Pre-Trip I'm booked! Now let's see if it really happens (I'll cross everything even my eyes if I have to)

Hello, this is my first post, first pre-trip, first trip report, and...first trip to WDW.

excited best friends GIF by Mickey Mouse


Many things may get in the way of this trip including the fact that my husband won't know for sure if he is approved for time off until early November. Also 2020. Also everything we seem to get hope up for is snatched away with a snicker these days. So my philosophy is this, if we go it's going to be such a wonderful thing just to get away and enter the magic disney bubble and let the real world fade for a week, if not well I'm right where I started but it will have been an amazing upper to plan and dream of Disney for these last few weeks and I'll have learned a ton for when we can go.

We are booked for the second week of December staying at the CBR and planning for a day in each park with a rest day halfway through. It'll be myself, hubby and 2 sons (6 and 7 now)

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I'm a mom and ER nurse (Northern California) who is functionally burned out and drained from 2020 (just like everyone). I went through the eery quiet of the ER in March and April where we kept waiting for the other shoe to drop then into the steady pace of covid patients.

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Our covid population has steadily declined replaced with the masses of other patients that regularly overwhelm the system. We just got downgraded from purple to pink in our country and so the kids started back to school this week on a hybrid part time schedule (yay!!!).

So I booked the trip using the magic is here room and ticket package and got Monday dec 7th to Sunday the 13th. Its the standard view 5th sleeper and I'm glad I booked because I don't see that option listed anymore under the package deal. I'm thinking to request building 45 or 51 so I be be across the bridge from old port royale but decently close to the skyliner. 2 questions-
1) How do I make a room request. Is it best to be specific with room numbers or just buildings. I am also worried about making a request as we will be coming in very early after a red eye flight and would appreciate an early check in to feel settled and rest.
2) Anyone stay at the CBR and walked to the Riveria to use that skyliner, advantages/disadvantages to requesting a room close to the Riveria skyliner station?

My strategy for choosing the CBR is this, my husband does not share my travel style. He thinks vacations are for rest and relaxation (LoL). I think he would secretly prefer to have a staycation at home to having a trip where he is managed and pushed into various activities. I suffer from fear of missing out and he suffers from my FOMO. I'm enthusiastic about travel, he's enthusiastic about shopping online. CBR seems like a quieter laid back place where we could take some time off from the hectic pace of Disney. The pool looks awesome and the kids would love a pool slide (if it happens to be warm enough to go for). Also skyliner looks amazeballs.

Flight is not yet booked. I'm eyeballing a red-eye from san francisco even though it isn't our home base airport because it would be non-stop which cuts our travel time by at least 4 hours. I'm thinking non stop cuts our exposure to other passengers by bunking with one plane worths possible covid carriers and not 2 planes worth. Maybe at this point I'm splitting hairs 🙄. Also the SFO flight would be a red-eye from 1030pm arriving at 7am the next morning. So this takes away the element where I'm so excited I can't sleep the night before we leave and I think will help us adjust to local time. I am not a morning person but will get up early for Disney it's just an added challenge that it's early plus a loss of 3 hours. My kids have been awesome about wearing their masks for a full 8 hour day time to level up and see how we do for a 6 hour flight while sleeping.

We will take ME to CBR and hopefully chill for the day. We will be jetlagged sleep deprived but happy to be at Disney so I plan to leave things loosey goosey for this day. I figure we'll leave our bags with bell hop and then mobile order our mickey waffles for brekkie 😁. Explore the resort including a nice stroll around CBR maybe nap in a hammock. 😪. If it gets warm enough we could swim. We could take the skyliner over to Epcot and walk over to the beaches resort for lunch or take the bus over to Disney springs for lunch and shopping. I'm hoping Monday lunch time won't be too busy there as the parks will be open. Who knows what will happen with crowds by December anyway as it looks like Desantis is going to let WDW dictate their own capacity schedule as of yesterday's news. Unlike Cali where we can't even open yet. But I trust in Disney as they seem to have done an excellent job so far.

Hopefully our room is ready by 3 and we can settle in and find dinner then get to bed early from exhaustion. Myself and hubby aren't likely to sleep on the flight.

Park #1 Tuesday - first park I'm thinking MK of course. My kids haven't been to Disneyland since they were 2 and 4 and don't have any tangible memories so I'd like to start things off right! Also my older son (7) gets concerned easily when anything gets intense and I'd like to ease him into dark rides an roller coasters. We may not make rope drop depending on how well we time shifted and I don't want to put too much pressure on the family, gotta keep the hubs happy. I'm thinking small world for first ride as it seems with covid cleaning the boat rides load slowest. Also it's as tame as it gets for an indoor dark ride and will ease my chicken little into things. Then the rest of fantasy land is open to us. Barnstormer before seven dwarves to build courage 😁.

