Disney Day Trip

By Jennifer Quinlan

DISNEY DAY TRIP – WHY WE DID IT, AND WHY IT WORKED FOR US. (PART 1)                   
Going to Disney World for one day may sound like a crazy idea.  Why would anyone do this?  Was it even worthwhile?  For us, it most definitely was.

In a normal world, pre-Covid, I had tossed the idea around of venturing to Disney for a Day, but ultimately never did it.  For myself and my family, it always seemed like a better idea to plan a week-long vacation to Walt Disney World instead.  But in this weird world of today, I had been really itching to see Disney in its altered “Covid Managing State”.  Would the Disney World I love still feel magical and be enjoyable or even comparable to the Disney I last visited in February 2020? I had read so much online in the Disney blogs that I follow, and decided this was something I just needed to experience firsthand.  So, I set a budget, made a plan, and followed it.
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I decided to take my high school Junior with me.  Her school is using a hybrid attendance model in 2020-21, so she is only physically in school two days a week.  On the days she is not in school, she is at home doing assigned work.  Wednesdays are designated as a catch-up kind of day for work and meeting with teachers, so I decided we would go on a Wednesday. I also wanted to make some memories with just she and I – which this adventure would ensure, Covid be damned!  The reality is she is growing up, college is looming, and I know she is going to become increasingly busy very soon – too busy to do something like this when life goes back to normal.

Airfare is historically low, and that was another big draw to take a day trip.  It ended up costing us less than $200 ($192.40 to be exact) to fly American Airlines down and back on the same day.  There were less expensive options, but the flights I chose worked for our schedule, and fit the budget.  Just an FYI, American is filling their planes so all seats can be booked.  There are some airlines who are not filling every seat up to a certain date – Southwest is one of them.  If you feel more comfortable flying with spaced seating, Southwest may be the best choice for you.

​Now for park tickets and park reservations.  Currently, I have an Annual Pass, but my daughter does not. I purchased for her a One-Day ticket to Magic Kingdom ($116.09), linked it to our My Disney Experience Account, and then proceeded to book park reservations. 
(FYI, Disney currently requires that anyone planning to visit have a valid park ticket and make a park reservation. 
This enables Disney to control the number of visitors to each park on a daily basis.) 
Finally, I made a parking reservation using the Way Parking App.  I booked a one-day spot with Park&Jet ($15.15).  Once that was all set, we just needed to pack a day bag and be ready. 
On Wednesday, September 23rd, we woke up early, drove to the airport and we were off! 
​My next post will detail all that we did in the Magic Kingdom on our Disney Day Trip!