it's done - i cancelled our 3 week summer 2021 trip.....with what's happening with covid, we didn't feel confident enough to hold out any longer...

[kanerf]

Vaccine roll out started in the UK today and possibly will start in the US next week. If things go well we might see 20-25% vaccinated in the US by the end of the first quarter.

 

[gismo1554]

Yes, I was surprised to read tonight that according to the Welsh Government regulations: "No person living outside Wales may enter or remain in Wales without a reasonable excuse". And that "No person living in Wales may leave Wales without a reasonable excuse."
I assumed (incorrectly) that we could travel freely to Tier 1 and 2 places in England.

So "reasonable excuse" would probably include mental health so my guess is your friend could claim that and then form a support bubble with their family prior to the Christmas period rules as long as they haven't already formed a support bubble. We are lucky my parents are still in Wales so this makes it a lot easier and the support bubble rule is still in place before and after the Christmas period according to the rules. I live on my own so formed a bubble with them after the firebreak.

 

[csimon]

It looks like Welsh regs have been changed today to allow non-essential travel to Tier 1 & 2 areas in England. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55170248 I'm in Wales and have formed an extended household/bubble with my partner who is in England, in a Tier 2 area currently. We've had to scrutinise the regs carefully whenever there's any change but so far the only time we haven't been able to meet up (since first lockdown) was during the first tiering system in England and in the 2-week Welsh lockdown. We are sure that both the English and Welsh regs have considered bubbles as exceptions and reasonable excuses to the cross-border travel restrictions, so have been meeting for the past couple of weeks. We missed one weekend after the Welsh firebreak ended because we hadn't realised that the regs allowed it!

 

[disneyholic family]

Me too!!! And I suppose that it will get worse post Brexit, when the EHIC falls away. Also, slightly peeved that obese people are jumping the COVID vaccine queue here.

Besides being old, obesity is the greatest risk for covid complications.
It makes perfect sense to put those who are obese in the high priority group.
I don't understand why the announcement specifically referred to them as obese.
It should simply have said those who are high risk, which includes obesity.
Where i live (Israel), 70% of those who died were considered clinically obese.
So easy to understand why that group should be at the head of the line after medical workers.

DVC is currently allowing un-borrowing, and points are renting out for more than I would have expected. I'd cancel sooner than later, to make sure I could un-borrow and that there is time to rent out the banked points. The borrowing policy could change any minute. I'd actually made sure I did it it on the phone to make sure the points would be un-borrowed.

that's exactly why i called to cancel. I wanted to be sure the points were unborrowed.
When you call, the points immediately appear in the correct year.

Vaccine roll out started in the UK today and possibly will start in the US next week. If things go well we might see 20-25% vaccinated in the US by the end of the first quarter.

The timeline that's been suggested here (in Israel), would mean that our grandkids won't be vaccinated until the second half of 2021, at the earliest.
We won't visit WDW without being vaccinated.
.

 

[gismo1554]

It looks like Welsh regs have been changed today to allow non-essential travel to Tier 1 & 2 areas in England. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55170248 I'm in Wales and have formed an extended household/bubble with my partner who is in England, in a Tier 2 area currently. We've had to scrutinise the regs carefully whenever there's any change but so far the only time we haven't been able to meet up (since first lockdown) was during the first tiering system in England and in the 2-week Welsh lockdown. We are sure that both the English and Welsh regs have considered bubbles as exceptions and reasonable excuses to the cross-border travel restrictions, so have been meeting for the past couple of weeks. We missed one weekend after the Welsh firebreak ended because we hadn't realised that the regs allowed it!

Yeah just spotted this! Its so complicated but I'm glad at least this is now sorted. Now I need to work out what tier Bath is in lol

 

[disneyholic family]

The timeline that's been suggested here (in Israel), would mean that our grandkids won't be vaccinated until the second half of 2021, at the earliest.
We won't visit WDW without being vaccinated.
.

seems like this might not be true.....
the prime minister here in israel has decided to follow the UK's lead and not wait for the FDA to give its approval....
Apparently, we'll begin vaccinating as soon as the companies can ship..
of course, this was what was stated today....
every hour, the rules, guidelines, timelines, etc change, so there's no knowing what will actually happen..
well, whenever it shows up here, and as soon as i'm allowed by priority rankings, i'll be in line for that vaccine...
.

 

[Plague]

the prime minister here in israel has decided to follow the UK's lead and not wait for the FDA to give its approval....
Apparently, we'll begin vaccinating as soon as the companies can ship..

