Trip Report Shrouded In A Daft Disguise *COMPLETED*

Two weeks ago today, I returned home from the most surreal Disney vacation I have ever experienced.

During my last visit in February, I couldn’t have imagined having to wear a face mask and have my temperature taken before being allowed into a park. “Social distancing” wasn’t part of my vocabulary. Hand sanitizer was something I carried in a little bottle in my purse, not something in giant containers at the entrance/exit of every attraction.

No park hopping? No Fastpasses? No FIREWORKS :jawdrop: ?!! Not even on my radar screen.

Like a bolt out of the blue, the pandemic struck and life was dramatically altered. For everyone. And there is no Magic Mirror to tell us when it will be over. For me the pandemic has been a reminder to take nothing for granted ~ and that there can still be joy in the darkest days.

My name is Tuvalu and I have been a WDW annual passholder for nearly 25 years. I was raised on Disney and so were my children. The parks have always been my “escape” from real life. Could they still be an “escape” in the midst of a pandemic? After months of quarantine, I was ready to find out.

My daughter Em was my travel buddy. My husband Woody had reservations, but not for our safety. He was concerned we’d struggle with the restrictions and disappointment with all the changes. He wanted us to come back happy and wasn’t sure we would. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure we would either. After much research and due diligence, Em and I felt prepared to embark on a vacation with few expectations.

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Full disclosure ~ I‘ve wrestled with writing a report of our trip. The pandemic and subsequent events have caused much division on this Disney fan forum. I’ve always considered the trip reports section to be a “safe space” and hope it stays that way. My goal is to provide entertainment to the reader, nothing more.

With that in mind.....

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Saturday, con’t

The sunshine we had when we arrived at the pool was being slowly overtaken by clouds. We thought it would be a good idea to order lunch while we could still dine al fresco.

I volunteered to be the food runner.

This is the patio outside Capt. Cooks. Do you think that party returned for their cups? My bet is on No.

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A line of planters separated Cook’s patio from Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace, which still hasn’t reopened. Pity. It’s a lovely spot to drink and nosh.

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The dining room was empty.

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(Am I? The mirror says otherwise!)

I picked up our bagged food and returned to our loungers, where Woody was waiting.

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He opted for his second Aloha Pork Sandwich of the vacay. I went with a cheeseburger. I don’t eat cheeseburgers often but do get a craving every now and then. This one satisfied!

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I checked wait times at the MK and saw they were high ~ 60 minutes for the headliner attractions. We did not feel compelled to rush over! We lingered at the pool for a bit longer and then had some “balcony time” before showering and heading to the park.

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
We exited Tokelau from the door nearest our room and took the stairs. I have always loved the views from the other side of this longhouse. (Pre-bungalows. Sorry @MickeyCB.)

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Standing on the perilous monorail platform!

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There was an ominous sky over the MK and rain was inevitable. (I’m not one to throw a fellow Magician under the bus, but our beloved “rain goddess” was in the park. 😉) My goal was two attractions before our dinner ADR. I knew there were long waits for everything from checking the app. Once we were inside, we discovered there were more people in the park than Woody felt was a safe capacity for Disney to handle.

These next pics are for the clouds, not crowds.

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
@tonystark a must-do was our Mansion of course!

The posted wait was 50 minutes. The line moved slowly. We must have joined during a buggy-sanitation cycle.

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Woody and I made it under cover just as the skies opened up.

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Not pictured is the annoying father/son party directly in front of us. Not only did they disregard the distance markers, the young boy touched and swung EVERY SINGLE CHAIN in the queue.

He also ran his hands over all the interactive elements.

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Then....the irony of ironies....Dad made the boy don disposable gloves when they entered the foyer. Yet Dad remained glove-free.

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Woody and I were glad to finally board our doombuggy, away from the madness.

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Songbird76

Well-Known Member
@tonystark a must-do was our Mansion of course!

The posted wait was 50 minutes. The line moved slowly. We must have joined during a buggy-sanitation cycle.

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Woody and I made it under cover just as the skies opened up.

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Not pictured is the annoying father/son party directly in front of us. Not only did they disregard the distance markers, the young boy touched and swung EVERY SINGLE CHAIN in the queue.

He also ran his hands over all the interactive elements.

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Then....the irony of ironies....Dad made the boy don disposable gloves when they entered the foyer. Yet Dad remained glove-free.

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Woody and I were glad to finally board our doombuggy, away from the madness.

