To Go or Not To Go

[TinkerBelle_325]

It is only non union, management employees, and new hires who will have to be vaccinated. Most of the employees (Cast Members) you come into contact with at WDW are union and are not required currently to be vaccinated.

Disney is having conversations with their labour unions this week. And the head of the largest union for WDW cast members has already stated that the union supports the vaccination of all employees. The only reason that unionized employees weren’t included in the original mandate announcement is that Disney can’t make that change without discussions. The unions had many stringent health and safety requirements before CMs were able to return to work upon WDW’s reopening. There’s nothing to indicate that the unions will oppose the vaccine mandate.

It’s looking very likely that ALL Disney employees will fall under the mandate.

https://blogmickey.com/2021/07/disney-union-we-think-the-best-line-of-defense-is-to-be-vaccinated/

 

[PalmettoPath]

We got back one week ago after 2 weeks of Disney World glory! We didn't mask, didn't avoid large crowds and enjoyed our time immensely. We are all vaccinated, and didn't get Covid (thankfully, because we had to fly home to Canada). I did find it odd the people who seemed really nervous to be there they seemed very uncomfortable and I felt bad for them. Truly, if you are worried you shouldn't come. In Ontario, Canada I'm used to people keeping their distance. At Disney, people were close talking to us and really getting in our space and squeezing up in lines and in theatres. To be honest, I loved it and loved feeling normal again - however, if this isn't something you're comfortable with then maybe now is not the time to visit Disney with the cases so high.

We head down in a few days. Did you have a contingency plan if the return test didn't go your way? That's our biggest concern...what to do in that situation. We're going to mask and actually avoid parks (ride lines and fireworks crowds for sure) for the most part except for our VIP Tour. Glad to hear stories of guests who had a good time and returned back home safe and sound!

 

[cakebaker]

Oh no! I hope he’s OK. So sorry this happened.

My husband has something. We are driving home to Texas, because our flight tonight got canceled. We couldn’t find anything on any airline out of MCO for the whole day. He started getting stuffy and sneezing this morning at MK before we knew about our flight. So, it probably turned out for the best. Changing plans for the week to not come into contact with people until we figure out if it’s Covid or not and if my son and I get sick.

My son-in-law had the same flight issues today. He needed to leave a day early for work and all flights into Dallas were cancelled. We live in Oklahoma and there was nothing he could find either, He’s on his way back to the resort now and is rescheduled for tomorrow at 4. He’ll be here well after we leave, but still hopefully get home before us.

It’s been a day for sure! On the bright side, when he went to ME to get a ride back, they heard his story and called for private transportation back. So nice of them to do that!

 

[cindycastle30]

As of now we are planning to go for the 50th anniversary. But instead of flying from Wisconsin we are going to drive. We will change our 9 night trip to 3 nights and either go to the gulf coast or New Orleans. Not willing to pay a premium price for a lesser experience. I love me some Disney but not for the price, experience, and disregard for the pandemic.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Go.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Hello. I hope everyone is doing well. I’m looking for some info and others perspective.
First with out violating any HIPPA Rules, is their any information about how many positive cases are being attributed to WDW or Universla Studios? What are they these parks doing if someone is suspected of being positive?
Are there any reports of people quarantine in there rooms (onsite properties) ?
We are suppose to leave for. 20 day trip beginning on Aug. 10. (Doing Universal and WDW) my wife and I are vaccinated and have two children 8 and 10 (thank god are in good health) but of course to young to be vaccinated.
We are early risers and rope droppers, and mid day breakers. So I understand the expectations with lines and so on, but it is the risk of the children being infected and having to be quarantined for a majority of the trip.
Looking for some friendly but honest advice. Thank you.

until today I would have said go. But just learned of multiple very close family members and also some friends who tested positive this weekend (and fully vaccinated) in the last 24 hours and this is about to all hit the fan, I think, across the country. With 2 kids that age and unvaccinated, I wouldn't risk it. I'd postpone. I really would.

 

[andyman8]

I should’ve said yet....My grandson has suddenly developed symptoms of nausea, sounds like he has a cold or sinus infection with a low grade fever. He did accidentally take in a lot of water swimming last night so it may be that, but he ticks a lot of boxes for covid as well. So plans have ground to a halt. No HS tonight to see the fireworks for sure. Unlike a lot of people, we don’t go to the parks sick.


