Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[LSUmiss]

**My opinion is coming next...no i don't feel like arguing over it**

Maybe everyone should hold off on all the COVID panicking and see if any more spikes come in the next 7-10 days with all the riots. If there arent any spikes then lets be honest here things need to/should go back to more normal. Now if there are spikes in these cities then yes place like Disney and such should still be on the more careful end. But with how fast new deaths/new cases are trending downward and if no major spikes come from all of these riots where people are all over one another then i would hope all of these extreme measures taken by Disney would go away fairly quickly

I was thinking that. And spikes in deaths & hospitalizations importantly. There is some suggestion that the virus may be weakening.

 

[DisneyEater]

**My opinion is coming next...no i don't feel like arguing over it**

Then don't post it on a message board

 

[Marthasor]

Do you know if you can apply your discount to a future trip if you chose to cancel this one?

Currently, the 35% discount only applies to the current trip - they are taking free dining off and, to help compensate, giving 35% off the room rate instead. As of now, that discount cannot be applied to a future trip. That could change, of course.

To me that sounds like if your resort is closed they wont relocate you? Will they not give the option of moving to an open resort?

Nobody knows as of yet. One would hope!

Since the shut down, Disney policy has been that we will cancel your reservation if the resort remains closed,

Nothing officially confirmed, but Disney has been considering a plan to move people to open resorts vs. canceling,

So, if they change their mind, they can because the official policy as posted is cancel.

This exactly. The "legalese" that was released about a week prior to the reopening statement basically stated Disney reserves the right to do whatever they want - modify, limit capacity, closure, etc. They also reserved the right to cancel any reservations and provide applicable refunds. It actually concerns me that, while guests may like to stay in the hotels they have chosen or may even be ok with being moved to a DVC resort (if rumor becomes reality), truth be told, Disney reserved the right to outright cancel on people. I really hope it doesn't come to that. I truly hope anyone who has hung on this long in the hopes they can salvage a vacation will be able to salvage their vacation.

 

[roth697]

So we have reservations arriving 7/11 and leaving 7/15 a.m. At CSR . Cash paid in full. Technically they’re “open” during our stay. Really, we’ll just have 2 parks and whatever resort they decide to give us. We’re definitely canceling, but I’ve been holding out for some sort of incentive to rebook next year. Should I hold out hope or just bail now?

Is there a thread of people that have reservation in July that no longer want to go? I would love to work on going in their place. I know Disney won't do an official transfer but I'm sure we can work something out. I am looking for room only as we have an AP.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

Now as for the disclaimer not covering everything as an example I do obstacle course races and we sign "death waivers" at the start Of every race. One race (Tough Mudder) did get sued over bad safety procedures that led to a death and ultimately settled. This isn't that case but a good example of what would and wouldn't be covered. Let's say there is an obstacle to climb up a cargo net. If I slip and fall and am injured the waviver protects them since I assumed the risks. On the other hand if they didn't attach the net properly at the top and it comes loose and falls down and I'm injured then the waiver isn't likely to apply because the accident was a result of their being negligent in not building the obstacle properly and safely.

I like your analogy (and impressed you do those races), but where it falls down is that the net may be secured at the beginning of the race, but what happens after half the competitors mangle the net? Do the race administrators stop the race after each contestant scales the net to inspect, re-secure it, and then let the next competitor up? No, the competitors at the end of the race have a higher risk of failure of a piece of equipment than those at the head of the race, and, as a result, slower runners have a higher risk of injury than faster racers.

I have no doubt Disney is going to have every single room, ride, attraction scrubbed and sterilized to within an inch of its life...for the first round of guests after they first open; it's the second, and subsequent rounds, of guests who will have exponentially greater risk of contracting anything. Unless, of course, Disney decides to do a rolling closure of resorts, and attractions, to sterilize them every week or two, for the rest of the life of their operations.

 

[SoShiny]

Disney Springs restaurants are now bookable on the Disney website.

From Disney:
Dining Reservations Not Available at Select Locations
At this time, dining reservations at theme parks and Disney Resort hotel locations are not available. Select dining locations at Disney Springs are currently accepting reservations. Learn more about dining reservations during the phased reopening of Walt Disney World Resort.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

Is there a thread of people that have reservation in July that no longer want to go? I would love to work on going in their place. I know Disney won't do an official transfer but I'm sure we can work something out. I am looking for room only as we have an AP.

