Verstehen
I break for the Nautilus
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
Hi there and welcome to my latest trip report! I’m excited to share this trip with you. It was an unusual visit to Disney World, given it was during the Covid pandemic, and there are obviously a lot of issues surrounding that. My goal here is, aside from showing off photos, to share our experience so you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to visit Disney World during this time. I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all answer, and it’s something I struggled with a lot myself. I’ll strive to explain why I ultimately decided to go, and where my reservations and concerns still lie. Since so much of this trip surrounded sleep, whether it be lack of or too much, I decided this was an appropriate title.
First, let me introduce you to myself and my traveling companions.
I’m Rachel. I’m 32, and I live right here in Orlando. I live on the north end of the city, in a charming neighborhood called College Park, pretty close to the city of Winter Park. Both were featured on the Dis’s Moving to the Magic Youtube show, so check those episodes out if you want to have a better idea of what it’s like to live in this part of Central Florida. We’re about 30 minutes away from Disney property, more if there’s traffic in downtown Orlando and the tourist districts, but honestly, I love this area and there are few other places in Orlando I’d want to live. It’s historic, unique, and beautiful.
I work full time from home doing marketing for a software company (yes, even before the pandemic). When I’m not working, I’m usually chasing around my 10-month-old and our dog, cooking, or working on a few different personal projects. I recently launched a Disney podcast with a friend of mine (not affiliated with The Dis!), and am really excited to be unleashing my nerdery into the world.
I have been a fan of the Disney parks since my grandparents started taking me when I was six. I grew up in upstate NY, and moved to Florida about 10 years ago, partially to be closer to the magic, and partially to pursue my career (which was not remote at the time). I love that the parks have something for everyone, and I really never get tired of going. I do have an annual pass and in the past have often traveled to the parks just for a day or even just a couple of hours, but obviously with having a baby and then with the pandemic, that has severely slowed down. Most of the time now, when I do go to the parks, it’s for a multi-day trip with my father when he visits from out of town.
Speaking of which: my dad! He lives in upstate NY, still in the house I grew up in. He’s a semi-retired dentist still working part time, and the other part of the time he’s a volunteer EMT. So as you can imagine, he keeps very busy. He purchased DVC in 2016, first at the Polynesian, then another contract last year at the Riviera. When he comes to town, he prefers to stay in a hotel over our house (which is fine by me as we really no longer have space for guests), so this was his way of being able to visit often without having to intrude on us. He’s not the biggest Disney fan there is, but he’s grown to appreciate it over the years, especially when it comes to the food and drink options. And of course, it’s now a way for him to connect with his granddaughter. He typically comes twice a year: once in the late winter with my younger sister, and once in the fall without her. So this served as his yearly fall trip.
Also joining us was my daughter, April, who was a little over nine months old during this trip. She has been the brightest spot in this absolutely crazy and terrible year. She is so silly and sweet, and probably the best first baby I could have asked for. One big positive about this trip was getting to see her finally take in the rides and attractions, since during our last trip in late February, when she was only six weeks old, she pretty much slept on every ride, and in fact through most of the trip itself. I can’t say she was a perfect angel every second, but she was a real trooper and I’m glad she got to have the experiences she did.
Making a special guest appearance is my husband, Alex (no picture, but you can see him in my other reports!). If you’ve read my other reports, you know that he does not like Disney and he does not tend to stay with us on these trips, preferring to instead enjoy the silence of an empty house for a few days. This time, he actually did consider taking a few days off work so he could join us (and not be away from his baby for too long) but he works for the local news and sadly, due to it being the week before and of the election, and an impending rocket launch in the area as well, no one at his station was allowed to take time off. We did, however, see him for part of the trip!
On to the details of this trip. We stayed 6 nights, from October 28-November 3rd, in a preferred view studio at the Riviera resort. It was our first time staying there since purchasing a DVC contract here last year. You may notice that our trip ended on Election day. Yeah, I’m not sure why we picked those days either. I’ll try not to get political in this report, but it’s relevant to say that I had a LOT of anxiety in the days leading up to that Tuesday, and it unfortunately put a little bit of a cloud over our trip, especially when combined with my Covid anxieties.
