Finding the Silver Lining in All of This

[Welsh_Dragon]

Thank you. Yes, this post was meant for those still planning on going and choosing to have a good time and accepting some of the changes.

I am trying, trying.

 

[DisneyMommy77]

Dear OP,

I share some of your silver lining points. I was a bit upset when I heard dining reservations will be cancelled, but then I thought it would allow us more park time and "force" us to try more quick service options, many that my husband complains I don't let us eat at. Not true but we usually head to table service character meals. I've always wanted to try the quick service dining plan and while I know dining plans aren't available we could still basically follow up.

And FastPasses, while I sometimes love them, I am looking forward to seeing what no FastPass looks like so we don't have to make sure we arrive at a ride within the 1 hour window.

My only concerns right now are my 2 year old. Apparently last night Disney updated their rules for face masks and those 2 and over have to wear one. Not sure how I am going to accomplish that one, honestly. I know things change daily so I'm sitting back and waiting on that since the CDC doesn't recommend them for 2 year olds I can't imagine Disney requiring them for that age.

I am not sure if you are planning on going during the summer, but I have ordered my kids cooling neck gaiters. They already like those type of cooling towels in the summer, so I am hoping this will help a little with the mask.

 

[SJSloan]

I am not sure if you are planning on going during the summer, but I have ordered my kids cooling neck gaiters. They already like those type of cooling towels in the summer, so I am hoping this will help a little with the mask.

I was actually just looking at neck gaiters on Amazon both for my 2 year old and my teenagers. I know they aren't preferred protection against the virus but I think it's the only thing they will tolerate. What brand did you buy?

I also bought my toddler a sun hat with a face shield. Again I know that doesn't follow the Disney guidelines but I'm hoping that will pass when he is in his stroller with a snack (all the time) or maybe when he is napping. Then when we get him out of the stroller for a ride I will pull up the neck gaiter.

 

[VandVsmama]

I know a lot of people are upset and disappointed with their plans and trips being ruined. These last few months have really been stressful probably for all of us!
I am an essential worker and have been working full-time outside the home, while trying to homeschool my three young children after extremely long work days. I am exhausted and soooo need a vacation.

I was originally supposed to go to NYC in April and also Hawaii in July for 3 weeks, but both had to be cancelled. I was very sad to lose these trips, and to lose a lot of money too!

I am now trying to make Disney work for us in July before school should hopefully start again in August.

I do know my situation is different than others, and since I know this isn’t a once in a lifetime trip we are really hoping to still make the best of it. We are passholders and we typically visit a couple times a year for 2 weeks at a time. We live in CA, and last week I booked resort reservations for July.

With all these changes to fastpasses, park hopping, magic hours, dining, mask requirements, lack of fireworks, attractions etc... it gets really tough.
However, I am determined to make the best of it.

For those of us still trying to go and praying we can actually get park reservations I thought we can think of some things that we actually can look forward to. Here is my list:

1. All my dining reservations are being cancelled, but maybe this means I will eat somewhere new that I never before considered, and find new favorites!
2. The parks are closing earlier than I would like, but maybe I will actually get a more restful type of vacation than usual.
3. I have to wear a mask in the horrible Florida heat, but wow I found the cutest Disney masks on Etsy today for me and family. That will be me in the shimmery Ariel mermaid tail mask!
4. If resort pools open I have to probably wear a mask on the deck while my kids swim, but maybe this will make me actually get in the water this time, and have fun with my kids swimming. They would love that!
4. I will be at Disney in Florida, in the miserable heat, but at least I won’t be at work!
5. All of my fastpasses are being cancelled, but maybe I can relax more instead of stressing about getting everyone to the attractions on time and checking my watch constantly.
6. With options being limited at Disney maybe I can explore more of the Orlando area and other attractions like I always wanted to, but never could squeeze in.

Anyone have others to add?

If I could, I'd book a WDW trip for some time between now and end of year, I totally would!.

