the dining room had been blocked off and there was only one other family in the open section. Every other table had a sign not to sit there. The staff was handing out single-serve condiment packets upon request rather than using a self serve pump container. Utensils were disposable and dispensed from a machine that keeps you from touching more than one utensil or the machine itself. We felt comfortable taking off our masks to eat for this particular mealtime. Food was served on actual plates and we bussed our own table. Then a staff member immediately came over to sanitize the table and seat. I was pleased that food was available from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm at the resort as food availability was one of my main concerns.
The thing my boys enjoy most about traveling is unique hotel swimming pool features. They were excited for some pool time after a long drive, so we walked over to check it out. Unfortunately, it seemed like every family in the hotel had packed into the pool, so we decided to try again later. We checked out the Universal Studios Store and realized there was a ticket counter in the lobby. I'm not sure how I missed it the first time. I showed the ticket staff my ID and they were able to print our reserved tickets there, so we wouldn't need to do it at the park in the morning. They explained the Univeral app and virtual queues. Then, we went back to the room, cleaned up a bit, and got ready for the pool.
The pool area did not require masks and was still a bit more crowded than we were comfortable with. I don't think anyone was counting how many people entered the pool gates. The gates used guest card access, but the main gate was broken so everyone just reached over to open it. No one ever verified that people entering the gates were guests and many people did not have their temperature check wrist bands. Chairs were distanced, but they were all full and there were a lot of people just walking around. The pool was always the busiest area of the resort and the only place I felt like we were unsafe. The lifeguards were counting how many people entered the lazy river, so we spent a good bit of time drifting our cares away under the palm trees. We ventured over to the pool for a moment and noticed that there was music under the water. My youngest thought that was a super fun feature. Unfortunately, one family was causing a lot of trouble in the pool and not distancing at all. Their youngest was pretending to drown and coughing and spitting in other guest's faces every time he surfaced. Their other children brought super soakers and were spraying other guests in the face. The lifeguards were blowing their whistles at the family every 1-2 minutes and threatening to kick them out. The dad would scream at the children and they would go right back to it. The lifeguards never actually made them leave, so we decided it was time for us to leave for the evening. There were plenty of clean towels at the pool and the area was kept very clean. We went back to the room, had a nice shower, tucked in, and read a chapter of Harry Potter.
Part 3 - Early Entry at Universal Studios
Disney trained us well. We were up bright and early on a Tuesday. We had our temperatures taken and boarded a resort bus by 7:30 am. We were excited and nervous as epic movie music played over the speakers. The bus was mostly empty. We arrived at security and went straight through. Immediate relief set in when we realized there was plenty of room to social distance and everyone was properly wearing their masks. We took pictures as we made our way to the Universal Studios gate for the 8:00 am guest entry. They started letting guests in at 7:50 am. We were asked to show our tickets and picture IDs at the gate. We were first in line for Minion Mayhem. We were asked to show our room key to proceed. The staff did a great job distancing everyone in the queue and gave everyone a squirt of sanitizer. The pre-show had several cleanliness jokes. Upon ride entry, every family was seated in their own cart and they only filled every other cart. My 10-year old son loved it. We were off to a great start! We headed further into the park and took advantage of the opportunity to soak in the themed atmosphere of Universal Studios along the way.
We had a fun and humorous interaction with the Knight Bus. My 15-year old son showed us the way to Diagon Alley. I'm glad he did; we might have walked right past it. The air was nice and cool. The Gringotts dragon loomed ominously over us and the smell of butterbeer enchanted us. We approached Ollivanders fully expecting to be told they were booked for the day. A team member told us to visit the firework shop around the back. At the backstage door, they took my youngest's name and asked us for a return time. We selected 9:45 am.
We needed breakfast, so we decided to pass some time at The Leaky Cauldron. We walked right in and a host explained how to use the Universal Resort app to mobile order our food. We were seated immediately. We placed our order online and a team member came by to ask for our name and order number. They brought out all our food and drinks together. They held out a tray so we could pass our food down the table. It was delicious and timely. The spacing was great and the doors were open. We felt reasonably safe eating at the Leaky Cauldron and taking in the atmosphere. When we finished eating, we waited around for a few moments expecting further instruction. After watching other tables, we decided the protocol was to leave the table as it was. It appeared that someone would come around to bus and sanitize the table after the guests leave. There was no receipt to sign and no opportunity to leave a tip. Not tipping felt very odd. I assume and hope that Universal is paying their serving staff an increased hourly wage, but I don't know for sure.
