The first day of our Walt Disney World Trip this summer was July 8, 2020, only a few days before Walt Disney World reopened to the public. Let’s divide today’s trip into 4 sections:
- LAX in a COVID-world
- United Airlines Review
- Just How Empty is MCO?
- Arriving at Walt Disney World (YAY!!!) & Our First Night at the Resort
To skip ahead to the next 2 days of our trip, click here!
To read about Magic Kingdom’s reopening day, click here!
LAX in a COVID World
Our flight out of LAX was pretty early, and usually we fly out of John Wayne Airport since it’s closer to home, but we found a killer deal so we decided to fly from LAX this time. We give ourselves 3 hours to get to the airport because sometimes traffic is crazy, but it took us under one hour to get there. Unheard of! I suppose we can thank COVID for the lack of traffic.
We were flying on United, and usually there is a bag fee, but since we were checking a stroller and car seat, the bag fees for our suitcases disappeared… we thought this was a little odd, but it’s something we will keep in mind for the future!
Most people in the airport were doing a great job at wearing masks, including all of TSA & the airline employees.
TSA itself was an absolute breeze! There was no line, and they seemed to be testing something new with the baggage screening stations to make it more efficient. I can’t tell if it was actually more efficient, or if it just seemed that way because there weren’t that many people there.
We made it through security rather quickly and got to our gate. We had time to let Felix get his energy out, and grab some breakfast before the flight.
The Good:
-most people were great about wearing masks.
-security was really fast.
The Bad:
-there were VERY FEW food options. Seriously. At least half the restaurants & shops were closed… and the ones that were open were running low on supplies.
Tips:
-bring your own food! I cannot stress this enough. You don’t want to be caught without being able to find something to eat.
-bring hand sanitizer & mask.
-use the sanitizer & wear the mask.
United Airlines Review
We flew a nonstop flight into MCO. Our preferred route is actually to have a quick layover in Texas so our son can burn off some energy, but given COVID, we wanted to avoid contact with others as much as we could, so we opted for the nonstop flight. Initially when we booked the flight, United was not booking middle seats. Our son was not yet 2, so he was a lap infant, which meant that we would have had the whole row to ourselves – score! However, when we went to check our flight status, we discovered that not only did they start booking middle seats, our seats had been moved apart from each other. United did not alert us to this – we discovered it by happenstance. Luckily we found seats together.
When we boarded the plane we were each given wipes to wipe down our tray table & seating area. We had the middle and window seat in our row. There was another person in our row, he was about 13-14. After we took off, he moved to an open seat closer to his family, so we had the whole row to ourselves!
On this flight, everyone did an awesome job at wearing their masks (I can’t say the same for our return flight, but we’ll get to that later on in the trip report). When it came time for snacks, we were each given a plastic baggie with a small water bottle, and a small snack inside. I was glad we had packed our own snacks. If we wanted something else to drink, all we had to do was ask! Non-alcoholic drinks were available, complimentary. Flight attendants handed over the whole can, unopened. Extra snacks and water was also available. They came around frequently to pick up trash.
The Good:
-the new boarding procedure of boarding the plane back to front is MUCH MORE EFFICIENT! Airlines should honestly be doing this all the time. Nobody is in the aisle holding up the whole plane because they are taking forever putting their bags overhead. It’s so much quicker. The only people who get to go early are those with disabilities that need extra time, families travelling with small children, and active military. (All totally valid in my opinion!)
-mask wearing was consistent & enforced on this flight
The Bad:
-United, please don’t move our seats without alerting us! This was really frustrating.
Just How Empty is MCO?
We landed at MCO and high tailed it to the restroom for a diaper change and a bathroom stop for the adults. We then headed off to pick up our bags, and were pleasantly surprised to find them waiting for us as soon as we got to baggage claim, including our stroller and car seat (which was in the special “oversized bags” area!). I have NEVER seen this airport so empty in my life. It was truly incredible.
We then needed to go get the rental car, which we had rented from Alamo via Costco. Because demand is so low (thanks, COVID!) the rental car counters are only open at one of the terminals. So with all our bags, the car seat, and the stroller, we had to trek all the way to the other side of the airport. Luckily it was only about a 5 minute wait once we got there, but I’m sure we looked funny carrying everything!
