To those who have not returned yet - what will get you back?

[vivianmarie244]

We have had a trip planned for October 2021 for four years and we are going! I hate that there will be so many changes but I'm hopeful that some of them (fireworks please!) will return by then. My parents have had to cancel three trips (cruise, annual beach trip, and their 50th anniversary trip) due to Covid. I just think for their mental health they need to go as this will probably be their last trip to DW. Physically it's getting too hard for them to have the stamina for getting around such a big park.

 

[GlennN]

1.) Vaccines for both of us
2.) Widespread (>50%) vaccines across the general population
3.) A return to at least 80-90% "normal" WDW experience (fireworks, entertainment, fastpass, full park hours, table service dining, etc.)
4.) Either suspension of park reservations or some method of making it way less annoying than it is now.

I don't mind masks in temperate weather, but I wouldn't choose to go from May-Oct with a mask mandate still in place.

So, I think we're probably looking at at least another year before we take another traditional WDW vacation.

Great list! Yes, I am in the same boat. Vaccines for us and most others are a must. And, I cannot get excited about Disney without fireworks and parades - that's just a necessary part for me. I have to say that the loss of ME is hitting me hard - that was such a great thing, giving up your bag at the airport at home and not seeing it again until in your room at WDW. Losing that perk is making me question whether staying on site is really worth the extra money (and this is from someone who never even considered being offsite before).

 

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

You could care less?

Just not an IP I'm interested in. Plus spinning roller coaster like Crush's Coaster in Paris or the one at Knott's Berry Farm make me queasy.

 

[yulilin3]

Just not an IP I'm interested in. Plus spinning roller coaster like Crush's Coaster in Paris or the one at Knott's Berry Farm make me queasy.

So you couldn't care less

 

[abnihon]

Curious as to why he can't wait in a line for a half an hour to an hour? I'm assuming he's autistic but you didn't say for sure.

Not autistic but he does have sensory issues.
He may do better now (he’s 8) than when he was 4-6. But with fastpass we never waited more than 20-30 min for anything so I never really had to put it to the test!

 

[jeffmw]

I think it differs significantly based on location. For us, WDW is a plane ride away. So simply being vaccinated isn't going to be enough. We aren't going to spend all the $ for a WDW trip if there are no parades, fireworks, limited shows and restaurants, etc. Just not worth it. Not to mention the plane ride itself is a barrier. But if we were in Florida, once I was vaccinated I'd have no qualms in going for a short trip.

Separately, though, I have a big issue with going without FP+. Whether that's COVID-related or not is to be seen. That could be gone for much longer.

My wife has said she'll do masks but that's about it. She wants the normal attractions back. I tend to agree. I'd prefer to be able to take photos without a mask too, but I doubt that's going to happen.

Those of you saying you won't go until the mask mandate is lifted are going to be waiting a while

 

[Boopuff]

We cancelled our June 1, 2020 trip and we won't go back until:
- No masks
- Park hoppers
- EMH
- Longer hours
- Entertainment/meet n greets
- some sort of replacement for Magical Express
-FREE magic bands!!!!

I really feel like Disney is slowly chipping away at the magic.

always hopeful.

 

[Delirium]

Those of you saying you won't go until the mask mandate is lifted are going to be waiting a while

As long as things are bad enough to require masks, that means most of the other stuff won't be back to normal either.

• Is Disney going to let Main Street be crammed with people to put on a fireworks show if things are bad enough to still require masks?
• Is Disney going to increase park capacity to pre-pandemic levels to allow for a legitimate number of Fast Pass Plus reservations to be made each day if things are bad enough to require masks?
• Is Disney going to fill restaurants to capacity, in a place where masks can't realistically be worn if things are bad enough to require masks?
• Is Disney going to increase park capacity to pre-pandemic levels which will result in ride queues to also return to pre-pandemic levels. How do you social distance with that level of crowd? How many people wearing masks will fall ill or pass out in that type of environment while waiting in those lines.

