Hello everyone! We got back from our trip last week, and as you can all surmise, it didn't include much Disney 
!
First, let me introduce us in case you don't know us.
Me (Amy) and my husband Brian.
Our kids, Logan (17), Lily (15), and Owen (12).
Our original plan was to leave our house early in the morning on Tuesday, June 2 and spend 2 night at Staybridge Suites which is a partner hotel for SeaWorld and included a free tour in the park and free Quick Queue passes for our visit to SeaWorld on June 3. We were then set to check in to Caribbbean Beach Resort on June 4th and attend the Villains After Hours on June 5th. We had ADRs at 'Ohana, Boma, Beaches and Cream, and Whispering Canyon Cafe. Then we would transfer to Hard Rock Hotel on June 7th to spend the 8-11 at the Universal Parks and drive home on the 12th.
Well, we all know what happened to those plans!! First we learned that Disney wouldn't be open and we were forced to cancel our CBR stay. Then Universal announced that they would be opening on the 5th, and, finally, SeaWorld announced they were opening on the 11th. We went back and forth for quite awhile on whether we would go or not. We finally decided to give it a try because we all just needed a break! We decided to move Universal up a day so we could fit SeaWorld in at the end of the trip since they wouldn't be open for our original day. Our new plan: leave early morning on June 6 and drive to Hard Rock to start our Universal days on the 7th through the 10th, switch to Staybridge Suites and visit Disney Springs on the 11th, visit SeaWorld on the 12th, and drive home on the 13th. Still didn't work out that way, but we'll eventually get to that!!
I know that Universal and Disney World are two totally different beasts, but I am writing this in the hopes that something we experienced or learned at Universal will help some of you on your Disney trips that may still happen this year! (Sorry to the CKC peeps that have already heard some of this!)
Ok, let's get started!
We left Dayton, Ohio at about 1 am and made it to Hard Rock at about 4pm. We stopped at a Chick fil A in southern Tennessee for breakfast. The dining room was not open, so we had to eat in the car which we totally expected. We made it to the Florida Welcome Center at lunch time and ate a picnic style lunch that we had packed. Rest stops were about 50/50 with people wearing masks as compared to not. We always had ours on!
Check in at Hard Rock was super easy! You had to have a mask on to enter and they check your temperature right away and give you a wrist band that is good for the whole day so you don't have to have your temp taken each time you enter a park or your hotel. The color of the band changes every day. They had hand sanitizer in lots of places throughout the hotel and they had signs requesting only one party in the elevators at a time. The actual check in was the same except they had plexiglass between you and the team member and they didn't give you a paper map. They did not have daily housekeeping, but they text you shortly after check in and you can ask for anything you need by texting back and they take care of it for you.
We arrived in time to run to CityWalk for dinner. Security was the same to get in other than needing a mask and the hand sanitizer available. They did actually go through my bag instead of just running it through the machine which I thought was funny since that involves touching multiple people's things without changing gloves in between (we later found out that the scanner was not working). Most people kept masks on, but we did see some with them hanging from an ear or pulled down under their chin.
I love the walk over from Hard Rock! We took a quick break off the main pathway to get a pic without masks:
We hit NBC Sports Grill and Brew for dinner. We sat at a foosball table and got to play while waiting on dinner. We got a soft pretzel to share for an appetizer and it was huge! (and delicious!!) They give you a bag to put your masks in to set on the table and the wait staff always wear masks. It was very enjoyable!
We then turned in early to prepare for our first day in the park!
! First, let me introduce us in case you don't know us.
Me (Amy) and my husband Brian.
Our kids, Logan (17), Lily (15), and Owen (12).
Our original plan was to leave our house early in the morning on Tuesday, June 2 and spend 2 night at Staybridge Suites which is a partner hotel for SeaWorld and included a free tour in the park and free Quick Queue passes for our visit to SeaWorld on June 3. We were then set to check in to Caribbbean Beach Resort on June 4th and attend the Villains After Hours on June 5th. We had ADRs at 'Ohana, Boma, Beaches and Cream, and Whispering Canyon Cafe. Then we would transfer to Hard Rock Hotel on June 7th to spend the 8-11 at the Universal Parks and drive home on the 12th.
Well, we all know what happened to those plans!! First we learned that Disney wouldn't be open and we were forced to cancel our CBR stay. Then Universal announced that they would be opening on the 5th, and, finally, SeaWorld announced they were opening on the 11th. We went back and forth for quite awhile on whether we would go or not. We finally decided to give it a try because we all just needed a break! We decided to move Universal up a day so we could fit SeaWorld in at the end of the trip since they wouldn't be open for our original day. Our new plan: leave early morning on June 6 and drive to Hard Rock to start our Universal days on the 7th through the 10th, switch to Staybridge Suites and visit Disney Springs on the 11th, visit SeaWorld on the 12th, and drive home on the 13th. Still didn't work out that way, but we'll eventually get to that!!
I know that Universal and Disney World are two totally different beasts, but I am writing this in the hopes that something we experienced or learned at Universal will help some of you on your Disney trips that may still happen this year! (Sorry to the CKC peeps that have already heard some of this!)
Ok, let's get started!
We left Dayton, Ohio at about 1 am and made it to Hard Rock at about 4pm. We stopped at a Chick fil A in southern Tennessee for breakfast. The dining room was not open, so we had to eat in the car which we totally expected. We made it to the Florida Welcome Center at lunch time and ate a picnic style lunch that we had packed. Rest stops were about 50/50 with people wearing masks as compared to not. We always had ours on!
Check in at Hard Rock was super easy! You had to have a mask on to enter and they check your temperature right away and give you a wrist band that is good for the whole day so you don't have to have your temp taken each time you enter a park or your hotel. The color of the band changes every day. They had hand sanitizer in lots of places throughout the hotel and they had signs requesting only one party in the elevators at a time. The actual check in was the same except they had plexiglass between you and the team member and they didn't give you a paper map. They did not have daily housekeeping, but they text you shortly after check in and you can ask for anything you need by texting back and they take care of it for you.
We arrived in time to run to CityWalk for dinner. Security was the same to get in other than needing a mask and the hand sanitizer available. They did actually go through my bag instead of just running it through the machine which I thought was funny since that involves touching multiple people's things without changing gloves in between (we later found out that the scanner was not working). Most people kept masks on, but we did see some with them hanging from an ear or pulled down under their chin.
I love the walk over from Hard Rock! We took a quick break off the main pathway to get a pic without masks:
We hit NBC Sports Grill and Brew for dinner. We sat at a foosball table and got to play while waiting on dinner. We got a soft pretzel to share for an appetizer and it was huge! (and delicious!!) They give you a bag to put your masks in to set on the table and the wait staff always wear masks. It was very enjoyable!
We then turned in early to prepare for our first day in the park!
!
