February 2021 Trip - CoViD Thoughts?

We have a trip planned for February 4-8, 2021. We do not have APs. I am not concerned about the covid risks, just purely interested in opinions as to the value of actually paying for regular park admission with the covid restrictions in place. I am not a fan of the idea of wearing a mask in the parks all day.

I think Runaway Railway is the only attraction that will be new to us so there is nothing major drawing us to the parks. With the money saved on admission we could splurge on dining and check out some other Orlando attractions.

 

@ExploringWDW , I do not want to tell you not to go. I will tell you my experience from August though and let you use it (or not) to help your decision.

The biggest reason we did go in August is we had to get Amanda to school, had passes and "free" hotel with DVC.

First off, wearing a mask EVERYWHERE was weird, AND annoying. It was in the August heat and you are going in the way more manageable month of February. We actually both (Jen and I) kept feeling like we should not have gone.

We did not pay for anything but food and souvenirs. The cost of our passes was already taken care of the fact we bought them back in 2019. Both Jen and Amanda got extended thru early September and mine is still active. In August the crowds were lower than they are these days and we waited very little time for anything BUT Runaway Railway. I did LOVE that ride, but 2 trips to DHS got me one that 2 times, and we failed at Rise 1 of the 2 times. Those rules have changed since, as I'm sure you are aware.

Waiting in a queue was probably one of the best things about this new world we live in. Having 6-10 feet of space in front of and behind you was fantastic. Never once did I get angry at some kid or their parents ignoring said kid as they walked/bumped into me LOL.

It was extremely strange to be back at the hotel each night near 8 pm and not still in a park waiting for a show. There are no shows to speak of, again, as you are very well aware.

If I had the chance to change whether or not I did go in August I would do it again because the crowds were the smallest I have ever seen and I got to do plenty of attractions. Would I do it if I had to pay for park passes, I don't think I would.

We also have not decided if we are going to get passes for the summer of 2021, even though we are going to probably do a few days or week before getting Amanda set up for the fall semester and just relax at the resort.

For what it is worth, my wife would not do it again.

I know that @Tim, @RedOctober25 and @Nancy AK have been in October and November. Maybe they can give 2 cents?

 

I would definitely do it again... but I also have an AP. If I had to pay for the tickets outright... I’d have to think about it a bit. However, I’m more of a relaxed park-goer... in so much as I’m not necessarily there to ride every ride and see every show. I’m not there from open to close (though with the new park hours i feasibly could be). So I’d probably still go if I had to pay for tickets because it wouldn’t be too much different than usual.

As for the parks themselves... it took a bit to get used to the lines. I mean I’m used to waiting in lines for the rides, but not for snack kiosks and quick serve restaurants and to get into the stores. I think the line to get into the World of Disney Store (at the Springs) was the second longest line I was in my entire trip (Smugglers Run being the longest).

Now to the masks... other than them getting a bit moisture soaked from breathing, they didn’t bother me as much as I thought they would. Back home, at most, I wear a mask for an hour at a time (without taking off for a break). But I made sure I had two backup fabric masks and a few disposable masks that I carried in my backpack. I swapped out my masks whenever needed and then washed them when I did laundry every few days. I did utilize the “relief zones” a couple of times in Galaxy’s Edge when the sun was beating down (but mainly because there was no place to sit in the shade otherwise).

Finally, regarding the hours... just look at it as more time to spend at the pool bar back at your resort.


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We went October 20-26th and it was hot, mid 90s and high humidity and it was warm wearing a mask, but got use to it. There were a lot of CS places not opened, and it was mobile order only. Crowds were very low, actually really nice not bumping elbows. Lines were long but went quick,. Now for the bad, no parades but they did have these pop up cavalcades, they pretty good. No fireworks, and Frozen was the only show open. You have to pull your own luggage and bring it on the Magical Express.

We’re going back March 16-23, and going to Universal May 9-14(we just bought annual passes).

 

Wish you could have told that to the kid behind me as I went thru the queue for The Seas w/ Nemo. I was ready to turn a corner quickly then throw the ECV into reverse and run him over. The queue was basically walk-on and he was on my bumper the entire time (while the parents were at least six feet back... but didn’t tell the kid to stay back).


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I've decided not to go so I stayed home, therefore I am the "Control" subject.

I only had to wear my mask when I went food shopping or to the hardware store as we are busying ourselves with fixing stuff in our house. There were no lines in my kitchen unless you count Buddy and Satch at meal time. Those two were not wearing masks and did not observe social distance rules. They were also freely giving me dirty looks when I had food and I wouldn't share with them.
So Rude!

There were lines when I went to go pick up food (I'm too cheap to use Doordash or any of those other delivery services). The CM's at the restaurants just throw the food in my trunk and then I pull over to check my order. If it's wrong I strap on my masks and go full "Karen" on them. I tip 20% so they better not forget the BBQ sauce or it's the wrath of the Goddess on their sorry asses.

The only fireworks at my house are when someone doesn't clean up after themselves in the kitchen. Karen comes out and goes at the guilty party with a New Year's Eve level of pyro.

