Yep, this is a dilemma a lot of people are facing. The prices of everything at WDW have jumped a lot. So far no future discounts except AP & Florida resident rates for mid December & hotels are pretty fully booked anyway. Judging by hotel availability for next year, discounts might be slim again.
We just returned from a week at YC. We are mid 60s, DH has a medical issue that makes him high risk, but we are both still working & fully vaccinated since January & February. We did have other trips this year, in mid March, late April & mid June. But the very high numbers of the Delta variant & the fact that we are both up against the possible booster time frame made me more nervous this time. We finally decided to go about 10 days before we were to leave. One reason is who knows what will happen with the next variant. Avoiding Disney Springs & crowded busses was a big help. We did eat in both quick service & sit down restaurants. Le Cellier was the only 1 that made me really nervous, but DH loves it, so we kept that one. Counter service is much better with mobile ordering, no standing in a packed register line waiting to order, pay & pick up.
We wore our masks even outside, although most people didn’t. Inside buildings I would say everyone followed the mask on rules. I did see masks below the nose everywhere, but most were worn correctly. Maybe 95% worn correctly. We did Boo Bash after hours, hoping to avoid crowded busses & rope drop crowds. But the buses were full going / returning to Boo Nash anyway. Rode small world, Jungle Cruise & Pirates with a full boats, shared vehicles in other rides & stretching room at HM was at least half full. So that didn’t work the way I had hoped.
So far we feel fine, I did do a home test this morning because I needed to see my elderly mother today. So far negative. We were originally booked at rack rate. I was able to find a room with the 25% off promo. And literally 7 days before our trip, I was able to find a discounted YC room on Priceline. It was a VIP deal with no cancellation allowed. But by that time we had decided we were definitely going. It was over 50% off. Yes, over 50%. Full price was $5300, Disney’s 25% discount was $3600. I paid $2000 on Priceline. Same waterview room category. So if you’re comfortable with Priceline or Hotwire, you can find some good prices there. We are booked with family members for the anniversary weekend. So fears, still planning on going. But we’ll wear KN95 masks & amp up our vitamins. And we will play it by ear & leave the park if we feel too uncomfortable. Good luck with your decision.
