Covid induced improvements, are there any?

[Alice Sr.]

It has been a frustrating time as a DVC owner dealing with Disney's decisions, non-decisions and lack of communication. I'm sure it has been a super stressful and frustrating time for them as well. After thinking about some of the recent changes I was not happy about I have had second thoughts on a couple. I definitely see an upside to resv the park you want to go to ahead of time. I just don't know if the benefit continues when they allow park hopping again. Maybe it's just the unresv park is subject to the daily resv capacity restrictions if you didn't select it as your primary for that day. I like the idea of not making dining resv so early, I prefer 60 days to 180, that's a keeper to me . I also hope an improved FP will come back (real time to minimize the need to stand in line) sooner than later. Just trying to slow my internal rant and return to my more optimistic self , any help would be appreciated.

 

[Sandisw]

I like the changes so far, especially dining and I think we will see park hopping by 2021, and maybe earlier depending on how things go once they sell 2020 tickets again.

I too would like to see FP comeback in some way.

 

[tjkraz]

After Covid passes, we’ll go back to where parks rarely reach capacity. There won’t be a need for advance reservations. However it might be beneficial for Disney to still require some form of advance sign-up, if for no other reason than to try and distribute crowds better. Imagine they use some sort of green / yellow / red system to indicate how close each park is to capacity. When new guests start to make their plans, they could gravitate more toward the green and yellow parks. I know I would.

It’s not a flawless idea. Just because a park I choose is green 60 days out doesn’t mean it will remain green. But Disney will have a year to evaluate the park pass system and decide if it can be used to improve both their staffing needs and guest planning.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

I think the park reservation system would be especially beneficial during holidays and high peek times of the year.

 

[tjkraz]

I like the changes so far, especially dining and I think we will see park hopping by 2021, and maybe earlier depending on how things go once they sell 2020 tickets again.

I would be content if they simply made park hopping available when crowds dictate. Say, after 5pm, if current park attendance has dropped below a certain threshold, start letting hoppers in. It would work best for resorts which are close to a park—I wouldn’t necessarily try to hop from Poly to Hollywood Studios but Boardwalk to HS would be easy enough to try. If too many hoppers arrive, start to cut it off. Maybe use the MDE app to send updates, or better yet use the app to allow hoppers to hold their spot before they even head to the park.

 

[AdamsMum]

I think the park reservation system would be especially beneficial during holidays and high peek times of the year.

That totally negates park hopping which is one of the values of AP. Unless they are going to allow you to book 2 parks a day going forward. Then again I avoid holidays so maybe there isn't much opportunity to park hop at those times anyway.

 

[Alice Sr.]

I was thinking something along the line of the way they handled FP at a 2nd park. So if you walk out of the park you reserved you could check to see if there was availability at a second park. If available you would "resv" it which would lock you into that one but probably lock you out of your primary.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

That totally negates park hopping which is one of the values of AP. Unless they are going to allow you to book 2 parks a day going forward. Then again I avoid holidays so maybe there isn't much opportunity to park hop at those times anyway.

I guess I was basing this on a trip my sister took one year over the Easter holiday. She wasn't able to get into the MK because it was so busy. They were staying at the Poly so she decided to just spend the day at the pool but was upset at not getting into MK. If the reservation system had been in place she could have made advance plans to be there or known ahead of time it wasn't available.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Take down those @#$% shared soap containers!

 

[Donna M]

Take down those @#$% shared soap containers!

I love them!

 

[ColonialMouse]

I’ll be happy if the 60 day ADRs stay.

I’m less sure about wanting FP to return. I could see it for the true top-billing/new rides. In fact virtual queue seemed to be a complete failure with Rise of the Resistance with everyone showing up at rope drop to see if they could get an entry at some point during the day. But I’m not sure that FP really helps with rides like Haunted Mansion, etc. I’d be curious if some sort of virtual queue would work for those, essentially like the old ticket-based FP system but online, where you could get one new ticket per hour.

Bruce