Trip Report **COMPLETED** 364 Days and 8 Canceled Trips Later !

HI EVERYONE!!! I AM BACK AFTER A VERY LONG ABSENCE FROM THE BOARDS!!! WOOHOO! (sorry to all the trip reports I missed)

There were many days when I did not feel like this day would ever come. I am very good at compartmentalizing my life and hiding my emotions - it’s a bad coping mechanism I learned in residency. However, COVID got to me. Every single day was exhausting. For months and months and months. I think there were periods of time I worked more than I even worked in residency. I could not even feel that sad about not being on vacation because I was so burnt out. AND, I don’t even work in a hospital so I can’t even imagine what those healthcare workers were feeling. For weeks (really months) I did not sleep. I constantly worried about my patients who were sick and after treating/testing my own COVID patients I was terrified I would give it to my family.
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The few times I would go somewhere that felt fun I stressed for weeks after that it was a mistake. I obviously did not plan on going into medicine and having to deal with a pandemic. There was no outlet and we talked about it at work over and over again how none of us could leave or escape because of all the travel restrictions. Even when we were “off” there was no true mental break. I tried to make my YouTube videos and work on my Instagram, but I just wasn’t really into it. I was angry at people who got to go to Disney. I was jealous but I also felt like it was so irresponsible to travel during the big surges. I had way too many patients who got sick after travel so it just made me anxious to see it more than anything. My Mom would constantly tell me she was depressed that she could not be in Disney and I just did not feel the same way. I knew I would be anxious the whole time being there. But…then a ray of light hit in the form of a vaccine. I was so happy to receive my first dose right before Christmas. It was truly the best Christmas gift.
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Then - my Mom was able to get hers too because she works in the dental field. A few weeks after my first shot (and a very depressing holiday season because I was quarantined after a work exposure) one of my co-workers who runs all our COVID stuff told me we could go to Florida since we were both vaccinated (and fully vaccinated before we leave). It was a shock, but we were both so excited! I still was not 100 percent ready to go without doing my research. The UK strain made me super anxious so I studied the numbers, the data, the vaccine efficacy against it etc and I felt like it was OK to go. I also asked all my co-workers and did as much due diligence as I could. Everyone told me go!!

WHO?: The usual....my Mom (Mary) and myself (Megan)
Photo from our last trip before COVID
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When?
February 19 - February 27, 2021 (took me a bit to get this TR started)

Where?
Yacht Club :) Nice AP deal!

February 19, 2021 - Day 1
Our flight was not until a little bit later in the morning, but one of the few things that kept me sane this last year was working out so I kept on my regular schedule and got up at 5 am to work out.
Airport ready!
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Then I had a work meeting at 7 am so I listened to that while waiting for my parents to pick me up!
My meeting went extra long so it lasted the whole drive to the airport, but at least I did not have time to get nervous along the way!
Guys...we were so out of practice for travel. I do not travel lightly and usually my Mom takes some of my stuff but this time she did not since we really did not decide we were officially going until right before the trip. So, both of my suitcases weighed 53 pounds :hilarious:. I was honesty going to pay the fee because I was so embarrassed, but my Mom was like absolutely not so we shuffled some things around. Then I thought TSA pre-check was closed so I took out all my electronics but I actually just missed the sign pointing us to the new location. Lastly, I forgot to take my backpack off when going through security. My Mom and I often said to each other this trip "what are you new?!" which we ended up abbreviating to "WAYN." :happy::joyfull:
Anyway....we eventually made it through security. A lot of stuff at the Buffalo Airport is still closed, but thankfully our usual go to bagel place was still open.
I made us drink emergen-c (and I packed us full of vitamins this whole trip).
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Look how cute this bagel individualized packet is! I am a germaphobe by nature (before it was cool to be one) so this made me giddy :p
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Side note...I took a lot of phone pictures this trip because I got lazy.
Apparently I forgot to take a photo of the actual bagel but a bagel is a bagel!
After our breakfast we headed to the gate. Our plane was already there!
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Squished face from the N95 under my surgical mask :)
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Next up: more travel
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Glad you were finally able to go! I know the last year has been extra hard for those in the medical field, thanks to all of you for the sacrifices you’ve made!

Also when your plane is waiting to land it basically just flies in a circle most the time. Multiple planes will circle in stacks while waiting to land.
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Thank you!!! That is so fascinating !!! Especially when it does not feel like its even moving in circles like that!

Following! And not too late for once. Most importantly though, what you guys do every day, is simply amazing. ❤️


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Aw thank you thats very sweet!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I hear you sister!
Recently retired Internist here. Got very tired of having to do the nightly "covid decontamination chamber"! :rolleyes:
I hope you had a blast at Disney, you deserve it!
Looking forward to following along!
I am lucky I live alone so at least I could just come right in my house but I took so many showers !!!

I'm following along! I'm glad you finally got to go back home!

