Traveling with Family in the New Norm
This past year has certainly brought an immense amount of change and interruptions for everyone. One of the hardest for me was not getting together with friends and family for special occasions or extended family vacations.
Travel, for our family has been one of the biggest ways we create memories together. It was tough, especially for our kids, as we watched our planned vacations and getaways cancel one after another. I realize that in the midst of a pandemic, the idea of travel seems frivolous. But it wasn’t just the travel itself we were missing. It was the chance to make those new memories and honestly, experience a sense of normalcy from all the craziness.
After Walt Disney World reopened in mid-summer, we paid special attention to how they were implementing their safety protocols. We were impressed with the temperature testing, the mask requirements, and how Disney was able to keep guests socially distant, even in ride lines. After a few weeks of watching Disney make this new normal work, we decided a trip would be worth the risk. We spoke to our extended family and asked if they were interested in joining us. We explained that Disney’s adherence to safety might just make it possible for us to be together. Now the trick was to figure out how!
I’d be lying if said I did not have reservations and some trepidation while planning the trip, and in the days leading up to it. Who wouldn’t? Our world looks very different right now, and when you hear daily advice like “stay in your bubble” and “don’t gather in large groups” it creates anxiety.
How could we make this work? How could we safely plan this with our large family? A group of 18 is a BIG group even when COVID is not a concern!
The answer to this is “good planning.” That, and lots of flexibility, and using an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent who can help you plan and keep the families organized.
Our group comprised 5 different families with ages ranging from 4 to 64 years old. We knew that being together the whole time was not realistic. So, each family group selected a resort (either on or off-property) that best suited their family size and budget. Additionally, each family chose their preferred method of travel to Disney, whether flying or driving.
Pre-trip planning ensured that we had reservations for the same park AND a set meeting time each day. We also planned on eating lunch together at a specified location. Throughout the day as family members, we would mix our time together and apart. Cousins would break off to ride certain attractions but ensure we were following Disney’s rules. We also minimized the number of sit-down dinners we had together, keeping to only two and for the remainder of the evenings, and each family group ate at their own resorts.
The answer to the “safely” part – well that was all Disney. Their strict protocols of daily temperature taking, mask wearing, social distancing, and sanitizing made it easy for our group to follow the rules and stay protected. Even meals as a family required us to spread out at different tables so we wouldn’t be all bunched up together.
Disney has done a phenomenal job putting procedures in place to make its guests as safe as possible in the face of COVID. This has meant that park hours are shorter and ride lines modified for spacing, with fast passes unavailable. Although the lines looked long, they were always moving. And we actually found that we were able to ride more attractions than we usually do on our typical Disney World trips. More often than not, the wait time was much less than the time posted, which was a nice surprise. As a regular Disney traveler, it was not a typical experience, but I was impressed with their efforts to produce that Disney Magic even if it looked and felt a little different.
I’m so glad that we took the leap to make these new unique memories. We still found our time together precious and filled with lots of laughter, magical moments and fun.
Yes, it was different. Yes, traveling during COVID requires careful planning and extra precautions, but we were glad that Disney allowed us to do this safely during such a crazy year.
A blog by Jennifer Barrett, a Wishes Travel Concierge Specialist