Honestly, I don't see how anything can return to 'normal' until masks are no longer necessary. So, for those that are okay going to Disney and wearing a mask, that's great. But, things won't be 'normal'.

 

[pearlieq]

We really didn’t plan on going back for a while. So many restaurants we enjoy are closed, no fireworks, no characters, and no fastpasses make it hard to justify the cost for us personally right now. That being said my dad offered to take us and pay for everything so we’ll be going in two weeks. I’ll wear the mask and wave at the characters from a far for a free trip We’ll save up until things get back to normal and hopefully be able to treat him in return by then.

If we were lower risk I would totally go for a free trip right now! Have fun!!!

 

[Raya]

1) Vaccines for both of us and most Americans.
2) MNSSHP or Villain's Night Disney After Hours

That's it. Short list. I have reservations in May that I'll probably cancel though.

 

[kwdw]

Great list! Yes, I am in the same boat. Vaccines for us and most others are a must. And, I cannot get excited about Disney without fireworks and parades - that's just a necessary part for me. I have to say that the loss of ME is hitting me hard - that was such a great thing, giving up your bag at the airport at home and not seeing it again until in your room at WDW. Losing that perk is making me question whether staying on site is really worth the extra money (and this is from someone who never even considered being offsite before).

I agree the loss of ME is a big loss for me, too. Their argument that guests have "more options now" is just ridiculous. Sure - there are more PAYING options - but I judged ME to be "part of the cost" of staying in an on-site property vs. off-site - and the service level - one booking for transportation and luggage service - was unmatched. They should just be honest instead of lying to consumers - its a cost-saving measure for them.

 

[a1tinkfans]

This has been the longest time Ever... between visits for me/us. I just can’t seem to even entertain visiting before we re inoculated And the parks/resorts are back to normal ( even a new Open normal)
Hoping early ‘22

 

[mickeymom629]

We are DVC members who planned a big seven-night stay in a GV at Boardwalk for March, '20, then postponed to October '20, again postponed to March '21, and now to the end of April '21. My husband and I are hoping to be vaccinated before this trip. Unfortunately, most of our family can't join us because of quarantining issues with their jobs. We will likely go the two of us...and while we know we won't get the whole Disney experience, we are fine with that as we typically visit 1-2 times a year. Fingers crossed!

This sounds like us. I had a big family trip that I was planning for Dec 2020 and pushed it to Jan 2021 but no one would go until vaccined. Now just DH and I have a reservation for end of April but we don't even know if we will be vaccinated by then but our points will expire June 1 that were banked from 2019. Hoping another family trip can be planned for later this year or early next but I doubt everyone will go.
If it wasn't for owning DVC, I wouldn't even be thinking of a trip to WDW because, of course right now with the virus and closures, the cost is getting out of hand.
Makes me sad.

 

[BrianL]

I have kinda wanted to, but kinda haven't. The things that have kept me away were the air travel, which I don't feel as confident about safety-wise, and the reduced offerings. With shorter hours and now shows, I question the value of my ticket. That said, I am dying to get back and I don't know that I have to wait for anything really. I'd like to see the numbers going down, which they are, so that's good. Otherwise, if I could convince a firend to drive down with me, I'd definitely be doing it.

 

[bsjs0708]

Dh and I treated the whole family (10 of us) last October. This was the first trip for 2 of them and, of course, they both had been told for months just how over the top amazing WDW is with all the restaurants, atmosphere, magic everywhere you turn..etc...etc..
Now, I realize there are people who think this is still THE place for a vacation.
Well, with shortened hours, lack of restaurant choices, no fireworks, no shows, no parades, no streetmosphere, mandatory masks, and really no where to absorb crowds other than ride queues, it was seriously lacking the experience we had in the past..
Its like eating your FAVORITE meal in your entire life and order it at you FAVORITE restaurant and come to find out its under new management, fired your favorite waiter, and they no longer even serve that favorite dish...
Yep, its gonna be while..we used to take 3,4 or 5 trips a year since 1999...

