Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[cakebaker]

I don't see that as a big deal. Obviously you know that isn't possible. Someone forgot to change the hold message on a phone, is that really a big deal?

And a 2 hr wait when they could have easily staffed to prevent that? This is ok? It’s a very limited number of people calling and they can’t handle that? I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when they are actually open.

 

[Eric Smith]

Why they can’t deliver the product they sold me is irrelevant. I’m not asking anything of them I don’t expect of Walmart. Give me what I paid for, or fully refund. I have a voucher I’ve never used. If I want a full refund, I have to hope they’ll throw a little pixie dust my way to get that. It should be policy.

They shouldn’t be giving 4 month extensions for a time when the parks aren’t even fully open and with no timeline whatsoever when they will be. The least they could do is adjust for the loss of benefits they sold as a feature of their product.

If you have a voucher, why not save it for a point in time when COVID is behind us? Mine says it expires in 2030.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

When I renewed, I expected there to be a reservation system. I knew exactly what I was buying, and I got exactly what I paid for—an entire year of admission with a reservation policy. If I didn’t like the idea of a reservation system, I would have either cancelled my pass or let it expire. I’m completely happy with my purchase. Maybe they can afford to give all APs an extra year and maybe they can’t, but I think that’s a completely unrealistic expectation. If Disney wants to give me something extra, I’ll be grateful, but I refuse to get mad because it doesn’t look like they’re going to give me something for free.

This would be my point of view too.. if I had known any of this would happen when I renewed. I renewed my Platinum AP in November before COVID-19 was even found in China. I have not used my AP at all since I renewed.. we were supposed to go in May. My last trip was in June of 2019. My AP has a current expiration date of 12/1/2020. To complicate things further I have a 9 month old.

I know we are still waiting on info from Disney, but I do think a complete refund on completely unused, already activated APs should be in the cards. We have trips planned for the end of August and mid November, but depending on what else comes out about the virus and park operations we might not go at all this year. Extending my pass until late March would not fully solve the issue either, especially if there’s another outbreak this winter.

And IMO, the removal of park hopping and no longer having the flexibility of visiting any park on any day cuts down on the value of the Platinum AP. Would I have paid $1200 to renew my pass In November if I knew I would lose my AP room discount in May, no longer be able to park hop and would have to make park reservations? No, probably not. The room discount is a huge factor in me buying an AP. I probably would’ve just bought a 7 day ticket and only planned for one trip this year in November. Our August trip is a make up for May, but I’m not sure I want to endure the August heat for a significantly reduced experience. And if midday breaks are not possible there is no way we can do August with an 11 month old.

Anyway, I only quote your post to show that there are people in two completely different boats.. those of us that renewed right before the world fell apart sort of feel like we threw our money down the drain. Or at least I do.

 

[princesscinderella]

OMG I am losing it now
thanks for that. I'm still on hold so was going to start making a list of reservations for in park

Anyone still on hold if you have DVC and a second phone line you can call in a few minutes and see who answers first.

 

[Eric Smith]

And a 2 hr wait when they could have easily staffed to prevent that? This is ok? It’s a very limited number of people calling and they can’t handle that? I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when they are actually open.

Is it really a very limited number of people? I would guess that it's at least 3/4 of the people who are traveling between the 22nd and the 10th who called right at 7AM. The people going right now are going to be the die hards, it's not going to be your average guest.

 

[Sara W]

I was on hold for an hour and 45min and the music just stopped. The time thing is still ticking on my phone, but silence. How long do I hold on for the silence before admitting I got disconnected?

 

[magrif]

Just another data point: I'm a FL resident Platinum AP holder. My expiration date remains the same. I just checked it a few minutes ago.

For those commenting about a potential lack of park hopping ability or even not being able to get into any park because of capacity restrictions my view is that the AP never guaranteed you park hopping or even park admission. If a park is closed due to capacity restrictions then that is it. They aren't going to change the capacity to X-number plus any AP holder that want to come.

I was wondering if this would be addressed. We've been lucky in the past with capacity only being met a few days a year. Since they're editing capacity limits now, we may have to get used to the new normal for a little while.

 

[Hummingbird]

Okay, but how can I get a Homecoming reservation for September? I’ve tried multiple times and can’t. Gonna try OpenTable next.

I thought I read somewhere that dining is only 60 days out now.

 

[andyman8]

Honestly tell me if you think this is ok
The company tells people arriving from the 22nd to the 10th (that's 3 weeks) that you can make dining reservations, only if you are arriving those days,, for only DVC properties and FW
You call right at 7am and you are in a 2 hour hold. Not only that the message cheerfully tells you that you can skip the waiting and book online

Is that ok to you?