Thank you :happy:
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Followed along on Instagram so I’m super excited to read your report!
I tested positive for COVID 3 days before Christmas so I feel your pain on a depressing holiday 😭
I don’t know how health care workers have handled this past year! Thank you (& your mom too) for all that you do!!

Oh no!!! The worst timing!!! That was the most miserable Christmas I've ever had but at least I wasn't sick!

Following!! So glad you finally got back!!

Thank you!!!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Following!! Thank you for all of your sacrifices!! I look forward to reading about your well deserved trip! Your first day was making me anxious!😆
Thank you! It was very anxiety provoking but thankfully the rest of the days were much better !

So glad to see you got your vaccines and were able to plan a trip back! Keep staying safe and thank you for all the hard work this past year!

Thank you so much !!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 continued
Oh also I forgot to mention how much we loved the new security! I got buzzed because of my external charger and camera but it was still way more efficient !
We were still rushing to dinner so we took a few quick (and not so great) photos of the new castle decor.
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Then finally made it to our dinner spot -- Liberty Tree Tavern! This was supposed to be our Princess Half Marathon trip (we asked for the refund instead of running it virtually) so of course we kept our usual run weekend dinner spot
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I loved the mobile check in. It was very convenient and I was happy to be able to space out while waiting! It was raining lightly while we were waiting, but we were happy to just take it all in!
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The crowds were very low - probably because of the weather !
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Anyway we were alerted that our table was ready right around the reservation time which was perfect!
I don't know why I took a photo of the drink menu as if we had one :) Just pop for us this meal!
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Next up: LTT continued
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 continued
We were seated at a nice table for 4 so we could spread our stuff out. The temporary COVID spacing between tables was so nice too - especially when as a party of 2 we are usually so close to other people!
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We started off with the declaration salad and rolls. We were SO hungry. That did not help my anxiety throughout the day as I was definitely getting hangry :hilarious: Since we had to rush to even get to Magic Kingdom it ended up being 11 hours since we last ate. Usually I can take or leave the salad since iceberg lettuce has no true nutritional value but I was so happy to eat something :joyfull:
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Then came the good stuff!
Mac and cheese. This can be hit or miss there but it was so good this time!
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Green beans and mashed potatoes
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Turkey, stuffing, pork (which we skipped), and the best part - the pot roast ! I thought about that pot roast a lot in the last year honestly 🤤
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Just in case you wanted to see the gravy and cranberry sauce too
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And of course ooey gooey toffee cake
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Yum! It was a great meal!!! Everything was so delicious !! Made up for all the stress of the day prior to this!

Next up: more MK
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 continued
It was very rainy when we left dinner and frankly a bit cold - even for us Buffalonians - so we decided to ride one thing then head back to the Yacht Club to get settled.
Haunted Mansion was close by with a short wait so we headed there.
I thought I had posed for the photo but guess I did not :joyfull:
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I tried to take some photos after the ride but they turned out weird because of the rain. And kind of creepy. The sky looked so weird.
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On our way out of the park we walked by Peter Pan's Flight. It was closed but I saw some people lining up so we hopped in line on a whim. It opened about 2 minutes after this...for once we had good timing this day!
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It was so fun to end the day with Peter Pan!
Then we really did head out after this - beautiful castle lights !
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Next up: finishing up the day
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 continued
It was still raining but lightly. It was dead at MK and it was open until 10 pm so it was so weird. If we had more energy we would have stayed :)
My photos are terrible but it was so beautiful with all the lights and the rain :inlove:
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Random monorail photo :)
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I was going to take a photo of the train station but it was actually under construction !
We headed to the bus stop and thankfully our bus came quickly!
Back at the Yacht Club we stopped at the desk to change our credit cards around and active our Magic Bands. They said our bands did not work because we did online check in but we were also supposed to check in at the desk?! Does this not defeat the purpose of online check-in?! Anyway - only one Magic Band worked the entire trip (we never stopped to get it fixed) and in the end my Mom's credit card was never actually changed so I guess that was a fruitless endeavor !
After unpacking a bit we decided to take a stroll around the Boardwalk. That is one of our favorite things to do when we stay at a Boardwalk resort - we walk around at least once a day!
It was actually super slippery so we did not make it very far before having to go back to the room to change shoes but at least we found a very convenient door that led right to our room (so we could skip the long indoor walk).
With better shoes on along we went!
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It was a bit sad to see the Boardwalk so empty since a lot of the stuff is closed. It was also weird since the Beach Club is closed except for DVC rooms so all the lights were off in the majority of the rooms!
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I could not leave you all without a light photo could I ?!
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And that was it! After this we headed off the bed!!
Next up: Day 2
 

LadyBelle

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Thank you for everything you and your fellow healthcare workers have gone through this past year +. My niece is going down In February with some of her coworkers in her hospital’s pharmacy.

I am excited to receive my second shot this Thursday. It’s been nerve wracking for me working in the higher education field.

Looking forward to the details after following along in Instagram.
 

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