Walgreens Orlando Testing

[MDH]

So this is the link for Walgreens that I have always used and I've (nor ppl I've helped book appointments in AZ) have ever had to load up a DL #? I just did another mock booking for WDW and same thing, does not ask me for any DL info; nor insurance info.

https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing?ban=covid_vanity_testing

I tried that link. Got to the last page and at the very bottom it asks for license number and state. If you don't fill it in it won't let you advance. Perhaps things have changed?

 

[CJK]

I tried that link. Got to the last page and at the very bottom it asks for license number and state. If you don't fill it in it won't let you advance. Perhaps things have changed?

I just went to that link, and went through the whole process, and could have pushed 'submit' to actually book. I wasn't prompted to give a license number at all. Did you put your hotel as your address (and not your Canadian address)?

 

[4_canucks]

According to this article, you put in your Canadian Driver's license number but for State you just put in the state of the Walgreens you are going to (i.e. FL).
https://flytrippers.com/getting-covid-19-test-usa-for-canadians/
(Personal experience: I followed the article and booked free Walgreen PCR tests in California for my return trip to Canada back in October. I don't specifically remember the DL part but for address I did use that of the hotel I was staying at when i did the booking).

 

[damo]

I tried that link. Got to the last page and at the very bottom it asks for license number and state. If you don't fill it in it won't let you advance. Perhaps things have changed?

There is nothing on there that requires me to enter license plate number or state when I fill it is for a Florida address. Maybe it is a specific state that is requiring that. What location are you trying to book at?

 

[Chip#1]

Looks like Cali bookings require a DL since it’s a PCR test (I don’t use Walgreens there since they don’t offer ID NOW test options so hadn’t tried it). But after I picked No Insurance, I picked TX and typed in 999999 and it worked (could probably just pick CA and your own DL # and it work). As per the article @4_canucks posted, it seems like PCR tests need the ID section filled out, not the NAAT tests.

 

[cate2]

Yes - I just tried that and it worked for me as well. I used the address from our resort as our own address, for the licence I used my own licence but chose florida as the state

 

[jaceraden]

I'm sorry to partially hijack this post but what is the name of the test we need at Walgreens to get back to Canada via air? There are 3 options and I have no idea the difference. What does ID now mean - I feel like this might be the correct one but PCR also sounds correct.

 

[Madame]

I'm sorry to partially hijack this post but what is the name of the test we need at Walgreens to get back to Canada via air? There are 3 options and I have no idea the difference. What does ID now mean - I feel like this might be the correct one but PCR also sounds correct.

Yes. You want this one:

 

[jaceraden]

Thank you!

 

[jenna1212]

All good! Had testing appointments at 10:00, 10:15 and 10:30. We arrived at 9:55 and there was nobody in line and we were done by 10:10.

First results were in at 11, next at 11:30 and last at 12:00.

So simple.

We just had to show them our drivers' licenses.

Did you use your DL to register for the appointments as well? Did you prebook an Uber/Mears? If you did, do you mind me asking about how much it was? Would love to hear your experience coming back into Canada too if you have time. We travel next weekend.

 

[trompettecon]

That is the one we used.

Thank you Damo. Do you pay when you book or when you arrive? Using Beeper MD at the hotel but I want to use Walgreen as a backup.

 

[damo]

Thank you Damo. Do you pay when you book or when you arrive? Using Beeper MD at the hotel but I want to use Walgreen as a backup.

There is no fee. It is totally free.

 

[damo]

Did you use your DL to register for the appointments as well? Did you prebook an Uber/Mears? If you did, do you mind me asking about how much it was? Would love to hear your experience coming back into Canada too if you have time. We travel next weekend.

I didn't have to enter a DL to book. We had a car, so we it was pretty simple. I am going to make a trip report with things people need to know about coming home. It is a bit more confusing as there is so little information.

Here are the main things though....
-There is nowhere on your AC check-in process to fill in your health information, so don't search for it. Just fill out your arrivecan app.
-When you get to the airport, the AC check-in person will check your testing results
-security was easily and the people were lovely. We had purchased a disney soap dispenser without realizing it was filled with soap and had it in the carryon. They let us empty it.
-It is a verrrrry long walk once you get off the plane and to customs.
-After arrival you will go to customs where you electronically fill out your declaration
-After customs you will head to the luggage pickup
-After luggage pick-up you will pass through a narrow corridor where there are plain clothed people yelling at you to see your passports
-If you have a pink sticker, you are randomly covid tested
-If you have a green sticker, they let you pass through
-All kids were being tested
-Nobody gives you any of this information beforehand
-Switch health does a PCR test and you will get the results within 72 hours
-you don't have to quarantine unless you test positive



The biggest problem is that you have no idea of what is going on. And people are yelling at huge groups because nobody has been clued in. It is a rough way to end the trip.

 

[jenna1212]

I didn't have to enter a DL to book. We had a car, so we it was pretty simple. I am going to make a trip report with things people need to know about coming home. It is a bit more confusing as there is so little information.

