Disneyland!

We're going to Disneyland in two weeks. Our last trip as a family before the pandemic was Disney World and we are ending the pandemic with Disneyland. 

Even though technically Disney World was during the beginning of the pandemic and we just didn't realize it at the time. Or hadn't grasped it yet. 

And the pandemic isn't actually over, we just thought it would be mostly over when we booked this trip. And then Delta and the anti-vaccine crowds and well...

We are doing our second trip to Disney during a pandemic is what I'm saying. 

So weird.

At least this time it will be a little limited crowds and masking in spaces where you can't distance and we've all been vaccinated so even if we get a breakthrough case it should be mild and no big deal. Instead of last time when we weren't protected at all and the crowds were insane and we were just really lucky the the petri dish that Florida turned into hadn't really gotten cooking just yet.

So anyway...

Disneyland.

I've been going back and forth between super excited and sort of bummed. The super excited was when we booked and the outlook was so rosy for a disease eased Fall. And then the Halloween stuff was going to be happening and it was all just lining up perfectly. 

The bummed started when we saw numbers creeping up and started to worry about cancellations. 

I'm still not 100% positive everything will happen. I mean, I'm pretty sure. The political will to shut everything down when a large number of people are vaccinated and willing to mask up doesn't seem to be there. But after the past year and a half I'm not willing to take anything for granted. 

We also had our flight shifted because that's a thing that happens a lot now. Airlines are having a hard time with staffing and booking and they are shifting and cancelling flights at crazy rates right now. We were really lucky going back and forth to Albuquerque that the only changes were minor. But they changed the time of our flight so much on Sunday that we ended up booking a flight out for Saturday instead. Which meant giving up tickets to the Timbers we had for Saturday and adding another day to our hotel in California. The flight change was free but the rest? Not so much.

BUT...the good news is that means a full day on Sunday instead of a half day in the parks. Which is good because there are no fast passes anymore. We are going to be going old school with lines and waits. We've not done Disney like that in so long I have no idea how long it's actually going to take to get through things. Our very efficient use of Magic Hours (also no longer a thing) and Fast Passes meant we could see everything and get in the shopping we wanted in two days easy. Now? We don't really know. But we have three so there is cushion there. 

The second biggest change we've seen is the dining. Disney World has this crazy busy system and you have to book restaurants months in advance and it's so stressful. Disneyland has always been a little more relaxed. Some of the special events you wanted to book early, but for the most part just a few days or even day of was fine. 

Umm...well. 

Not anymore. 

As the woman who helped me change my hotel reservations said Fingers crossed and Pixie Dust that we get in day of places. I did get one dinner reservation made but breakfast is a no go. 

I'm also having a challenge finding where we should try to eat. There is this really great service to contact for special diets which is not really staffed right now. I could fill in a request with my dining reservation 30 days in advance and that way make sure a chef comes to talk to me before I order, but I can't get basic information like "Does your gluten free bread have potato starch?" And because Nightshades aren't one of the Big 8 (I think it's 8) allergens they don't even track them on their allergy menus so I can't actually order anything just off menu without talking to someone. It's going to be tricky. 

I did tell Brent that I can eat a salad or a bunless burger and be fine pretty much anywhere. So I'm hoping that's true. A lot of their gluten free options are spicy or with chicken so if I can't find bunless and salads I will be eating popcorn and fruit from the fruit stands. 

Probably not even the worst way of eating I've ever done in Disney, to tell the truth.

But it is a little stressful. Disney is a comfort food vacation typically. We know what to expect. We know it's going to be pretty smooth. We know the work arounds for crowds and times of year to go and not to go. And this time? None of that is in play. 

So I'm trying to make sure I hold on to excited and also not let a different experience change my Disney love. We're all doing the best we can right now, even Disney. So who knows how it will go.

Fingers crossed and pixie dust!