This will probably be our last time going to Disney World with our kids for awhile, as they are approaching late high school years, so we were really hoping to go all out. We have already booked our favorite disney resorts and booked our fav restaurants that have of course been cancelled. I have not purchased tickets yet. Anybody else have plans to go in October or have you cancelled. Any thoughts?? Very torn, as we were really looking forward to this trip, but with the money you spend will it be worth it with somethings not open and such…or is it a good time with it not being overly crowded?
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We’re booked 10/4-10/7, but we’re very much in a wait and see mindset right now. Being from Michigan we’re very well aware of how much things can change in 2-3 months so we’re still holding out some hope that things may change for the better in FL by then.
We have a DVC reservation, so we will have to decide by 9/4. We haven’t booked any flights or purchased any tickets (I have one day remaining on a military hopper, but nobody else has tickets) yet, though.
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The low crowds look so appealing. However, the limited experience at full price is why I cancelled my September trip.
Limited hours / no shows / attraction preshows & effects turned off.
It broke my heart to not go, but I’d rather go when I’m getting my full experience for all that money.
(If they offered a dramatic discount, like 30%+ off, I’d reconsider)
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We are in the same boat. Except our trip is in beginning of November, albeit, mainly to Universal and 1 day at Disney After going through a roller coaster of emotions about the whole thing. I have decided that we will be going as long as New York state no longer imposes the 14 day quarantine rule upon return. In terms of when I will pull the plug…I have until August 13th to get my money back for Universal B2G2 days tickets(minus 75$ fee) hotel is cancellable up until 7 days in advance and my airline tix through Jetblue which i purchased via Amex travel with points I believe are somewhat refundable not sure of the terms directly yet.
IF, i make it passed the August 13th deadline then I will purchase disney tickets, but I will wait until I am about 70 days out to assess the situation. So it will give me some time to buy tickets make park reservation and dining reservation when the 60 day window opens. I know our situations are somewhat different but this is how I am currently rationalizing it in my brain.
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I’m not sure any of us can answer this for you. But at least we can give some thoughts!
What is important to you? What makes a Disney trip Disney? For many, the things that are being “taken away” are key to being worth it. For others, such as the case with us, the things that have been taken away aren’t terribly important to us. (Granted, my wife is lamenting the loss of fireworks…but I’m not!)
What I can say is that I HATE being at Disney with large crowds. I hate all the super intense planning. (Okay, there is an element of fun to it…but at the same time, there is a element of stress, worrying that the plan isn’t perfect enough, etc.)
So for me, this trip seems like a dream come true (minus a few exceptions). Little to no planning, including no need for Fastpasses, miniscule crowds to contend with? Count me in!
BUT, it won’t be the same. Some things better, but there will be a bit of “loss” to it. I’m not just talking about having to wear masks. But the reduction in shows, for example, or just the ability to freely walk up to a food kiosk and get a Mickey Bar being gone (or, limited), etc.
So…a trip to Disney now is a once in a lifetime opportunity (hopefully!) to experience the parks unlike they have ever been before. If that appeals to you, consider it. If you fear you’ll be lamenting the loss of too many things, perhaps not.
Should you stay, or should you go? Only you and your family can decide.
We’re going. We’re all in. Can’t wait! But…it won’t be the same, for sure.
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We’re currently booked in mid-October for the reschedule of our doomed spring break trip.
I can’t imagine we’ll go. But I haven’t cancelled yet.
Although we went to UOR in June and felt comfortable, that was when we thought the pandemic was at least stable, if not subsiding.
I look at the charts right now and it’s clear this thing is completely out of control. I don’t want to model/encourage vacation travel under the current circumstances, even if I feel the risk is extremely low of either bringing COVID to WDW or catching it at WDW.
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We cancelled our September trip for this reason also. We were also booked to go next week with the kids. I was having such a hard time feeling like I was missing out on a unique experience at WDW - what with zero lines and empty parks - but when I evaluated the situation honestly I decided I really don’t mind crowds normally when we’re there. And lines are low now, sure, but we never wait in line as it is anyway. Mind you, not waiting in line during a normal park day requires more planning than the current park crowds but a lot of the bigger rides are still posting moderate wait times (30-45 min) and we never wait more than 15-20 during a typical trip. Once I came to realize that I was more ok with cancelling.
But that’s our reasoning. We’re DVC and go pretty often so it’s not a huge deal for us to just cancel and wait around for next year’s trip. Only you can decide if it’s the right thing for you and your family to go right now.
