Long post alert. A few things to note about yesterday's reopening previews.
Everything I've heard from Guests, CMs, and Leadership seems to indicate the first day went really well. As previously discussed, they're expecting wait times to be a bit higher after CM previews. How high? They're still not quite sure; there's already ample evidence that the reduced hours, lack of park hopping, and limited experiences are going to have sizable effects on guest traffic patterns in the near term, but my understanding is that they're looking at Thursday and Friday as possible "worst case scenarios" in terms of how high waits could be under the current capacity restrictions. Still, those waits will likely pale in comparison to WDW's 90+ minute waits. It also seems like they've shifted their strategy to holding capacity steady at current caps until they can get a better idea of where the situation is headed. Originally, there was talk about re-evaluating some of the restrictions 4-6 weeks after opening, but with the current numbers (and how well they perceived yesterday to go), the plan seems to have shifted to holding steady with smaller modifications in the near term. Capacity levels may still creep up at some point, albeit not at the levels they initially anticipated, but in terms of increasing capacity at indoor attractions, shops, and restaurants, there's a growing consensus within management that that may not be happening for much longer than they expected. It's sort of a "don't fix what ain't broke" mentality." There's also still a lot of maintenance work left to be done in the coming days (and even weeks) on attractions. Some MK attractions were not in the best shape to begin with prior to the closure, and when any attraction doesn't run with guests for months, there's going to be some kinks and small problems when they start to take on guests again. I've been told that "will take some time." Regardless, I'm excited to see everything in person on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
A friend at WDW and I have an interesting take about safety I also wanted to share. It provided a bit of perspective. While I agree that WDW will be very safe (relatively speaking) and cleaner than it's been in the last 15 years, I also think we need to dispel with this idea that WDW is the "safest place" in Florida or anywhere right now (I'm guilty of this myself). As has been pointed out to me, "safety" and "risk" are relative. I certainly feel that the health and sanitation policies in place at WDW will be far more consistently and thoroughly executed than at most places, like my grocery store. But unlike my local grocery store, WDW is not essential (even though it really feels essential for most of us), so it's not an even risk comparison. The common retort becomes: well what about the CM's jobs? I absolutely agree we need to get them back to work and try to adapt to a new normal, which is why I will be there on Saturday. But that doesn't necessarily change the risk present. At the moment, there is an inherent risk in visiting any public place (and that risk is enhanced when those visits are elongated and around many people, even if it's a smaller number of people than it usually is as that place) and there is an added risk automatically assumed when traveling for non-essential purposes. That makes a trip to WDW "riskier" than a trip to your local grocery store. When we say things like "WDW is safer than anywhere else in Florida," we inadvertently minimize and trivialize that inherent risk we're accepting. WDW would not put up a disclaimer on the front page of DisneyWorld.com if they felt that risk was miniscule. Am I saying you shouldn't go? Absolutely not. Like I said, I'm going (multiple times within the next few months), but we have to be honest about that risk and make a decision we feel is best for ourselves and loved ones. As WDW has said, now might not be the right time for everyone to visit. Nobody should be judged for which decision they render (and I'm seeing some judgement on both sides). Also let's please not refer to those canceling their trips (even if because of the DFB picture) as having PTSD. As someone with a number of family and friends who suffer from PTSD after serving overseas, I respectfully ask that you not use that word (even sardonically) in a conversation about theme park vacations. Anyways, being honest about that risk also means taking the necessary precautions to mitigate it for yourself and for other Guests and CMs. We should all expect/hope for strict compliance and enforcement of that. We'll see in the coming days (I'm most curious about tomorrow and Friday).
That brings me to the DFB picture. Yes, it was click-bait (DFB has been doing that for quite some time). No, a gathering/rush like that shouldn't happen, especially with CMs and CM guests, but that's why WDW is holding these previews. These previews are not just about "good will," they're about ironing out the kinks of a several major operational changes to virtually all of WDW's lines of business, especially Attractions. What most causal fans don't necessarily realize is that the modifications to each of these attractions are being decided on by that area's leadership team then being reviewed and approved by upper management. That means some things can get lost (as is often the case with Disney) or that they may not think of something/some possible situation. With an operation as complex as WDW, management is not going to be able to think of every possible situation. I wouldn't have thought about post-downtime rushes (which seems to be what caused the incident that DFB highlighted), so I'd expect to see WDW review their options and implement some subtle changes in the coming days to curve that behavior. Little things like this are why WDW holds previews.
Finally, as I've pleaded before, can we stop with the media bashing please? This thread really isn't the place to vent about your frustrations with the media. I would not categorize any coverage we've seen from the general (not Disney-specific) media as a "firestorm" or "over-reactive." I've actually been surprised by how little national mainstream media has covered the reopening (one NYT interview with Josh or a mention about the WDW opening on CNN two weeks ago doesn't count as a "firestorm"). Why didn't UOR get a NYT article at all? Because most people outside of Florida don't even know or fully understand that UOR exists and it certainly doesn't attract the crowds that WDW does. It also doesn't have the same place in our pop culture that WDW does. Why didn't UOR cause this much consternation on this forum when it had difficulties during AP previews? As Yulady pointed out, it did to some extent. There actually was criticism on here, but this is a Disney-focused message board (with a UOR section that sees maybe a fifth of the traffic of the Disney threads), so the posters here are automatically going to pay more attention to WDW.
Oh man how times change. Now we’re just like, oh yeah that’s just what John does in this scene, it was a dance move in that decade right? We’re just happy the parks are open!