Here are the main things though....
-There is nowhere on your AC check-in process to fill in your health information, so don't search for it. Just fill out your arrivecan app.
-When you get to the airport, the AC check-in person will check your testing results
-security was easily and the people were lovely. We had purchased a disney soap dispenser without realizing it was filled with soap and had it in the carryon. They let us empty it.
-It is a verrrrry long walk once you get off the plane and to customs.
-After arrival you will go to customs where you electronically fill out your declaration
-After customs you will head to the luggage pickup
-After luggage pick-up you will pass through a narrow corridor where there are plain clothed people yelling at you to see your passports
-If you have a pink sticker, you are randomly covid tested
-If you have a green sticker, they let you pass through
-All kids were being tested
-Nobody gives you any of this information beforehand
-Switch health does a PCR test and you will get the results within 72 hours
-you don't have to quarantine unless you test positive



The biggest problem is that you have no idea of what is going on. And people are yelling at huge groups because nobody has been clued in. It is a rough way to end the trip.

Thanks so much for that. We have 2 kids with us, 4 adults, I can only imagine the mayhem.

 

[Cey1]

Hello again, it forces you to chose a state and zip code... what did others put for this?
... then at the end if you click no insurance you must enter your states id number or drivers licence number.

Just use your Canadian Drivers license number and click on Florida as the state. Worked for us when we booked our tests last week.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I didn't have to enter a DL to book. We had a car, so we it was pretty simple. I am going to make a trip report with things people need to know about coming home. It is a bit more confusing as there is so little information.

Here are the main things though....
-There is nowhere on your AC check-in process to fill in your health information, so don't search for it. Just fill out your arrivecan app.
-When you get to the airport, the AC check-in person will check your testing results
-security was easily and the people were lovely. We had purchased a disney soap dispenser without realizing it was filled with soap and had it in the carryon. They let us empty it.
-It is a verrrrry long walk once you get off the plane and to customs.
-After arrival you will go to customs where you electronically fill out your declaration
-After customs you will head to the luggage pickup
-After luggage pick-up you will pass through a narrow corridor where there are plain clothed people yelling at you to see your passports
-If you have a pink sticker, you are randomly covid tested
-If you have a green sticker, they let you pass through
-All kids were being tested
-Nobody gives you any of this information beforehand
-Switch health does a PCR test and you will get the results within 72 hours
-you don't have to quarantine unless you test positive



The biggest problem is that you have no idea of what is going on. And people are yelling at huge groups because nobody has been clued in. It is a rough way to end the trip.

Welcome back!
When we flew into Pearson in August, that’s exactly how it went. We had no waits, but got the pink stickers on our passports. The border officer never told us we were selected for the on-arrival test, so it’s definitely confusing when you have your luggage and people yelling at you as you said to head in for the test instead of the exit. We later found out they were testing mostly everyone with kids (but ours was 12 and vaccinated) but anyway. Confusion is the name of the game… soon it’s will be everyone tested so I can imagine there will be waits.
I actually got our passports out again and they still have the pink stickers on it lol. Do you think I can remove them? We are flying on Sunday but from Buffalo.
Can’t wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[trompettecon]

Just use your Canadian Drivers license number and click on Florida as the state. Worked for us when we booked our tests last week.

Not everyone in my travelling group has a DL. I plan on using the hotel's address. Do you think that would be a problem?

 

[damo]

Welcome back!
When we flew into Pearson in August, that’s exactly how it went. We had no waits, but got the pink stickers on our passports. The border officer never told us we were selected for the on-arrival test, so it’s definitely confusing when you have your luggage and people yelling at you as you said to head in for the test instead of the exit. We later found out they were testing mostly everyone with kids (but ours was 12 and vaccinated) but anyway. Confusion is the name of the game… soon it’s will be everyone tested so I can imagine there will be waits.
I actually got our passports out again and they still have the pink stickers on it lol. Do you think I can remove them? We are flying on Sunday but from Buffalo.
Can’t wait to hear more about your trip!

Yes, I would remove them to avoid further confusion. The airport really needs to just put up some big pink and green signs before you get to the hallways so you know what to expect. We thought that the people who were yelling for passports were with the group they were yelling at. It is all such unnecessary drama.

 

[Lorajo]

Edit - i rebooked to IDNOW - thanks

I just spent an hour booking my family of 5 but chose the PCR instead of ID Now

i am wondering if I should cancel them all and rebook - I wasn’t sure at the time on ID Now being an acceptable test

 

[4_canucks]

DRAMA - as others had noted, definitely have a Plan B for departure COVID testing!
Back home now in Canada, happy. Tested negative so was able to fly home.

