Who else is waiting until WDW is “back to normal”?

[maui2k5]

As much as I miss WDW, I can’t bring myself to go to Disney World with the mask policy still in place. Just went it Six Flags for one day and could not stand keeping it on in the heat all day.

All the rules, mask policy, missing magic (Hoop De Doo, character meet & greets, photos without a mask, character dining, fireworks, fastpass, etc...) keep us from going back. We planned initially to go in summer 2021, but will find other vacations to go on until WDW is a lot closer to what it was like.

I know crowds will get worse as the pandemic winds down and I would love to take the family back, but for us dropping $7000-10,000 for an experience that is less than what we expect is not in the cards.

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Shughart]

Me. For me the magic is in the details. ALL of them. That being said, I'm going to be hopeful and start planning a December 2022 trip. My happy place is walking through Epcot eating a turkey leg. And watching fireworks at MVMCP. While crying over all of the goodness we've had all week. It's not a mask. It's what's missing, what feels different. I'll wait.

 

[fgaini]

I am waiting too... but not sure how long I will resist

 

[maui2k5]

We are staying now at the Gaylord Texan which is a huge resort and very well themed which gives me memories of a Las Vegas/WDW themed resort and it does make me miss WDW more. Right now we are looking at summer 2022 and counting the days.

 

[redrosesix]

Us, but I think we're also waiting to see what happens with resort perks. EMH evenings were my family's favourite -- most of the perks they removed were the things we liked best.

 

[Makmak]

I literally keep adding an end of April package to my cart then closing the window because I just can’t justify paying the ticket prices again. We went on our annual passes in July, September but I can’t justify out of pocket ticket prices/resort prices with no benefits —-because we have been and know the heat and masks and closed things and now I hear waits for pools and increasingly crabby people at the resorts and parks and ......I just have been telling myself to wait.

 

[Timandalicia]

As much as I miss WDW, I can’t bring myself to go to Disney World with the mask policy still in place. Just went it Six Flags for one day and could not stand keeping it on in the heat all day.

All the rules, mask policy, missing magic (Hoop De Doo, character meet & greets, photos without a mask, character dining, fireworks, fastpass, etc...) keep us from going back. We planned initially to go in summer 2021, but will find other vacations to go on until WDW is a lot closer to what it was like.

I know crowds will get worse as the pandemic winds down and I would love to take the family back, but for us dropping $7000-10,000 for an experience that is less than what we expect is not in the cards.

Anyone else feel this way?

Not no more... since I booked January 2022. Now I’m riding my countdown high! Woohoo!

But we did feel that way. Last trip was Dec. 2019 with cruise. Glad we got it in before this all happened.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We are waiting for normal. I am very claustrophobic and masks trigger a panic attack if worn for very long at all. I'm hoping by 2023 we will be able to get back to our happy place.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Masks optional and I’ll be the happiest person ever

 

[LiveLifeLoud]

We are waiting. Disney is about the entire experience for me. If we wanted just rides there are better amusement parks for that.

We love the live entertainment. The fireworks. The restaurants. The CM interaction. The shows. I can’t pay full price for half of the experience. It’s the reason we are waiting until late 2022 to go back. In the meantime there are other vacation destinations that are more open with more offerings and much much cheaper that we are doing instead.

I also need the mask policy gone and I’m not anti mask. But I can’t wear one all day in the heat. It’s too much.

 

[DisneyMama811]

I go back and forth. I've been to Disney 3x but my kids (currently 4&6) never have, we are Canadian and the basically $10K price tag means that we will likely only be able to go once while the kids are young. I initially said we are NOT going until parades, fire works, meet and greets return and NO MASKS (I'm not anti mask in the slightest it's just the heat and the desire to have fun without every single memory be tainted by covid) but then a part of me thinks what if it is YEARS before all of those things return? how long do we "wait and see" if things go back to normal? IF the border reopens I would love to go next February but at least some things would have to be different. I'm not willing to drop a huge chunk of change for such a drastically modified experience especially since this could be a once in a lifetime trip...if I was a frequent visitor I would probably feel differently.

 

[M SH]

As much as I miss WDW, I can’t bring myself to go to Disney World with the mask policy still in place. Just went it Six Flags for one day and could not stand keeping it on in the heat all day.

All the rules, mask policy, missing magic (Hoop De Doo, character meet & greets, photos without a mask, character dining, fireworks, fastpass, etc...) keep us from going back. We planned initially to go in summer 2021, but will find other vacations to go on until WDW is a lot closer to what it was like.

