4th Time Lucky Pre Trip Dec 21

[karalma]

Who we are:

Me: Karen
Husband: Darren
Daughter: Alix
Son: Matt

There are only 3 of us going this year as Matt is busy with work now he has left Uni and we will miss him on this trip.

Us on our last Xmas trip, 8 years ago:



Our 12th trip has certainly been an unlucky one so far. It was originally booked for March 2020 but covid changed that when the US closed its borders the week before we were due to fly. We thought, like many, that covid would be like the other flus we had seen such as bird flu and swine flu and we would be back to normal soon so we rebooked for October 2020. How wrong could we be? In the summer it became clear we would not be going at Halloween but still we thought it would just be another few months so we rescheduled for March 21. Once Xmas had been and gone and we went into another lockdown we knew our third attempt was not happening. But with the advent of vaccines on the horizon we thought surely by the end of the year we would be safe so we booked a pre Xmas trip for December.

We had previously been at Xmas 9 years ago from December 12 to January 2nd and the following year we flew out for 2 weeks on Boxing Day. After not being able to spend Xmas with family last year I didn’t want to miss it this year so we decided on a pre Xmas trip and arranged to return on 23rd of December. All looked promising when the borders reopened on November 8. I was a little nervous at this point about returning, particularly as I couldn’t find any insurance that would cover us as a group, which meant that if one of us was to catch covid and could not return they would have to stay on their own. After much deliberation we decided that if one of us caught it the other 2 would pay to stay and we would try to use the mother in law's timeshare to self isolate. We started to plan again, researching the new genie plus and other changes. As Alix is a huge Star Wars fan we knew we would be spending a lot of time at HS, trying to ride Rise so we decided to change our 14 day Universal ticket to an overnight stay and 2 day ticket giving us front of line access. ATD allowed us to change our deposit that we had paid for the 14 day ticket to a voucher. So we started exploring what we could spend this on and soon came up with BG quick queue passes for Alix and Darren. It looked like with genie plus, quick queue and front of line passes we were all ready for a great holiday.

And then 2 weeks before we were due to fly it looked like history was about to repeat itself, when a new variant, omicron, was discovered and international travel restrictions were once more imposed. The US announced they now required a supervised lateral flow test 3 days before travel so we began researching our options. I didn’t want a video test so we found a facility at our local airport, which we could cancel for a refund if needed. And then the announcement that ruined Xmas for us - the UK required a PCR test within 48 hours of returning and self isolation until we received the result. As we returned on the 23rd this meant we could still be self isolating on Xmas day. So I had to let my family know we couldn’t share Xmas dinner with them and let our son, Matt, know he may not be able to come home for Xmas. This was the point when I no longer wanted to go but cancelling wasn’t an option without losing a lot of money and disappointing our daughter, Alix. I went into research mode again and found the best option was to purchase a test and take it with us, do the test as soon as we landed and drop the test in a Dropbox, hoping we received the results on Xmas Eve. The only problem for us with this option was it seemed that Gatwick was the only airport without a Dropbox and for the first time ever we were flying from Gatwick instead of Manchester. 2.5 years ago, when we booked we had found a really good deal flying from Gatwick, which seemed a good idea at the time. There was a Dropbox close by but a car was needed to get to it and of course we were travelling by train, for the first time. There was a Dropbox very close to home so we decided to stick with this option, get it sent away as soon as we could and hope we got the results back quick enough to spend some time with family at Xmas. Now all we had to do was wait for the next US announcement that we knew was imminent. This one wasn’t too bad - it was still a supervised lateral flow but now it had to be compiled the day before travel instead of 3 days. This wasn’t ideal for us as this was the day we had to travel to London and we would have preferred to know earlier whether we were going but at least it was just a quick call to our testing facility to change the date. I had hoped for a test as early as possible but when Darrren rang he was advised to stay within the 24 hour departure window just in case there were any queries. This meant we were testing at 11.45 and our train left at 2.30.

3 days before our test and we were all packed and ready. But that evening Alix came into our room saying there had been yet another announcement - one we were not expecting. So we all grabbed our phones to see what was happening now. The UK now required a non supervised lateral flow test 2 days before we returned. This was my worst nightmare and we were back to the fear of one of us testing positive and us not getting home for Xmas. I now wanted this holiday to be over before it had even begun, particularly as further changes while we were away were also possible. So the research began again and I found a place on International Drive where we could test. But a cheaper option was to order a test we could take with us and we found a place that could deliver to us the next day. They did deliver the next day - but not to us. I was working but fortunately Darren wasn’t and he got the notification to say the test had been delivered when it hadn’t so he was able to get on the phone to them. At first they thought it had been delivered to somewhere in Durham but it turned out it was to a house around the corner from us so Darren was able to go and retrieve it. On top of this my last day at work was an important deadline day. Once I got home I just crashed and was unable to think about anything else.

But that was it - we were ready - a supervised lateral flow the next day and a PCR and lateral flow to take with us, along with several NHS lateral flow tests we were taking for our own reassurance.

[mick]

So much to think about isn’t there


Joan

[karalma]

Originally Posted by mick

So much to think about isn’t there


Joan

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Yes my head was spinning but got easier once they stopped changing things.

[Chilli-pepper]

Your journey sounded very much like ours, we had to pull the plug on our trip in the March the day before we were due to fly, and again thought this would be over so rebooked for August, then March, then May then December we have just taken the holiday - with all the changing of rules I was very similar in that I just wanted to get the holiday over with and get back.

I do hope you have a great time and the impact of restrictions and COVID don't mess up things for you - look forward to reading all your report.

[karalma]

Originally Posted by Chilli-pepper

Your journey sounded very much like ours, we had to pull the plug on our trip in the March the day before we were due to fly, and again thought this would be over so rebooked for August, then March, then May then December we have just taken the holiday - with all the changing of rules I was very similar in that I just wanted to get the holiday over with and get back.

I do hope you have a great time and the impact of restrictions and COVID don't mess up things for you - look forward to reading all your report.

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It was a nightmare wasn’t it - but now can’t believe it’s over. And can’t even plan another at the minute as don’t want to go through it all again .

[Goldia]

Gosh that sounds like such a stressful run up to the holiday. Just when you think you're all sorted and then the rules change not fun at all.

[karalma]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Gosh that sounds like such a stressful run up to the holiday. Just when you think you're all sorted and then the rules change not fun at all.

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It was a nightmare - but was worth it in the end.

[katebush95]

Sounds like you had a really stressful few days leading up to the holiday 😫 it will be great when we can travel again without all the testing and thankfully that’s starting to happen x

[karalma]

Originally Posted by katebush95

Sounds like you had a really stressful few days leading up to the holiday 😫 it will be great when we can travel again without all the testing and thankfully that’s starting to happen x

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Yes think we got the worst of it but at least we got to go at last