My 15-year old son was happy; He had been dreaming of butterbeer since his last visit two years ago. With happy tummies, we walked back to Ollivanders. Two wizards were waiting for us. Our family was directed through the back door into a dimly lit room. We were the only family in the room and the wand selection proceeded. OH MY GOODNESS! Magic is alive at Universal! The gentleman actor who helped my son select a wand was second to none. The distance he kept between them only added to the idea that a wand in the wrong hands might have bad results. I almost cried as my son told me he was finally a real wizard. We purchased the wand and spent a good bit of time exploring the interactive elements around Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. I could have spent an entire day shopping in Diagon Alley and playing wizard with my son, but Gringotts was down and my husband and eldest son were seeking thrills.
Off to Men in Black. We put our items in a locker and walked right on. Like any true Disney Park fan, I love a good dark ride with animatronics and a mild thrill level. I was happy to find a ride like that at Universal. This was my favorite ride in the park! However, it is just kind of out there on its own. The area isn't themed which I find odd.
Then we went to Springfield and rode The Simpsons Ride. I haven't been to Universal since this ride was Back to the Future themed. I didn't think much of it then and I don't think much of it now. In my opinion, it's just okay. We were the only family in the queue and we were able to get right into a pre-show room. The ride made me very thirsty for some odd reason. I purchased a bottle of water at the Kwik E Mart while my youngest met with Krusty and Sideshow Bob.
Up next, E.T. Why isn't Men in Black located near the Extra-Terrestrial ride? Oh well, I love a dark ride and a little nostalgia no matter where it's located. E.T. isn't saying names while we're social distancing. The sound on the ride is terribly off balance. But the visuals and the distinct smell take me back to spring break with my best friend in 1995. I loved it. Most of this area is for small children and the playgrounds were closed. My husband and oldest son rode Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster twice in a matter of 10 minutes while I tried to convince my youngest it would be fun for all of us to do together. Nothing doing. We sat and watched Trolls do a distanced character meet. We began working our way around back to the front of the park.
I noticed a team member standing outside of The Bourne Stuntacular. I walked up to ask him about previews and before I could say anything, he opened the door and directed us in. I am so glad I watch theme park vlogs and knew what was happening! The distancing in the queue was heavily enforced. The distancing in the theatre was cautious. They asked each family to leave 3 seats between themselves and the group before them. They only seated every other row. During seating, team members came on stage several times and reminded everyone to continue wearing masks throughout the show. A team member took the stage and told us the show was still in technical rehearsal, they may need to stop at some point, and we would be seeing the full show minus pyro.
Good golly! The Bourne Stuntacular was amazing! The show was a blend of a 3D screen, set pieces, actors, and wind/water effects. 3D has come a long way. I couldn't tell where the screen ended and the real people began. The actors were synchronized exceptionally well with the screen. There were points where we thought we were moving, even though we were in a completely stationary theatre. I have 3 very small, very minor critiques. The queue is not as immersive as the Terminator queue. The gunshots are extremely loud. And the ending is a little abrupt. I think that might be due to being shut down for social distancing before the show was fully fleshed out. Maybe, they will improve the ending over time. Overall, this was a highlight of the visit for all four of us. If you go to Universal Studios, don't miss this show.
Afterward, we checked a few shops looking for Universal logo masks. Unfortunately, they sold out during the AP previews. We decided to hop on one last ride and my oldest said, Jimmy Fallon's Race Through New York was better than Transformers. I didn't have high hopes for such an oddly themed ride but we took his advice. This was the first pre-show that I felt people had been crammed a little too tightly into. Technically, each family had a marker to stand on, but team members were squeezing by people to get through doorways and across the room. Once we were in the theatre, everyone was distanced appropriately just because of the natural spacing of the theatre, but they didn't leave any carts empty to provide extra space like the other rides we had been on that day. The ride was fun though. It was better than I expected and I'm glad we tried it. The 3D was great.
After Jimmy Fallon, my husband and oldest son decided to go on one more ride. Lol. They decided to try The Mummy. My youngest and I decided to rest our feet and parked ourselves on a bench for a few minutes.
We noticed the park was getting a little busier and decided to catch the bus back to Cabana Bay for lunch. There was no signage for the resort bus on this particular day. But we figured it out quickly when a bus drove by the escalator and parked under the security bridge. We were the only family on the nice cool bus. Overall, it was a great day at Universal Studios. We chose to go early in the day, so the weather was warm but mostly pleasant. It was pretty hot when we left at 2:00 pm and I'm not sure we would have enjoyed being outside any longer than that. We stopped noticing our masks within an hour of being in the parks. Masks are not nearly as irritating as ill-fitting shoes or ladies' undergarments.
Some queues had posted wait times up to 45 minutes, but I don't know what they were based on. Everything was a walk-on for us. It was a joy to casually stroll around a park and enjoy an attraction as we came to it. We did not use Express Pass or virtual lines on this day.