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I'm betting you and Woody avoided touching anything that boy's hands had been on. My favorite experience with covidiots was at a fast food place where they have kiosks to order your food, and a dad was there with a boy about 6 or 7 from the looks of him. The little boy had his mouth open and was running his lips and tongue all over the plastic divider screen between kiosks and the dad didn't say a word to him. I wouldn't have let my kids touch that thing even without a pandemic, not even with fingers. But during a pandemic and with mouths? And the worst thing was that as you entered, you were supposed to spritz hand sanitizer on your hands before you went to the kiosk to order, but the machines were out of sanitizer. (I have a small bottle in my purse, so we were able to use some anyway.) So here's this boy putting his hands and mouth all over the stuff that has been touched by who knows whom, and who probably also couldn't use hand sanitizer before they touched it. So gross. Then in the same fast food place, there was one other family there, and it was a little kid and a parent and the kid was coughing up a storm. You had to answer questions before going in, like "Do you have any of these symptoms? Coughing, sneezing, fever, runny nose." And if you have any of them, you aren't allowed in, so these people must have lied to get in. Makes you wonder what goes on in these people's minds.
 

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
People are way more relaxed, in a not so good way this past week. Be prepared when you go back to see lots of touching of things, not just kids. Adults and kids hanging and climbing all over rails. That made me nervous, pre covid. There were several times I evil eyed people in line. Disney is doing great in lines keeping people back but in pathways and exiting rides are the same elbow to elbow it always was. It is almost like the mentality of social distancing only applies when entering a ride. Everything else is green flag racing now. 😑
 

slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
(Am I? The mirror says otherwise!)
We say you are timeless and I'm sure Woody and @TrolleyFollower91 would agree!
Once we were inside, we discovered there were more people in the park than Woody felt was a safe capacity for Disney to handle.
YES!! WE felt this at Thanksgiving! If those crowds were only 35%, those parks can handle a LOT!! I felt like the parks were as packed as they always are Thanksgiving Week. As @DisneyGigi says, we are noticing a LOT more people relaxed, especially here in CO. The vaccine in our state is still only for 70+ but I'm wondering how "safe" WDW will be this year since so many people are no longer caring about themselves and others in this pandemic. I feel like the pandemic trips are just "make sure to look out for yourself." Hubby and I try not to touch anything, always use hand sanitizer, wash hands, stay away from non-masker compliance people (or report them if they are three people ahead of us in line and refusing to wear a mask). Disney is always a risk and this time is no different but I do feel the need to be extra-cautious.
People are way more relaxed, in a not so good way this past week. Be prepared when you go back to see lots of touching of things, not just kids. Adults and kids hanging and climbing all over rails. That made me nervous, pre covid. There were several times I evil eyed people in line. Disney is doing great in lines keeping people back but in pathways and exiting rides are the same elbow to elbow it always was. It is almost like the mentality of social distancing only applies when entering a ride. Everything else is green flag racing now.
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
I'm betting you and Woody avoided touching anything that boy's hands had been on. My favorite experience with covidiots was at a fast food place where they have kiosks to order your food, and a dad was there with a boy about 6 or 7 from the looks of him. The little boy had his mouth open and was running his lips and tongue all over the plastic divider screen between kiosks and the dad didn't say a word to him. I wouldn't have let my kids touch that thing even without a pandemic, not even with fingers. But during a pandemic and with mouths? And the worst thing was that as you entered, you were supposed to spritz hand sanitizer on your hands before you went to the kiosk to order, but the machines were out of sanitizer. (I have a small bottle in my purse, so we were able to use some anyway.) So here's this boy putting his hands and mouth all over the stuff that has been touched by who knows whom, and who probably also couldn't use hand sanitizer before they touched it. So gross. Then in the same fast food place, there was one other family there, and it was a little kid and a parent and the kid was coughing up a storm. You had to answer questions before going in, like "Do you have any of these symptoms? Coughing, sneezing, fever, runny nose." And if you have any of them, you aren't allowed in, so these people must have lied to get in. Makes you wonder what goes on in these people's minds.
We touch nothing in queues (even pre-pandemic).
Your fast food story...:jawdrop:
“Covidiots”.....love this....may have to steal it. 😉


People are way more relaxed, in a not so good way this past week. Be prepared when you go back to see lots of touching of things, not just kids. Adults and kids hanging and climbing all over rails. That made me nervous, pre covid. There were several times I evil eyed people in line. Disney is doing great in lines keeping people back but in pathways and exiting rides are the same elbow to elbow it always was. It is almost like the mentality of social distancing only applies when entering a ride. Everything else is green flag racing now. 😑
Sounds like how the parks always were....sadly.