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I so agree with you! It is a tough decision, but for all the reasons you mentioned we are going too at the end of August (rescheduled from April). This is only our 2nd trip to WDW, the first was in 2019 and we LOVED it so much, we decided to go again in 2020 - but…stupid virus! However, we’ve been to DL several times and have seen the fireworks and parades plenty of times. We are still so new to WDW, it’s the rides and just being there that we love the most - the low crowds/wait times will be a definite plus!! No other time works for us next year, so we’re plowing ahead and honestly believe we’ll have a great time. It is like you said, it’s very much a personal choice and what you and your family want out of your vacation.
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We just got back from a spontaneous weekend trip and I can say, our experience was not limited. The crowds were so low and the cast members are overly eager to help. We did not use buses so I can’t comment on how they were running. The only snafu I can really comment on is the food court at the hotel was a little chaotic and they were overly strict about letting people in without an order. We are used to being able to kill time in the a/c at the food court on occasion.
If you feel comfortable going, I would say do not consider this a limited experience.
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@Amy11Russ So glad you had a good time! I remember how you debated going!! 
I really do love how short most of the queues are!!
However, IMHO, I say limited because of all the things that, for me, make a trip to Disney unique aren’t available. I love meeting characters as much, maybe more, than shows / fireworks. (which all three things are all gone…)
I like standing in the HM stretching room & hearing the preshow, getting sprayed with water / orange scent at Soarin’, designing a car at Test Track, & more… (that are all & more now turned off)
My favorite TS restaurants are closed and I want to be in the parks for 12+ hours.
Again… for me, If I’m going to pay $5,000+ then I want everything that I usually get for that amount. If WDW wants to deeply discount the resorts / vacation packages then I’d really consider it.
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we had trips scheduled in March and August of this year. I ended up canceling most but it would not have made any difference because WDW canceled all my hard earned reservations anyway. We love WDW and I love the little extra most of you are willing to do without. Not me. I love buffets where I can pick out what I want to eat from a big selection and how much. That’s now gone. We loved Hoope Do Review but that is gone. Being older and even with WDW taking many precautions for Covid 19 it still is not totally safe and there little announcement of it being your problem if you catch something there is kind of a killer for us. Yes, I know that many claim WDW is safer than the State of Florida but Florida is definitely NOT the place to be right now. So this said remember one thing, A vaccine is in the works and not just one but many. Just announced that one is very promising and might be available to the public early next year. To regain the old WDW and it’s restaurants I am willing to wait just a little longer. My opinion only.
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This makes complete sense to me, and I did wrestle with the decision out of being responsible rather than value.
However, my family doesn’t do a lot of expensive dining and we almost never stay for fireworks or do a lot of stage shows. Since many of those things are important to you, I would definitely agree that your experience would be limited and probably wouldn’t be the full value. My experience was anything but limited but I have different priorities.
Makes much more sense how you would be impacted in a different way.
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I’m still planning on going in October. I’m not worried about COVID at WDW. I’m not really bothered about the lack of fireworks and parades and all the rest of it. I’ve been to WDW before. I’ll go again. This trip is just about being there.
The decision may be taken away from me. Flights still haven’t resumed from the UK to the US. Who knows when they will. My carrier has been cancelling flights as late as the end of September.
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Hard to say what you should do as your circumstance might be different then mine. We rescheduled for October, but have since canceled. First is the oldest school, we would have to stay out for two weeks after vacation. Few other reasons, kids are young can trust them not to touch everything. We would have to fly, not to keen on that yet, esp with little kids touching everything. We don’t go that often so decided why not wait another year, again our kids are young so plenty of chances to go again. And the fireworks, parade, meet and greets… those are highlights for my kids. That would be missed. Also masks and the three year old, would not have happened.
But, sound like your kids are older… and the parks do look amazing. Its a hard choice!
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We are going mid September, my fear is with the rise in cases the parks will close down again. It’s a hard decision weather or not to cancel. I keep going back and forth.
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Our kids are older as well, the youngest is going into her junior year in HS. We cancelled our Oct 8-13 trip for one main reason. Our reservation was DVC. In order to cancel and retain the use of the points for the future, we would have to cancel no later than 9/7. With the FL travel restriction against NY travelers not set to expire or be extended until 9/5 it was cutting it too close.
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I’m still holding on to our early December reservation for now, but the chance I will eventually cancel is >90%. We were fortunate in that we were at the point in our regular trip cycle that we don’t currently have APs, and if we cancel I’ll be able to bank all our DVC points.
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Thanks everyone for your feedback!
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I’ve canceled April, June and July and I’m debating my August trip right now…but I’m holding out hope for October. I rented DVC for a Food and Wine trip with my niece, mom, sister and brother in law. My niece begged for this trip since she turned 21 in May. It was a pretty miserable 21st birthday and hopefully this will be the silver lining!
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Hi There, just curious… I purchased points from a DVC owner to basically go the same time you are planning to be there… is early September (9/4, 9/6) the cancellation date for someone in my situation too? Thanks!
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