Back Together!! Passholder preview at AK and opening day at Magic Kingdom!!

dorospin

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 31, 2016
Hi!

After much consideration, we decided to make the trip to WDW for the Animal Kingdom passholder preview on Friday 7/10, and Magic Kingdom opening day on 7/11. We were able to book a one bedroom villa at Bay Lake Towers for 7/9-7/12. Along for this trip were myself, my husband Bret, and 2 of our kids - 11 year old Elizabeth, and 4 year old Grace. It just so happens that our annual big family trip has been scheduled for the very next week, starting 7/18! So, we saw this as a trial run with a smaller group to see how the re-start was working, any issues that we'd need to be aware of for the big trip!

We flew down on American on Thursday. The airport was deserted and our flight was half full. Mask compliance seemed to be around 95%. I brought with us several packs of wipes, as well as a lot of hand sanitizer. Before we sat down in a chair in the airport or on the airplane, I wiped the seat down with a wipe. We wore our masks the entire time.

Quick note on masks - When we started our trip, I had a triangular scarf with ear loops. Grace had a child gaiter that went up to right under her eyes. These were fine for the airport, and airplane, but are not allowed at WDW. More on this later.

We arrived at MCO and went to find the rental car station. This was our first time booking a rental car at MCO as in the past we have taken the Minnie Van transport to the resort. One whole side of MCO has its rental car section shut, so we had to walk to the opposite terminal to Hertz. Our human interaction was minimal as we had pre booked the car, and so we simply walked up to the garage, found out name on the board, and went to our assigned spot. We did have to stop at the Hertz window to obtain the car seat for which we had prepaid.

It was about 2pm. We were able to make a dining reservation at the Boathouse at Disney Springs for 45 minutes via the mobile app. We have been wanting to try the Boathouse for a while. The girls also really wanted to try the boat/car rides so we decided to head over and check it out.

Driving ourselves onto property was definitely a new experience for us. The traffic was light and we made it to Disney Springs within 30 minutes of leaving the airport. We were directed to the Lime parking lot. Upon leaving the parking deck, we were funneled into a health check area. Our temperatures were taken. At this point, a manager approached me and informed us that Disney had just instituted a ban on the gaiter and scarf like masks, even those with ear loops or ear holes. Myself and Grace were both given a paper disposable mask to wear. Being that Grace is only 4, and a small 4, the paper mask was huge on her and had huge gaps on both sides of her face. I showed the manager that her gaiter was snug fitting and provided much better protection. However, he said the rules were strict and she had to wear the disposable mask. Later that night, we purchased some Disney child sized masks for her.

Once we left the screening area, we headed straight for the Boathouse.

A few pictures on the way;

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Grace with her big mask

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We were all very hungry as we had not eaten since we left our house at about 7am. The crowds at Disney Springs were very low. There were several times when we were walking that we did not see another family until we turned a corner. Once we made it to the Boathouse, Grace and Elizabeth both enjoyed the child mac and cheese with watermelon. I had a burger and Bret had steak. We all were happy with our meals.

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At the Boathouse, every other table was closed, and you were required to wear your mask at all times when not seated at the table. I saw 100% compliance while we were in the restaurant. They also had outside seating available, but given that the real feel was 103o, not many people were taking advantage of that option.

Up next.. trying out the boat/car vehicles at the Boathouse, checking in to the ghost town that was Bay Lake Towers/Contemporary, and Passholder preview at the Animal Kingdom!!
 

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