The cancellation of everyone's ADRs is really frustrating for so many people. However, on the flip side of this, SO many people will flat out cancel or reschedule their trips that I bet getting ADRs 60 days beforehand might not be as big of an issue as we might think.

A bad day at WDW is better than a good day at home for sure.

 

[Darcy03231]

If I wasn't going with young children I may have kept my reservation and just made the best of it. However, with a 6 y.o. and a 1.5 y.o. on the first trip the reductions were too much for me to swallow.

I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[DisneyMommy77]

No and I don't even see the silver lining in the ones you listed.

1) I know where I want to eat already and not a child- I don't need to be forced to try new places.
2) I don't go to Disney to rest. If I want relaxing, I'll take a cheap beach vacation.
3 No matter how pretty the mask, it's going to be miserable having it on (although I readily accepted having to wear them)
4) I already spend most of my time in the pool with my grandson, I don't need to be forced to.
5) FP is what allowed me to relax not having to walk around the parks trying to find something without long waits. It's also why I was willing to pay sky high prices to stay on site.
6)I'm not interested in other area attractions. We've been going for 35 yrs. What few I wanted to try, I already have and don't care to do them again.

So nope, I can't find a silver lining.

I’m sorry your Disney plans have been ruined. My list is the silver linings that I have found for my family. I was looking for others that have found the silver lining and for them to share what they were thinking.

I do hope you are able to find another vacation place for the time being and I hope you have a wonderful time, wherever that might be.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I was actually just looking at neck gaiters on Amazon both for my 2 year old and my teenagers. I know they aren't preferred protection against the virus but I think it's the only thing they will tolerate. What brand did you buy?

I also bought my toddler a sun hat with a face shield. Again I know that doesn't follow the Disney guidelines but I'm hoping that will pass when he is in his stroller with a snack (all the time) or maybe when he is napping. Then when we get him out of the stroller for a ride I will pull up the neck gaiter.

It's not totally clear to us if the neck gators will be accepted as a valid face covering at Disney when they open. Maybe there will be more on that soon. Their requirements specifically state tied/looped to the head or ears. The gators are pull-up and might not meet their short-term minimum requirements. Hopefully, that will be clarified before people go.

 

[SJSloan]

It's not totally clear to us if the neck gators will be accepted as a valid face covering at Disney when they open. Maybe there will be more on that soon. Their requirements specifically state tied/looped to the head or ears. The gators are pull-up and might not meet their short-term minimum requirements. Hopefully, that will be clarified before people go.

From what I have read they are currently being allowed as coverings in Disney Springs. Also, people have commented that you can modify them but cutting holes in the ears which would then fit within their requirement of "looped to the head or ears." Of course they can always change their requirements as we have seen and specifically ban those. I just found some on Amazon for $2 a piece when all the other patterns were $12. I'm thinking it was a typo but I snatched them up quick.

 

[Hummingbird]

Thank you for this thread OP.

My silver linings are...

1. Maybe I'll finally get to eat at a few restaurants where the coveted ADRs have alluded me.
2. I'm looking forward to riding FOP without a 2+ hour wait.

 

[DisLiss]

Silver linings:

As the person in charge of planning vacations in my family, there's a lot of pressure on me. Even though my family is way more low-key in our trips than many, I know darn well there are still things the kids would like to do, and I put a ton of work into trying to find the lowest key way to allow them to do the most important things on their list without making them feel they are being ordered around the parks all day by a minute by minute schedule. And now, it's like this--I'm just done. It is impossible to plan anything right now. And so if we still go this year, we know ahead of time that we are choosing to go with the limitations and to take what we get and be happy to finally be out of our houses! (As another poster mentioned, we too are in a hot spot and are still under a stay-at-home order.) So the silver lining is that if we still go, all planning pressure is off my shoulders. We go on spontaneous-as-possible mode even if it means we only ride teacups all day.

Next...on the flip side, if anyone in my family is feeling uneasy about the pandemic by late summer, it's easier than ever for the rest of us to wait for next year, because we can know that we're waiting for a fuller experience than we will get this year.

