Undecided about July trip, need input

quinnc19

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
So I have all of my park and dining reservations in place and I am now wavering on whether or not to go in late July. I guess my basic question comes down to is: is it safer to be in the Disney bubble or go somewhere like the North Carolina mountains where the number of cases is much lower but the general public will probably be taking few(er) precautions. The increasing cases in Florida has me concerned. For example, it's unlikely but what if we need to go to the hospital. Also, I probably will only have to stop the car 1 time in Florida as we drive down, but there still is some risk there. I'm concerned that people on indoor rides may take off their masks and there will be little I could do about that. I initially booked some indoor reservations for restaurants but am rethinking the safety of that, which will leave us out in the heat most of the day. I was very excited about this trip and I'm reluctant to give it up, but am concerned about taking unnecessary risks (WDW doesn't seem to be the oasis I imagined a couple of weeks ago) and I also don't want to put other people in harm's way. Thoughts?
 
I'd plan to go back to resort for 2 hours of AC in your own villa or pool midday instead of indoor eating.
 
I left Florida mid-March planning to spend 2 weeks in NC mountains until "this thing blows over.". I'm still here.

Positives are WAY up but we are able to isolate (hiking, boating, swimming, kayaking, sitting on dock, SUP, etc.). We go into the grocery store for groceries every 2 weeks. Everything else is ordered online. No other socialization or dining out because lots of rednecks here don't wear masks. It works, more or less, for us but if you plan to do more, it may be as dangerous as Disney.
 
I left Florida mid-March planning to spend 2 weeks in NC mountains until "this thing blows over.". I'm still here.

Positives are WAY up but we are able to isolate (hiking, boating, swimming, kayaking, sitting on dock, SUP, etc.). We go into the grocery store for groceries every 2 weeks. Everything else is ordered online. No other socialization or dining out because lots of rednecks here don't wear masks. It works, more or less, for us but if you plan to do more, it may be as dangerous as Disney.

What's hiking like? Do you ever see anyone wearing masks, or do you just avoid popular trails?[/QUOTE]
 
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Given how you’ve described your concerns, the answer as to whether or not you should go to Disney seems fairly obvious.

Best case scenario, you stay healthy but spend the entire trip in a state of heightened anxiety. Worst case scenario, you and your loved ones end up sick, or worse.

Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing. Do you see either of those things happening in either locale?
 
So I have all of my park and dining reservations in place and I am now wavering on whether or not to go in late July. I guess my basic question comes down to is: is it safer to be in the Disney bubble but am concerned about taking unnecessary risks (WDW doesn't seem to be the oasis I imagined a couple of weeks ago) and I also don't want to put other people in harm's way. Thoughts?

I live here, but if I didn't, I wouldn't want to be here, and I'm not going to Universal or Disney any time soon. The Covid-19 numbers just keep going up and up. I'm thinking better safe than sick. I put my trust in Dr. Fauci who says to avoid crowds.

Plus, I don't know how much fun it's going to be right now worrying about the idiots people around you and so many of the attractions are indoors which means you're exchanging air, and no fireworks or parades. I'm thinking it's going to be a meh experience at best. But I'm old and cynical, so take that for what it's worth.

I think the North Carolina mountains sound like a much better idea.

BTW, I don't know if you should think that there is any kind of "Disney bubble." The cast members are not staying on property, so they're just as exposed as anyone else coming into the park. Yes, they're going to take their temperatures, but?
 
I am in the same position as you but leave Monday and we are still undecided. I think Disney itself will be as safe as it can be but we are thinking of going to the Smokey Mountains instead which is closer to home. In our case, we would be flying to Disney and that makes my husband the most nervous.
 


Case numbers (and sadly deaths) lag exposure by quite a bit. We don’t honestly know how effective the measures that Disney is taking are, but from all impressions they appear to be following best practices as closely as possible. It may be by mid-August we find that there was very little transmission at Disney because of strict mask enforcement. Or it may be that we find that the spacing in restaurants wasn’t enough and the disease aerosolizes so well that there was quite a bit of spread. No one really knows.

In recent years we’ve normally made one summer vacation in the mountains of NC and VA as well as a trip to Disney. We didn’t do that this year. What I can tell you is stopping by a country store in rural VA (not in the mountains but further east) there was NO ONE WEARING A MASK EXCEPT THE CASHIER. And Devils Backbone Brewery (and restaurant) near where we generally go on the Blue Ridge Parkway just closed b/c two servers just tested positive. So it’s definitely spreading in those communities, but there is almost no mask wearing.

I wouldn’t worry about spread at all when hiking, even with a lot of people around. Best current understanding is it’s almost impossible to spread with that sort of contact. But I would want an N95 mask to go into a grocery store and I would really hesitate for any indoor restaurant. Honestly, we could enjoy a vacation like that, but it would be very different than what we normally do (which is a mix of hiking, history, and brewpubs)

Last I heard, Boone and Blowing Rock still had a 14 day quarantine requirement for people entering the area. I don’t know if that’s changed.

