Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[jlwhitney]

You should really wait to see how this all plays out before you make any rash decisions. Disney is trying to do things as safely as they can as they don't want to be forced to shut their parks down again if there is another spike in the virus. Making these changes takes time, but it should be worth it.

This is a one in a lifetime to less than once in a lifetime situation. It's a big deal. Some patience is warranted.

EH, they aren't handling this well at all it is a big deal yes but they aren't handling it well at all. Disney doesn't want to open this summer but is being pressured into it. Times like this show the big picture of what a company values and how they will resond.

 

[hereforthechurros]

No they have to actually call Disney in this case. It’s a different number than general public would call, but it’s actually through Disney.

That’s true, in the past my TA has passed along their discounts to me but let me know she wouldn’t know availability until she requested to book the reservation. Just another wrinkle to all of this.

 

[MrsSmith07]

THIS I would love to attend
too bad it'll be closed to fans. Weather will be a huge factor in these games

Me too!! I'm actually more excited about MLS than NBA. (Sorry, love sports, but have never gotten into basketball)

 

[crazy4wdw]

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think most will agree that what they are doing is about saving money and not about safety

No I really don’t think “most” will agree with that.

If this was solely about money they could open nearly like before with slight modifications, do it somewhat quickly like the other Orlando parks, throw in some more cutbacks, and let the chips fall where they may. A lot of their decisions right now (as can be seen plainly in this thread) are major turn offs for guests, and I imagine this applies even more to those who are not obsessed like we are. They are cutting a ton of their revenue by choice, these are not regular cost cutting measures we have seen in the past with little impact on the revenue coming in.

 

[Krandor]

I think most will agree that what they are doing is about saving money and not about safety

I do not agree.

 

[skeeter31]

I do not agree.

Nor do I. While some of their efforts are about saving money, most of what they are doing is for long lasting safety. They are 10x (if not more so) bigger than any of the other theme parks in Orlando and thus need to make much more sacrifices in order to operate right now.

 

[Krandor]

EH, they aren't handling this well at all it is a big deal yes but they aren't handling it well at all. Disney doesn't want to open this summer but is being pressured into it. Times like this show the big picture of what a company values and how they will resond.

By wanting to stay closed and being careful they are showing they are not trying to make money at any cost.

 

[A2DisneyMom]

It says coffee makers!! There will be coffee makers!!

Coffee makers in rooms, Disney bar CMs called back...prospects for a summer WDW vacation are looking up! That is, if we still have rooms...

 

[Eric Smith]

EH, they aren't handling this well at all it is a big deal yes but they aren't handling it well at all. Disney doesn't want to open this summer but is being pressured into it. Times like this show the big picture of what a company values and how they will resond.

That's just speculation. People with actual sources on this board said July was the plan all along. Disney did not want to stay closed for the whole summer. That makes zero sense.

 

[charmed59]

I think people are worried this could go on for much longer than most anticipated and it does seem a bit more restrictive/cautious than most cities reopening plans.

Disney world needs to plan not for the average threat, but worse case. They need to assume that people will be showing up from the worst hot spot. Just think of all of Disney World being in the middle of the hot spot du jour, and expect those types of precautions.

 

[jlwhitney]

By wanting to stay closed and being careful they are showing they are not trying to make money at any cost.

If they don't have enough people they could end up losing more money then just staying closed longer. They have to pay people and all the expenses of being open.

But all they are doing is making people want to cancel and not even bother for the long term. I live 2.5 hours away with kids and I don't know a single person that has any desire to go with all the restrictions and unknown. They are all planning summer vacations to other places where things are fairly open and almost normal.

 

[dislee1164]

I just caught up on the past 12 hours of this thread, and my heart rate & emotions in the last 10 minutes have been a roller coaster, lol.

I am an out of state AP (just upgraded in Dec, so you can thank me for all of this - figures right when I buy them, the parks CLOSE!), with trips booked in July, August and December. All of the unknowns have been super stressful and confusing, but I am just so happy that the parks will be open. I don't care what hotel I stay in at WDW, as long as I'm there to hear the music and feel the atmosphere - something I feared wouldn't happen for a long long time.

There is really no other point to my post, other than to say I appreciate you all - thanks for the updates, insights, worries and freak outs! Makes me feel like I'm not alone!

Good luck to everyone on your trips!

 

[Wreckem]

I’m not sure why people are saying Disney is overly cautious or they are just doing it to cut costs. Many states still limit hotel occupancy to less than 50%. Many hotels nationwide are still shut down. Universal hotels aren’t going past 50% capacity(they are Currently only booking every other room) anytime soon.

Universal only opened when they did to stem the bleeding of paying everyone at 80%. They aren’t making money anytime soon but they are losing less than they were. Disney won’t be making money on the park’s for a good long while either.

And as for being more cautious than city and states reopening, well they seem to be following original guidelines that states and cities threw out the window to open early. Everyone is saying there’s no second wave etc. they are correct it’s still the first wave and Texas is going on day three in a row of record hospitalizations today. Set a record week of new cases last week. On track to set it again this week. There are now 26 states where the virus is starting to pick up steam again.

 

[Krandor]

If they don't have enough people they could end up losing more money then just staying closed longer.

Andd they said from day 1 they would not open under those conditions.

 

[KBoopaloo]

Nor do I. While some of their efforts are about saving money, most of what they are doing is for long lasting safety. They are 10x (if not more so) bigger than any of the other theme parks in Orlando and thus need to make much more sacrifices in order to operate right now.

Me either. I am impressed that they are clearly looking at the long term safety issues when it comes to reopening. Just thinking about the challenges they have with transportation alone gives me a headache. Looking at the entire picture is overwhelming.

 

[Eric Smith]

I think people are worried this could go on for much longer than most anticipated and it does seem a bit more restrictive/cautious than most cities reopening plans.

When you are young, telling people just to be patient and wait a year or two is no big deal. Time doesn't seem to go by as fast...

When you are getting a bit older (or your kids are getting older), waiting a year or two is kind of a big deal. Maybe we have other bucket-list trips to take. Maybe we have people we want to bring the won't be able to go in a few years. Maybe I won't be able to handle coasters like I used to.

I get the impatience, warranted or not.

They're being more restricted because they are worried about the safety of their guests and cast members.

Disney isn't making these changes in a vacuum. They're making these changes in response to a once in a century event. This event will pass at some point and things will go back to mostly the way they were before this event.

I think having to push plans for a year or more is a big deal for anyone, especially those on this board. However, I think we need to have some perspective about the magnitude of the challenge of reopening the busiest theme parks in the world.

 

[focusondisney]

Im pretty sure, like it was said earlier in the thread, it's to save money. SAB needs about 8 lifeguards on duty at all times

We stay at YC several times a year for about 20 years. Just did a quick count of where I remember the life guards to be... I count 13, including the one at the top of the slide & the one at the kiddie slide. And I may have even missed one. And there are 2 shifts of lifeguards too. That is a lot of people to pay for a severely limited guest count.

 

[Lewisc]

I think most will agree that what they are doing is about saving money and not about safety

I don't agree.

 

[Arym]

As much as I love Disney, I am getting really turned off by them and really starting to consider selling DVC in the near future. I really have a feeling the rest of the parks in Orlando will be back to normal months sooner than Disney. I really don't most things back and drop in restrictions at Disney till Spring/summer 2021

My family's go to vacation is WDW. Last night we started talking and three of us want to just go somewhere else. I'm the lone hold out. It makes me sad. I'm mad at Disney, not for the safety precautions but because of the lack of information.