MAYBE A MAY TRIP?? 3 WEEKS SAPPHIRE FALLS 2021

[I-4Bound]

I would love to get an antibody test to find out if I have already been exposed to the virus and have the antibodies in my blood. To me, having proof of that would be more than enough to get you into the park. It sounds great on paper to test everyone before they end of the park, but can you imagine the nightmare that would be? Lines would be horrendous, and what happens if one member of your party test positive and the rest don't?

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

lol.....you feel awful though don't you when you cough or sneeze now in public...…......oh another who sneezes in multiples........oh that would make a real picture with DLPN`s wife, you and I all together at the one time.......quite the image!!!!

I was behind someone who had a very cheap perfume on a couple of years back....oh my goodness.....it set me off so bad!!! And she glowered at me!!!! Then people wonder why I carry my own perfume around with me all the time......

Well we could put you 3 to work on making the lines extremely short for us!!!!!!!!!!

Who needs express pass when you have 3 sneezers together!!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

I would love to get an antibody test to find out if I have already been exposed to the virus and have the antibodies in my blood. To me, having proof of that would be more than enough to get you into the park. It sounds great on paper to test everyone before they end of the park, but can you imagine the nightmare that would be? Lines would be horrendous, and what happens if one member of your party test positive and the rest don't?

Oh me too....my family are convinced I’ve had it, my sister is a front line nurse and she says it sounds like it was a mild version but, still I’d like to have known, so I know what you mean.

I couldn‘t imagine one family member being refused!!! Tom said if they started doing that at the airport for international travel and he couldn’t travel, I’d be off without him.......Me??? As if I would do that

It’s going to be a curious few months ahead for sure.......

 

[schumigirl]

Well we could put you 3 to work on making the lines extremely short for us!!!!!!!!!!

Who needs express pass when you have 3 sneezers together!!!!!

 

[KathyM2]

I know travelling may not be ideal, but if we all wait till there`s a vaccine....we`d still be home alone next year, and unless you and your whole family plan to avoid every other person on the planet till then, you`re at risk whatever you do. I like the idea of getting back to normal albeit being extra careful and being as sanitized as you can be.

They have to come up with something while we wait for a vaccine. Mass testing and some kind of reliable treatment if you do get the virus might come faster than something preventative, who knows. We can only hope!! I do hope there is a way for it to be "safe" to be in crowds again though, because measures to limit crowds in theme parks seem like they will just make things really difficult...but who knows. Hoping they will find a solution to all of this!

We fly on September 6th and leave Oct 1st so 26 nights for this one

That's a nice long trip!! Hopefully will make up for the fact that you have to wait so long for it!! Is this the longest you will have ever gone between trips to Orlando? It is definitely a place you "miss" when you don't get to go for a while, I get that!!

 

[schumigirl]

They have to come up with something while we wait for a vaccine. Mass testing and some kind of reliable treatment if you do get the virus might come faster than something preventative, who knows. We can only hope!! I do hope there is a way for it to be "safe" to be in crowds again though, because measures to limit crowds in theme parks seem like they will just make things really difficult...but who knows. Hoping they will find a solution to all of this!



That's a nice long trip!! Hopefully will make up for the fact that you have to wait so long for it!! Is this the longest you will have ever gone between trips to Orlando? It is definitely a place you "miss" when you don't get to go for a while, I get that!!

Oh goodness yes, I`m completely lacking in any knowledge as I avoid reading most of the stuff out there.....I`ll wait for the definitive and give all the supposition a pass. But, surely they`ll come up with something to deal with this so we can begin to have some type of normal, if slightly different life sometime soon.....

Up until 2017 we only went once a year, so it was a HUGE wait between trips.....but 2017 we went twice as that was the year we had three big celebrations....in 2018 we went five times which was just amazing, and last year it was four times with the longest wait from May till September. But yes, last visit was December 19 so this will be the longest in a while between trips.

After the September trip this year, like last year, it`s only weeks till our Nov/Dec trip which will be fabulous not to have a huge gap again.

Yes, we definitely miss it when we have to wait for so long. We`re lucky we can keep in touch with many friends from there in between trips. But, yes, we just miss everything about the place.....

Hope you`re doing ok Kathy in your part of the world........