Dilemma that those with experience might be able to speak to - my husband will want us to go back for naps daily. From what I've read it's quite a time sap to leave MK and make the round trip to CBR with shortened hours this could rob is of a lot of experience. What's the time frame for turn around half an hour each way? Would it maybe make more sense to stay full day and shorten the day?

Here's what I'm up against. We went to a pumpkin patch this last weekend with the neighbors and the kids had a blast playing in the maze, in the playgrounds, panning for marbles for about 2 hours then we all had lunch and rode the train. By then it was about 1pm and my hubby is ready to go. My response "but we didn't take the hay ride to the pumpkin patch yet, that's the whole point of this" thankfully a neighbor family was very much into going so my husband after slight token grumble went along. It was a wonderful hay ride through old oaks we were dropped off in a pumpkin patch and wandered around admiring pumpkins collected up 3 and were back on the next wagon within 20 min. Hubby stood at the wagon station and watched us. I am nothing if not efficient so when hubby was packing up pumpkins I optimized by hightailing it to the bakery stand so we didn't miss out on treats though we had to eat them at home. (I'm a firm believer atmosphere makes food taste sooo much better..so disney 😁).

I'm wanting to do dinner in the park as the CBR has no sit down option also that who atmosphere making your food taste better thing. Right now I'm thinking liberty tree tavern early dinner to give us flexibility to either leave early if we didn't nap or jump in a line after to get more time if we napped.

bachie GIF by The Bachelor Australia
 

RauVan

Member
Original Poster
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Park #2- Wednesday, Animal Kingdom. Never been before sooooo super excited. I love large open zoos ala Oakland Zoo, San Diego zoo, and have been on safari in S. Africa . While I know this will be like neither of those experiences I'm super excited for this. My plan is to couple a long day park with an easy day park and I'm thinking this should be less busy mid week and a more. Also I'm hoping MK rides will have strengthened chicken littles ride tolerance enough for FOP. However if not hubby and I can switch off. Son #2 (6 year old loves rides and should have no problem here). Lunch reservation Yak and yeti or rainforest?. Again this is a park that might be hard to get to and from however I've seen that with reduced line times people seem to be fulfilled by mid-afternoon. So we can leave a bit early or go back to map and come back and I'll be happy . I'm thinking mt. everest will be too much for my kiddos but you never know. Hubby will probably ride while I watch the offspring.

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Day #3 Rest Day- Not sure if swimming will be an option, disney springs. Maybe mini golf? I'm halfway about doing the character breakfast at Topolinos as we'll be in no hurry and we won't be spending money on a park. I think I'd love it even without the interaction but hubby may balk at the lack of value for the price. What do you guys think? Anyone know if the pirate cruise experience for kids at CBR is open? I'm guessing not but the website only has a phone number for reservation does not say if open or temporarily unavailable. I can always call and check LoL instead of making you all do my dirty work.



Day #4 Friday, park #3- HS. Skyliner from CBR. Initially I had this as our second park on Wednesday because I was guessing it would be less busy than Friday however I'm going with the strategy of pairing a busy park with a less busy park and since I have my heart set on starting at MK, Friday for HS it is. Wow, I am really overthinking this . MMRAR is my must ride for this this trip. My strategy is either to go first thing at rope drop or wait until the evening when the park seem stop be quieting a bit. Worse case is I'll jump in line at the end of the day and send hubby and kids along. Also not sure how much we'll be waiting to try for RotR BG. We'll assess chicken littles tolerance before deciding. This also takes a little street off our timing. Kids are super duper jazzed about slinky dog having heard other kids talk about it. They don't know we're going to WDW yet and I don't think I'm going to tell them ahead of time I love surprise trips being part of the magic. Also the last time they flew chicken little was 1 and #2 was in my belly. They've been wanting to fly on a plane for the longest time now.



I'm thinking 50s dinner for lunch and sci fi for dinner. I'm looking forward to both of these, might be a lot in one day but I like a sit down place to rest my feet.



The boys have not yet seen the star wars movies just Lego Star wars and books so part of our prep I think is star wars movies and don't even get me started on the order for watching the movies in lol

What Are You Talking About Harrison Ford GIF by Star Wars




Other homework viewings-

Pandora

Pirates of the Caribbean (the original)



What are your pre trip movies?
 

