If you don't know me personally, you may not know that Orlando, Florida is basically my second home. I'm another washed up Disney cast member, and I try to visit as often as I can. It has been a bit more difficult due to my busy work and school schedule, oh, and the global pandemic. I was recently able to find a break in my schedule to take a trip down south and pay a visit to some of the places I missed the most. One of those places happened to be Walt Disney World itself.

I was super nervous about the trip in all honesty. I mean, Florida has basically been portrayed as a COVID blood bath the past few weeks. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that my heart was beating out of my chest before walking into the Cleveland Hopkins Airport.

I have been working almost everyday during this outbreak, and I frequently go to the gym and other places where masks are not required. I personally choose to wear one when I am out, because I happen to care about the wellbeing of other people and I want to do my part to put an end to this nonsense. I realized very quickly and harshly that not many others agree with my view on this.

Many people in my medium sized lake town believe that wearing a mask for a twenty minute trip to Kroger is an "infringement on their rights," but I think they just sound foolish. My current place of employment, Starbucks, now requires them in store, and some people are super unhappy about it.

When I arrived in Florida, I noticed that everyone I passed was abiding by the new regulations. Social distancing was occurring, masks were worn, hand sanitizer was being used everywhere. Comparing Sandusky to Orlando was bizarre. It was crazy to see an area where people actually listened and cared, even if it was a temporary law.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend a cast member preview at Hollywood Studios before their opening date. If you aren't familiar with how cast member previews work at Disney, usually cast members who are able to get a slot can bring a certain number of guests. I was my friend's plus one, and it was such an amazing experience. Hollywood Studios opened three new rides not too long ago, and we were able to walk right on them multiple times. A Disney lover's dream.

The overall experience in the Disney park was reassuring. Disney is doing a lot to protect their guests and cast members, I believe. They have even included "relaxation stations" around the parks where guests can remove their masks and just relax- six feet away from one another, of course.

We were also able to go and visit some of my favorite beaches, where masks were required in shops and restaurants, and distancing was mandatory, which I don't happen to mind at all. The 'best' part of the trip actually happened to be the flight back to CVG, where there were only about twenty of us on the entire flight.

Overall, I think that we should all look to Florida as a role model right now. Even though the rates are constantly being butchered by the media, they are taking care of things now the way that we should all be. I'm hoping if we all finally listen up and do what we need to do, vacations and relaxation won't be too far around the corner for all of us.