We cleaned up a bit and ate a late lunch at the diner. Again, there were very few families dining so it felt reasonably safe to eat there. We decided to cool off with an evening at the pool. This time was better than the first evening at the pool. It was a little less crowded and people were behaving a lot better. It still felt a bit risky so after a couple of roundabouts in the lazy river, we grabbed some snacks at the diner and turned in early.
Part 4 - A Bad Start at Gringotts & Anxiety at Islands of Adventure
Wednesday morning we were dragging a little bit and my feet were a little sore. We had breakfast at the Starlight Diner. The team members were doing a good job with spacing, but there were more cars in the parking lot and more people in the diner. We had our temperatures taken at the dining room exit and headed for the bus stop. There was a small line and a team member was counting heads as we got on the buses. we went straight to the back row of seats. They loaded every seat on our bus, stopping just short of having someone stand. The last two passengers sat in the two seats that are adjacent to the back row. I had a stranger's face right in front of mine for the length of the ride as did my oldest son. The man by me was wearing a neck gaiter and pulled it down to make a cell phone call. The lady across from him was wearing the temperature band color from two days prior. Umm...shower much? Ugh.
As we went through security at City Walk and the early entry gates into Universal Studios, there were a few people in the lines but we still breezed right through. Universal Studios wasn't crowded and we went directly to Diagon Alley to see if Gringotts was back up. It was! No line. No virtual queue. I put our items in a locker & we entered the bank. There was only one other family in the queue and we both took our time taking in the goblin animatronics, chandeliers, wanted posters, etc. This was an amazing opportunity to soak in some atmosphere. As we approached the staircase to the ride loading area, my youngest's ride anxiety started to kick in. He does not like drops or coasters of any sort. I had told him that the ride was on a coaster like track but that it was only for theming. I warned him that there was a drop at the beginning similar to Pirates and I felt that he was prepared to handle it. He knew enough about rides to know that the stairs were probably the length of the drop and knowing that made the stairs feel like a death march to him. To be honest, my ride anxiety was kicking in, but I wanted to experience the ride and was trying to keep a brave face for my boys. As we entered the ride cart, my youngest started to tear up. And then it happened.
For the first time in my entire life, I was too big for a ride. They closed the leg holsters on my family and my nervous son began to cry. I was pretty secure, but the team member wanted to tighten the leg restraint further. It wasn't happening. A combination of genetics and ten years as a fastpitch softball catcher have left me with the calves of the Rock on my petite 5'2" frame. The cast member offered to try moving me to a cart that she was certain could accommodate my legs, but might not secure my smaller waist. She apologized for not noticing my fluffy leg size ahead of loading. Unfortunately, throughout this discussion, my youngest had broken out into a full sob. I thanked the team member for her offer and asked if I could just take my youngest off the ride. I was embarrassed and disappointed. My son was feeling cowardly and disappointed. Thank heavens there was no one else in line! At least we had a cool dark descent to the locker area to pull ourselves together. I sent my son to the restroom to clean his face and change his mask. He said it smelled like Butterbeer in the bathroom. Then we had a lovely time practicing spells in Knockturn Alley whilst waiting for the rest of the family to finish the ride.
After my husband and oldest son finished the ride, the guys decided to grab some butterbeer. Refreshed, we decided to hop on Hogwart's Express and see what Islands of Adventure held for us. There was a line for Hogwart's Express and most people were distancing appropriately. There were 3 ladies in line with us, not respecting the boundaries, pulling down their masks, one had what seemed to be a smoker's cough. A team member made constant announcements to please, continue wearing a mask, and follow social distancing markers. After a couple of minutes, a team member made their way through the line to speak directly with the ladies. They scoffed and rolled their eyes, but complied.
As the train rolled up, I could tell from my son's eyes that they were smiling. Every family was given their own section and told to keep their masks on for the safety of the family that would ride after them. The ride was magical. We loved it. Now, there's really no way of distancing people as they exit the train. So we all kind of clambered off in one big group. My husband pulled the family back into a corner of the platform so we could maintain distance as the rest of the train's passengers entered a stairwell. After the crowd had passed, we descended the staircase. The 3 ladies mentioned before were trying to take a selfie in front of the engine. We were waiting patiently for our turn when they approached me and asked me to snap their pictures with all 3 of their phones. Yuck. I complied. It still feels rude to me to tell someone else how to behave. Given the pandemic, I should have. People's lives are on the line. But I didn't. They offered to take our picture. I have a Samsung S7 Edge. I pulled up the camera. You tap the center button the same way you do on an iPhone to take a picture. They acted like they couldn't figure it out, asked for an explanation, still couldn't figure it out and the train pulled away. No picture for us. Urgh. I sanitized my hands and off we went.