Besides Covid and the election, there was of course the challenge of traveling with an infant. If you read my last report, you know that traveling with a newborn had its own unique challenges, and there were definitely advantages and disadvantages to going again several months later. If you are thinking of bringing a child around April’s age to Disney, I hope I’ll be able to offer you some perspective and insight as to what to expect.
With all that out of the way, thank you for making it this far, and I hope you’ll follow along on this journey!
First, let me introduce you to myself and my traveling companions.
I’m Rachel. I’m 32, and I live right here in Orlando. I live on the north end of the city, in a charming neighborhood called College Park, pretty close to the city of Winter Park. Both were featured on the Dis’s Moving to the Magic Youtube show, so check those episodes out if you want to have a better idea of what it’s like to live in this part of Central Florida. We’re about 30 minutes away from Disney property, more if there’s traffic in downtown Orlando and the tourist districts, but honestly, I love this area and there are few other places in Orlando I’d want to live. It’s historic, unique, and beautiful.
I work full time from home doing marketing for a software company (yes, even before the pandemic). When I’m not working, I’m usually chasing around my 10-month-old and our dog, cooking, or working on a few different personal projects. I recently launched a Disney podcast with a friend of mine (not affiliated with The Dis!), and am really excited to be unleashing my nerdery into the world.
I have been a fan of the Disney parks since my grandparents started taking me when I was six. I grew up in upstate NY, and moved to Florida about 10 years ago, partially to be closer to the magic, and partially to pursue my career (which was not remote at the time). I love that the parks have something for everyone, and I really never get tired of going. I do have an annual pass and in the past have often traveled to the parks just for a day or even just a couple of hours, but obviously with having a baby and then with the pandemic, that has severely slowed down. Most of the time now, when I do go to the parks, it’s for a multi-day trip with my father when he visits from out of town.
Speaking of which: my dad! He lives in upstate NY, still in the house I grew up in. He’s a semi-retired dentist still working part time, and the other part of the time he’s a volunteer EMT. So as you can imagine, he keeps very busy. He purchased DVC in 2016, first at the Polynesian, then another contract last year at the Riviera. When he comes to town, he prefers to stay in a hotel over our house (which is fine by me as we really no longer have space for guests), so this was his way of being able to visit often without having to intrude on us. He’s not the biggest Disney fan there is, but he’s grown to appreciate it over the years, especially when it comes to the food and drink options. And of course, it’s now a way for him to connect with his granddaughter. He typically comes twice a year: once in the late winter with my younger sister, and once in the fall without her. So this served as his yearly fall trip.
Also joining us was my daughter, April, who was a little over nine months old during this trip. She has been the brightest spot in this absolutely crazy and terrible year. She is so silly and sweet, and probably the best first baby I could have asked for. One big positive about this trip was getting to see her finally take in the rides and attractions, since during our last trip in late February, when she was only six weeks old, she pretty much slept on every ride, and in fact through most of the trip itself. I can’t say she was a perfect angel every second, but she was a real trooper and I’m glad she got to have the experiences she did.
Making a special guest appearance is my husband, Alex (no picture, but you can see him in my other reports!). If you’ve read my other reports, you know that he does not like Disney and he does not tend to stay with us on these trips, preferring to instead enjoy the silence of an empty house for a few days. This time, he actually did consider taking a few days off work so he could join us (and not be away from his baby for too long) but he works for the local news and sadly, due to it being the week before and of the election, and an impending rocket launch in the area as well, no one at his station was allowed to take time off. We did, however, see him for part of the trip!
On to the details of this trip. We stayed 6 nights, from October 28-November 3rd, in a preferred view studio at the Riviera resort. It was our first time staying there since purchasing a DVC contract here last year. You may notice that our trip ended on Election day. Yeah, I’m not sure why we picked those days either. I’ll try not to get political in this report, but it’s relevant to say that I had a LOT of anxiety in the days leading up to that Tuesday, and it unfortunately put a little bit of a cloud over our trip, especially when combined with my Covid anxieties.
Besides Covid and the election, there was of course the challenge of traveling with an infant. If you read my last report, you know that traveling with a newborn had its own unique challenges, and there were definitely advantages and disadvantages to going again several months later. If you are thinking of bringing a child around April’s age to Disney, I hope I’ll be able to offer you some perspective and insight as to what to expect.
With all that out of the way, thank you for making it this far, and I hope you’ll follow along on this journey!
It will be fun to see how your trip goes with baby April!