 

[keishashadow]

Fashionably late, took some time to be brave enough to crawl out from under my rock

Nice to see a sign of impending return to normalcy...a C&T pre trip report! Has it really been 3 years since Tom retired? Wow

 

[schumigirl]

Fashionably late, took some time to be brave enough to crawl out from under my rock

Nice to see a sign of impending return to normalcy...a C&T pre trip report! Has it really been 3 years since Tom retired? Wow

Janet.......bit of an edit as I thought you’d already posted!!! Always good to see you......

lol......I think a few of us are wishing we were still under that rock!

Well, of course there’s a chance it won’t happen if you listen to the doom and gloom mongers, but keeping it positive until I’m told different.........yep!

Yes, 3 years this August since he took early retirement...... it only feels like yesterday to be honest. We never doubted it, but it really was the best decision ever......and we got to go to Orlando a lot of times since he did.....not too bad at all.....

New update coming soon.......

 

[keishashadow]

bit of an edit as I thought you’d already posted!!! Always good to see you......

Maybe I did, chalk it up to a sr moment lol but now that I’ve doubled down...let ‘Er RIP hehe

 

[schumigirl]

Maybe I did, chalk it up to a sr moment lol but now that I’ve doubled down...let ‘Er RIP hehe

Lol......I now need to go back and check......lol......but you’re worth a double welcome.......

 

[schumigirl]

So......all things working out as we all hope they will, we will arrive at Sapphire Falls on Monday September 6th around 6pm after a very long day flying...but we love it. Folks always ask how we can deal with the long flight and all the time before at the airport so often, but in truth we love it all.

Love the excitement of the airport before the flight where we can wander, have some breakfast and roam around Duty Free and spray some perfume....that kind of thing.....then there`s people watching which can be pretty darn interesting!!!!

The flight although long, no denying that, passes fairly quickly. By the time we watch a couple of movies and they feed us and bring us drinks, time really does go by. I think by the time we hit the Carolinas though, we are more than ready to land.....and of course that last hour of a ten hour flight, goes the slowest.

Sapphire Falls is the only other hotel we want to stay at in Orlando.....the other being RP which is coming up second this trip.

We first stayed in Sapphire in 2018 but when we first saw it all in 2016, we loved it. I`m sure everyone is bored to tears of how we got a special guided tour back then, which we were incredibly grateful for. The colours, the brightness and the warmth of everyone there just blew us away. It`s a fine line between both hotels as to which is our favourite......I think RP just wins by a tiny, tiny amount......but on any given day...I could say Sapphire wins!!!

Pulling up to Sapphire it does have a pretty entrance area.....and you always get the warmest of welcomes from everyone......

The regular parking lot is over to the right and you can drive straight in and then get you luggage down if you are not using Valet parking. There are loads of parking spaces in the lot as its a multi storey which is nice in the heat I`d imagine.

It has one of the prettiest entrances of all the hotels on Universal property. I do love RP entrance with the bridge going into the lobby, but you don't have the same approach to it, this you can see as you drive up.

On the other side of the property you have the boat transport and the walking path.....and it is so gorgeous. At night it looks different again too, and is stunning.

The balcony on top is from the Presidential Suite....there are pictures of the suite in the Sapphire Falls sticky....we got to tour the suite when it opened. It is beautiful. The balcony suite we had is round the other side of the hotel and was the hospitality suite......and we loved that too!!!!!

But, the hotel is stunning inside and out. I hate hotels that are all brown, rooms too.....and this is the polar opposite of those.

The water wheel is set to the side of Amatista restaurant and you do get a lovely meal in there too, although we don`t go very often.....breakfast is exceptional though!!! And it does have huge windows which makes it so bright, so you get a lovely view over the lagoon as you eat and has some outdoor seating too.

As those who have read our trip reports before, you`ll know how much we love Strong Water Bar. Here the balcony area overlooks the lagoon and the boat area too. We don`t go out here often as you can smoke out there, and if there are a lot of smokers near you, it`s very unpleasant as we hate cigarette/cigar smoke...…but it is very pretty as they have lights all around and on an evening it looks very welcoming...….