And if anyone thinks it's going to be any better the day when the new park reservation system comes online, they'd be mistaken. After the first few weeks, I genuinely believe park reservations will not be a huge headache/difficulty, but I do think that initial releases are going to be IT nightmares that Disney just won't deal with. That's been their IT strategy for any big release or demand-inducing event for the last decade.

Do you not have paid vacation time? I'm getting paid while I'm at Disney.

Not everyone gets PTO. I don't.

 

[sromanello815]

Sorry if this has been asked a MILLION times, we have 8/16 arrival date DVC, I cannot call go make park reservations at this time?

 

[Princess Merida]

1 hour 45 minutes on hold. I did get all my reservations though including Topolinos character breakfast and Beaches and Cream which I would assume are the most difficult two at this time.

 

[aweehughes]

I thought I read somewhere that dining is only 60 days out now.

It is.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Why they can’t deliver the product they sold me is irrelevant. I’m not asking anything of them I don’t expect of Walmart. Give me what I paid for, or fully refund. I have a voucher I’ve never used. If I want a full refund, I have to hope they’ll throw a little pixie dust my way to get that. It should be policy.

They shouldn’t be giving 4 month extensions for a time when the parks aren’t even fully open and with no timeline whatsoever when they will be. The least they could do is adjust for the loss of benefits they sold as a feature of their product.

This has basically been my (admittedly low) bar of companies during this pandemic. It’s why I’m very pleased with our local community centre concerning soccer and not so much with the spring hockey league we had registered with.

Im willing to excuse a lot of shenanigans, so long as they’re letting the customer pull out their money if they choose. Which is why concerning regular packages and tickets I think they’ve been good enough. I’m happy with the length they extended our regular tickets, and the policy of turning them into credits if not used (that existed before, I know). I’m confident if I called trying to get a refund for them I’d have a pretty good shot.

I can’t say the same for what they’re doing with APs at this point. It would even be better if they would let us make the decision of refund vs extension up until the point of our original cancellation.

 

[Searc]

Sorry if this has been asked a MILLION times, we have 8/16 arrival date DVC, I cannot call go make park reservations at this time?

No

 

[npatellye]

Sorry if this has been asked a MILLION times, we have 8/16 arrival date DVC, I cannot call go make park reservations at this time?

No one can make park reservations yet. Only people up to 7/10 can call to make dining reservations.

 

[woody337]

The only part that I feel Disney has failed miserably at are those with resort reservations.

To me it's unacceptable for people with July reservations to still have no idea where they are staying, will they be moved, will they have to pay to be moved or will the just be cancelled.

And thats where I am

 

[yulilin3]

oh hold for over 90 minutes so far - they just started a message loop periodically that says that if your resort reservation is after July 10, they can only answer questions. They will only be making dining reservations for resort reservations between today and July 10....

1 hour and 48 minutes so far

 

[cakebaker]

If you have a voucher, why not save it for a point in time when COVID is behind us? Mine says it expires in 2030.

The only reason I should need to get a refund is because I don’t want to hold on to it. They can’t deliver what they sold me. They can’t tell me when they can, if ever. I’m entitled to my money back.

But the reason is, and I’m coming to this gradually, is I don’t like the service I’ve received as a result of what has happened since March. I don’t know that I want to continue spending my money at WDW. I don’t need anyone to agree with me, that’s my decision to make. I should have the option of a full refund as a matter of policy.

 

[BrianR]

And a 2 hr wait when they could have easily staffed to prevent that? This is ok? It’s a very limited number of people calling and they can’t handle that? I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when they are actually open.

Remember when they pushed everyone to MDE 9-ish months ago that cut staff for the phone banks. There's not really trained staff to bring back to the days of yore. Agreed if they do the phone-a-restaurant method for July 11 and later it's going to be a dumpster fire, but since a bunch of the systems for park operation aren't visible yet I'm going to save my frustration for when it's actually revealed for real.

 

[yulilin3]

And if anyone thinks it's going to be any better the day when the new park reservation system comes online, they'd be mistaken. After the first few weeks, I genuinely believe park reservations will not be a huge headache/difficulty, but I do think that initial releases are going to be IT nightmares that Disney just won't deal with. That's been their IT strategy for any big release or demand-inducing event for the last decade.

Not everyone gets PTO. I don't.

And I'm expecting the reservation system to be awful, I mean we have so many past examples with reservations systems for Pandora, NFL, SSWGE, TSLand. I expect that, today, I didn't expect to wait 2 hours or more (still on hold) for a reservation system where such a small pool of people are calling