I'm wondering if anyone has pictures from the port canaveral testing/boarding process and/or can give me an in-depth run down of the process for those coming off
DCL transportation from MCO/Hyatt? We're departing on 1/15 (hopefully....), one of my kid has autism/significant anxiety. I emailed DCL special services with some questions to try to get some info on the process - with explanation of why - and got a rather generic response that addressed none of the questions (really frustrating, but par for the course given our past experiences trying to get disability related info ahead of time).
Basically, I just need to know what happens after you get off the bus - where do you go? is there a line/check in process? big tent? smaller rooms? can you get a smaller room if you need it (ie your kid is already going to get worked up and lots of people/chaos won't help)? waiting area same/different as testing area? I gather there's a board - you can see if you're cleared, once cleared you go...? Where is security in this? Once you get inside, is there the standard line for check in/further check in? Can anyone give me an idea of typical wait time AFTER the test? I only vaguely recall the pre-covid procedures for port canaveral as it is, we've only done it once (and miami after that, so who knows when what I recall is the right port!).
Pictures would be ideal if anyone randomly happens to have them, but even just a clear step by step on the process would be great. It will help us enormously if I can go through it with the kids in advance, as knowing what to expect and what it'll be like reduces anxiety. It's going to be a rough morning for us regardless, I'm just trying to make it as good as it can be...
Can’t say for Disney Transportation, but it may be similar to the shuttle from a car rental place. In such a case, you are dropped off right in front of the Porters. They are in front of the path to the security office. However, you don’t head there first. Instead, you drop off your checked luggage.
the next step is to head across the street where you will enter a first set of white tents. There you will get your test kits bags. Each bag has a pen, a nasal swab, and a tube with liquid solution. One bag per person.
You’ll then enter the next room which has individual testing stations covered by removable curtains. You’ll be told which station to stand by. There is one chair per station. Once the administrator is done with the tested family, they will open up the curtain and tell you to come in. The administrator will provide a testing label and ask you to write your name and birthday. The administrator will also have you scan it and put it on the tube. The administrator will also supervise you swabbing your nose with the nasal swab and putting it into the tube. At some point, I think you will also need to show the QR code for each person. Once you are done, you’ll put the tube into a lunch cooler on the table. You’ll then exit on the open end (opposite the cooler) and head to the adjacent room.
In the adjacent room, they will tell you which tent to go to to wait for your results (will be a letter). However, you really could go to any tent that you want. To access the waiting room tents you’ll walk outside and each tent will be labeled. You’ll need to provide your reservation number to enter the waiting room tent. The person will write it down and note that you’re in that tent.
Inside the waiting room tent, there will be a bunch of groups of chairs which each group being set apart. There is a central screen which shows reservation numbers and their status, such as “clear” or “See an Inspire technician”. I think the reservation numbers are ordered by numerical value. However reservations are constantly being removed and added with older reservations being removed and newer ones being added. It was slightly quicker to see the status on your Inspire Diagnostics page. Wait time was generally between 30-60 minutes for people. Disney will say 60 minutes, but our time was 35 minutes. Some people had longer, and some people had to retest because their test was lost.
Once you receive the all clear, you will exit the tent and walk towards the Porters. You will have to cross the street, go bass the Porters and queue in for security. At security, you will have to show your passport at an individual kiosk, and they will take a picture of the passport with you holding it up against the individual kiosk. Then you will go through the scanners similar to the airport scanners.
Once you’re past the scanners, you’ll take an escalator up to the waiting room. At the waiting room, you’ll wait for your boarding group number to be called. We had a late boarding group and they were doing it in batches of 5.
When you get in line to board, there will also be a section in the waiting room where you can get your picture taken in front of a backdrop. You can skip it if you want, but after you’re done, they will redirect you back into line in roughly the same spot.
The next step is to check in to the ship at the next set of individual kiosks. You’ll need the QR codes again.
After that, you’ll get into one of two lines separated by a railing. Note that this line can be long and slow to move. Also, you may be stuck at an onramp for long periods, which does make it difficult for ensuring that rolled luggage doesn’t roll away. Also, social distancing does not exist in this line. The reason it’s slow is that they have a repeating performance when you get on, and only a set number of groups are allowed on during the performance. Once the performance is completed, they let in the next batch of groups.
Once they let you in, that’s where they ask for your family name, and announce your family name. You’ll be directed to a viewing spot for your group for the performance. Once the performance is done, someone will escort you to the side of the atrium and will tell you where to go depending on what you want to do. I think you can skip the performance if you want.
Note that rooms are not available until 3 pm. Also, your key to the world card will be next to your room door.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. This was my best recollection from the Fantasy on the 12th.