Summary: We booked both CVS and Walgreens. CVS PCR/NAAT on 12/26, Walgreens ID NOW on 12/27. Flight home was 12/28.
CVS - no issues. results came through between 31-35 hours after test.
Walgreens pharmacy - DID NOT HAPPEN. Sign posted on drive-through window saying the whole pharmacy dept is closed "due to an emergency" when we pulled up in our rental car at the time of our appointment! As if that's not exciting enough, the Walgreens covid test booking website went down all afternoon. In the end we wasted 4 hours driving and calling and begging but did not get the ID NOW test done. We gave up and went back to EPCOT as we were losing valuable park time! Luckily, that same evening the CVS test results came back all negative so all ended well but gosh what an ordeal!!

So glad we booked 2 sets of tests even though technically that would not have been necessary.

Longer version in case anyone would like to hear details:
On 12/13, booked CVS drive-thru PCR/NAAT tests for 12/26 at 11am at the 6085 W Irlo Bronson address. Didn't even plan to do this one, was gonna just use walgreens, but since CVS allowed booking 2 weeks (or more?) in advance, so just in case, i booked them for Dec 26th (our flight was 5pm on 12/28 , didn't think we could get a test on Christmas Day after 5pm).
On 12/19 at 0:00 I was supposed to book walgreens (7 days ahead?). but. was LIVING MY BEST LIFE AT WDW so completely FORGOT. So on 12/20 at 0:00 I booked walgreens for 12/27 for 12pm at the 12100 S Apopka Vineland address.

On 12/26, got Hertz rental car (another drama but that's a separate topic), pulled up at CVS drive-thru at 10:50am. Pharmacist says , sorry, testing starts at 11am. Hubby wants to just park there and wait the 10 mins but i said no, go park nearby , others might need to drive thru for their meds. So we parked just steps from the drive thru so we can pull up right at 11am. Well. At 10:57am, a family of four (parents and 2 children) WALKED UP to the CVS drive thru window. I said to hubby, "they can't do that! they have to be in a car". Well. I was wrong. They absolutely can do that. At precisely 11am, we drove up (giving the family space) and just waited there while they did their tests by jumping the line. Then at 11:15am it was finally our turn and pharmacist was nice . She didn't even ask for ID, she just asked for our names and DOB. We did our tests and went on our way. I got email notification to set up the myChart accounts - i set those up so we can view results but knew it will take 1-2 days to be available.

On 12/27 we pulled up to the Walgreens drive thru window. Rang the bell. No answer. Rang some more. Then read the 8x11 sign - the entire pharmacy dept is closed due to an emergency! (oh no i guess someone tested positive and they had to isolate?). Went inside the store - the store manager said the pharmacy is closed all day and did not offer help to rebook or where else to go. What then. Panic sets in. pulled up google to search for another walgreens with drive-thru. Drove to about 3-4 walgreens , some didn't have a drive-thru window (even though google says they have it), some have a sign on their drive thru window saying they don't offer drive-thru please go to another walgreens, finally decided to call ahead. The one on 6230 W Orlo Bronson said they'd take us but their system is down so they can't pull our reservation from another location. We drove there anyway, hoping by the time we get there their system will be back up. Pulled up at drive-thru window. Nope. So we waited around, got lunch at Arby's drive thru while thinking about the EPCOT food booths, then waited some more, and called again, they still can't take us, system is still down. Called the walgreens again after waiting 30 mins and they said they can't help us (i think we'd tired them out at that point). Told us to go to hospital nearby and use Advent Health. Tried to look up Advent Health website. Couldn't make out heads/toes on how it would work.
Decided to call another walgreens - amazingly the pharmacist at 5180 W Orlo Bronson was able to go one step further, she took our cell number and said she'll call us when the system comes back up. Wow. We gave her our confirmation numbers to speed things up (so she can pull our reservations over once the system is up) and then happily went back to EPCOT as it was almost 3:30pm and last test of the day is at 5pm we figured it won't happen. Including driving, taking disney transport to EPCOT, etc we had lost 4 hours of park time by that point.
The pharmacist at 5180 W Orlo Bronson called us at 4:36pm saying system is back up, can we go there now to get our tests. I said no we can't but can we go there at 9am tomorrow as soon as they open? She said yes. THANK YOU!!! We knew ID NOW tests will give us results in a few hours and we should be able to get them back before our 5pm flight tomorrow.

Amazingly, our CVS results started to come in, first one at 5:30pm - Negative, then the next ones came in, about 1 hour apart, all negative. Last one came in around 9:10pm. WOO HOO! We can fly home! Btw, text notifications came 24 hours later! email notification never came. Glad i have created the CVS myChart accounts so i can view results as soon as they're available and not rely on texts/email.

Lesson learned - must have a plan B. Car rental is handy if you can. But looks like you could walk up to a CVS drive-thru. Others have reported success going through the drive-thru in an uber but we had not tried that.

Other lesson learned - walgreens can pull your reservation from another location if the one you're booked at is closed for some reason.

Another lesson learned - if using CVS , be sure to create an online account to view your results as soon as they're available - otherwise the text / email notification would come way later.

Final lesson learned - PHARMACISTS ARE SUCH NICE PEOPLE (same for the ones we have in Canada too. wow)!!!!