(written by a fellow Disney travel agent, with permission to repost)
It’s not what you think…keep reading!
Wait, what?!… When speaking to some potential clients many expressed their “fears” or “concerns” about going to Disney World with the new COVID19 protocols in place. Many questions arise, that I am sure to have gone through your head as well. Like, “Will it be a waste of my money?” or “I don’t want to go if everything is not open.” The list could go on.
I began seeing and hearing so much negativity from people about the “new” Disney, that I started digging deeper. I scrolled through the Facebook comments on the Walt Disney World page with their latest advertisement. It was 90% negative, with 10% positive and those 10% had negative shaming sub comments. It took one google search of “Why not to go to Disney right now” to bring up YouTube videos, blog posts, Twitter, and Facebook posts of all the negative things people had to say. Honestly, this year has been hard enough for so many people including Disney and us in the travel industry, why keep up all this negative shaming against travel, especially to Disney!
I decided to write this post in hopes of bringing a positive spin to the negative questions so many have against traveling to Disney World during this pandemic.
So here we go, reasons you should NOT travel to Disney right now…
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#1: You should not go to Disney right now if you love having people touching you at almost all times.
Are you a huge fan of people pushing, shoving, and taking over your personal bubble space to get in a line, see a character, or be the first one through the park at rope drop? Maybe you are a fan of crowding 50+ people onto a bus at 10 pm after they’ve been sweaty and smelly at a park all day.
If you’re a fan of all of your personal space being violated, then now is not the time to go to Disney!
Now if you LOVE having 6ft between your family and the Smith’s party of 15 when waiting in lines or on a gondola on the Skyliner or Monorail then this is the perfect time for you to go to Disney! If you prefer not to share a cart on a ride with a total stranger, then this is a great time to visit Disney!
#2: You should not go to Disney right now if you enjoy having less clean rides and surfaces, and possibly coming home with a nasty cold or virus after your stay.
If you love getting sick, or you love getting sneezed on by Karen in the seat next to you on Rocking Roller Coaster who probably had a fever that morning but didn’t want to miss out on her very expensive Disney trip- then now is not a great time to go to Disney.
But if you don’t mind a mild inconvenience of 5-15 minutes of a pause in ride operations ever so often so that the staff can properly sanitize and disinfect the surface that 20,000 people are touching a day then this is a great time for you to visit Disney.
Maybe you prefer to be pushed and shoved by the people behind you trying to get into the park instead of having to stop and have your temperature checked so that Karen doesn’t pass her illness on to you, then now may not be the best time to visit Disney. However, if you want to stay healthy for the entire vacation, that you spent top dollar on might I add, then bring on that thermometer and go about your merry way for a wonderful day in the park!
And just a note on the masks, you probably will not find many people to tell you how much they love wearing a mask. I can bet my life that as uncomfortable as you are in your mask all day at Disney, so is every Cast Member wearing one because their job depends on it. You can have an opinion on the matter, no problem, but Disney has determined masks are their best option for ANYONE ages 2 and up to keep guests and Cast Members safe. Just wear the mask and HAVE FUN! Don’t let something so small keep you from experiencing all of the magic!
Every person I have spoken to that has traveled during COVID has said, “Are the masks inconvenient at times? Absolutely! But I wouldn’t not go just because of that.” If anything the masks may protect your family from the dreaded stomach bug at the minimum!
#3: You should not go to Disney right now if you love when your favorite resort is so packed with people that you can’t enjoy the bars, restaurants, pools, or activities that it has to offer.
If you are a huge fan of packed resorts with hustle and bustle then wait and go to Disney after COVID19, preferably on a Holiday or especially the week between Christmas and New Year. You will have all your dreams come true with all the crowds, noise, and lines you will experience then!
Now if you prefer a more relaxing vacation and getting the most for your money then now is a great time to stay at your favorite resort that has limited capacity! -Let’s not forget how super clean all those rooms are right now!
#4: You should not go to Disney right now if you prefer Disney to be as packed as possible!
