CDC changing requirements tomorrow...

[AdamsMum]

Just rescheduled my test for day before within 24 hours. Let's hope nothing changes between now and Thursday. I don't know if this is all worth it, I have had so much anxiety in the last month. I thought when I booked my resort reservation back in January, we'd be well on our way out of this mess. So much for positive thinking. If I have to cancel within one day, I lose the cost of my flight, and my DVC points go into holding. It is what it is, right?

 

[podgirl]

Just rescheduled my test for day before within 24 hours. Let's hope nothing changes between now and Thursday. I don't know if this is all worth it, I have had so much anxiety in the last month. I thought when I booked my resort reservation back in January, we'd be well on our way out of this mess. So much for positive thinking. If I have to cancel within one day, I lose the cost of my flight, and my DVC points go into holding. It is what it is, right?

You are definitely not alone. Planning a trip right now is not for the faint of heart! I'm back to being on the fence about our Christmas trip but my husband is like, we might as well go. I think we will be living with Covid for a long time, so as long as we're vaccinated, we might as well plan to keep moving forward with our lives. I keep trying to remember all the travel difficulties I've dealt with over the years (being in a bus crash in Syria, getting dropping off in the middle of the night at the wrong airport terminal in Egypt, staying in a dodgy hostel in India) and I try to give myself a pep talk that we shall get through this too.

 

[Madame]

Just rescheduled my test for day before within 24 hours. Let's hope nothing changes between now and Thursday. I don't know if this is all worth it, I have had so much anxiety in the last month. I thought when I booked my resort reservation back in January, we'd be well on our way out of this mess. So much for positive thinking. If I have to cancel within one day, I lose the cost of my flight, and my DVC points go into holding. It is what it is, right?

Your DVC points are already in holding, but are at least usable 60 days out until the end of your UY as long as you cancel at least the day before

 

[AdamsMum]

Your DVC points are already in holding, but are at least usable 60 days out until the end of your UY as long as you cancel at least the day before

Yeah, good luck getting a reservation within 60 days. But thanks for the support.

 

[Madame]

Yeah, good luck getting a reservation within 60 days. But thanks for the support.

Definitely. You *can* do it. It takes lightning reflexes, nerves of steel and willingness to do nothing but refresh that page for hours… & hours lol. Oh yes, and you must be willing to take an SSR 1 bd preferred

 

[AdamsMum]

Definitely. You *can* do it. It takes lightning reflexes, nerves of steel and willingness to do nothing but refresh that page for hours… & hours lol. Oh yes, and you must be willing to take an SSR 1 bd preferred

Well, I knew the risks going in, but I chose to Disneyfy (does that look like a word?) my outlook. Here's hoping it goes well for me in the end.

 

[Starwind]

Thank you! It’s crazy to me how the media is reporting inaccurate information. I was listening to a radio talk show for a few minutes last night, the host usually reports everything in an accurate, level headed way and she kept saying it’s 24 hrs (versus 72 hrs before which it wasn’t), how you can’t get a test result now as there are few places in Ontario that give them under 24 hrs unless you pay $350 and how she’s canceled her own trip to Disney as a result of these changes.
I don’t get it, but almost all outlets reporting this wrong.
I always go to the source in this case CDC and of course these boards I looked it up last night but fell asleep lol.
Does not see anything that says it’s for land border (yet) and it does say 1 day as opposed to 24 hrs.

I think part of the problem is that during the press backgrounder briefing from the White House Wednesday night, the officials said it was "24 hours". They were explicit on that. The transcript of the backgrounder is available on the white house website.

Media then reported based on that backgrounder. It took over 24 hours for the CDC to update their website which then gave the "1 day" language.

Depending on the timing of what you were listening to there is a good chance they were caught in the middle... and the media person probably canceled during the in between period.

The other inaccurate info (eg can't get test in under 24 hr... for PCR they are correct that is an expensive challenge, but for antigen it is pretty easy at least in cities) is on the reporter.

SW

 

[CanucksRock]

Definitely booking during Covid times is not for the faint of heart. My trip is 7 weeks away. At least I have been 3 times in the last 15 months so I know things can change and you just hope for the best. Some travelling with us have non-refundable hotel bookings, so the trip better happen. #knockonwood

 

[friedela]

Not looking good. Looks like we are going to have to test the day before leaving, and possibly again 5 days in....

Yep, another added hassle and stress. We cancelled our Feb trip last week and I am so glad we did.

 

[CanucksRock]

The news is so inaccurate about this stuff. That’s why last year I didn’t think you could fly to the US - you could, all along.

They made everyone think you need an expensive PCR test, when there are other acceptable options - like the free Walgreens NAAT test.

All you can do is look at the source for where you are travelling - not the news. If you are going to the US - look at the CDC website for air travel, DHS for land for the latest information.

 

[2Lunds]

I think part of the problem is that during the press backgrounder briefing from the White House Wednesday night, the officials said it was "24 hours". They were explicit on that. The transcript of the backgrounder is available on the white house website.

Media then reported based on that backgrounder. It took over 24 hours for the CDC to update their website which then gave the "1 day" language.

Depending on the timing of what you were listening to there is a good chance they were caught in the middle... and the media person probably canceled during the in between period.

The other inaccurate info (eg can't get test in under 24 hr... for PCR they are correct that is an expensive challenge, but for antigen it is pretty easy at least in cities) is on the reporter.