Next---I always bemoan that even with our more low-key approach there's still so much we don't get to see and do, and if we go this year, we may get to see and do some of those things. Check out other resorts, really throw ourselves into hidden Mickey hunting, or searching for Easter eggs, etc.

At the end of the day, the biggest silver lining is that as of yet, we've all survived this pandemic. We know several people who had the virus already, and thankfully all made it through. We do know someone, however, that cannot say the same. If we go to WDW at ALL this year, that's a pretty big silver lining for us, what with all of the many, many other things that we have had to skip, cancel, postpone, etc., some of which we cannot ever do again.

And lastly, maybe my own personal silver lining is that despite what an incredibly difficult year it has been, I'm still capable of both looking for and finding silver linings.

Thanks for the thread, OP!

 

[Kmedders]

My trip is planned for the end of August/beginning of September. I am excited that we are being forced to have a more “relaxed” trip. I think the crowd will be lower than I’ve ever had the opportunity to experience them. I don’t care for dining reservations that make me feel tied to a schedule, so this works for me there. And when I go I try to just have a “go with the flow” attitude with regard to what my kids want. If they want to ride the carousel five times in a row, we do. So no fast passes are just fine with me. Disney trips for us are not about how many rides we can do, they are about spending time together. So I will make the best out of all of this and just enjoy our trip. Plus - I am booked at a value resort currently and rumor is I will be bumped to a dvc resort because of all of this. So score!

 

[sdoll]

OP. I am right there with you. I work for a company that is essential. I am in HR so while i could have worked at home I certainly feel that I am needed in my office there to support my team. My vacation for this summer was altered but I too choose to remain positive. Life is full of choices. We are all going through a difficult time with all the changes in life and the impact it has on our family. We chose how we react. I recognize I am fortunate that my husband and I continued to work through this and we can be disappointed that we changed plans for our vacation but i will count my blessings that I have a vacation booked! This crisis has really helped me identify what is important. We have 2 kids in travel sports and we often divide and conquer and while we all love it. Being forced to so down made us realize that we were doing to much apart and not enough together as a family.
Please ignore the others and chose the attitude that works for you.

 

[Eastern]

Plus - I am booked at a value resort currently and rumor is I will be bumped to a dvc resort because of all of this. So score!

yeah if values are getting bumped to deluxes I wonder what they will do with people who booked deluxes. Hopefully something

 

[sdoll]

delete

 

[brockash]

yeah if values are getting bumped to deluxes I wonder what they will do with people who booked deluxes. Hopefully something

They're not going to bump values to deluxe...at this point it's much more likely they'll just cancel them. They only want the ppl. that will pay the most...especially right now.

 

[Eastern]

They're not going to bump values to deluxe...at this point it's much more likely they'll just cancel them. They only want the ppl. that will pay the most...especially right now.

That gave me a chuckle. It's probably true but it just sounds so harsh. Like Disney Thunderdome. Three resort guests book: 1 deluxe guest can stay. I have been in quarantine too long.

 

[Kmedders]

They're not going to bump values to deluxe...at this point it's much more likely they'll just cancel them. They only want the ppl. that will pay the most...especially right now.

Wait and see.

 

[Pooh2]

We spent a year planning our March trip that was cancelled for shut-down.
We rebooked and redid ADR's for our November trip last week.
If we had not bought our first annual pass, we would call it a loss now on this fall with the limited experiences.
So going to hope for the best with the new reservation system that we actually get into the parks on our trip and experience whatever the parks may offer at this unique time.

 

[Eastern]

Wait and see.

I agree, wait and see. But if deluxe guests start finding out they paid a lot more for the same accommodations as others, let the games begin.

 

[yulilin3]

It's not totally clear to us if the neck gators will be accepted as a valid face covering at Disney when they open. Maybe there will be more on that soon. Their requirements specifically state tied/looped to the head or ears. The gators are pull-up and might not meet their short-term minimum requirements. Hopefully, that will be clarified before people go.

neck gators are definitely frowned upon at Disney, sorry couldn't resist
At DS neck gaiters are being allowed no problem