Raise your hand if your favorite day at Magic Kingdom is when it is at 100% capacity of 100 THOUSAND people! Any takers? If so, don’t go to Disney right now. Because right now parks are not at their max capacity with the current restrictions in place. Even if a park is blocked out on the reservation system there will still be nowhere close to the maximum amount of guests the park could hold on a given day. Especially in some of Disney’s busiest seasons.
You will see pictures left and right, and people posting their comments about all the atrocious lines right now. Guys the parks were a ghost town in July when they opened. People wanted to feel the waters before traveling. It is not that way anymore and that is a GOOD thing! More people in the parks means more staff Disney can keep on board, more things opening up, and a positive trend of our economy and all the people big and small affected by Disney’s closure. So if you have ever dreamed of going to Disney World for the holiday season, this is the year to do it! I’ll be there, as well as many of my colleagues and we’d love for you to join us!
Ya’ll it is WALT DISNEY WORLD, THERE WILL BE LINES…. I said it loud for all the people in the back. Please release the expectation that you will go to Disney and never have to wait in a line. Your trip will be 1000 times better with the expectation that you may have to wait for things. Take those moments and enjoy all the little Disney magic that is woven with intricate detail that you cannot and will not experience at any other theme park in this world.
Also on the line note, wait times are usually much less than they appear…Stop believing everything you read or see on the internet!
#5: You should not go to Disney right now if you like going from sun up to sun down and going home more exhausted than when you came.
Don’t get me wrong, my family was always a rope drop to park close kind of family. We hustled and we bustled day in and day out making sure we got the most bang for our buck riding all of our favorite attractions as many times as our heart desired. But we always ended up exhausted after. Thankfully these days are behind us in the current Disney state.
With the parks opening a little later, and closing a little earlier, as well as eliminating the FastPass+ system. We are forced to SLOW DOWN. And honestly, I think that is a huge relief. Go and listen to any old interview with Walt Disney himself and you will see that he never wished for Disney to be more stressful than fun. And sadly, I think that has become the norm for many families. There is so much to do and you feel like you have to rush from this place to the next, reservation to FastPass to fit it all in. That is not what is happening right now.
So go to Disney and do rope drop (I highly recommend it!) but also sleep in because you don’t have to get to the park at 5 or 6 am you can get there at 9!
As far as parks closing a little earlier, you are now able to go back to your resort, or explore other resorts, that you spent all of that money to stay at. Another bonus- you can enjoy it more than just to sleep for five hours! Disney resorts are unlike anything I have ever seen and it’s often one of the few regrets we having when leaving that we didn’t spend more time enjoying it. Maybe now you’ll have time to hop on a monorail or the Skyliner and tour some resorts you haven’t seen before and map out your next stay!
#6: You should not go to Disney right now if you prefer standing room only.
If your favorite part of going to Disney is standing in line for 30 minutes or more for a bus, monorail, or show just to get inside, not have a seat, and have to stand for the entire duration- then now is not your time to travel to Disney.
If you like having a seat and your personal space, then go NOW. Long are the days of having to hold on to a pole, and a child-or two, on a bus packed to it’s fullest leaving a park at closing.
#7: You should not go to Disney right now if you like spending hours of your precious day waiting in line to see a character for 2 minutes that your child screams the entire time for the picture.
I’ve heard this 10 plus times from people recently. “We want to wait and go to Disney when they bring back the character meet and greets.”
…..Umm, why?! This one I just don’t understand. The lines for these are horrific, sometimes hours. I’ve known people to wait for 2 hours plus to see Anna and Elsa for less than 2 minutes. You miss out on so many other wonderful things at Disney when you spend all of your time waiting in a line to see one or two characters and then another hour to see a couple more.
Back when I was young, you could be walking through Epcot and suddenly see Snow White pop into the garden and it was the most magical thing I had ever seen. I would get so excited to be able to smile, wave, and snap a picture. She would talk to you from behind the fences and then you would move on your way. This is what Disney is bringing back now. They are bringing back the spontaneity, the surprise of characters appearing throughout the parks. You are seeing more characters now than ever before because they are not having to stay tucked away from the long lines of people crowding to see them.
