To Go or Not To Go

[kendo43]

Last spring, it looked like it would be summer until the last eligible adults in PA would be vaccinated and fall until anyone under 16 would be. It changed very suddenly, and even my teens were fully vaxxed by the middle of June. The same could happen with younger age groups
Covid cases have gone through several spike/drop cycles, so it's hard to guess where those numbers will be in November.

I'm hopeful that Disney will continue to bring back and add new experiences with the anniversary celebration approaching. If you can wait to make a decision, I would.

Yea we aren’t pressed to make a decision any time soon, we can wait until closer to the deadline for a full refund.

 

[robinb]

My family of 4 has a trip booked for November 26th - December 4th and me and my wife are thinking hard about cancelling. We live roughly 11 hours away and we usually try to take a Disney trip every other year or so. We last went in September of 2019, it was our kids first trips and everything went great. My kids are 7 and 5 so they cannot be vaccinated yet, me and my wife are fully vaccinated FYI. But even aside from covid we are having a hard time justifying going right now, between so much still being closed, really no extra perks for staying on site and the price. Our trip is fully paid for and spending money already set aside. We are booked at POP and between the resort/tickets/spending money it’s almost 7k. I just can’t get my ahead around spending that much for what seems like such a limited experience. Then add covid and it just doesn’t seem to make sense. Are we crazy for thinking of cancelling since our trip is still almost 4 months away?

I would not take an unvaccinated child to WDW now. I personally don't think it's a safe place. Would I take one in 4 months? Maybe. A lot can happen in 4 months and there might even be vaccines for younger kids by then. I would wait a little bit longer and see if vaccinations come available by early November.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

We are probably canceling our Labor Day trip. Even though we are all fully vaccinated, breakthrough infections are becoming more prevalent. Fortunately, they seem very unlikely to be severe. But even so, I fear that if one of us tests positive—even with no or mild symptoms—it will be a mess. My high-school aged kids would likely have to quarantine and miss the first couple of weeks of school.

 

[katyjeka]

We are going in December and will enjoy our trip. After almost thirty years of trips under our belt we understand that this trip will be different and we are okay with this. Prices are high(highest I've ever experienced)but we want to see the 50th anniversary. I work desk one day a week at a Hilton property and are exposed to people from all over the United States. My dh travels frequently for work and is exposed to a lot!!! We took our family to Denver in May with no worries. Our flights were fine and we enjoyed zoos, Aquariums, and Rocky Mountain. Our family, 4 kids included, have never received a flu shot and we will not anytime soon. We did get the covid shot for the adults in our family. Some of our kids are not of age to get them and I do not feel comfortable getting them one anyways. I understand the worry people have but can't understand the difference between going to the store, school, restaurant, daycare or Disneyworld. Exposure can happen anywhere. Just my opinion.

 

[revdon64]

Personal opinion - I wouldn't go right now or this year. More personal opinion - $7K to stay at POP? Even if you do go, stay off site and save three grand.

 

[PamNC]

I have a friend who has a lot of kids and takes their friends on their trips. She told me that every single person on the trip who WAS NOT vaccinated came back and tested positive. Vaccinated folks, no symptoms whatsoever.

 

[katyjeka]

We are going but are expecting things to be different. We are willing to pay for what may be less experiences and are okay with this. However if this was a issue for us we would reschedule. I think the prices are crazy this year and we are not happy about it but we've made the choice to go and if we are disappointed in the experience the fault will be entirely ours as we know ahead that things are not up to the normal standard.

 

[browneyedgirl1683]

We canceled our summer trip (still sad) but rescheduled for Feburary. I don't know if this is a mistake or not. I've started to look at Covid like any other weather event. It's unpredictable and the best we can do is things like take the precautions we are comfortable with. When risks are too much for our precautions we cancel.

 

[westie55]

There is magic to be had at Disney under any circumstances. I went twice since reopening (once last August and a few weeks ago). Both trips were wonderful, but yes I didn't experience everything I would have liked in a pre covid world. Whether it is worth it for you to go is subjective-- only you can decide that. Don't rule out having an amazing trip just because there are cuts; in fact, I would say these last two trips have been some of our best. If I were you, I'd wait as long as you can and then make your decision. Things change very quickly these days.

 

[smwisc]

Yea we aren’t pressed to make a decision any time soon, we can wait until closer to the deadline for a full refund.

