Don’t Know If She’s Elated or Gassy: Disney World with a Newborn, Feb 2020. Day TR UPDATE 9/18

Day Trip Report: Epcot!, Part 1

Yes, I have some cool news. I finally went back! Because I had Labor Day off and my husband didn’t (that’s the TV news business for you), I decided about a week before to check to see if there were any park passes available for that day. Epcot was open, so I went ahead and snagged it. I contemplated changing it and checked for availability throughout the week. Animal Kingdom came up at one point, but when I realized that it closed much earlier than Epcot, I decided to keep what I had.

My husband and I discussed this before I made the final decision to go. Before we had April, I wouldn’t have really cared what he thought about what I do during my own time, but since my decisions affect our daughter, I feel he should have a say. He said he was comfortable with me taking her, and I have been watching carefully on social media and on news outlets to make sure Disney is still enforcing the rules (they are) and that no outbreaks have been linked back to the parks (they have not).

I’ll go through our day, and then give my thoughts at the end.

Because April is the World’s Best Baby, she sleeps until about 11 am most mornings. I woke up a little before her on Monday and took a nice shower, then I set about getting ready.

Going anywhere with a baby is always a fun adventure, but it’s even more fun if you’re taking her by yourself to Disney World, lol. And in a pandemic during the rainy season to boot. I washed all my masks the night before so I packed those (though ended up only using one, go figure, but it was good to be prepared). I had also purchased stroller toy attachments and a stroller fan in the week leading up to this visit. They both came in handy and were great purchases.

I got dressed and put on makeup, which I rarely do these days. I also dressed April in an outfit I’d bought on Amazon the week before. I made DH take a photo of both of us before I left, because I knew that once I got there, nice photos showing both of our faces would be impossible.

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You can’t see it, but her shirt says, “I can’t walk, I’m a mermaid.” It also had a cute little bow, but she hates bows and tears them off her head every time. I still think she looks pretty cute!

And I’m wearing the Jungle Cruise dress from the Dress Shop. It was an online order so I’m really glad that it fit. It’s my fourth Dress Shop dress and I’m absolutely in love with it. I also love that it has a zipper in the front which made it easier to nurse April throughout the day.

We left the house at about 1:30, right about the time April was due for a nap, which was great, because she fell asleep almost right away and snoozed until I made it to property at about 2 pm.

Soon enough, I was making it through these gates for the first time since March.

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And a few minutes later, through these.

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The lady at the parking booth asked if I had a park reservation as I went through. I wonder how many people these days show up to the parks not realizing you need one!

Parking was interesting. As you might know, typically you have cast members directing you to a spot, right down to showing you what spot to pull into and how far to pull in. This time, there were cast members pointing to the row I needed to pull into, but not to the exact spot. The row I parked in already had a lot of cars in it (it was like when you arrive at the park late in the day and they have you pretty much parking yourself wherever you can find a spot) so maybe that was why, or maybe there were safety concerns to having a cast member stand so close to people walking from their cars. In any case, I parked behind a car that had pulled into the first slot, and got myself and April out of the car.

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I snapped a picture of April for DH. Aren’t those sunglasses so cute? Sadly, she won’t keep them on anymore, and she was soon pulling them defiantly off her head. I can’t promise her eyes got much sun protection that day, but we did wear sunscreen!

The trams were not running, which was fine because we weren’t parked that far back anyway (we were in the second section back), so I walked us to the front of the park.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the latest changes. First I went through a temperature check. It was very fast, not even a second with the little thermometer pointed at my forehead. I was surprised they didn’t check April’s temp, especially since she wouldn’t be wearing a mask, but I didn’t say anything.

Next we had bag check. It really wasn’t much of a check at all. The security guard just kind of glanced inside my bag with me holding it open and had me walk through the metal detector while holding it (after I took out my umbrella). There wasn’t a line for this either. After this, we were clear to enter the park!

The tapstiles didn’t have much of a line. I was behind one large family, and then it was our turn. The finger scanners were covered up, so you only had to tap your band to get in.

Once inside, I was almost overwhelmed with the decision of what to do first. I can’t remember the last time I just entered a park by myself (well, obviously I had April, but she couldn’t contribute much for ideas), with no Fastpasses, dining reservations, or other plans.

I decided Spaceship Earth was a good first stop, so I went to park the stroller by the bathrooms. On the way, I snapped the picture of the emerging and returning fountain pylons.

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You can only see the tops of them right now. Mostly they’re still behind construction walls. But I am sooooooo excited for the full thing. I almost don’t care about any of the other Epcot updates. As far as I’m concerned, if this is the only update we end up getting, that’s good enough for me.