The station drops you off at the entrance of Hogsmeade. Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure line was backed up in front of the station. The ride was down. People were crowded around cast members trying to get their virtual queueing straightened out. It took us five minutes to work our way through and around the crowd into Hogsmeade as if it were a normal or even busy day at the park. Hogsmeade was packed. All of the people who had been removed from the queue at Hagrid's were now milling about the area waiting for something to change. Many people were holding beverages for the sake of keeping their masks pulled down. We popped into Honeydukes. The employees were fussing at each other about how to distance so many people. Okay, time to go. We walked back through Hogsmeade, waited to perform one magic spell, and left for a less crowded area.
It was hot and muggy and we were feeling it. I was feeling anxious and as a result, my mask was bothering me. The kids were dragging. My feet were hurting. We grabbed some water bottles and hid in the U-rest area in the old Sinbad theater. Quite a few families were resting, so we took a seat on the front row away from everyone else. A very nice team member, came over to speak with us. He was wearing a mask. He told us he had been with Universal since it opened. That he was a full-time team member and relieved and happy to be back at work. He was hoping the opening would go well enough to call back the part-time employees. He thanked us for coming and asked where we were from. We thanked him for taking the risk to come back to work and told him that we hoped everyone was treating him nicely. He expressed again that he was just thrilled to be back and have something to do, to make kids smile again. He wished us a happy trip and we parted ways. A good team member experience is always magical. As we exited, we stopped to speak with the Mystic Fountain. He enquired why our kids weren't married and we had a great five-minutes of laughter.
Off to Seussland. We stopped to wash our hands. Did you know the bathrooms smell like cotton candy? How fun! There was hardly anyone in this section of the park. We rode the trolley. I found it boring, but the youngest found it comparable to the people mover and loved it. We rode the carousel. The length from the seat to the foot holder on the carousel creatures is designed for children. I suggest opting to stand or riding in a regular seat as an adult. Then we rode One Fish, Two Fish. This is basically the Magic Carpet ride from the Magic Kingdom. But again the youngest loved it. The rest of us were a little wet and very bored. Then we entered a queue for Cat In The Hat not knowing what the ride would be. Absolute delight! It was a classic dark ride in a cool comfy cart. The ride is a nice length; it tells the full story. We all enjoyed taking a whirl with the Cat. The food and character interactions in this area were closed. Seussland definitely needs a little paint. I hope Universal gives it the love it needs; it is a joyful area for young families.
My oldest wanted to eat at "The dinosaur restaurant" before we left the park for the day. He swore up and down they had amazing food. He didn't remember exactly what it was called, but he had eaten there on a field trip and loved it. So we began to circle around towards the Jurassic Park area. First, we encountered a Marvel-themed area. We enjoy Justice League: Battle for Metropolis at SixFlags Over Georgia and had heard that the Spiderman ride at Universal is similar. We got in line. It was the first queue we encountered that had backed up out of a building. I was feeling a little dizzy, so I ducked out of line to let the boys go. I waited outside, chugged a lemonade, and a water bottle. This area of the park is scorching hot. It feels 20 degrees hotter than any other area of the park. I should have just gone on the ride. The boys loved it and we proceeded to the Jurassic Park area. We decided to skip the rides in this area and try another day. We were all exhausted and continued trudging through the park in search of the elusive dinosaur restaurant. It turned out to be Burger Digs.
The queue for Burger Digs ran around the side of the building towards the back. It was about a 30-minute wait outdoors in the heat. Ordering was mobile through the Universal app. I really don't know what to say; it's overpriced burgers. The service was meh. The food was meh. It was overcrowded. The Coca-cola freestyle machines were open and people kept walking by our table without their masks to get their drinks. My oldest was happy to get a milkshake, but the experience did not live up to his memory. This was not our day. We were anxious. We were hot. We were tired. It was just time to go back to our room.
We rode the Hogwart's Express back to Universal Studios so we could have the complimentary experience. It was magical and fabulous. We dragged ourselves to the buses. There was a long line; it was a shift change. People took advantage of the spacing that others were leaving to cut the lines. More aggravation. We skipped the first two buses and waited for the third bus to avoid overcrowding and riding with obnoxious people. We got a nice cold bus to ourselves. Great music friendly driver.
We collapsed on our hotel beds for a couple of hours. After our nap, my husband and I discussed whether we should continue our vacation or cut our losses. We decided to see if we could extend our stay by one day to fit in a break day. After a few texts with the front desk, we were able to add a day. We showered and went to dinner at the Starlight Diner. While we were dining, the sky opened up. There was lightning and thunder. We decided to wander upstairs rather than brave the storm to go back to our room. We peeked in at the bowling alley and arcade. Then we collapsed in the most comfortable lounge chairs I've ever experienced. We took advantage of the quiet, the lounge atmosphere, the comfy seats, and the calming rain.
Part 5 - Never Underestimate a Break Day
(This is a very lengthy post. I will continue in a second post.)
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