What happens if you get COVID on your DVC stay? Listen to a real-life experience from one of our MyDVCPoints community members, Jill Creighton. Jill owns direct Disney Vacation Club points at Old Key West and resale Disney Vacation Club Points at the Villas at Grand Californian. On her August 2020 trip to Walt Disney World while using DVC points at Bay Lake Tower, COVID-19 caught Jill. Episode 217
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What happens if you get COVID on your DVC stay? Listen to a real-life experience from one of our MyDVCPoints community members, Jill Creighton. Jill owns direct Disney Vacation Club points at Old Key West and resale Disney Vacation Club Points at the Villas at Grand Californian. On her August 2020 trip to Walt Disney World while using DVC points at Bay Lake Tower, COVID-19 caught Jill.
After feeling not quite right, Jill decided to take a quick trip to a Publix Pharmacy and pick up a COVID-19 at home test. She took the test in the rental car, it turned positive, and then had to make a lot of decisions very quickly in order to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible. Traveling with her bestie, Shawn (who tested negative and remained so the entire trip), they had to separate from each other immediately so that Shawn could stay healthy.
Jill dialed 0 on the Bay Lake Tower phone and was connected to some sort of central hotel answering service. It was rough in the beginning. Jill was told a Bay Lake Tower manager would respond within 30 mins. At the hour mark, she called again after not hearing anything and was informed it was odd that she hadn’t been called back yet. Finally, a half hour later, Jill got a call from a cast member asking her why she had, “called to complain.” This was the only hurdle in the process. Jill explained again she had become COVID positive on property. Two hours from the initial phone call, the BLT manager on duty reached out.
From there it was completely smooth sailing and the Disney cast members at Disney Vacation Club’s Bay Lake tower went above and beyond to help Jill stay isolated with her fundamental needs met throughout her required 5-day isolation. If you become COVID positive while on Disney property, you need to tell Disney to keep those around you healthy.
The DVC Bay Lake Tower manager took several action steps: food, deliveries, annual pass block, finding a new room for her bestie, and ensuring ultimate comfort. The first was to explain how food delivery would work. Jill was allowed to mobile order to go from both Steakhouse 71 and the Contempo Cafe. Once the mobile order was ready for pickup, Jill texted the order number to the DVC Bay Lake Tower manager, who then sent a food runner to deliver it to her door. Jill was also allowed grocery and pharmacy deliveries at no extra charge since she wasn’t allowed to leave her room. Given that she was in a studio at Disney Vacation Club’s Bay Lake Tower, she was lucky to have a studio with a kitchenette. That kitchenette was clutch to her survival in isolation.
For the length of the isolation period, Jill’s Walt Disney World Annual Pass had a block placed so she could not enter the parks even if she was feeling well. Jill appreciated this greatly as it showed care and concern for the well being of other guests visiting the parks. One big bummer though was that Jill was supposed to attend her first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Again the DVC Bay Lake Tower manager went above and beyond and credited Jill’s hotel folio with the value of the ticket so she wouldn’t completely lose out on the event. Shawn got to go to the party though, and it rained the entire event! Jill didn’t have to miss everything, though, because her room’s balcony faced right at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain. She got to enjoy the fireworks each night from the balcony without putting other guests at risk.
Shawn ended up moving over to Pop Century after being offered 3 options at a cash discounted rate by the DVC Bay Lake Tower manager. Though discounted, the prices were still high at Disney’s Contemporary Resort ($400/night), Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter ($300/night), and Disney’s Pop Century Resort ($200/night). Thankfully, they had purchased travel insurance which covered trip interruption, so the cost of the new hotel was covered up to the policy limits. They purchased their travel insurance through their airline when they booked the flights to visit Orlando through a major travel insurance provider.
There were two other things that the DVC Bay Lake Tower management team did to make Jill’s COVID isolation as magical as possible. If you’re like Jill, you might want a nice cup of hot herbal tea when you feel sick. Jill asked for a tea kettle, and while there wasn’t one on property, the DVC Bay Lake Tower team sent a runner to a local Target to buy one for her to use in the room. This was also supposed to be Jill’s first time visiting the Top of the World Lounge – A Villains Lair atop Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. She and Shawn had a reservation for the Wicked Wind Down event, and Jill had her eye on that 7-layer cake. She asked the DVC Bay Lake Tower manager if there was any way at all to receive a piece of the cake, and hot dog, did the Bay Lake Tower team deliver. An hour later, not one, but TWO slices of the 7-layer cake ended up at her doorstep. She had to, of course, leave the other slice for her bestie.
All in all, getting caught by COVID on your Disney vacation isn’t what any of us plan for, but it’s great to know that Walt Disney World is doing all they can to help guests make the best of a bummer of a situation.
Special Guest and Normal Show Notes Author: Jill Creighton
Produced, Edited, and Mastered by Chad Pennycuff
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