The shows at my house are REALLY boring. Mostly they consist of my husband droning on and on in meetings and cursing at his computer. He uses a lot of profanity so he's not safe for children. This scene is nothing like the Steve Jobs scene in Spaceship Earth. I'm thinking of asking for a refund on my annual pass. Wait, I already did that.

The transportation has really taken a dive when I had to drive my husband's car when mine was in the body shop. Some a-hole clipped my bumper ($2,600 worth). I refer to my husband's car as the "Mobile trash pit". I tried to talk Township officials into building a gondola system between my house and the supermarket but they hung up on me.

The beds at my house are comfortable but the housekeeping leaves a lot to be desired. I keep waiting for the housekeeper to come but she is AWOL. The good news is that there are no room security checks, unless you count the dogs losing their minds and barking their heads off every time Amazon delivers a package.

The other guests at my house eat up all the good snacks before I can get to them. I have a "College Boy" at my home that eats a giant bowl of ice cream every night. Thankfully he is not noisy but he does use a lot of bandwidth on the WIFI.

In somewhat alarming news we do not get the "Disney Must Do's " with Stacey Aswad on our TV. We do get Disney+ so at least that's something. The fact that her actual last name is Ass-Wad makes her a superstar in my book. The only must do's we have here are laundry and running the restaurant for the college boy.

The pool at my home is closed and possibly frozen over. I discovered that this has nothing to do with Anna and Elsa. It snowed here and no one wanted to build a snowman. I can't believe I am paying full price to stay here and the entertainment is so lame!

If I had to do Covid all over again I would not do it. It's not worth the boredom but we are saving a ton of money by staying home. We basically took the vacation fund and we are donating it to food banks each month. The only good thing about staying here is that the house is decorated for the holidays and it looks like Christmas threw up. There is Christmas crap everywhere at this resort!

~Joanie

 

@Joanie Eddis-Koch, I love your humor!

 

Here you go... just play this thru YouTube on your smart tv.




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this is the first calendar year for me without a disney trip since1996, i am booked for pixelmania, but that is the soonest i would go, without shows, parades and fireworks it just hasn't much appeal to me, it's great adventure at a higher price. so no, i wouldn't go

 

We have cancelled our February trip, mainly because of the travel restrictions that I'd imagine would still be in effect a month from now, but also because of everything everyone here mentioned. The numbers on the bank statements have skyrocketed with a year off from WDW and DCL, no sense wasting that on a diminished experience.

We were able to get everything back from our reservations, both airfare (SW points) and DVC. Only problem now is using our 35 banked 2019 points before June 2021. We might do a Hilton Head or Vero Beach stay for a few days closer to June. The DVC "bank statement" will look real nice for 2021 as well.

Thanks for everyone's input!

Any DVC-ers ever been to Vero?

 

i haven't been to vero, but given i have seen photos and talked with many who have been there, i would much prefer hilton head over vero. vero is a beach house, and since i am a pool person, not a greasy, sand coated sunburned french fry, i think there is a lot more to do at hilton head, including renting bicycles for length of stay and miles of riding, including the beaches

 

I drove by the Vero Beach DVC and went into the parking lot, so I am an expert on Vero Beach. Karl would not let me out of the car to go in and ask for a tour.

I was not impressed, especially with the parking lot, which was the only thing I saw. I'll take Ocean City NJ over Vero Beach DVC.

~Signed, an EXPERT on Vero beach.

 

I’m not a Vero Beach DVC Expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once... that qualifies me, right?


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Why yes, yes it does!

 

LOL! Yes it does!!!

For what it is worth, I have stayed at a Knights Inn, is that lower than Vero?

 

What's their parking lot like? That's the deal breaker for me.

 

@RedOctober25, you are obviously highly qualified, yet you offer no thoughts?

As for @Joanie Eddis-Koch and @gary, I always take their advice very seriously. However, since they live in Bizarro World, we do the complete opposite of whatever they say. So we booked Vero Beach for May 24-27.

We stayed at Hilton Head a few years back in mid-March. The resort was very nice, but the beach house was a drive from the resort. Had it not been for the cold and wind we would have spent some significant time enjoying the beach.

We will combine this with a trip to see my parents in Murrels Inlet, SC and go by car. Vero is close enough to WDW in case we want to add a day or two there as well, or even just make a day trip. With Covid my parents have some serious cabin fever and it sounds like they might even join us in Florida.

We have always wanted to do some Florida attractions other than WDW but with APs it never really happened. Now that we are without APs this is a good opportunity to check out some other Florida offerings. It's about an hour drive from Vero to Port Canaveral, all on A1A, so that could be a nice day trip.

If anyone has any recommendations for stuff to do in the Vero area, please share.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

see i found the beach house very nice at hilton, there is a shuttle from the resort , i believe on hourly headway. and we always have gone in either mid may or mid october, so it hasn't been cold or windy. plus i love riding a bicycle, absolutely my favorite physical activity, and you can ride all over hilton head on off road paths