We tried to get him tested locally, but it’s impossible to get in anywhere. The one place we found was a drive through with an over 4 hr wait in the car, no guarantee we’d get the test if we were in line waiting when they close. The line was many miles long. Seriously, how do locals put up with this? If we were home, we could drive less than 10 minutes from home and have 0 wait to be tested, same day, 15 minute results. No wonder numbers are sky high here. We are worried sick, but nothing we can do until morning when we can leave and get him home. So I may regret it after all.



And this was with being as careful as we knew how. No indoor dining, avoided crowded areas, skipped rides with long indoor queues. He wore a mask anytime he was out of the room.

Depending on how urgently you want your GS tested, you may consider (if it’s within your means) a paid test at a lab. In my experience in FL, “free” or insurance-paid testing usually requires an appointment a day or two (or even several) in advance or an extremely long wait. But if you’re willing to fork over the $70-$100 for a rapid antigen test through a lab (like Arcpoint), you can get almost immediate availability and results. Not sure if it’s a moot point for you but wanted you to be aware in case it helps.

 

[Mousefan mom]

Hello. I hope everyone is doing well. I’m looking for some info and others perspective.
First with out violating any HIPPA Rules, is their any information about how many positive cases are being attributed to WDW or Universla Studios? What are they these parks doing if someone is suspected of being positive?
Are there any reports of people quarantine in there rooms (onsite properties) ?
We are suppose to leave for. 20 day trip beginning on Aug. 10. (Doing Universal and WDW) my wife and I are vaccinated and have two children 8 and 10 (thank god are in good health) but of course to young to be vaccinated.
We are early risers and rope droppers, and mid day breakers. So I understand the expectations with lines and so on, but it is the risk of the children being infected and having to be quarantined for a majority of the trip.
Looking for some friendly but honest advice. Thank you.

We joked that we were testing the vaccine's efficacy because the crowds were massive--think Christmas crowds, and all packed in--we left just a day before the mask mandate. We found most of the hand sanitizers empty (even at rope drop) and truly didn't feel they were doing anything exceptional with keeping guests safe...we are back now and so far so good. If we have it, we are asymptomatic. We are a mixed family of Pfizer and Moderna. I would advise you not to go only because the experience is so reduced and disappointing right now. I do hear Universal is doing a better job--Disney was not staffed or prepared for the crowds we just experienced. We were to stay 7 days, checked out 2 days early....I have never wanted to leave Disney early. I have not heard of a single case attributed to a park--but I don't think the contract tracing has worked well from the start....FYI, we did rope drop, mid day breaks, and closing--you still can't escape the crowds, ride breakdowns are common, mouse keeping was non existent, and bathrooms were not well cleaned...we worried less about catching COVID, and much more about how much we paid for such a smaller experience (it was sooooo not worth it). I just tried to email guest services to give magic to a few CM's who helped us and share our experience and got a message their mailbox isn't accepting any new emails at the moment as its undergoing maintenance....I don't think I am the only one contacting them right now.

 

[EjandMD]

I am here for the same reason. Trying to stay in Dis guidelines.. todays florida headlines has me really thinking about it.
I was really looking forward to a few park days with the kids before school starts.

Me too. I'm trying to figure out what it really looks like there. We went Sept 2020, distancing and limiting attendance, felt really good. We are due to go in 2 weeks, not so sure now. Everyone seems to be respectful on this thread. So thank you for letting it continue.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I wouldn’t go but not because of covid but due to the limited experiences and offerings right now.

 

[cigarboo]

Depending on how urgently you want your GS tested, you may consider (if it’s within your means) a paid test at a lab. In my experience in FL, “free” or insurance-paid testing usually requires an appointment a day or two (or even several) in advance or an extremely long wait. But if you’re willing to fork over the $70-$100 for a rapid antigen test through a lab (like Arcpoint), you can get almost immediate availability and results. Not sure if it’s a moot point for you but wanted you to be aware in case it helps.