RauVan

Member
Original Poster
Day #5 Saturday- Epcot. I'm not sure what to expect here but thought it would be a good wrap up park. Soaring is a must. Kids like frozen. Husband likes beers and brats. Its a win all around. Also this opens later so we can sleep in if we're worn out. Should I make a lunch or dinner reservation here? What's good?



Day #6 we fly out at 6pm so I'm thinking we'll leave CBR by 230 or 3pm. Should we try for another park before? I'm not sure so I think I'm leaving this to fate. If we want more time in park and the day is open we'll add it. This option is nice for my FOMO if there's something that feels unfulfilled I can sneak it in before we leave.

Okay so the best laid plans and all that..... We'll see how this stacks up against reality. Today I'm going to reserve our park days. Only 9 days to making advanced dining reservations! I'm going to see if i can embed the countdown clock in my signature, 68 days to go
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RauVan

Member
Original Poster
I am a bit heart broken but think that at this point I will cancel our vacation scheduled to start in 14 days. (Understatement of the year, I'm a mess). I think Disney is doing an amazing job at distancing, masking, and cleaning. I told my husband I feel safer going to Disney then I do going to work. However the infection rates at home are starting to skyrocket and my hospital is becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the positive numbers the last few days I can see the writing on the wall for how busy it's going to be in my department in 7 days time. And Thanksgiving is only going to increase our patient size. All of this is increasing my risk of catching this thing and I would be devastated to find out I was responsible for flying while contagious. I have absolutely no judgement on those that are going and will continue to read your trip reports as a shining light of hope. I just wanted to say thanks for all the trip reports that are here they have really been my light at the end of the tunnel during some tough days.
 

disneyfan28

Member
I am a bit heart broken but think that at this point I will cancel our vacation scheduled to start in 14 days. (Understatement of the year, I'm a mess). I think Disney is doing an amazing job at distancing, masking, and cleaning. I told my husband I feel safer going to Disney then I do going to work. However the infection rates at home are starting to skyrocket and my hospital is becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the positive numbers the last few days I can see the writing on the wall for how busy it's going to be in my department in 7 days time. And Thanksgiving is only going to increase our patient size. All of this is increasing my risk of catching this thing and I would be devastated to find out I was responsible for flying while contagious. I have absolutely no judgement on those that are going and will continue to read your trip reports as a shining light of hope. I just wanted to say thanks for all the trip reports that are here they have really been my light at the end of the tunnel during some tough days.
Sorry to hear you have to cancel your trip. We have had to cancel 2 trips so I feel your pain! We are now booked for May 2021 so fingers crossed that trip actually happens! Also, thanks for your service, you health care workers are true HEROES!
 

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member
I am a bit heart broken but think that at this point I will cancel our vacation scheduled to start in 14 days. (Understatement of the year, I'm a mess). I think Disney is doing an amazing job at distancing, masking, and cleaning. I told my husband I feel safer going to Disney then I do going to work. However the infection rates at home are starting to skyrocket and my hospital is becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the positive numbers the last few days I can see the writing on the wall for how busy it's going to be in my department in 7 days time. And Thanksgiving is only going to increase our patient size. All of this is increasing my risk of catching this thing and I would be devastated to find out I was responsible for flying while contagious. I have absolutely no judgement on those that are going and will continue to read your trip reports as a shining light of hope. I just wanted to say thanks for all the trip reports that are here they have really been my light at the end of the tunnel during some tough days.
So sorry you had to cancel your trip, but thank you for your hard work on the front line! We have cancelled two trips to WDW this year, so I definitely feel your pain (and yes...tears were shed both times much to S's chagrin). We are hoping to possibly schedule for April 2021, but nothing is on the books yet because it would break my heart to have to reschedule again.
 

