Day 4 at DHHIR, and all is well. Weather has been a bit off-kilter--not bad just different than normal. Cooler overall, less sunshine, and rain early rather than later in the day (currently 9:45 and it's raining). CMs have been great, as usual. A few notes for those planning to stay here in the coming weeks.
- The basic amenities are still here: pool, beach house, Tide Me Over, Mercantile, shuttle, bike rentals, et. al.
- No tours as of this writing.
- Social distancing is especially observed on the Tide Me Over deck and Mercantile. Outside of that, Disney requires you to wear a mask on property, and most of the CMs will remind you if you don't. Still, quite a few guests don't observe that rule, regardless.
- Masks not required in pool area. And that's fine. However, that's where the largest congregation of people takes place, especially the hot tub, so we've avoided the pool altogether. Besides, the weather has been off and on iffy, anyway.
- Off site, few people wear masks except maybe a 50-50 split in the grocery stores where we've shopped.
- PSA: Realize, this is just one person's POV, but if you're a bit leery of venturing out in this age of the virus, please be aware that SC, in general, and HHI, in particular, is not for the faint of heart. As I mentioned above, few outside of the resort wear masks. While most restaurants attempt to keep tables six feet apart, few appear to succeed. Fishcamp on Broad Creek does a good job of distancing most outside tables. Scott's Fish Market, conversely, does not. We've walked by a few times and the tables don't appear any farther apart than normal, thus many patrons are sitting literally two feet away from the next person. All that to say, if you have an immune-compromised person in your family, you will have to take extra precautions to feel safe.
- We've cooked most of our meals in the room, securing our fresh seafood from Bennie Hudson's and Kroger (masked, of course). It's a great way to enjoy the local food and still be safer. We have eaten out three times. Once at Ela's (nice distance between tables) and twice at Fishcamp.
- We've truly enjoyed getting a little Disney feel after all this time, and the resort feels even more laid back given the tenor of the times.
EDITED TO ADD: They've taken all the seating away from the Tide Me Over deck, replaced by signs on the deck itself about where to stand when ordering from TMO or waiting to walk into the Mercantile (no more than four customers at one time in there). You order your food and then walk down the stairs to the now defunct shuffleboard area where there are picnic tables where you can wait to be brought your order.