Now it was my first time to experience the new Disney social distanced queue system. And with a 20 lb baby, no less! The wait time was posted at 20 minutes, and it probably took close to that to get through. There weren’t a lot of people in line, but since they weren’t filling every car, I think that affected the wait time.

While we were in line, it began to rain. We got a bit wet on one of the switchbacks, but other than that it was fine and I was glad I made the decision to go on an attraction instead of walking around in the rain.

I tried to take a selfie with my favorite mural in the background (have I mentioned I have a giant poster of it in my home office? Because I do!). Meanwhile, April was pushing her anti-mask sentiment on me. You try to raise them right…

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Side note: I love that mask. I bought it and a few others on RedBubble, which offers a discount if you order four or more. Just make sure you look at the sizing guides! The elastic loops were too big for my ears so I had to tie them in knots.

I snagged an actual picture of the mural before we entered the building.

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Another unsuccessful selfie on the ride vehicle. Then we were plunged into darkness as the now here-to-stay-indefinitely Judy Densch narration began.

It was a nice ride. April mostly sat quietly and looked around. During the last portion, I decided to let her “pick” our path, by which I mean I held her in front of the screen and she swiped at it until we’d picked all the options.

First of all, she said the thing that was most important to her was work. Work!

Second of all, I didn’t get any pictures, but the camera wasn’t working well anyway. I think I had no eyes, and April didn’t even show up. It was rather unsettling.

After the ride, we were ushered into the post-show area, which was completely shut down. I don’t usually participate in any of the activities, but it was still really eerie to be walking through the silent area.

Luckily, once we exited the globe, the rain had stopped and didn’t return for the rest of the day! Success!

I put April back in her stroller, and decided to head over to Future World West by way of the crazy construction wall path. I didn’t end up taking us to the East side at all that day, as there aren’t any attractions I can do with a baby except for the Epcot Experience, which I didn’t feel the need to see again.

The path first took us past The Seas, so I decided to have us go in. I’m pretty sure we didn’t do this in February, so this would be April’s first time!

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Once again, she sat quietly and stared on the ride. I was hoping she’d get excited during the EAC portion. She has a bunch of Finding Nemo toys for bathtime, and her favorite one is Squirt, the little turtle. She gets so excited whenever we hand him to her. But she didn’t seem to recognize him in ride form. Oh well.

Pretty much all the usual exhibits were open, with some social distancing markers to help people. The coral reef and ocean exhibits had dividers at the entrance so people entered on one side and exited on the other. So the coral reef exhibit wasn’t a wandering free for all like normal.

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We walked around. It took a few tanks, but April started to show interest. I know it’s not really kosher for her to touch the glass. She just did it the one time, and it was unexpected while I was snapping the selfie.

We went up the stairs to the second floor next. First we looked at the manatee exhibit. The same two manatees as always were out, and thanks to the fact that the cast member’s spot is already social distanced, she was there to answer guests’ questions. We took a quick peek and then headed over to the ocean exhibit.

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Here, there was also a cast member answering questions. She was standing in the center ring with a headset microphone so she wouldn’t have to shout or get close to people to be heard. I thought it was a really good setup. We looked at some of the fish, and then I tried again to get some selfies by the windows outside the exhibit.

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Next we went to the little room off to the side. I was hoping they’d have some cuttlefish on display, but no luck. Downstairs, Turtle Talk wasn’t operating, but their lobby was open and did have sealife exhibits, which I didn’t know! I got this cool shot of some jellyfish.

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Next update coming soon!
 
Labor Day at Epcot Continued

We left The Seas after that. I was ready to get April back in her stroller, but it was short lived, because our next stop was The Land.

I just had one goal here: Living With the Land. I expected a decent line, but it was a walk-on, and we had a boat to ourselves!

After a quick bathroom stop, we went back to the stroller and I thought about what to do next. The next logical stop was Journey Into Imagination, but my arms were killing me and I was hungry. So I decided that instead, it was time to explore the Food and Wine festival.

My first stop was Hawaii, for a delicious pork slider. I gave April some of the bun.

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She really dug it. It ended up being the only solids I gave her that day (we’re not doing baby food or anything, just food from our plates when appropriate). But that was okay. Quick note: As you may know, the mask requirement is very strict and you can only remove your mask when you are eating or drinking while stationary. I was worried about the implications of that given how it’s sometimes difficult to find eating surfaces during festivals, but it wasn’t a problem. There were plenty of places to sit or stand and I never had an issue.