Well, as it turned out the FAA was run by Boeing perhaps they don't have much faith in the FDA now.

 

[disneyholic family]

Well, as it turned out the FAA was run by Boeing perhaps they don't have much faith in the FDA now.

things keep changing......after the above, the news reports referred to "regulatory approval"....
so the question is, which regulator....FDA? one here in israel?
whatever..
eventually we'll get vaccines..
.

 

[jf256]

Me too!!! And I suppose that it will get worse post Brexit, when the EHIC falls away. Also, slightly peeved that obese people are jumping the COVID vaccine queue here.

The point is that an obese person with more than one or more underlying relatable health condition is substantially more likely to require significant hospital treatment for the virus. The single most beneficial thing people can do to protect themselves from this is to try to get themselves to a healthy weight. With 32 percent of adults now being obese in the uk.. if obesity was not fast tracked list then ultimately the NHS would be the ones to burden the cost.

Boris said it himself. He strongly believes that his weight played a role in the severity of the illness. Then again no more than 2 weeks after mcdonalds, KFC, Harvester etc were all added to the eat out to help out scheme. So clearly wasnt that much of a priority.

 

[nursejackie]

I had two planned trips for 2021 - February for Run Disney, booked race, resort and park tickets, all cancelled and refunded, and August but held off booking due to COVID uncertainty. Of course without the guarantee of an ESTA we won't be booking anything now. We're resigned to 2022 but still dream of 2021 being a possibility.

 

[disneyholic family]

I remember reading your post and thinking you might have been a bit hasty but yesterday I put in place cancellations for our August 2021 '3 weeker'.

I personally think that by August 2021 we'll be able to travel to Florida but I really think that by then it will still be a reduced experience. It's only 7 months away and I can still see there being all the restrictions in place that take away that 'magic'. A trip like this costs multiple thousands of pounds for a family of 4 and it's not a trip we can take year upon year. When we go it HAS to be how we want/remember it to be. I saw a YouTube video with perspex screens in the queue area of Frozen, the same screens between rows on the ride vehicles. It's necessary, I get that, but I don't see those magically being removed in 7 short months and that's not the kind of experience I want. I feel that 2022 would be the best bet at this time. Also, Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy and hopefully EPCOT renovations complete by then (my fave park)

Disney have been great and have initiated a refund of our park tickets. I thought that might be an issue as I think they gave a cutoff date of November. Beach Club also cancelled. Just waiting to hear back from Discovery Cove. My VA flights are open until December 2022 so that's it, our trip is now officially on hold.

I can wait, it doesn't bother me at all, the only twinge of sadness is that my boys will be 5 years older that when we last visited. I wanted one last trip while my eldest was still at that innocent age. Thanks COVID....something else you've ruined.

Happy New Year to you all. It's been a grim old year, let's hope things are going to turn around sooner rather than later.

Dene

so sorry you had to cancel...
i know how disappointing it is..
i was really quite depressed for the first few days after i cancelled..
as for your reasoning, that was exactly my son's point of view (he's 33).
He thought that while it's possible it will all be ok by July, he wouldn't be able to live with the tension of not knowing.
Plus like you, he said that no matter what, the experience will certainly still be reduced this summer.
Of course, there's no way of knowing what 2022 will be like, but there's a better chance things will be at least somewhat reinstated by then.
in 2022, his kids will be 8, 7 and 4......so actually, probably a bit easier than this year..
just that 2021 worked perfectly in terms of our schedules..
but it's fine...we're all healthy....and hopefully, 2022 will come to pass!!

 

[RossK]

I'm booked for Mid October 2021, and I'm very confident about it. At the end of the day, it is highly likely the experience will be better than it is right now, not worse. And from all the videos I see on YouTube, it really doesn't look that bad. I don't mind all the dividers etc there (in fact, it makes things less icky!!). But I would not enjoy the mask wearing in that heat. In terms of my trip, I am not at all concerned about the UK's ability to rollout a vaccination - as I don't see that becoming an entry requirement in to the U.S. The biggest impact will be the U.S. speed of vaccination. If the U.S. vaccinates a sufficient proportion of the at-risk population over the course of the next half a year, I suspect that the mask requirement will disappear but social distancing will still be "recommended". Best case scenario, it's the best of both worlds - slightly lighter crowds, and little impact to the overall experience. Worst case scenario, masks are still needed (which is not the end of the world!).

