I’ve Decided To Go To Disney & Here’s Why
Back in January 2021, I made an episode of the 2 Foolish Mortals Podcast where we talked about a question that many of us have been stewing over for a while now; whether or not visiting Disney right now is a good idea. [The actual episode title is “Would I Go To Disney Right Now” if you’re wanting to have a listen for yourself.] It’s a topic that I wanted to discuss for a few different reasons. Among those reasons, I know a lot of people have been asking themselves this very question since the parks reopened in July of 2020 and sometimes talking about points of view and sharing our opinions is a good way to see topics like this from different angles. So what’s what I did. I shared some of my thoughts, my concerns and gave you my opinion as it was in January of 2021.
Fast-forward to this week. . . .
This week was a big week as far as decision making was concerned here in the 2 Foolish Mortals household. After what has [at this point] been nearly a year of asking myself that very question that we discussed back in January, I came to the conclusion that I want to chat with you about today; I’m going to Disney World!
Like I said just a second ago, this is something that has been on the forefront of my mind for some time now. In fact, both of us have been asking ourselves how we feel about traveling to Disney during a pandemic since early 2020 when the pandemic first became a thing. for us, this was because we had a late 2020 trip planned and paid for. The question took on new meaning later, in July, when we had to cancel our trip and found the funds were tied up in credits with expiration dates. Since that point, we’ve been talking about what exactly we wanted to do regularly. This week was when we finally arrived at the conclusion that we did.
That said, I suppose we should get to the part of this discussion that everyone’s been waiting for: what helped us come to this conclusion?
I’d love to tell you that there was a particularly Disney-esque thing that happened here, but that’s not the case. In fact, the thing that helped me decide whether or not visiting Walt Disney World right now is right for me is the very same set of questions I mentioned in the podcast and I have been asking when it comes to dealing with any businesses since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
🦇 Is the business and its patrons taking the threat from Covid-19 seriously?
🦇 Are there health and safety measures in place?
🦇 Is there follow through with the health and safety measures?
When we first had this discussion, there was no doubt in my mind that Walt Disney World was doing an awesome job in all 3 of these areas. Now, don’t get me wrong, no one is perfect. However, from watching videos and hearing the accounts of people who have been there since the beginning, there’s no question that they take Covid-19 seriously, have health and safety measures and actually follow through. Yes. Yes. YES! Walt Disney World isn’t the only business we’re dealing with though. We also have to travel to Disney which means getting on a plane. . . . at least in my case.
With all airlines operating differently, it can be difficult to pin down a one-size-fits-all opinion. However, I’m not focused on all airlines, just Delta. [Delta is my personal airline of choice and it happens to be who I’d booked with previously. In other words, that’s where all my money is tied up.] From the very beginning, Delta has been doing what I’d consider to be a very good job. Going back to our 3 above mentioned questions, they are taking the threat seriously, have policies in place and there is follow through. Delta has also gone ahead and extended their middle seat blocking policy. This is something that I said we’d have to keep an eye out on in our last discussion, since the policy was set to expire in late March at the time. However, it has since been extended through the end of April 2021. Again, this makes me feel good about Delta’s handling of the pandemic and gives me the impression that they’re doing what they can to keep passengers and crew safe.
Knowing what I do about Walt Disney World and Delta’s handling of the pandemic thus far, I feel fairly confident that the policies in place along with some precautions on my end traveling to Walt Disney World can be done safely. Of course, there are risks involved and I don’t think it’s particularly responsible to say that traveling during a pandemic is 100% risk free. Goodness knows, traveling anywhere at any time is not risk free. However, I do think that a good number of these risks can be managed and I’m going to do everything I can to make this trip as safe for me as I possibly can.
Of course, now that the decision to visit Walt Disney World has been made, it’s time to slip into planning mode! I’ll be sharing the entire journey, start to finish, with you and I’m hoping that you’ll join along in the fun. We’ll be talking about everything, but staying safe will also make it onto the list. . . . so if that’s something you’re curious about, I invite you to stay tuned!
Until then, what are some of your thoughts about visiting Walt Disney World during a pandemic? Do you feel differently now than you did however-many months ago? What are some of your suggestions for making travel during these times safe? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!