 

[kathy884]

1) My whole family getting vaccinated for COVID-19
2) And great spring weather and Epcot Flower and Garden (I've decided for my next trip back that I'm going back to my favorite time of year to be in Central FL)

Planning a trip for March of 2022. I doubt my whole family will be able to get the vaccine by March of 2021, and I have a work deadline (big IT project due) in March this year that doesn't allow me this year to take PTO in March 2021 too.

Doing some national park trips in 2021 (one in May and one in September) that will have more social distancing than a theme park trip would have. We love the national parks as well as the theme parks lol.

Seems like I often go to WDW annually or every other year. My last two trips were Christmas of 2019 and February of 2020 just before all the COVID-19 stuff.

We had a trip to Paris and Belfast scheduled for June of 2020 that obviously got canceled. I'm ready to venture and plan WDW in 2022. I do plan to do this international trip, but it will probably be a while on that. I want to see COVID-19 under control, borders open, all kinds of things before I plan and rebook anything for that.

 

[jeffmw]

As long as things are bad enough to require masks, that means most of the other stuff won't be back to normal either.

• Is Disney going to let Main Street be crammed with people to put on a fireworks show if things are bad enough to still require masks?
• Is Disney going to increase park capacity to pre-pandemic levels to allow for a legitimate number of Fast Pass Plus reservations to be made each day if things are bad enough to require masks?
• Is Disney going to fill restaurants to capacity, in a place where masks can't realistically be worn if things are bad enough to require masks?
• Is Disney going to increase park capacity to pre-pandemic levels which will result in ride queues to also return to pre-pandemic levels. How do you social distance with that level of crowd? How many people wearing masks will fall ill or pass out in that type of environment while waiting in those lines.

Honestly, I don't see how anything can return to 'normal' until masks are no longer necessary. So, for those that are okay going to Disney and wearing a mask, that's great. But, things won't be 'normal'.

Honestly, I think masks will be the last thing to go, even after just about everything is back open. Once more people are vaccinated people can be in closer proximity because, particularly with masks since there's little chance of exposure.

 

[bsjs0708]

1) My whole family getting vaccinated for COVID-19
2) And great spring weather and Epcot Flower and Garden (I've decided for my next trip back that I'm going back to my favorite time of year to be in Central FL)

Planning a trip for March of 2022. I doubt my whole family will be able to get the vaccine by March of 2021, and I have a work deadline (big IT project due) in March this year that doesn't allow me this year to take PTO in March 2021 too.

Doing some national park trips in 2021 (one in May and one in September) that will have more social distancing than a theme park trip would have. We love the national parks as well as the theme parks lol.

Seems like I often go to WDW annually or every other year. My last two trips were Christmas of 2019 and February of 2020 just before all the COVID-19 stuff.

We had a trip to Paris and Belfast scheduled for June of 2020 that obviously got canceled. I'm ready to venture and plan WDW in 2022. I do plan to do this international trip, but it will probably be a while on that. I want to see COVID-19 under control, borders open, all kinds of things before I plan and rebook anything for that.

We are also planning more camping trips. We went to Wyoming and Colorado last year and planning a 3 week trip back to Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Glacier this September.

 

[disneycat321]

1. No masks (We aren't anti mask and we wear them all the time without complaint. Just don't want to on vacation, especially since we usually go in the summer.)
2. Some version of FP
3. Shows
4. Fireworks/night spectaculars
5. Longer evening hours

Being vaccinated would be a factor, too, but I already know that'll happen before the rest of these.

 

[720L]

No masks. Fastpasses back. But I think we're going in May lol. We miss it.

I thought the vaccinations aren't guaranteed to stop you from getting it? They still aren't even sure it's going to work? Just wondering why so many are saying they'll go after they get the vaccine.