I thought about getting a drink from the Starbucks, but I wasn’t so tired that I NEEDED caffeine, and I knew that all it would do was dehydrate me on a day when I really needed to stay hydrated, so I bravely chose to abstain.

I walked into World Showcase on the Canada side. I couldn’t figure out how on the app to see all the booth menus, so I decided whatever, it would just be a fun surprise adventure. I thought about getting something from the Citrus booth but there was a longer line than I was in the mood for. The Canada booth options all sounded awful on a hot day. Instead, our next stop was the World Showplace tent, which had a few different booths all in one space.

I grabbed some lobster mac and cheese from the mac and cheese booth.

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It was nice inside. Air conditioned, plenty of seating. A lady was playing piano on a stage. When I walked in she was playing “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story II, and then she played “Rainbow Connection,” which is my favorite lullaby to sing to April, so that was nice. I tried to sing along, but it was a very stylized arrangement lol.

It was time for a bathroom break. I stopped in the bathrooms in the UK and had a bio break for myself, and changed April’s diaper on a table that had been freshly cleaned by a cast member. We were approaching April’s nap time and our routine usually includes a diaper change, so I was hopeful I could get her to snooze for awhile. It’s so different from our February trip, where she was asleep more often than she was awake!

I looked for a place for us to relax for a bit and hopefully get her to sleep, and as luck would have it we were right by a “Relaxation Station,” aka a mask-free zone. I’m unsure if there are others in Epcot, but this one was in the seating area behind the fish & chips shop (which was not open). There were only a few parties there and we were all spread out. I took off my mask and sang April a lullaby to help her know it was nap time. I also removed the clip-on toy from her stroller so she’d be less distracted. Then I put her back in her stroller and wished her a good sleep as I do every nap time, and reclined the seat so that she was lying down. She seemed pretty sleepy so I was confident that she would be snoozing relatively quickly.

I left the Relaxation Station and started towards France. Along the way, we crossed paths with an impromptu character cavalcade, this one with Anna and Elsa. April wasn’t quite asleep yet, so I tempted fate by raising her seat so she could see. Then I lowered her back down after.

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By the time we crossed the bridge into France, she was out. I contemplated getting something from the food kiosk, but the line looked long and frankly, confusing. I wasn’t sure where it stopped or started. I did pull over to get a quick pic of April napping.

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In Morocco I grabbed some hummus fries, and we also passed another character cavalcade. I let April sleep for this one.

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I decided to get the, uh, flowerpot of “sushi” in Japan (it’s a poke bowl. I don’t know why they won’t call it, that, but that’s what it is), plus the lavender martini. While I waited for my order, there was yet another cavalcade!

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This was the last one I saw. You’d think they would stagger them more.

While I sat and ate, I called my mom because I hate to eat alone. She was very jealous to hear where I was, but also a little worried. I assured her the safety precautions were very thorough. We chatted for a bit. It was a bit of a sad call, because my mom had actually had plans to visit me that holiday weekend, but ended up cancelling as she didn’t want to quarantine once she got back to New York.

I didn’t get any more food until I passed by Germany and decided to get an apple strudel.

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I found an empty table in Equatorial Africa and ate. At this point, April woke up. She only napped for about 40 minutes, which is short for her, but there was probably just too much going on!

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I said goodbye to my mom at this point and kept walking around World Showcase. I had planned to take April on Frozen Ever After, but the line was about an hour long. I realize that’s not a super long wait for that ride, but I didn’t relish the idea of holding her for that long. My arms were already pretty tired. And before you ask, yes I actually had the same carrier with me from my February trip, the ring sling. But I was no longer confident using it given how wriggly and huge she is now. I’m sure I just need to practice more. I also have a structured Tula carrier, but again, haven’t used it in a long time.

So we gave up on Frozen for the meantime and I kept going to Mexico. I parked the stroller and got in the line to enter the pyramid. Yes, there was a line, as only a certain number of people could enter the building at a time. But it wasn’t very long and soon enough we were inside. I went straight for the boat ride, which also had a line, but it moved fast.

This was the most claustrophobic line though. The switchbacks are already quite narrow, and they’ve added plexiglass so people don’t breathe on each other. Which obviously, safety first, but I was so relieved when we emerged on the other side.

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We were in a boat with one other party. April and I took up the first row, and they took up the last. I love this ride. It’s so underrated!

I went to the food booth in Mexico next, where I got a taco, but I forgot to take a picture! Oh well.

I was pretty thirsty and out of water so I went to the Earth Eats booth and got the non-alcoholic blueberry lemonade tea.

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It was so delicious. I could have eaten a whole jug of this stuff. I will definitely get it again in October.