Another option is to buy a home test kit(BinaxNow) that will give you the results in about 15min. It comes with 2 tests in a box for around $24. It does not satisfy travel requirements, but it is good for personal use if you can't wait/get to a free testing site. Keep in mind false positive/negatives, etc. I bought it at CVS. Go online to see which stores have them in stock.

 

[LauraLap]

We head down in a few days. Did you have a contingency plan if the return test didn't go your way? That's our biggest concern...what to do in that situation. We're going to mask and actually avoid parks (ride lines and fireworks crowds for sure) for the most part except for our VIP Tour. Glad to hear stories of guests who had a good time and returned back home safe and sound!

As far as working, we work from home so figured that a positive test would mean we would work from home for a couple of weeks in a hotel. My plan was to book a hotel or a separate Airbnb house to ride it out if needed. The other option is you could rent a car and drive it all the way home as Canada can not deny our entry for any reason, even a positive test.

 

[PalmettoPath]

As far as working, we work from home so figured that a positive test would mean we would work from home for a couple of weeks in a hotel. My plan was to book a hotel or a separate Airbnb house to ride it out if needed. The other option is you could rent a car and drive it all the way home as Canada can not deny our entry for any reason, even a positive test.

Thanks for the info. Fingers crossed we won't need it.

 

[LauraLap]

Thanks for the info. Fingers crossed we won't need it.

I can't tell you the sweet relief of getting the negative test! Then you can really enjoy those last 3 days of vacation.

 

[PalmettoPath]

I can't tell you the sweet relief of getting the negative test! Then you can really enjoy those last 3 days of vacation.

I know! That's exactly what we're all thinking...a little super extra care for those first few days...ugh. We're inspired to hear your story, so that helps.

 

[BOST99]

Also trying to figure out what to do. Adults are vaccinated kids aren't not. We did get Covid over the winter so slight chance for antibodies (not sure if that matters with Delta) We planned to wear masks throughout and no dining indoors or at least at off times. We also are only doing 1 day at Disney and the rest at Uni with EP.

We did talk to some friends who live in the area. They said it's not as bad as it seems on TV but yesterday's data has me leaning towards rescheduling. Just stinks that this was a reschedule 2020 trip.

 

[yaya74]

Also trying to figure out what to do. Adults are vaccinated kids aren't not. We did get Covid over the winter so slight chance for antibodies (not sure if that matters with Delta) We planned to wear masks throughout and no dining indoors or at least at off times. We also are only doing 1 day at Disney and the rest at Uni with EP.

We did talk to some friends who live in the area. They said it's not as bad as it seems on TV but yesterday's data has me leaning towards rescheduling. Just stinks that this was a reschedule 2020 trip.

I am sorry to hear that your family got the virus. Hope you are all recovered and healthy.
At this point, I felt Disney is safer than Universal with the indoor mask-wearing policy
I don't know how the tables are arranged now but back during the first week of July, the tables were not three feet apart but we felt safe eating indoor. During that time no one, not even the CMs were wearing masks.
No matter what you choose, I hope your family will have a great time.

 

[nodnarb518]

Whats Disneys policy on last date to cancel/postpone? Are boo bash tix refundable?

We're supposed to be going in two weeks and the discussion is coming up. Both of us fully vaxxed with two kids, we were perfectly ok with it a few months back. Now i don't know. At the very least we haven't mentioned the trip at all to the young ones so if we bail they won't be disappointed since they didn't even know we had planned to go to begin with....

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Whats Disneys policy on last date to cancel/postpone? Are boo bash tix refundable?

We're supposed to be going in two weeks and the discussion is coming up. Both of us fully vaxxed with two kids, we were perfectly ok with it a few months back. Now i don't know. At the very least we haven't mentioned the trip at all to the young ones so if we bail they won't be disappointed since they didn't even know we had planned to go to begin with....

I believe they are back to the normal cancellation policy which is 30 days for packages and 5 days for room only. Tickets are non-refundable but retain their value toward a future purchase. Boo Bash tickets are non-refundable.

 

[harleyquinn]

Here's the package rules. You can also move your dates with a $50 fee, but Disney has been waiving it a lot. (It's pretty much always waived if the price goes up as well).
2021 Disney World Package rules