Thank You & Optimism for 2021!
It’s time for our last blog post of the year! Of course, there’s the obligatory message of good riddance to 2020 and optimism for 2021. We also want to offer a sincere thank you for your support during this difficult year, and offer an update on an ongoing initiative that our readers helped make possible.
We’ll start by once again thanking everyone for the the outpouring of support for our attempt to Help Give Back to Disney Cast Members and the Local Community. We are incredibly humbled and heartened by all of your support: DTB readers proving yet again that you are all the best!
Your donations thus far will fund over 270,000 meals for those in need. That’s wonderful and we couldn’t be prouder of everyone who has contributed, but with the scale of these layoffs and the unemployment numbers in Central Florida–plus more layoffs hitting during the holiday season just this week–even more help is still urgently needed in our community.
Two mobile food distributions have been held thus far funded by Disney Tourist Blog reader donations. The first was in November at Rock Church in Kissimmee, where 749 families received enough food to provide 33,815 meals.
Sarah and I volunteered at the second of these, just before Christmas at a mobile food distribution in partnership between Second Harvest and Good Samaritan Outreach in Orange County.
That food distribution provided 47,747 meals to 803 households or 3,842 people. Second Harvest did a write-up on their blog (including an awkward video interview with us, in case anyone is wondering why we don’t vlog) about the event.
It’s difficult to fully put the experience into words. While we knew about how dire things have gotten in Central Florida–news reports of multi-mile long lines for food banks have become the norm–it was nonetheless sobering to actually see and experience this ourselves.
The line for the food distribution began forming hours before distribution started, as some families worried about the food running out and wanted to ensure they’d receive groceries. Per Second Harvest, overnight lines like this have become a common occurrence.
We volunteered at the mobile food distribution for about 4 hours, constantly assembling bags/boxes of groceries and loading them into cars. During that time, there was never not a long line of vehicles. It was surreal, and we still cannot imagine going from a dream job helping to make the magic at the beginning of this year to worrying about going hungry over the holidays. It’s heartbreaking.
Many of you have supported this initiative, and we’ve now raised over $70,000 for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, making it the biggest fundraiser in the organization’s history! Your donations have made a significant impact, one that we cannot fully articulate and you might trouble fathoming. If you have the means, please consider making a donation. Every $10 contribution buys 40 meals, illustrating quite literally that every dollar makes a difference.
Back when we launched the fundraiser, we wrote that “whether you live here in Central Florida or not, this is your community too as a Walt Disney World fan.” While the circumstances are saddening, it’s uplifting to see that so many of you took this to heart. Second Harvest informed us that over 85% of donations to our drive came from outside Florida. Again, thank you so much for the support–it truly means a lot to us and has been a small bright spot in an otherwise depressing year.
Beyond your support for the food drive fundraiser, we want to also thank you all for making an otherwise miserable year a little more bearable. While there have been some uncomfortable and contentious topics, the vast majority of regular readers have contributed thoughtful insight in a balanced and respectful manner. It has not gone unnoticed.
Comments sections that are not useless and toxic are a rarity nowadays on the internet, and we realize how fortunate we are to have a healthy one here. It’s great to see comments with feedback, experiences, and tips that help others. We are incredibly thankful for the sense of community. So thank you all for that.
Additionally, thank you for “tolerating” the blog getting weird and off-topic at times. We’ve been trying to balance helpful advice with (attempts at) humor and escapism, realizing that it has been a rough year for everyone and the real-world news is often bleak. Hopefully we’ve done a decent job at this.
Most of you probably didn’t “need” several consecutive Festivus posts (I’m told “no one else watches Seinfeld anymore,” which, if true, would be some of the most depressing news of the year) or that one really horrifying post about Cats at Walt Disney World (I’m told that has “haunted my nightmares for months”), but you abided my nonsense anyway.
Writing these eccentric posts, tossing in an obscure and unrelated pop culture reference to see if anyone picks up on it, and going off-topic a bit more than normal has been one of the ways I’ve gotten through this chaotic year. So even though the opposite might seem true, that bizarreness is actually what’s keeping me sane.
We’ve also taken some much needed time to disconnect and recharge this holiday season, going on walks while the weather is nice, and giving Walter and Yossarian the attention they crave (file photo above because we’ve never been able to top this Christmas “masterpiece”). I’ve also become addicted to Breath of the Wild, which is somehow the first Zelda game I’ve ever played.
We hope you all likewise have had relaxing, restorative, and safe holiday seasons–at least to the extent possible. Hopefully you got to see family and friends, even if via unconventional means. That’s exactly what we did, spending Christmas “together” with our families via FaceTime. Not exactly how anyone wanted to end a tough year, but 2020 is like the 999 (un)happy haunts in year form–there’s always room for one more disappointment.
