Trip Report THE ONE WITH THE ENHANCED CLEANING AND PHYSICAL DISTANCING, August 2020

Hello!!
Boy it feels good to be back here and actually have something to sayšŸ˜‚

Like many of you, I had a few trips,
four actually, that were canceled because of
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I was not going to let my August trip get canceled as well. But....
My original plans were to drive my oldest back to school in south Florida then spend a few days in the World. I invited my nephew as a 17th birthday gift (he loves Star Wars and Disney) and my niece as her college graduation gift. I booked a room cash (Riverside 5th sleeper) expecting to switch it to DVC, using the leftover points I would have after booking February. I never switched it to DVC and then I wasnt allowed to borrow points but Riverside was closed and my sister in law wanted to go but I couldnt add her on to the reservation then NY decided we had to quarantine two weeks so my SIL decided she would not be going and neither would her two children. My son couldnt find a suitable apartment, I couldnt give my boss dates I would be gone but still I sat on that Riverside reservation. I was curious to see what Disney would do with it.
I called Disney, they switched the reservation to CBR. That did not excite me. But I still wanted to go.

My youngest had a lacrosse camp in North Carolina he was scheduled to attend so I asked my middle son, AJ if he wanted to go to Disney World for a long weekend. (He had been working a lot without any time off so I felt he needed a small vacay). I told him to invite a friend then quickly realized I cant stand most of his friends (like the one who reported him to the state as a person he had contact with after the friend tested positive. Yep, threw him under the bus with no warning.) But I adore AJā€™s GF so suggested he invite her. (My husband and her Dad used to work together so we have known her forever. We were at her parentā€™s weddingšŸ˜‚)

I canceled CBR and booked the following weekend at Pop instead. Then my youngestā€™s lax camp got canceled so we asked him to come with...asked the hubs too but he would just be getting back from moving my oldest into his new, and really nice, suitable even, house, down in south Florida so he said no thanks.

But 4 of us in a Pop room??? I wasnt convinced. We like to breakfast in the room. But did Pop have microwaves in the room? Or available in the food court? I doubted they had one available in the food court during these covid times but I called. And I was told ā€œyes, the microwave is availableā€. I still doubted that so I PMā€™d @ajrwdwgirl
who was at Pop. She and Brad were so kind, they scoped out the food court (no microwave) and asked the front desk if they had them to borrow (maybe).

Back to the Disney website, SSR was not that much more per night than Pop (nice AP discount!) plus I would be saving breakfast money, kids will love the pool and I love the easy access to Disney Springs. (Plus with parks closing so early that means more time in the room)

Done! (After texting @riverside , who was at SSR to find out exactly what was open and what was not.

The crew
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on the way to the airport.

edit to add that I know the above post is a jumbled mess of thoughts and run on sentences but that is how it happened. It all kept coming. One thing after another in true 2020 style.
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Saturday August 28

In 2020 style I got this the night before departure.
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Someone knew I was leaving and wasnt happy.
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Big yard and he curls up behind the bbq. Dumb dogšŸ¾

Anyhoo....our flight was at 9:00am. I woke up a little after 5 to get in the shower. Ant, the hubs, got up and went to get us (and a friend) some bagels. We picked K, the GF, about 6:20 and were on our way to JFK.
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This one is a little better.

I have a ton of flight vouchers /credits whatever you want to call them on 4 different airlines. 4 canceled Disney trips plus an Easter trip (at Easter prices) to visit my son and bring his gpa to a game. First I checked Southwest because it is 15 minutes away but they must be on crack. Flights were close to $400...ONE WAY!
Jet Blue was $54 each way. A little more when I added Dre last minute but still cheap.
So we made the drive to JFK, and made it in 40 minutes. No traffic. None. No one commutes into the city anymore.

I have pre check so AJ and K got it as well. However, Dre did not because his ticket was purchased separately and after ours. No biggie as wait times were minimal. Like 7 minutes tops. We got some drinks and headed to our gate where we ate our egg sandwiches.

They board the airplane from the back forward which is how it was done in the old days and should still be done in my opinion. It just makes more sense. As you enter the plane you are encouraged to take a small packet which contains a ā€œcloroxā€ wipe for your seat, tray table etc and some hand sanitizer. Nice touch...I always bring wipes and wipe down everything. Even pre Rona.


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The middle seats were open. When I booked I paid extra to pick my seat because I had the kids with me. Normally I would not.

There is no beverage service. No pillows. No blankets. At $54 (plus the seat) who cares. The TV worked, although they had a terrible selection of movies. Luckily HP is always on somewhere, and I had a book.
They do give you this:
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Which contains this:
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Nothing special.
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
You originally booked at POR....isn't that more expensive than CBR? That's not a very good trade! We booked at CBR the last two trips because it was the least expensive of the Moderates. I don't think I'd be happy if I booked more a more expensive resort and was downgraded either! Did they reimburse you for the discrepency in price? I like CBR just fine, but I'd love to try a different resort, and if I'd booked a different one, I wouldn't be happy to be moved to one that wasn't as nice.
They did refund me the difference. I was really hoping for an upgrade upgrade. Like @fractal @Mainahman and @coachwnh got.
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member


Ya'll are killing me. Knowing you've all been down there and here I I'm checking every hour for new trip reports for the past few weeks. Just waiting...... ;)

Glad everything worked out, I'm excited to hear about Saratoga. I've debated staying there a few times
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member


Ya'll are killing me. Knowing you've all been down there and here I I'm checking every hour for new trip reports for the past few weeks. Just waiting...... ;)

Glad everything worked out, I'm excited to hear about Saratoga. I've debated staying there a few times

Also interested in peoples thoughts on Saratoga. From videos, it made my wife feel claustrophobic. it was a big reason we bought at OKW.
 

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
How is school btw? Are you home and doing it virtual? On campus?
So far so good. We started virtually on the 19th and are planning to return to campus on the 21st, though Iā€™m not confident that weā€™ll be going back. Things arenā€™t too good here in SC, especially in the upstate where Clemson is located. Unfortunately, Clemson doesnā€™t care about the health and safety of their students and faculty. The main reason that theyā€™re pushing for a return to campus is so they can make $$$ from the freshman who will be living in on-campus housing. (Our president is just like Bob Chapek, and thatā€™s no compliment lol) Luckily, students have the option to remain online for the semester, and thatā€™s what Iā€™ve chosen to do. It wasnā€™t an easy decision by any means, but itā€™s what works the best for me right now.

Hope things are good at Xā€™s school.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
A @Darstarr TR?

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Woo Hoo!! Iā€™m here!!
I totally busted out laughing when you said that you canā€™t stand your sons friends!! The way you put it was hysterical!! Hope you enjoyed SSR as much as we didā€”minus the wanna be food court!!

This is why @Darstarr is my hero - she is not afraid to be honest about her kids.

By the way, I see Dre is his usual smiley self šŸ˜‰
 

dizfan917

Well-Known Member
As shocking as it may sound... neither Kevin nor I drink beer (EXCEPT the Schoferhofer Grapefruit or Pomegranate ones in Germany - the Kool Aid of beers...) and we're both borned and raised in WI.

We do eat too much CHEESE, though... šŸ§€ :geek:

Can't wait to tag along. We'll be in Congress Park @ Saratoga Springs on Saturday!! At least, I REQUESTED Congress Park...
 

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