We were also expecting to take a shuttle or something to get the car, but all we had to do was step outside, get into the parking garage, and select a vehicle of our choosing from a specific row of cars. It was a mix of mid-size sedans and vans, so of course we chose a van! Why not, right? And once we were in the van, that was the first time all day we got a reprieve from the mask! (OK, confession, I took mine off for a couple minutes when I was in the bathroom stall at MCO…).
The Good:
-MCO was so empty. Getting our bags, rental car, etc. was SO quick. Seriously. Best airport experience we have ever had.
The Bad:
-Nothing?
Arriving at Walt Disney World & Our First Night at the Resort
Driving to Walt Disney World for the first time (usually we take the Magical Express) was a little weird, especially because our GPS took us in the back way to Saratoga Springs instead of the front entrance, but we actually enjoyed having a car! So much more freedom! Online check-in didn’t work for us, so we ended up having to go to the front desk to get checked in. We were the only ones in the entire lobby.
We had booked a standard studio by renting DVC points through DVC Rental Store. This was our third or fourth time renting through them. We have had nothing but awesome experiences from them! Seriously! (I promise this is not an ad!). When we went to check in we found that we had been upgraded to a preferred 1 bedroom suite. Wow! This rarely happens with DVC – and I mean rarely. If you rent DVC points, don’t ask for upgrades, because it uses more points from the member you are renting from. Upgrades are very, very rare when renting points… I don’t know why we received pixie dust, but I’ll take it! I think it may have had to do with the fact that some buildings were closed due to ongoing refurbishments at the resort, and trying to keep guests spaced out due to COVID, but I’m not really sure. It could also have been that the room we were assigned to had a maintenance issue last minute, and the room we were supposed to be in was put “out of order”. You never really know.
Anyways, after we had gotten all checked in, we walked next door to Artist’s Palette, which is the combined quick service/grab & go small grocery store/gift shop to pick up milk, bread, peanut butter, and jelly, then went back to the car so we could get settled. We were the only guests in all of Artist’s Palette.
Our room itself was fantastic! We were in one of the refurbished rooms and we had a view of Disney Springs. If you follow me on Instagram, check out my Highlight labeled “SSR” to get a video room tour! 🙂
We put away our groceries, luggage, and freshened up a bit and decided to walk over to Disney Springs for dinner. It was about a 15 minute walk from our room, so it was fairly quick! There is usually boat transportation available from Saratoga Springs, but at the time, it was not running (another COVID-related temporary cut). The walk was pretty pleasant, though, especially after sitting on an airplane for several hours.
We had no dinner plans because we weren’t sure if our flight was going to be delayed or anything like that, but we ended up at Blaze Pizza. We are big pizza fans, and we’d never eaten there before. For a quick meal it was alright – certainly not our favorite but not bad either. It was definitely pretty crowded in there, and I’d hesitate to go back on the basis of distancing being an issue.
We finished off our evening with a quick stroll through World of Disney, grabbed some ice cream from Ghirardelli & dessert from Amorette’s Patisserie, and walked back home.
Disney Springs in general was the most crowded place we went, but if you are smart about your surroundings and dine during off-peak hours, it is still fairly easy to avoid other people.
All in all, it was great to be back on Disney property again, for the first time since March! I did cry when we entered Disney Springs (and yes my husband made fun of me). The music, the atmosphere, the people. Wow. It was really overwhelming emotionally. I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.
Another thing that not many people have been talking about is the sensation of a kind of culture shock. I’m not really sure if that’s the right terminology, but it is strange to be on a quasi-quarantine for so many months, to getting on an airplane, to go to a place that’s mostly opened and being around so many people, with so many sights and sounds and everything. And then to have it be one of your favorite places on earth… it’s all overwhelming and overstimulating. It’s hard to describe. But it is a weirdly wonderful feeling. And I loved it.
The Good:
-our room was incredible!
-overwhelming feeling of joy being back on Disney property with my family again
-great health & safety markers and reminders at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney Springs, and most people were abiding by them
The Bad:
-Blaze Pizza was a little too crowded for our liking