 

[disneyholic family]

I'm booked for Mid October 2021, and I'm very confident about it. At the end of the day, it is highly likely the experience will be better than it is right now, not worse. And from all the videos I see on YouTube, it really doesn't look that bad. I don't mind all the dividers etc there (in fact, it makes things less icky!!). But I would not enjoy the mask wearing in that heat. In terms of my trip, I am not at all concerned about the UK's ability to rollout a vaccination - as I don't see that becoming an entry requirement in to the U.S. The biggest impact will be the U.S. speed of vaccination. If the U.S. vaccinates a sufficient proportion of the at-risk population over the course of the next half a year, I suspect that the mask requirement will disappear but social distancing will still be "recommended". Best case scenario, it's the best of both worlds - slightly lighter crowds, and little impact to the overall experience. Worst case scenario, masks are still needed (which is not the end of the world!).

October should be a good experience given that it's during the anniversary celebration.
They'll certainly have at least some new things working by then.
And masks in October (if they're still required) aren't as bad as masks in July.
.

 

[finchy3]

We have just pushed our April trip to Disneyland until late July, its our last throw of the dice as our DVC points are only good until the end of July.

 

[disneyholic family]

We have just pushed our April trip to Disneyland until late July, its our last throw of the dice as our DVC points are only good until the end of July.

i'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.
California and Los Angeles are such unknowns in terms of what the authorities will permit.
Here's hoping that it will be open then!!!

 

[Cornish Lad]

I remember reading your post and thinking you might have been a bit hasty but yesterday I put in place cancellations for our August 2021 '3 weeker'.

I personally think that by August 2021 we'll be able to travel to Florida but I really think that by then it will still be a reduced experience. It's only 7 months away and I can still see there being all the restrictions in place that take away that 'magic'. A trip like this costs multiple thousands of pounds for a family of 4 and it's not a trip we can take year upon year. When we go it HAS to be how we want/remember it to be. I saw a YouTube video with perspex screens in the queue area of Frozen, the same screens between rows on the ride vehicles. It's necessary, I get that, but I don't see those magically being removed in 7 short months and that's not the kind of experience I want. I feel that 2022 would be the best bet at this time. Also, Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy and hopefully EPCOT renovations complete by then (my fave park)

Disney have been great and have initiated a refund of our park tickets. I thought that might be an issue as I think they gave a cutoff date of November. Beach Club also cancelled. Just waiting to hear back from Discovery Cove. My VA flights are open until December 2022 so that's it, our trip is now officially on hold.

I can wait, it doesn't bother me at all, the only twinge of sadness is that my boys will be 5 years older that when we last visited. I wanted one last trip while my eldest was still at that innocent age. Thanks COVID....something else you've ruined.

Happy New Year to you all. It's been a grim old year, let's hope things are going to turn around sooner rather than later.

Dene

Agreed - we spend thousands to go to Florida for the truly wonderful Disney experience but now that experience is far from the wonderful that we used to enjoy. We have put off all thoughts of returning until things are back to normal and if that never happens then so be it and we will enjoy our memories of how it was.

 

[Plague]

now that experience is far from the wonderful

I've got two red lines on it.
Proper park hopping is back, even if you have to book the park you want to go to like a FP - so you can't arrive at the next one and get refused entry. (The current system is silly.)
No face masks (except perhaps some very limited situations like in shops and some tight indoor queue lines). Certainly not outdoors.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

My daughter and I are still booked for March/April. I am ready to cancel but my daughter can’t bring herself to make the ‘final cut’; she wants to wait until the end of February to make a decision. The choice then is whether to rebook for October (HHNs) or next March.... or maybe a Christmas trip. The BA voucher runs out in April 2022. My daughter works in a school so we are limited by school holidays.

 

[disneyholic family]

My daughter and I are still booked for March/April. I am ready to cancel but my daughter can’t bring herself to make the ‘final cut’; she wants to wait until the end of February to make a decision. The choice then is whether to rebook for October (HHNs) or next March.... or maybe a Christmas trip. The BA voucher runs out in April 2022. My daughter works in a school so we are limited by school holidays.

March/April? hmmm.....
that's a hard one to guess..
i was going to say it's impossible, but maybe they'll open the skies to people who have been vaccinated?

.

 

[gavvy]

I have just cancelled my May trip- this was pushed back from Last May, there is just so much uncertainty at the moment that I did not want to risk it.

I have another in October- hopefully this will happen!