Yes, there is, it's in the Disney Resorts Forum pretty near the top.

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

Currently, the 35% discount only applies to the current trip - they are taking free dining off and, to help compensate, giving 35% off the room rate instead. As of now, that discount cannot be applied to a future trip. That could change, of course.



Nobody knows as of yet. One would hope!



This exactly. The "legalese" that was released about a week prior to the reopening statement basically stated Disney reserves the right to do whatever they want - modify, limit capacity, closure, etc. They also reserved the right to cancel any reservations and provide applicable refunds. It actually concerns me that, while guests may like to stay in the hotels they have chosen or may even be ok with being moved to a DVC resort (if rumor becomes reality), truth be told, Disney reserved the right to outright cancel on people. I really hope it doesn't come to that. I truly hope anyone who has hung on this long in the hopes they can salvage a vacation will be able to salvage their vacation.

Which leads to the question about how they would choose which guests to cancel if that is what they decide to do? I know this is all just speculation at this point, but it seems like it could be a possibility based on the language of the notice.

 

[SheHulk]

Disney Springs restaurants are now bookable on the Disney website.

From Disney:
Dining Reservations Not Available at Select Locations
At this time, dining reservations at theme parks and Disney Resort hotel locations are not available. Select dining locations at Disney Springs are currently accepting reservations. Learn more about dining reservations during the phased reopening of Walt Disney World Resort.

Thanks! Got Homecomin' for July 12. Hopefully my resort reservation will still be there when the time comes.

 

[casaya95]

Disney Springs restaurants are now bookable on the Disney website.

From Disney:
Dining Reservations Not Available at Select Locations
At this time, dining reservations at theme parks and Disney Resort hotel locations are not available. Select dining locations at Disney Springs are currently accepting reservations. Learn more about dining reservations during the phased reopening of Walt Disney World Resort.

Thank you for that! I rebooked a Homecomin' ADR, yet there was nothing for Boathouse my entire trip. I wonder if that's a restaurant that hasn't been cancelled yet.

 

[Sandisw]

So even though they will be open, certain people cant go because they chose the wrong resort to book? With no options of changing it?

Disney has the right to cancel any reservation when a resort is closed, yes

 

[Krandor]

I like your analogy (and impressed you do those races), but where it falls down is that the net may be secured at the beginning of the race, but what happens after half the competitors mangle the net? Do the race administrators stop the race after each contestant scales the net to inspect, re-secure it, and then let the next competitor up? No, the competitors at the end of the race have a higher risk of failure of a piece of equipment than those at the head of the race, and, as a result, slower runners have a higher risk of injury than faster racers.

I have no doubt Disney is going to have every single room, ride, attraction scrubbed and sterilized to within an inch of its life...for the first round of guests after they first open; it's the second, and subsequent rounds, of guests who will have exponentially greater risk of contracting anything. Unless, of course, Disney decides to do a rolling closure of resorts, and attractions, to sterilize them every week or two, for the rest of the life of their operations.

Yeah you would have to prove they did something wrong and didn't build it properly to start with. Yes if something happens during a race that would be different.

In the example where there was a lawsuit against tough mudder Which they setteled and paid out on it was an obstacle where you jump off this high tower into a big pool of mud. There were several safety issues but the two big ones were 1) They had divers in the pool but after the boy jumped and didn't come up, it was minutes before the diver did anything and 2) (probably the bigger one) the race volunteers at the top were doing no pacing of people as they jumped like waiting for one person to clear and telling the next to jump and somebody jumping right on top of the person who died is believed to be part of what happened (since that the people at the top are VERY careful and often even say things like "3 in... 1 up.. 2 up.. 3 up" and then only after those 3 clear the area can the next group.

I did one race one where one obstacle had you going accross this ladder that most people wouldn't get all the way up but there was not enough water underneath to cushion the fall. I flat refused to do it because it was not built safety. I saw several people get seriously hurt on it due to bad design. Don't know if anybody sued but they could have had a case because it wasn't designed safely.

Anyway point is just saying "you take responsibility" doesn't completely absolve the other party from all responsibility. If negligence can be proved (which is often hard) that waiver isn't going to apply. It helps but it is not an inpentrable shield.

