Like many local families, we’ve really been taking advantage of this “limited air travel” time to explore our ol’ drivable home state of Florida. We enjoyed visiting West Palm Beach and the Space Coast recently and I knew Orlando would naturally be next! My daughter and I wanted to visit a lower capacity Walt Disney World before our Florida Resident passes expired. And conveniently, Meliá Orlando Celebration also invited us to visit and experience their NEW Stay Safe with Meliá program which helps to ensure a healthy Orlando trip for families. We chose a weekend to visit and were on our way!
P.S. we learned a lot….
Here are our tips on how to take a safe & healthy Orlando trip for families…right now!
Tip 1: Choose Safe Accommodations
A safe hotel is a happy (and healthy) hotel! Located right off of I-4, Meliá Orlando Celebration reopened in May (2020) following guidelines from the newly launched Stay Safe with Meliá program by Meliá Hotels International. The Spanish hotel company partnered with Bureau Veritas, a company leader in inspection, certification, and testing to implement preventative measures to combat COVID-19 in its hotels across the globe.
Meliá Orlando Celebration modified its 289-room hotel facilities and redesigned all of their processes to reduce direct interaction and maintain hygienic standards and social distancing across the property. And it shows!
Our 2-bedroom suite (available with 750 or 1,000 square feet of space plus a fully equipped kitchenette) showcased their intentional changes upon arrival. Regular customer touch points were scrutinized and noticeably adjusted.
A few things that I personally noted:
- Housekeeping was available daily upon request. You must request it though and guests cannot be present during cleaning.
- Call down for coffee/accompaniments for the coffee maker (it was delivered super quickly).
- An ice machine and self-pay laundry room are accessible on the second floor.
- The hotel is pet-friendly! It has a dog park to accommodate pet owners while on vacation.
- An official Walt Disney World Good Neighbor® hotel, they’re located only about 3 miles from Walt Disney World. Meliá offers a complimentary shuttle, but be sure to book it the night before if you plan to use!
Tip 2: Spend Time Outside
Did we mention Meliá Orlando Celebration has an amazing pool area? And each suite has an gorgeous view of it, by the way…
From evening “dive-in” movies to a putting green and water volleyball games, you don’t even need to leave the property to have a wonderful vacation day! And the fun is all outdoors!
During our time poolside, we enjoyed tropical drinks, a Brazilian BBQ and an ice cream social. This was in addition to tons of swimming for the kids while us adults relaxed. And if we needed something in our room, it was only an elevator ride away!
Tip 3: Eat Well
If you stay in one of Meliá’s spacious suites, we highly recommend bringing plenty of food/snacks (and wine) for your room’s kitchenette. However, if you’re in the mood for a decadent breakfast or delicious lunch or dinner, the hotel’s signature restaurant, 360 American Bistro + Bar is open for business!
They were actually the ones who put on the fabulous poolside Brazilian BBQ. We also enjoyed breakfast there before heading to the parks one morning. Yum!
Tip 4: Head to the Parks LATER
If you’re planning to visit Disney, this may feel counterintuitive to what you’d normally do. But take my advice–head to the parks LATER. Because they open late morning now, everyone (and their mother) is raring to go and arriving at Disney at the beginning of the day. This makes the food and attraction lines LONG and the crowds bigger than I am really comfortable with right now.
It was clearly noticeable that park attendees tended to thin out after lunch which made the ride lines a lot shorter (Fast Passes were still not available when we visited- FYI).
Dining reservations were also readily available then and after park closing. I don’t think we left Epcot until 2 hours after the park closed thanks to a last minute reservation at San Angel Inn Restaurante!
Tip 5: Pack the Pandemic Travel Essentials
Whether you’re packing a tote for the pool or your theme park backpack, don’t leave home without these essentials:
- Hand sanitizer
- Baby wipes
- Extra masks + mask chain/lanyard
- Hat, sunglasses & sunscreen
- Small cooler and bottled waters
- Rain gear (rain jackets/ponchos + an umbrella)
- Two pairs of sneakers (in case one gets soaked)
- Flip flops
- Metal straws (because paper is annoying)
Aside from that, get some much-needed rest, wash your hands and hope for the best! I fully believe you can enjoy a safe and healthy Orlando trip for families with the right precautions…and hotel partner of course. 🙂 That reminds me–I have a promo code to share!
With promo code SAVE10MOH, guests will receive:
-
10% off nightly rates
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Kids stay and eat free
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$100 in hotel credits
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Early check-in/late check-out (conditions apply)
BOOK HERE
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Sponsored: Modern Boca Mom was hosted by Meliá Orlando Celebration for blog review purposes. All opinions expressed in this blog post are my own. They are not influenced in any way by the sponsor. Any statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclosure for more information. I was given a complimentary resort stay, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
