Disney During COVID- Vero Beach Resort

We are headed home from a two-night stay at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. Today is June 21st just for reference. I would call this post COVID travel, however, COVID is still very much a concern and on the rise in some places in Florida. Let’s call this mid-COVID travel?

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I’ll take some time to give you a more in-depth review of Vero later this week. The last time we visited was three years ago and you can read about that stay here.

Masks

Just as you may expect, masks are required. All cast members were wearing them at all times. Even the lifeguards had them on while patrolling the pool.

Towels and life jackets were still available for use. They just had to be requested at the window. The life jackets were cleaned before each use. Additionally, there was only one entrance to the pool. Guests were escorted to a table or set of lounge chairs. Once a guest led the pool the table or chairs were then disinfected.

Vero Beach is situated on a public beach. Masks were not required on the beach. However, staff renting out the umbrellas and chairs as well as water sports equipment, had them on.

Masks were also not required on the pool deck at all. If you were eating, lounging, or swimming you did not need your mask. Most people appeared to be compliant, however, I did see a handful of people walking about outside of the pool gate with no mask or a mask in their hand. I did not once hear a cast member ask someone to put their mask on. My husband did say my son was asked to keep his on his nose by a cast member in one of the shops.

Disposable masks were avaliable for purchase in the gift shop as well.

Social Distancing

Disney has done a great job of marking the floors and putting up signage regarding where to stand as well as traffic flow throughout the resort. They have added plexiglass to all quick service windows and check out counters. The pool bar even has plexiglass at the pay station.

The one area they may have done better was the pool slide. During the busy afternoon time the slide was full of guests waiting to slide. The slide has 42 steps to reach the top and one of the best views of the ocean. However, people were not waiting six feet apart from each other, even when the floor was marked as well. We did our best to enjoy the slide during less busy pool times.

Other measures

The room had undergone extra cleaning. There was a sign in the room indicating all the areas they cleaned. The remotes were wrapped in plastic to indicate they had been cleaned. The extra sheets and blankets for the pullout had a seal on the zipper indicating they were ready for use.

Cast members could be seen throughout the day cleaning high touch surfaces. Think door handles, elevator buttons, and hand railings. even the pool ladder railings were cleaned throughout the day.

We played mini-golf and participated in a scavenger hunt while on property. Both required the use of a pencil, which we were told to keep or throw away after use.

Non- resort guests were not able to enter the resort property at this time. The spa was closed and the character dining experience they offer, pirate dinner, was also unavailable.

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Pin Trading

Pin trading was still possible! The cast members did not have pins with them to trade, however, there were two pinboards still available at the resort. The kids could point out which pin they wanted. The cast member would remove the pin and hand it to the guest. The guest will then place their pin in a collection box. It will later be sanitized and hung on the board.

Dining

There is only one sit down restaurant here, Wind and Waves Grill. They had the tables obviously spaced out. Again, the servers and chefs all had on masks. There is also a great lounge here, The Green Cabin room, it has a small patio outside overlooking the ocean as well as indoor seating. Some of the indoor seating was blocked off. Outside was configured as I remembered it from a few years back. They had a much more limited menu at the lounge this time around.

Overall we had a great time. Deciding if you are ready to go out again is a big personal decision at this time. It felt as close to normal as possible. I have to say the mask was hot at times. We had the blessing of an ocean breeze most days. The concrete jungle of Orlando radiates heat so I am not super excited about wearing a mask at a theme park.

What do you think? Any questions about our stay? Would you venture out? How do you feel about Disney during COVID?

Follow along as we visit some more resorts in the near future! @adventuresbydrennon

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