From here I circled back to Future World West. I parked April’s stroller and got in line for Journey Into Imagination. There was a bit of a wait here because they were cleaning the ride vehicles, but it wasn't too bad and soon enough we were in our own vehicle.

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I took a video of April during the smell lab scene to see if she would react to the unpleasant smell, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. probably because it's just coffee and she smells that at home every day when her daddy drinks it!


I was also worried that she would react badly to the surprise air blowing at the end of the ride but she seemed to take it in stride.

After exiting the ride, I asked at the gift shop if the DVC member lounge was open and was told no. I asked if it was closed for the day or not operating at all and was told it was just closed for the day. This surprised me and I hope it will be open in October because it is always a nice place to visit as a DVC member.

Having accomplished pretty much everything I set out to do today, I decided it was time for us to go. I stopped in the bathrooms Between the imagination pavilion and the land for a quick bathroom break and diaper change. It was about 7:30 by this point and I was ready to be home.

I couldn't remember exactly where I parked the car and had failed to write it down, but I found it quite easily thankfully.

And with that another day at Disney was in the books!


Final Thoughts

I have thought for a long time about whether or not it's a good idea to go back to the parks during these times. For awhile, I was not happy that Disney was re-opening. In fact, I’m still conflicted about it. I don’t like the cast members and employees in general are forced to choose between safety and income. I don’t like that people are trying to argue that Disney is “essential” for mental health. I could rant for pages about both of these things, but I won’t.

But a few years ago, I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour, which introduces you to the four keys that cast members follow, in this order: Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency. This means that safety is the most important thing to Disney, more than literally anything, including kowtowing to guests who don’t want to wear masks (courtesy) or providing a seamless and immersive fantasy experience (show).

I can say I felt safe at Disney, but I have no way of knowing for sure if I was exposed to COVID unless, well, I get it. But I liked that they took the mask requirements seriously. I like that they limit capacity. I like that they realize that safety is more important than guest experience, even if it eats into their profits.

I know their motives aren’t pure (in the end, their reputation will be heavily damaged if they don’t do this right, and they’ll lose more money in the long term), but while I don’t trust them completely to keep me safe from COVID while I’m on property, I trust them to provide as safe an experience as I can possibly get if I choose to leave the house for a few hours. And, well, I needed to leave the house.

I would not recommend going right now if this is going to be your only trip ever, or even your only trip for a few years. It’s just not worth it. But if you’re local or you already go a lot, and you’re willing to take their mask and social distance requirements seriously, I think it’s worth checking out. I don’t feel the urge to return to Epcot until my trip next month; there’s just not enough to do. So keep that in mind when planning your trip. Right now, you probably only need to devote one day to each park (I would say less even, but you can’t park hop right now).

At the end of the day, I’m glad I went. I’m glad they’re open. I hope they continue to do a good job, and that they support their cast members well.

Thanks for following along on these posts! I’ll be back to update you when I start posting about my October trip, if not sooner.
 
Hey everyone! I got back from Disney a little over a week ago. It was definitely a unique trip and I'm still not sure if going was the right move, but the good news is we appear to have escaped without contracting Covid, and we did have fun. I hope you'll join me on my new report, There's no Crying at Disney.
 
The lady at the parking booth asked if I had a park reservation as I went through. I wonder how many people these days show up to the parks not realizing you need one!

That would be really brutal. Although I'd say if you show up anywhere these days without doing your research....maybe you aren't too bright lol. Good that they were asking before they let you pay for parking though lol.

After the ride, we were ushered into the post-show area, which was completely shut down. I don’t usually participate in any of the activities, but it was still really eerie to be walking through the silent area.

It's funny because even pre-covid these types of interactive things always got under my skin as a germaphobe...so I'm glad they were not operating...

I have thought for a long time about whether or not it's a good idea to go back to the parks during these times. For awhile, I was not happy that Disney was re-opening. In fact, I’m still conflicted about it. I don’t like the cast members and employees in general are forced to choose between safety and income. I don’t like that people are trying to argue that Disney is “essential” for mental health. I could rant for pages about both of these things, but I won’t.

This is interesting to hear from a local's perspective. I'm interested to read your October TR.
 


That would be really brutal. Although I'd say if you show up anywhere these days without doing your research....maybe you aren't too bright lol. Good that they were asking before they let you pay for parking though lol.



It's funny because even pre-covid these types of interactive things always got under my skin as a germaphobe...so I'm glad they were not operating...



This is interesting to hear from a local's perspective. I'm interested to read your October TR.

Thanks! Hope to see you over there.
 

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