The one piece of advice I have, if you decide not to cancel, is to be prepared to pull the plug at the very last minute, if need be, and think about what circumstances would lead you to that decision. That was our mistake - we are here now (day 9 of 10, plus two days' drive on either end), and I wish we had cancelled - but things started to go south in the two weeks before we left (when our rental house was no longer refundable), and then got much worse while we've been here, and by that point we were just not prepared mentally to pivot that fast, after the entire spring of the situation improving and our comfort level rising. So we're taking as many precautions as we can and making the best of it - but the stress is not worth it to me.

 

[cakebaker]

My family of 4 has a trip booked for November 26th - December 4th and me and my wife are thinking hard about cancelling. We live roughly 11 hours away and we usually try to take a Disney trip every other year or so. We last went in September of 2019, it was our kids first trips and everything went great. My kids are 7 and 5 so they cannot be vaccinated yet, me and my wife are fully vaccinated FYI. But even aside from covid we are having a hard time justifying going right now, between so much still being closed, really no extra perks for staying on site and the price. Our trip is fully paid for and spending money already set aside. We are booked at POP and between the resort/tickets/spending money it’s almost 7k. I just can’t get my ahead around spending that much for what seems like such a limited experience. Then add covid and it just doesn’t seem to make sense. Are we crazy for thinking of cancelling since our trip is still almost 4 months away?

You're not crazy at all. We just returned from a 7 night stay and just trying to maneuver through the parks, constantly trying to avoid massive crowds was mentally and physically exhausting. We had some great experiences, but in hindsight I would never go it again. And for all our extreme measures attempting to stay safe, my grandson got sick anyway. We missed the character meets, the shows, the parades, no dessert parties and the repetitive and limited menu's got old and fast. We ended up, for the first time, driving off sight to get decent take out to eat. We didn't want sit down dining due to my grandson not being vaccinated and while there are couple of great places, most of them are serving the same things and none of it was good.

We won't go back until Disney is really back. I'll wear masks all day long but I'm just not spending the kind of money it takes with so much missing. It just wasn't the Disney I love.

 

[Amore Disney]

I would cancel (maybe still wait until the deadline though) because going around Thanksgiving is not going to help any of the concerns you have mentioned. If I had to guess, COVID and crowd levels will not let up. And at the increased prices that Disney is charging, it's probably going to be very hard to justify. I went last year for my spring break in March, right before the closure, and the crowds appear MUCH heavier now due to less capacity and shows eating up crowds. The lines are massive at every ride this week. Going shoulder to shoulder with strangers - who may or may not cough into your face - is a reality you have to be okay with if you're going to Disney this year.

 

[kendo43]

Personal opinion - I wouldn't go right now or this year. More personal opinion - $7K to stay at POP? Even if you do go, stay off site and save three grand.

Staying at pop isn’t $7k. $7k is including spending money.

 

[lovethattink]

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[pinnypanny]

We are booked November 26th-Dec. 1st. We don't have young kids, so not quite in the same boat as you. I'm just keeping in mind that things can change quickly and it isn't necessary for me to cancel this early, so I'm waiting to see.

 

[lovethattink]

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[sponica]

Since you're not close to the deadline, just wait. Check to see where things are in a month, then again around Oct 1. Nobody has a crystal ball. But I do agree with a previous poster who said if you're concerned it might not be worth it, don't go.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Cancel it that sounds like an excessive amount of money for such a limited experience. FYI my son just turned one and has been to Disney 3 times, I think they’ll be ok even with covid

 

[kendo43]

I will say there's a chance your kids would be able to get vaccinated prior to your trip. EUA for pediatric Covid vaccine might come in late September/October timeframe (I'm hopeful for that, as well, with a 7 & 5 year old myself).

We've held off on going to Disney the last year not just due to Covid but also because the experiences are different right now. We are used to up-close character dining, and character meet-and-greets, and fireworks dessert parties. And with my 7 & 5 year old, I'm not willing to wait in lines longer than 20 minutes. With fastpass + previously, we never had to.

I feel like Disney is charging full price for a portion of the experience.

We elected to book a beach trip this fall instead.

Yea we always like to do the character dining and fireworks dessert parties too and same for fastpass +.

 

[meremac]

I've been telling my clients something along these lines: First, it's a very personal decision and the only person who can really make it is you. But second, if you're asking, you probably already know what the right answer is for your family. My clients who are going are full-stop going and are now focused on logistical last-minute things like their touring plans, transportation, etc. The ones who are debating are likely (based on past experience) going to cancel/reschedule, at the very least because they know they won't be able to relax. It's a very expensive trip if you'll be nervous: you won't be able to enjoy yourselves.