SW

A travel pro I follow on Twitter made the point that it's "one calendar day" before, which depending on your flight time could be 36 hours of lead time. So slightly encouraged, I looked into some CAR trip insurance (Cancel for Any Reason) and their cancelation windows were all 48-72 hours, so that extra lead time still does not help. Scrapping Feb trip, re-booking for May now. What a rollercoaster.

 

[Raimiette]

Okay so just the test 24 hours before right? And then coming back to Canada, just the test at 72 hours?

I have a trip booked early Jan so I'm trying to plan. I don't think my travel companion will postpone again (x3 now).

The 24 hours does give me pause though since I wouldn't be able to get my resort booking money back (room only but still no refund within 24 hours). I wonder if Disney will change their rules temporarily for the new rules...

 

[SirDuff]

Okay so just the test 24 hours before right? And then coming back to Canada, just the test at 72 hours?

I have a two booked early Jan so I'm trying to plan. I don't think my travel companion will postpone again (x3 now) she's getting wayyy too over the restrictions lol.

No, the test is ONE DAY before - which may be more than 24 hours. If your flight is early in the morning, then, you’ll likely be within 24 hours, but if you have a late flight, you could be well over 24 hours. In theory, almost 48 hours (if there were 24 hour testing centres) - flight at 11:59pm on the 29th means a test anytime after 12:01 am on the 28th would be valid.

 

[Raimiette]

No, the test is ONE DAY before - which may be more than 24 hours. If your flight is early in the morning, then, you’ll likely be within 24 hours, but if you have a late flight, you could be well over 24 hours. In theory, almost 48 hours (if there were 24 hour testing centres) - flight at 11:59pm on the 29th means a test anytime after 12:01 am on the 28th would be valid.

Gotcha, my flight is around 9am so I think I'll be within the 24 hours.

Still concerned about testing positive (within 24 hours) and being unable to get my money back from Disney for my hotel though.

I wonder if I could pay to get a test a few days before just for my own sanity (so if I did test positive I could cancel within the refund timeline). Has anyone tried to get a test at a pharmacy without travel booked? Can I do that?

EDIT: still only antigen testing needed to get into the states via air right?

 

[hdrolfe]

Gotcha, my flight is around 9am so I think I'll be within the 24 hours.

Still concerned about testing positive (within 24 hours) and being unable to get my money back from Disney for my hotel though.

I wonder if I could pay to get a test a few days before just for my own sanity (so if I did test positive I could cancel within the refund timeline). Has anyone tried to get a test at a pharmacy without travel booked? Can I do that?

You don't have to have a trip booked to book a test, it's for anyone who is asymptomatic, they don't ask for a reason. If you want to pay for a test, they aren't going to say no

 

[bookbabe626]

Okay so just the test 24 hours before right? And then coming back to Canada, just the test at 72 hours?

I have a trip booked early Jan so I'm trying to plan. I don't think my travel companion will postpone again (x3 now).

The 24 hours does give me pause though since I wouldn't be able to get my resort booking money back (room only but still no refund within 24 hours). I wonder if Disney will change their rules temporarily for the new rules...

If by some remote chance you tested positive at the 24 hour mark, you could always call Disney and ask to reschedule. I‘be had pretty good luck with them being reasonable over the years when last minute emergencies happened and we needed to cancel or make changes

 

[chezcurrie]

Gotcha, my flight is around 9am so I think I'll be within the 24 hours.

Still concerned about testing positive (within 24 hours) and being unable to get my money back from Disney for my hotel though.

I wonder if I could pay to get a test a few days before just for my own sanity (so if I did test positive I could cancel within the refund timeline). Has anyone tried to get a test at a pharmacy without travel booked? Can I do that?

EDIT: still only antigen testing needed to get into the states via air right?

As another poster mentioned, you don‘t need travel to schedule a test (antigen or otherwise), you just have to pay OOP if you aren’t symptomatic. I just returned yesterday from an overnight trip to Montreal for a holiday party with my organization, and will be testing on Monday through Switch Health (PCR test) just to not have any surprises on Thursday when the whole family gets our Antigen tests at shoppers. Thankfully my org is paying for it for any employee who would like to test for peace of mind, even just for gathering with family. It’s nice to be the boss sometimes.

 

[chezcurrie]

Have any of us found a policy that would cover this scenario? I know we've found ones that will cover interruption (meaning you're already on your trip) due to quarantine and/or C19 illness, and I think someone just posted about a policy that covers cancellation (meaning you have not departed yet) due to illness (likely requires dr's note), but I don't recall seeing any product that will cover cancellation due to testing...?

The manulife coverage another poster mentioned is the same one I have used for my past 2 trips to the US, and will be using for this one this coming Friday. It covers quarantine but not cancellation.

I suggest people check their credit card coverage for trip cancellation. I booked on my corporate Amex and it will cover the non-refundable cancellation costs should one of us test positive. So our flights for instance would incur $100-120pp cancellation fee, but we could go through Amex to have that refunded. It’s a hassle to be sure, but better than nothing!

 

[pigletto]

For anyone who has been waiting , run .. the Switch Health RT Lamp tests are back in stock as of two minutes ago .

 

[wdwmom3]

For anyone who has been waiting , run .. the Switch Health RT Lamp tests are back in stock as of two minutes ago .

I was just going to post this.