I know crowds will get worse as the pandemic winds down and I would love to take the family back, but for us dropping $7000-10,000 for an experience that is less than what we expect is not in the cards.

Anyone else feel this way?

this is exactly what happened to us. Few hours at six flags with a mask and I was just done.
I’m waiting for mask policy to change and for fastpass+ to be back to visit again.

 

[Heamic08]

I went to Universal IOA in January and it wasn't that bad with the masks. But, it was a day that was colder weather for Florida (I think the high was 75?)

I would go to Disney as well, even with the mask policy. But, with the summer coming and with the heat while wearing the masks, I just don't know if I could do it.

 

[DisneyMama811]

I went to Universal IOA in January and it wasn't that bad with the masks. But, it was a day that was colder weather for Florida (I think the high was 75?)

I would go to Disney as well, even with the mask policy. But, with the summer coming and with the heat while wearing the masks, I just don't know if I could do it.

I'm dying laughing at 75 being "colder weather for Florida" I'm Canadian and it was 3°c (37F) today and that's "not too bad" for Mid March... I'll take 75 hahahaha

 

[J-Dog]

I'm absolutely on the same page. I'm still kicking myself because we were completely booked for February 2020, but postponed to May 2020 because we were hoping for lower crowds. Well, the crowds sure were low in May 2020.

Now, we are waiting, mostly because I have a 2.5 year old, who has never worn a mask before (my state's mask mandate is for 5 years and older), and I have no interest in torturing her and being my kid's mask police while I'm supposed to be on vacation.

So now, we have flexible-date WDW tickets and plane ticket vouchers - so we are set to go within a few weeks when masks finally go away.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Masks don't bother me. The lack of entertainment, fast passes, food options, etc. - those things bother me. To me, wearing a mask is just the price I pay to be able to move (relatively) freely through society; it's just routine now. There's no reason (except money) Disney can't have at least SOME of the entertainment back. Maybe they don't want to do firework spectacles that have everyone gathering, but ROL and F! could easily accommodate socially distanced seating. Character meets are being done at at least the 6ft distance in other parks, and I believe even at Aulani - so why not at WDW? And it makes no sense that Disney has reinstated a sing-along (encouraging the whole audience to generate aerosols), but hasn't brought back any of the stage shows, even though other resorts have.

I have tickets that were extended to Sept 2021 due to the closure last year, but I don't think I'm going to be able to bring myself to use them. Rather than throwing more money into a reduced experience (airfare, hotels), I'll use the credit to buy new tickets when the experience is back to the level that justifies the price. My tickets were purchased before the price increase, so I'll have to pay more for the same entitlements, but that's less expensive than throwing more money into a week at Disney now.

 

[Erica Ladd]

We are waiting. Disney is about the entire experience for me. If we wanted just rides there are better amusement parks for that.

We love the live entertainment. The fireworks. The restaurants. The CM interaction. The shows. I can’t pay full price for half of the experience. It’s the reason we are waiting until late 2022 to go back. In the meantime there are other vacation destinations that are more open with more offerings and much much cheaper that we are doing instead.

I also need the mask policy gone and I’m not anti mask. But I can’t wear one all day in the heat. It’s too much.

can you share some alternate destinations? We would like to try some different things while we wait for WDW to get back to normal but I’m having a hard time other placesthat ARE more normal already lol

 

[jlwhitney]

We are waiting. Once they say masks are optional we will be there! We will maybe consider if they drop to only inside/line/rides ....but still only a maybe. It is just too hot with them, I know some can make it work but for our family it doesn't.

While we wait we have been enjoying legoland and Gatlinburg!

 

[MomOTwins]

We have been going back, but do want to chime in and say thank you to people who decide not to go if not comfortable wirh masks. Me, DH and all three kids have never had any trouble wearing masks, but I know it is very subjective and some people hate them. It is better to know that about yourself and not go, than go down and try to dodge the mask rules at every opportunity like so many people.

 

[LiveLifeLoud]

can you share some alternate destinations? We would like to try some different things while we wait for WDW to get back to normal but I’m having a hard time other placesthat ARE more normal already lol

All inclusive in the Caribbean. You have to wear a mask indoors but not outdoors. Most places are open air set ups. Only things indoors are restaurants and your rooms. Everything is pretty much open. They still have live entertainment and excursions. Cleaning protocols are great.

We did the Poconos a few months ago. No masks for the outdoor activities like skiing and snow tubing. You did have to make reservations ahead of time. Everything was open.

Beach vacations. They feel much more normal.