2020 is almost over and I think it is safe to say for all of us, it is not exactly what we had expected. I had planned to travel overseas witnessing the Running of the Bulls in San Fermin, Spain. I was also looking forward to taking my niece to Walt Disney World for her high school graduation and 18th birthday. The Bulls will have to wait until a later year but Walt Disney World, even though it might have some challenges, was a trip I wanted to try to take. I booked my trip to Walt Disney World in January to travel the second week of July. While I have vast experience with Disney World as a former cast member, I got some assistance from a certified Disney Travel Specialist, Robyn Koch at Sue Smith Vacations, who assisted me in booking this magical trip. When I booked my trip, there was a video of China dealing with a chaotic virus discovered in late 2019. That virus around the city Wuhan wreaked havoc on its citizens and eventually spread to other parts of the world. In late January, the Coronal Virus had not yet taken hold of the United States and most thought it was going to be an issue for China much like the SARS virus was years earlier. This virus was not on my radar and I continued planning and booking my trip as normal. Fast forward a month to early March and COVID-19 started appearing in the United States. By Mid-March, massive shutdowns were happing in major places. Walt Disney World closed down on March 14th with no immediate plans for reopening. As we approached the end of March, the Unites States virtually shut down as a whole. Everyone stayed home and sheltered in place. The only places open, were the local grocery stores as essential businesses. Arkansas was one of only 8 states that did not have a mandatory lockdown. During the uncertainty, I continued to make trip payments in the hopes that Walt Disney World would reopen. I did not want to be negative and my philosophy was to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I made my payments, reservations for FastPass+, and dining. In early June, Walt Disney World got approval from the State of Florida for a phased reopening beginning on July 11, 2020 for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom with Hollywood Studios and EPCOT following on July 15th. While this was exciting news, it also meant that we would not be able to spend three full days at Disney. I had hoped to be able to show my niece where I had worked in Hollywood Studios at the Tower of Terror. Part of the phased reopening included a new reservation system for the parks. They left all reservations on the books in place, but you could not modify them online and had to call the reservation center that included lengthy hold times. Many of the resort hotels were not and still have not reopened. I had
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