 

[indylaw99]

After almost a week, my last ADRs just now fell off. We booked them the afternoon of the Task Force meeting after we bumped our trip to late July. They had been VERY slowly dropping off starting Sunday and are just now all gone. I wonder if that means they are getting close to having all of the old stuff cleared out (FP, ADR, experiences) and are ready to start moving on to the new stuff? (we also still haven't gotten an email about anything being cancelled despite having a DVC reservation and AP vouchers we bought in February)

 

[EasternShoreGal]

I was talking to my friend that works in the food/ gift shop at BC, they're getting ready to get people complaining BC doesn't have a food court from people being moved from the other resorts.
I also asked her about ther pools, the only thing she's heard is that they're thinking of only opening the dvc pools

This is really disheartening to DH and I. I lurk a good bit on these forums but usually don’t post much except on Y&B forum when I can contribute. I have followed all 1000+ pages (still not quite caught up) including the great M-word debate, and have felt everyone’s pain as their hard work has been for naught as reservation after reservation has been cancelled. We are DVC who just want to get out of Maryland and get some relaxation time in. BCV is one of our home resorts and we are currently booked in August in a one bedroom. We have been so many times that we usually just wing it. We enjoy resort only stays at BCVs because of the gorgeous main resort feature pool SAB. We had a couple ADRs booked but figured we would just go with the flow on this trip since we had cooking facilities and didn’t have park tickets and weren’t sure we wanted them. We were one of those folks who had the car partially packed when we heard the news of the shut down. Luckily, because I book in the flexible part of my use year I didn’t have any of the hassles others had with expiring points initially. We have moved the trip forward at least 4 times as availability showed up further out at BCV but are bumping up against a studio trip in October at this point. We were content to be flexible, didn’t need to take park days away from those who really wanted to go and we were just going to hang poolside but if SAB isn’t open, we may need to find another resort where the feature pool will be open. I have some banked points tied up in this trip that need to be used by February but not so much availability if we don’t go in August.

 

[Sandisw]

Is there a thread of people that have reservation in July that no longer want to go? I would love to work on going in their place. I know Disney won't do an official transfer but I'm sure we can work something out. I am looking for room only as we have an AP.

You can’t check in to a room in which you are not a registered guest

 

[woody337]

Disney has the right to cancel any reservation when a resort is closed, yes

Universal is starting to look good then, their hotels are open and they promise park entry when staying there.

 

[Sandisw]

This is really disheartening to DH and I. I lurk a good bit on these forums but usually don’t post much except on Y&B forum when I can contribute. I have followed all 1000+ pages (still not quite caught up) including the great M-word debate, and have felt everyone’s pain as their hard work has been for naught as reservation after reservation has been cancelled. We are DVC who just want to get out of Maryland and get some relaxation time in. BCV is one of our home resorts and we are currently booked in August in a one bedroom. We have been so many times that we usually just wing it. We enjoy resort only stays at BCVs because of the gorgeous main resort feature pool SAB. We had a couple ADRs booked but figured we would just go with the flow on this trip since we had cooking facilities and didn’t have park tickets and weren’t sure we wanted them. We were one of those folks who had the car partially packed when we heard the news of the shut down. Luckily, because I book in the flexible part of my use year I didn’t have any of the hassles others had with expiring points initially. We have moved the trip forward at least 4 times as availability showed up further out at BCV but are bumping up against a studio trip in October at this point. We were content to be flexible, didn’t need to take park days away from those who really wanted to go and we were just going to hang poolside but if SAB isn’t open, we may need to find another resort where the feature pool will be open. I have some banked points tied up in this trip that need to be used by February but not so much availability if we don’t go in August.

While the initial plan may be to only open DVC pools, things could change by August as they begin to open up more WDW hotels. IMO, as soon as they can increase park capacity, they will open up more and more.

 

[Sandisw]

Universal is starting to look good then, their hotels are open and they promise park entry when staying there.

They are so much smaller and not dealing with the number of resort guests to deal with...but, I get it.

 

[Krandor]

Universal is starting to look good then, their hotels are open and they promise park entry when staying there.

I thought at least one of their hotels was staying close.

 

[woody337]

I thought at least one of their hotels was staying close.

Thats true but it seems like their plan was better executed.