The Fire Pit is the other side of the bar and is so cute...….again, it`s lovely to go sit out if there are no smokers already sitting there. You see folks with the smores kits sitting enjoying doing that and it`s lovely to see kids enjoying that, as well as the parents.

You can walk from the hotel to the parks in around 10-15 minutes. Or you have the boats which is our preference usually. Sapphire`s boat line can be busier than the others as folks from Aventura and Cabana Bay can use them too. But, boats run regularly and at busy times even more so. No one hotel has extra boats as someone tried to tell me last year as we chatted......not sure where she got that idea from, but boats are allocated evenly so you never really wait too long. Of course at certain times of the day, you may wait longer than usual.



Lobby and Strong Water Bar coming up..........

 

[jump00]

So excited.......pre- trip report from Carole!!!!!! Love all your background information and stories. And your pictures (ok....Tom’s) are absolutely stunning. Keep it coming.
Brenda

 

[Polyonmymind]

YAY! I have never stayed here. I've been inside looking around and I agree it is beautiful. Looking forward to soaking all this in, much needed right now. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Elsaspiritanimal]

Agree both of those RP and Sapphire are beyond gorgeous! And of course your photos capture everything beautifully. I think I like your pre-trip reports just as much as your trip reports! It helps all of us plan too!

 

[schumigirl]

So excited.......pre- trip report from Carole!!!!!! Love all your background information and stories. And your pictures (ok....Tom’s) are absolutely stunning. Keep it coming.
Brenda

lol....thanks Brenda...….yes Tom`s pictures are the best!

It`s unusual, as I don`t usually do a long pre-trip, but circumstances decided it.....so I`m sure I can babble till September....lol......I have the time, that`s for sure

 

[schumigirl]

YAY! I have never stayed here. I've been inside looking around and I agree it is beautiful. Looking forward to soaking all this in, much needed right now. Thank you for sharing!

Oh you`d love it......honestly, we can`t say enough good things about the place......

Yes, I know we need a bit of positivity looking ahead and this is the perfect way to do it.........I`m not looking forward to May 4th when we should have been flying off to Orlando......my guys say they`ll avoid me like the plague that day.......I`m guessing they think I may be a little sensitive that day!!!

They might be right

 

[schumigirl]

Agree both of those RP and Sapphire are beyond gorgeous! And of course your photos capture everything beautifully. I think I like your pre-trip reports just as much as your trip reports! It helps all of us plan too!

Thanks!!!

Glad to be able to help if I can......this trip report may be a little bit long of course as it`s quite a while till September!!! But, will try and stretch it out as best I can...….I think I may have one or two pictures to post again......lol…...

Glad you`re still here reading.....

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m here! I sure hope this trip happens! I am toying with changing our August trip to September and we would be there the same time as you!! We would spend 1-2 nights at Universal to do HHN.
In a normal world this would be the plan! If it is I hope we can say Hi to you and Tom!
I love reading along with your pre trip, let’s hope these trips happen!!
Stay safe and keep entertaining us with your fun reports!!

 

[schumigirl]

I’m here! I sure hope this trip happens! I am toying with changing our August trip to September and we would be there the same time as you!! We would spend 1-2 nights at Universal to do HHN.
In a normal world this would be the plan! If it is I hope we can say Hi to you and Tom!
I love reading along with your pre trip, let’s hope these trips happen!!
Stay safe and keep entertaining us with your fun reports!!

Good to see you Caroline!!

Yes, we are ever hopeful if nothing else.....lol......

Sounds like an idea to swap to September.......and we would get to say hello too!!! Do you have dates in mind yet?? I agree though, in a normal world.....what I wouldn`t give for a crystal ball right now......

Will keep our plans intact until someone tells us we can`t or shouldn`t go.....so I can ramble with the best of them.....lol.....

You stay safe too, your job is a tremendously important one in all of this and everyone appreciates what you guys do every day. My sister and nephew`s wife are nurses and it`s always in our thoughts what they deal with every day......take care.....and yes, good wishes on your next trip decision......

 

[jump00]

lol....thanks Brenda...….yes Tom`s pictures are the best!

It`s unusual, as I don`t usually do a long pre-trip, but circumstances decided it.....so I`m sure I can babble till September....lol......I have the time, that`s for sure