Nevertheless, we are actually cautiously optimistic for 2021. Obviously, it won’t be like a Muppet Christmas Carol with everything magically transformed overnight and New Year’s Day being a fresh start (although I’d welcome three ghosts tonight if that’s all it’d take). The next month-plus or so will be pretty rough–possibly the worst of the last twelve months.
We’re hopeful that by mid-February things start improving, and in a hurry. With the post-holiday surge in the rear-view mirror and vaccine rollouts accelerating, our expectation/hope is that numbers plummet. It’s an odd dichotomy, but there truly is light at the end of the tunnel and cause for optimism…even if not immediate. We definitely don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but we’re already imagining life going back to normal, making plans for late next spring, and hopeful that the “regular” Walt Disney World returns, with much of what’s missing restored.
In that spirit of optimism, we’ll wrap things up with some beautiful sentiment from Walter Cronkite in the holiday tag of IllumiNations: “During this glorious time of year, there is one message that rings out around the world in every language. Peace on earth, goodwill to men is a wish to hold in our hearts throughout each passing year. A gift of immeasurable value. A treasure being handed down with care, from generation to generation. And so our holiday wish is that everyone, everywhere share in the spirit of the season. Peace on earth, goodwill to men.” Here’s to a happy and healthy 2021!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Any thoughts as we look back on 2020 and towards 2021? Feedback to anything mentioned here? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom, do you think “revenge travel” will still be a thing mid 2021? I have a WDW trip planned in June and October and just looking for guestimations on what the insanity may look like. Normally I would be booking my dining reservations and thinking about my fastpasses but, well, that ain’t a thing at this point. I know dining reservations are still a thing but not until 60 days and I’m used to doing it 6 months out. Speaking of fastpasses, any inside info on if or when those are coming back?
Donated from the UK, missed our trip over this year and really feel for all the cast members that are struggling due to this awful situation. Thank you Tom for keeping us informed and for trying to remain positive, your blog is a ray of sunshine in all the gloom. Hopefully with the roll out of the vaccine we will be visiting again before we know it. Much love and best wishes for 2021.
Your posts are a true delight every year, but especially in a year when we are all stuck at our homes! I’m glad you have been enjoying the theme parks in a safe way and am so thankful that we can live vicariously through your adventures. Here’s to more light and joy in 2021! Thanks to you and Sarah for all your hard work every day. 🙂
I have been a long time reader of the blog and have had the pleasure of meeting you both in person in the parks. I think what you have done for Second Harvest and the Central Florida community is extraordinary . Please keep up the good work and we look forward to a better 2021!
2020 didn’t start out so badly, but sure ended up pretty horrid. Let’s hope that even in 2021 starts out roughly it will continue to improve until the end. Happy New Year.
Absolutely–here’s hoping 2021 is a “reverse 2020” with a couple of bad months followed by ~10 great ones!
Your blog has provided me a much-needed escape from the dreary reality that is 2020 so thank you for that 🙂 And great job with the fundraiser!
I look forward to reading through your TDL posts in the coming year as hubby and I plan for our 3rd trip to that most magical place next December to celebrate a belated 20th wedding anniversary. Gotta have something to look forward to, right? 🙂 Happy New Year.
Hopefully we’ll have new Tokyo Disneyland planning posts for you sooner rather than later, as it’s the trip we’re looking forward to in 2021 as well!
Thank you, Tom and Sarah, and Happy New Year!
Thank you for your post on the Disney Visa Cardholders discount, as it resulted in an offer my mask-hating wife couldn’t refuse. Result: Booked on Dec. 12th, arrived on Dec. 15th, enabling us to have our first WDW visit during the Christmas season. My wife loved the parks decked out, even with COVID limitations! I’d never have seen that discount but for this blog (which still ticks me off since I’ve been a Disney Visa cardholder for ages).
May 2021 bring joy and happiness to make up for the pain of 2020.
“I’d never have seen that discount but for this blog (which still ticks me off since I’ve been a Disney Visa cardholder for ages).”
The general “rule” for ANY correspondence from Disney, whether via mail or email, is that you’ll receive them 50% of the time, at best. In our experience, the percentage for Disney Visa is even lower. Nevertheless, glad you found the discount and were able to have an enjoyable first Christmas trip. Here’s hoping you’ll be able to make it back for the holidays without those limitations, as it’s normally even better!