Bruce
 
I am very sad today, as I cancelled our trip that started tomorrow for 7 nights At OKW 😢(I did this yesterday). Honestly, I don’t trust what other guests will do to be strict in following the rules and I didn’t want to stress about it on my vacation. Also, I was concerned when watching the cast member previews the last couple days. I saw partitions in some of the queues, but not Peter Pan, for example. It’s great that they have social distance lines on the floor, but if you have to pass by others only 3 or so feet away with no partition, that is not good! Especially with how crazy high Florida’s cases have been recently. We look forward to our (hopefully) normal Disney vacation next year! With all our extra points, maybe we’ll stay in a grand villa for a couple of weeks! May you make peace with whatever you decide 🤗
 
Thank you all for your input. About 99% sure I'm going to be canceling WDW and going to Highlands North Carolina instead. From what I can tell from their local web pages, they do not have a quarantine (I live in South Carolina) and they do have some pretty decent local ordinances on face masks etc. We're going to get a suite so that we can do cooking in the room, although the community seems to have a lot of restaurants with outdoor seating.
 
I live in South Carolina where cases are also increasing. I work each week among people. We are driving to Florida July 19 and staying in a DVC studio. Personally, I weighed the risk in SC vs Florida and we decided we are going.
 
So I have all of my park and dining reservations in place and I am now wavering on whether or not to go in late July. I guess my basic question comes down to is: is it safer to be in the Disney bubble or go somewhere like the North Carolina mountains where the number of cases is much lower but the general public will probably be taking few(er) precautions. The increasing cases in Florida has me concerned. For example, it's unlikely but what if we need to go to the hospital. Also, I probably will only have to stop the car 1 time in Florida as we drive down, but there still is some risk there. I'm concerned that people on indoor rides may take off their masks and there will be little I could do about that. I initially booked some indoor reservations for restaurants but am rethinking the safety of that, which will leave us out in the heat most of the day. I was very excited about this trip and I'm reluctant to give it up, but am concerned about taking unnecessary risks (WDW doesn't seem to be the oasis I imagined a couple of weeks ago) and I also don't want to put other people in harm's way. Thoughts?

We moved our September trip to March 2021. We were at the BC and Riviera in March and saw how different it felt at that time. We were constantly looking over our shoulders, I'm a nurse so our kids DD 17 and DS 23 are very well trained on most of that stuff. We were all on edge the whole time and I didn't like that feeling, because DW and the DVC resorts have always been our happy place. Just to think how difficult it will be to wear a mask with the increased temperatures and humidity , I can see a lot of people taking them off at times. To us vacations are about relaxing, and with the current numbers in Florida and increasing, is very worrisome and very far from relaxing. I honestly can't think of a good reason for our family to take chances at this time and be in crowds in Florida. We would go to the Mountains instead. We may book a few nights after Christmas but will cancel if needed. Good luck with your decision.
 
Honestly, I don’t trust what other guests will do to be strict in following the rules and I didn’t want to stress about it on my vacation.
The was the biggest factor in our deciding to cancel our late August trip. Before COVID it was rare to find guests who had an iota of care for other guests' personal space. People who didn't care before won't care now, and with the virus going on I feel that's going to be amplified. I'd spend my entire vacation paranoid about what everybody else is doing and not just enjoying things.
 
Please come back and tell us how it was. Good luck and stay safe.

I live in South Carolina where cases are also increasing. I work each week among people. We are driving to Florida July 19 and staying in a DVC studio. Personally, I weighed the risk in SC vs Florida and we decided we are going.
 
So I have all of my park and dining reservations in place and I am now wavering on whether or not to go in late July. I guess my basic question comes down to is: is it safer to be in the Disney bubble or go somewhere like the North Carolina mountains where the number of cases is much lower but the general public will probably be taking few(er) precautions. The increasing cases in Florida has me concerned. For example, it's unlikely but what if we need to go to the hospital. Also, I probably will only have to stop the car 1 time in Florida as we drive down, but there still is some risk there. I'm concerned that people on indoor rides may take off their masks and there will be little I could do about that. I initially booked some indoor reservations for restaurants but am rethinking the safety of that, which will leave us out in the heat most of the day. I was very excited about this trip and I'm reluctant to give it up, but am concerned about taking unnecessary risks (WDW doesn't seem to be the oasis I imagined a couple of weeks ago) and I also don't want to put other people in harm's way. Thoughts?
You can always go to Disney when everything is up and running, when we have a vaccine so we don’t need to worry. Disney will be there. Be safe
 
You can always go to Disney when everything is up and running, when we have a vaccine so we don’t need to worry. Disney will be there. Be safe
The vaccine may never come. However, if you are in good health, take all precautions (wash hands frequently, social distance), you should be fine. Disney appears to have social distancing well in hand. If you come down with the virus during your one week trip and need to go to a hospital, you probably already had it when you arrived.
 
We live in Lake Nona (SE Orlando). It is a decision about risk factors - your age and health, public compliance with CDC guidelines (mixed in greater Orlando), the success of Disney’s plan, Disney’s enforcement of its guidelines, Orange County positivity rates (much higher then a month ago). It is also your willingness to enjoy our heat, humidity and afternoon rain wearing masks - if you come suggest you have multiple masks per person per day and two large ziplock plastic bags (one for unused masks and the other for used). We are AP and are not going to the parks yet. Our assessment is to wait. Just my 2 cents.
 
We are AP and are not going to the parks yet. Our assessment is to wait. Just my 2 cents.
Hi Neighbor :wave2: (Lake Mary Jane) and think exactly the same way.

We're in no rush, but normally skip July and August anyway.
 

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