I love the new way characters are being incorporated, plus you don’t have to get frustrated when you have waited for two hours to see Mickey for your child to refuse to take their turn. Now, little Billy can wave to Mickey from afar-no tears or frustrations necessary! Trust me this one is a WIN for everybody!
#8: You should not go to Disney right now if you enjoy taking 2+ hours to find the best parade spot amongst 1000+ people
I know so many people are bummed about the lack of scheduled parades right now. But let me paint you this picture…. Would you rather sit in the hot sun for hours cramped on top of complete strangers to snag a parade spot, so that 10 minutes before it starts 100 people crowd in pushing and shoving you, and your little ones, out of your spot where you can barely see? Or would you rather take a stroll through Main Street, grab a snack, and a seat for a nice 30 minute to an hour break any time during your day, at your convivence, to catch the Cavalcades with so many characters and wonderful theming? Most likely the latter.
No more crowds after the parades end trying to disperse. No more having to change your route to walk around all of the people and parades when you are not spectating.
The cavalcades are spontaneous and each unique. You may never know when you’ll see Mickey and friends or you may see all your favorite princesses. It brings back the element of surprise and magic that Disney was built on.
#9: You should not go to Disney right now if you do not enjoy supporting the Cast Members.
Just as all of you were affected by COVID19, so were the Disney Cast Members. Many have worked at Disney for years, some were college students, some were exchange students from other countries. Disney is one of the largest employers in the state of Florida. I have personally known many people who have worked at Disney through the years and they are not doing it because they are getting rich. They work at Disney because they enjoy seeing the joy Disney brings to all of their guests.
By not going to Disney, you are not helping Cast Members keep their jobs. You are not helping them keep their family supported. You are not helping Disney be able to bring back all of your favorite restaurants and shows. Disney needs us to travel so that they can operate again. Cast Members need you to travel so that they can keep their jobs. Travel Agents need you to travel so that they can pay their bills.
All of those awesome new attractions, restaurants, and resorts you have been seeing start to emerge…yeah those won’t be able to be completed if people aren’t traveling. They cannot pay the 1000+ workers to complete those magnificent projects if guests aren’t coming to visit. Don’t wait for all the new stuff, go now and help make the new stuff be a possibility for everyone!
Just like when 9/11 happened, “old Disney” was left behind us. Security increased, jobs were lost because many people feared getting on an airplane. Disney had to build back after losing so much revenue from the lack of travel. Some projects Disney was working on then had to be scrapped completely due to the lack of park revenue. People were not happy with the increased security protocols that added time to their entry process. Some stopped coming, but many still came because they knew Disney always had the guests’ best interest in mind. We learned and we adapted. That is exactly what we must do now. If you are a Disney fan, support your Disney family and travel! Don’t wait!
And lastly….
#10: You should not go to Disney right now if you want to shame and criticize the people who do.
Not everyone is comfortable traveling right now. We see that we understand that. Everyone has the right to make the choice as to what is best for them and their family. Whether that be for health reasons for financial reasons.
BUT THE SHAMING HAS TO STOP.
If someone is excitedly sharing with you their upcoming Disney plans, then be happy for them. Don’t tell them all the reasons they should not go. Those may be reasons you do not want to do, but please don’t steal someone else’s thunder!
So many clients are canceling trips left and right that agents have put HOURS into planning for them. All because their neighbor told them all of the bad things they read on false articles spread all over Facebook. Canceling trips hurts, agents, cast members, and it makes people later regret canceling in the first place.
if you look for the negative, in Disney, or any situation, you will find it. But if you adjust your expectations to this new world we are living in, we can learn to embrace it and find joy in living.
Don’t miss out on the next months, or years of your life waiting for things to “go back to normal”. Embrace the current normal and find JOY in each season we are in. So take the trip, go to Disney, or Mexico, or 2 hours to the next city over. Do whatever you are comfortable with that brings you joy in this season we are all navigating together.
Signed,
A Travel Agent who wants people to enjoy the magic of Disney again!
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