Ok so I am also a Disney Visa card holder. What discount in particular are y’all talking about? I just recently found out that I have to charge souvenirs to my actual Visa instead of my magic band. I always charge everything to the magic band/resort room and then pay it off with my Disney Visa at the end but in the gift shops, they have to see the actual credit card to give you the discount. Now I’m wondering what other discount am I missing out on by not knowing????
Just donated.
Seems like yesterday that I wished you guys a Happy New Year (2020). So much has changed, but a constant has been the positivity that your blog brings, even through a country’s division and turmoil. Thank you for bringing the interesting info, anecdotes, laughs and spirit of hope.
Happy New Year to you and Sarah. May we all come together in happiness and good health in 2021.
Thanks for the kind words and contributing to the cause!
Breath of the Wild is amazing, also playing it through with my 5 & 8 year old daughters, (who are kindly willing to take a break from non-stop Disney movie watching) who can somehow solve all of the puzzle shrines before I can. Much like Disney, don’t hurry through the game, there’s so much good stuff to enjoy!
“Much like Disney, don’t hurry through the game, there’s so much good stuff to enjoy!”
I’ve had BotW since it came out a few years ago, just didn’t get into it at first and we were busy, so other things got in the way. Started it again back in mid-March, but then Animal Crossing came out and Sarah took over the Switch.
Been playing for about a month since, and finally defeated the last Divine Beast today. Going to wander around and try to find some more shrines before making my way to Hyrule Castle now. Such a great game!
Happy New Year, Tom and Sarah!
Thank you for your excellent Blog!
We appreciate All you guys do!!!
Blessings,
Debbie & Greg Brand
P.S. We LOVE and still watch The Sein!!
Thanks for the kind words! I’m hopeful the younger generation “discovers” Seinfeld when it goes to Netflix next year, and suddenly a lot of the jokes/references on this blog will make sense to people.
Thanks for being a constant this year, I’ve checked the blog every day waiting for the next post! Cheers to all you’ve done to help the Disney community and here’s to a good 2021
Thanks for the kind words, and cheers to you, too!
Thank you Tom and Sarah. Here’s to a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Well, that ending left me moved to tears.
Thanks so much for the little slices of joy your posts bring to my inbox each day, all year. Whether we are planning an upcoming trip or the last one is in the nostalgic rearview mirror, you keep us connected to our happy place.
Wishing you and Sarah, and all of your readers a very happy and healthy new year!
Thank you Tom and Sarah for such good info all the time. I look forward to your entries . Thank God we can say goodbye to 2020! 2021 has to be much better!!! Happy New Year!!
Thank you for posting the recap about Second Harvest. I’m glad to be able to make another modest donation. You all really pulled together something wonderful and impactful.
A huge thanks for all the quirky humor, pop culture references, and wonderful posts this year. It’s nice to know there will be something positive to read regularly; It helps tune out the real world if only for 10 minutes or so.
It’s impossible to communicate a heartfelt thanks to people you don’t know via the comments section of a blog but please know my whole family appreciates what you all do. We had a wonderful trip this December and it would have been impossible (emphasis on impossible) without this resource. Hearing the kids laugh for the first time in ages and seeing them smile (if even under a mask) was priceless. Seriously- thank you!
Here’s to health and happiness in 2021.
P.S. My son is obsessed with Breath of the Wild and now Hyrule Warriors. Biggest EPCOT find for him? Zelda merchandise in Mitsukoshi Dept. Store….
“Biggest EPCOT find for him? Zelda merchandise in Mitsukoshi Dept. Store…”
One of our favorite spots in EPCOT, with souvenirs that are (surprisingly) fairly priced. Even the Studio Ghibli stuff is not marked up much–it’s just really expensive to begin with, even in Japan.
Tom, do keep the Seinfeld references coming! I still watch Seinfeld, and we can’t be alone! Now that my daughter is 12, she’ll watch them with me and she loves them too. Only a few episodes are still off limits (yada, yada, yada).
Thanks for all you do all year! I love reading all of your posts and your newsletter. Can’t wait to get back to Disneyland next year! Happy New Year , Tom & Sarah 🙂
Excellent writing again this year. Always appreciate your perspective and your photography is fabulous! Happy New Year!
Yeah good riddance 2020. Here is to returning to Disneyworld by mid to end 2022.
Thank you Tom & Sarah. My wife and I are looking forward to recalling all of your good advice for our trip to WDW to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. We wish you a very happy new year from Mexico.
Bonjour from Paris, where we are already in 2021, ahead for once .
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your work, posts, messages during this difficult year. Thank you for bringing smiles to our homes even thousands of miles away (and help me brush up my english at the same time !).
Wishing you all the best for 2021, and hoping to welcome you soon in Disneyland Paris !