YES!! WE felt this at Thanksgiving! If those crowds were only 35%, those parks can handle a LOT!! I felt like the parks were as packed as they always are Thanksgiving Week. As @DisneyGigi says, we are noticing a LOT more people relaxed, especially here in CO. The vaccine in our state is still only for 70+ but I'm wondering how "safe" WDW will be this year since so many people are no longer caring about themselves and others in this pandemic. I feel like the pandemic trips are just "make sure to look out for yourself." Hubby and I try not to touch anything, always use hand sanitizer, wash hands, stay away from non-masker compliance people (or report them if they are three people ahead of us in line and refusing to wear a mask). Disney is always a risk and this time is no different but I do feel the need to be extra-cautious.
The percentage figures are always misleading....35% of what? A typical day? A typical day for that time of year? Or 35% of what is the maximum capacity of a park? Because each one of those options will yield a different headcount. With all shows (huge people-eaters) closed, and many restaurants/shops/attractions still closed, the parks ARE more crowded than the “35% capacity” leads one to believe. It’s no wonder you felt the parks were as packed as they usually are at Thanksgiving. They were!!

Disney has very good safety protocols in place but with reduced staff and increased capacity, it isn’t possible to monitor all the selfish, inconsiderate, non-compliant and generally dumb guests who are in the parks. Like you and your DH, we are each responsible for keeping ourselves safe and should be extra cautious....because so many aren’t.
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
We exited Tokelau from the door nearest our room and took the stairs. I have always loved the views from the other side of this longhouse. (Pre-bungalows. Sorry @MickeyCB.)

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I hear you @Tuvalu, I loved looking out at the beach and the water from Moorea, but this is pretty special too!
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This is the patio outside Capt. Cooks. Do you think that party returned for their cups? My bet is on No.
Totally agree! Like I said in my TR, isn't it a shame that you have to explain to adults where their trash goes?!:mad:
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MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
Not pictured is the annoying father/son party directly in front of us. Not only did they disregard the distance markers, the young boy touched and swung EVERY SINGLE CHAIN in the queue.

He also ran his hands over all the interactive elements.
That's both nasty and annoying!
Then....the irony of ironies....Dad made the boy don disposable gloves when they entered the foyer. Yet Dad remained glove-free.
And that's just dumb.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
We touch nothing in queues (even pre-pandemic).
Your fast food story...:jawdrop:
“Covidiots”.....love this....may have to steal it. 😉



Sounds like how the parks always were....sadly.



The percentage figures are always misleading....35% of what? A typical day? A typical day for that time of year? Or 35% of what is the maximum capacity of a park? Because each one of those options will yield a different headcount. With all shows (huge people-eaters) closed, and many restaurants/shops/attractions still closed, the parks ARE more crowded than the “35% capacity” leads one to believe. It’s no wonder you felt the parks were as packed as they usually are at Thanksgiving. They were!!

Disney has very good safety protocols in place but with reduced staff and increased capacity, it isn’t possible to monitor all the selfish, inconsiderate, non-compliant and generally dumb guests who are in the parks. Like you and your DH, we are each responsible for keeping ourselves safe and should be extra cautious....because so many aren’t.
Feel free to steal it...it's not mine anyway. Not sure where I heard it, but it's very fitting.

It's ridiculous how many selfish people there are who don't follow the rules. There was a story in the news this morning about a woman in Belgium who went skiing in Switzerland over Christmas. There were travel advisories for the entire world...no unnecessary travel. She went anyway, left her daughter with her ex-husband, came back and didn't quarantine OR get tested, let her daughter come back to her house immediately. She infected her elementary-school-age daughter, who then went back to school before the mom got results back from her test, that she didn't do prior to the daughter coming back home from her dad's. The daughter took it to school and infected a friend, who went home and gave it to her mom, who is also a teacher, who then took it to HER school. 5000 people now have to quarantine because this one woman just had to go skiing at Christmas and didn't feel like following the rules.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Feel free to steal it...it's not mine anyway. Not sure where I heard it, but it's very fitting.

It's ridiculous how many selfish people there are who don't follow the rules. There was a story in the news this morning about a woman in Belgium who went skiing in Switzerland over Christmas. There were travel advisories for the entire world...no unnecessary travel. She went anyway, left her daughter with her ex-husband, came back and didn't quarantine OR get tested, let her daughter come back to her house immediately. She infected her elementary-school-age daughter, who then went back to school before the mom got results back from her test, that she didn't do prior to the daughter coming back home from her dad's. The daughter took it to school and infected a friend, who went home and gave it to her mom, who is also a teacher, who then took it to HER school. 5000 people now have to quarantine because this one woman just had to go skiing at Christmas and didn't feel like following the rules.

I don’t even want to think of the increase in cases we might have come February break since it it one of the few European countries which has not closed the ski areas. And your post made me look to see whether travelers from Belgium were on the list of mandatory quarantining upon arrival here, but not since before November. In fact, the current list is quite short.
 

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