I went to Disney World During a Pandemic

COVID 19 became a problem for almost everyone in the whole world. We were all stuck in our homes for a little bit, and most of us didn't have jobs at the moment. Well, I personally was not going to let this ruin my once a year trip to Walt Disney World. So one week I packed my bags and just said I'm going to Disney World! Well, it didn't exactly go like that. At the moment because of the situation, all of my classes are online, and I don't have to worry about traveling outside of my house anytime soon I figured why not, and if you know me you know that I had participated in the Disney College Program, so luckily I have friends in Florida that I can stay with and hang out with. So, of course, I called one of them and said "how would you feel if I came down there for a week" and she said "un yes! Of course!" So we started planning. We ended up booking a room at the Pop Century Resort and I booked my flight and all that wasn't was for me to get on a plane and get down there!

The plane experience wasn't too bad if I'm being honest. Going through the airport was the fastest and smoothest ever. I normally fly with JetBlue but because of the situation, I ended up flying Delta this time. I arrived about an hour and a half before my flight and got through security within 5 minutes. Which gave me plenty of time to complete my college homework and relax a little before my flight. As I waited I even got to witness what my experience coming back from Florida might be like, and I say that because I have to fill out a travel advisory survey and also quarantine for 14 days. On the flight, they blocked off the middle seat which definitely made it 10 times more comfortable. For snacks and refreshments, they made little goody bags and handed them to each of us. The zip lock had a little water bottle, a small bag of cheese its, a small thing of Purel, and those shortbread cookies that you would normally have with coffee or tea. Once I arrived at MCO it immediately felt so weird but a good type of weird because I didn't know when I would be back in Florida. This was also the first time I was visiting where I didn't take the magical express to my resort because I now had a friend to pick me up, which was a journey on its own. Once we found each other it was as if I never even left.

We went to the resort the next day since I had a later flight. We stayed at Pop Century resort. It's one of my favorite resorts to stay at, not just because it's affordable but also because the Skyliner is available there, if you don't know what the Skyliner is its a form of transportation to certain resorts, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios that uses gondolas.

I stayed for a week so I got to visit all the parks except for Hollywood Studios due to blockouts. At the parks, everyone was being for the most part compliant with the new rules that were instated. The masks, the six feet distancing, they were all being followed and being managed by the cast members. It did make for some interesting lines but just because the line looked line most of the time it really wasn't.

The first park we went to was Epcot!

We did what every person would do when visiting. Went around the world, had some food, some drinks, the best part is that the crowd level was so low we got to ride every single ride there within a short amount of time.

The second park we went to was Magic Kingdom!

I was very excited to go here being that I worked here during my college program. I almost nearly cried walking into the park just remembering about working there, and how I used to see it almost every day. I immediately wanted to go into the Emporium to see how my old shop was doing. I got to see a few people that I worked with and got to see the new layout of the store. After that, we went straight for the rides and traveled all around. From Tomorrowland, through Fantasyland, on the path in Liberty Square, straight into Frontierland, then Adventureland, and right back to the Castle. Of course, we couldn't finish our day without a ride on the monorail where we took it to our dinner reservations at The Grand Florida.

The third park we went to was Animal Kingdom!

Animal Kingdom is usually my favorite park after Magic Kingdom, but unfortunately, right now there is not much there. Due to the COVID restrictions, there are no shows in the parks and so two of my favorite things are currently unavailable, the Lion King show and Finding Nemo the musical. However, I did get to ride Expedition Everest and Dinosaur multiple times.

We visited Epcot and Magic Kingdom again, and also went to some more restaurants there. All the way till the very last day. It was a very sad day to know that I would be leaving my second home once again. We decided to visit the Magic Kingdom one last time. We rode a few rides, got to see a few cavalcades, and the final thing I knew I needed was a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich. (P.S. Disney lets you take off your face mask to eat and drink, but you need to stay in one spot)

It was the perfect way to end my trip. Leaving was hard, but I knew and still know that I will be back again, it will just take a while. But when that day comes there will be tears once again, as always tears of happiness, joy, and magic.