May the Force Be with Us

Before the coronavirus really got underway, in fact, before any of us had even heard of it, Bob and I had been planning a trip to Disney World in the spring of 2020. Our original plan was to occur in April, during school spring break, but as the virus took over the world, our plans kept changing. April became May, May became July, July became August and finally, against all reason, August became December. Specifically, from December 26 through January 2. Perhaps the worst time to go to Disney World. We had done that once before, ending up in EPCOT on New Years Eve. The crowds were terrifying, to the extent that we finally had to smuggle Morgan into a men’s bathroom as the lines for the woman’s bathroom were longer than the opening day lines for Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom. And along the way, our ranks kept growing, finally stabilizing at 9 people. Bob and me, Jake and Morgan, Truman and Tanner (Jake’s brother and Truman’s friend), Noah, (Jake’s brother who had graduated from high school this year without any of the fun of prom or a graduation ceremony), and Cameron and Brandon, our grandkids from Pittsburgh. We recognized that there would be risk, of course, and as the virus infection rate grew after Thanksgiving, we had very frank discussions about how that risk might be significant, especially for Bob and me.

We have been very careful, despite our spring and summer trips with and without Penny. We started wearing masks in mid-March, used food delivery services to avoid exposure, maintained 6 or more feet from others as much as possible, and washed our hands until our skin split. So we incorporated as much safety in our plans as we could. Rather than staying in a hotel, where it might be riskier to depend on other people’s behavior, we booked a large Airbnb house about 3 miles from Disney. The house included 7 bedrooms, 7.5 baths, a theater room, a heated pool and spillover spa, an outdoor kitchen, and numerous gathering rooms to allow everyone time together and private space apart. I communicated several times with the owner to ensure cleanliness, and accumulated lots of KN95 masks for everyone. Our plans included three days in Disney, one day in Universal Orlando and Island of Adventure, New Year’s Eve in the house, and a final day in Discovery Cove.

All the kids this trip are serious Star Wars fans. And none had been to the newest section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Galaxy’s Edge. Bob and I had been there last September, and although we are only minor Star Wars fans, we found the detail truly amazing. So we were really looking forward to taking the kids there. And Noah had never been to Disneyworld at all, so we were excited to see him see Disney.

I consider myself a pretty capable Disney expert. I have arranged more trips than I can count and have organized things to be done at Disney that most people don’t know exist. It’s hard work, and while I love doing it, it takes a lot of energy. And during the busiest week of the year, I really wanted to be able to lean back and enjoy the trip while we were there. Enter myviptour.com.

Several years ago, I stumbled across this organization when I similarly wanted to have someone else help with all the planning, both before arrival and more importantly, during the days in the park. Walt Disney World is a significant financial outlay, and the people who end up having unpleasant Disney vacations are those who do not understand the complexities of vigorous pre-planning, constantly watching the lines, wait times, and the need to get to the parks as early as possible. The Tour Guides at myviptour do all the planning, minute by minute organization, and know the best ways to make the most of the day in Orlando parks. Not only do they provide a knowledgeable guide each day, but they will make all your reservations and have a knack for making magic. I believe they are secretly endowed with pixie dust.

This was our third time with Guide Christina. Not only was she able to establish herself as part of our family instantly the first time we met her, but she demonstrated her skills to help us avoid the lines, get the reservations we wanted, and is just such good fun to be with that we have always requested her since. This time, because there were 9 of us, we were also joined by Daniel, who Christina calls Nugget. Nugget did much work behind the scenes, moving mountains for us, and at one point even recovering a hat that was lost. Between the two of them, they were awesome and successful in making our trip one of our best ever. And that’s saying something. They led us through Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, and even though Disney has limited the numbers of people due to the virus, the place was still hopping. Our Hollywood Studios day was Jakes 22nd birthday, and he is a major Star Wars fan so that added to the fun. Christina and Nugget managed to get us a reservation on the highly competitive Rise of the Resistance, which is a lot like being in your own Star Wars movie. Six of the kids were able to build their own Star Wars light sabers (and if that’s your cup of tea, it is a wonderful bit of theater) and they even got us a last second reservation at Oga’s Cantina so we could enjoy a Fuzzy Tauntaun, a delicious adult beverage that numbs your lips. We don’t know how they create their magic, but they were able to get us past long lines, ensure tables at restaurants, front row seats for rides, ordered our snacks and went to get them and made us feel loved and special every minute. I can’t recommend them highly enough and we all agreed that we got twice the value for every dollar we spent.

We tackled Animal Kingdom and Universal Orlando on our own, and those were definitely harder days. We missed Christina and Nugget and their magic, but managed to accomplish most of what we wanted, albeit with significantly more wait times. We all agreed that the highest day of coronavirus exposure was Universal Orlando, which was packed. Masks were generally worn, and Universal staff were on hand to remind people to cover nose and mouth, but lines, especially early in the day were very long. We had purchased Express passes, which usually get you through any lines pretty fast. That got better as the day wore on. On New Year’s Eve, we stayed at the house, played games, swam in the warm pool, got a little sun, and listened to the occasional fireworks shot off in the community.

Our final day was spent at Discovery Cove. We often make this our last day because it is much more relaxed than the theme parks, and they limit the numbers of people allowed every day. It did seem to be even less people than usual, but because it is a very water-based park, there was less consistent mask wearing, and the staff were fairly lax about it. Fortunately, it was easy to social distance and most of the time we were at least 20 feet away from any other park attendee.

As we all said our goodbyes and headed to our planes home, committed to a two week isolation just in case, we all agreed the trip was a great success. Everyone pronounced the Star Wars day their favorite, and all the light sabers made it home without having to battle Darth Vader or Kylo Ren, although everyone is ready if that happens.

It will be a while before the next trip. Future plans include visiting NOLA with Jess and Ben, and a long drive in Penny to explore several National Parks, visit my brother in Seattle, follow the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Monica and return home on Rte 66. Thanks for following along with us!