RauVan

Member
Original Poster
So sorry you had to cancel your trip, but thank you for your hard work on the front line! We have cancelled two trips to WDW this year, so I definitely feel your pain (and yes...tears were shed both times much to S's chagrin). We are hoping to possibly schedule for April 2021, but nothing is on the books yet because it would break my heart to have to reschedule again.
We are also thinking April or May, good luck in your planning. I hope we bother have magical spring trips. Maybe the water parks will be open!
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
I am a bit heart broken but think that at this point I will cancel our vacation scheduled to start in 14 days. (Understatement of the year, I'm a mess). I think Disney is doing an amazing job at distancing, masking, and cleaning. I told my husband I feel safer going to Disney then I do going to work. However the infection rates at home are starting to skyrocket and my hospital is becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the positive numbers the last few days I can see the writing on the wall for how busy it's going to be in my department in 7 days time. And Thanksgiving is only going to increase our patient size. All of this is increasing my risk of catching this thing and I would be devastated to find out I was responsible for flying while contagious. I have absolutely no judgement on those that are going and will continue to read your trip reports as a shining light of hope. I just wanted to say thanks for all the trip reports that are here they have really been my light at the end of the tunnel during some tough days.
This just sucks so bad. Don't even know what to say for you. You're correct that Disney is safer than working in a hospital, but you still have to get there and maybe by the time you get back have to quarantine?
And I have no idea if it will make you feel better or not, but in the beginning of your trip report you mentioned about short lines. That is no longer the case at all, we waited 70 minutes for SDD 3 weeks ago. Also they just announced that after the first of the year they are bringing park hopping back which will be a plus for waiting.
Stay safe and I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
I'm so sorry you had to cancel your trip, but I think it is the right thing right now. I am a retired RN, and our cases have spiked alot in the past few weeks. It is so bad that the hospital is trying to get clinic nurses to work at the hospital! (I can't work because I retired because of a disability:( Some retired nurses are going back to work to help out.
I know what a drain this must be (old ICU nurse), and I hope you get to go back to WDW April or May. You never know, that might work out better if more is opened up at WDW.
AS far as your husband? My husband likes to go fast to the attractions, not stopping to see what is between. I have to remind him that there is more than rides. I like to take in the little details that disney does so well. He just retired and is now taking more time to check things out and go slower, so Yah!
As far as naps? We do go back to our resort and rest or nap mid-day. We are older and can't go all day like we used to. We find it refreshing to rest up for the evening. However, now with shorter hours that would put a real crimp in those plans! I bet that in April or May, the hours will be increased.
Let us know what happens with your disney trip; if anyone deserves one, it is You:)
 

RauVan

Member
Original Poster
So sorry you had to cancel your trip, but thank you for your hard work on the front line! We have cancelled two trips to WDW this year, so I definitely feel your pain (and yes...tears were shed both times much to S's chagrin). We are hoping to possibly schedule for April 2021, but nothing is on the books yet because it would break my heart to have to reschedule again.

I'm so sorry you had to cancel your trip, but I think it is the right thing right now. I am a retired RN, and our cases have spiked alot in the past few weeks. It is so bad that the hospital is trying to get clinic nurses to work at the hospital! (I can't work because I retired because of a disability:( Some retired nurses are going back to work to help out.
I know what a drain this must be (old ICU nurse), and I hope you get to go back to WDW April or May. You never know, that might work out better if more is opened up at WDW.
AS far as your husband? My husband likes to go fast to the attractions, not stopping to see what is between. I have to remind him that there is more than rides. I like to take in the little details that disney does so well. He just retired and is now taking more time to check things out and go slower, so Yah!
As far as naps? We do go back to our resort and rest or nap mid-day. We are older and can't go all day like we used to. We find it refreshing to rest up for the evening. However, now with shorter hours that would put a real crimp in those plans! I bet that in April or May, the hours will be increased.
Let us know what happens with your disney trip; if anyone deserves one, it is You:)
Thanks for the encouragement. Stay safe :)
the jungle book hug gif GIF by Disney
 

Sbk1234

Well-Known Member
As others have said, I'm sorry you had to postpone your trip. But thank you for all you're doing on the front lines! You are a hero!
 

pixie225

Well-Known Member
I am a bit heart broken but think that at this point I will cancel our vacation scheduled to start in 14 days. (Understatement of the year, I'm a mess). I think Disney is doing an amazing job at distancing, masking, and cleaning. I told my husband I feel safer going to Disney then I do going to work. However the infection rates at home are starting to skyrocket and my hospital is becoming overwhelmed. Looking at the positive numbers the last few days I can see the writing on the wall for how busy it's going to be in my department in 7 days time. And Thanksgiving is only going to increase our patient size. All of this is increasing my risk of catching this thing and I would be devastated to find out I was responsible for flying while contagious. I have absolutely no judgement on those that are going and will continue to read your trip reports as a shining light of hope. I just wanted to say thanks for all the trip reports that are here they have really been my light at the end of the tunnel during some tough days.
I feel your pain. We have now cancelled our Disney trip 3x. Were supposed to go in May, moved that to August, moved that to November, and have now booked for May 2021, hoping a vaccine will be distributed to us by then. If not we will move it again. Stay safe and healthy.
 

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