Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I think Pete has mentioned that he felt like Disney has not really been a fan of the dining plan and would look for an opening to do away with it if they could. This pandemic could be that reason. Disney has progressively made the dining plan less and less of a deal. Its not really a good "deal" not at all but it does offer convenience which is why why have gotten it when we did. Since its just me and and the wife we found it easier without the dining plan since we like to do a lot of lounges.

It will be interesting if Disney opts to not bring it back. I think it would upset a lot of people if they did. But I think it most families worked out the math for what they normally would spend it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I know there are families that the DP is always great for but I think the majority its convenience or perceived value even if its not always great value.

I think they will bring it back but I could totally see it going either way.

The point of the dining plan for Disney is not to create a good "deal" for the customer. Disney is creating a bundle. Statistically, people are likely to spend more money in a single transaction when goods/services are bundled (as opposed to buying the "pieces" individually). Disney LOVES the ability to throw stuff into a bundle for us to buy. It entices us to spend more money than if we made individual transactions for each piece, and for many people, it increases the appeal of staying on property. That convenience sells!

It will be back eventually. Probably with a price hike

 

[SaintsManiac]

Special DDP and FP package coming SOON.

 

[Katrina Y]

In my opinion, Epcot has been by far the most affected park. Even with Food and Wine, I am not sure it is worth a day. So many shops are closed and it isn't the same without the workers from other countries. Future World is so ugly with all the walls and no fountain. The good news: Boulangerie Patisserie less Halles in France was open.

Epcot is one of my favorite parks, but I would skip going to it, unless you are at Disney for several days.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I don't know Ben. I can tell you that the actors that play Jack Diamond, Paige Turner and Evie Starlight are ready to go back but want to be able to wear masks which is their main issue

I am so mad at Disney digging into their no mask for actors policy. Ri-dic-u-lous!!!

Those poor CMs could be working, Disney guests could be entertained and Disney could be making money off the guests excited for more options

 

[Katrina Y]

At EPCOT, does it seem like most of the WS shops are open, or is it kind of hit and miss?

Nothing in Canada, only the tea shop in England, the shop in the back at France, Japan’s big store is open, Mexico Pavilion is open, I will know more later, still walking around.

 

[runningstitch]

In my opinion, Epcot has been by far the most affected park. Even with Food and Wine, I am not sure it is worth a day. So many shops are closed and it isn't the same without the workers from other countries. Future World is so ugly with all the walls and no fountain. The good news: Boulangerie Patisserie less Halles in France was open.

Epcot is one of my favorite parks, but I would skip going to it, unless you are at Disney for several days.

THIS. Also, sometimes in the parks they will stop a ride for cleaning while the queue is full, and two out of three times I saw families remove or improperly wear masks during this time, which can last up to 15 minutes. There wasn't a cast member in the middle of the queue to police this, and it made me and my daughter very anxious. We reported it both times to the next CM we saw. We straight up left the line (not to return) during one of these instances and told a CM. Overall I felt mostly safe in all four parks, but never more so than when everyone followed the rules.

 

[MKEMSE]

Does anyone know if The American Adventure is open at EPCOT?

 

[MrsBooch]

I think Pete has mentioned that he felt like Disney has not really been a fan of the dining plan and would look for an opening to do away with it if they could. This pandemic could be that reason. Disney has progressively made the dining plan less and less of a deal. Its not really a good "deal" not at all but it does offer convenience which is why why have gotten it when we did. Since its just me and and the wife we found it easier without the dining plan since we like to do a lot of lounges.

It will be interesting if Disney opts to not bring it back. I think it would upset a lot of people if they did. But I think it most families worked out the math for what they normally would spend it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I know there are families that the DP is always great for but I think the majority its convenience or perceived value even if its not always great value.

I think they will bring it back but I could totally see it going either way.

yup - agreed. Although they did just roll out that new tier of Dining Plan that was not quite deluxe and not quite regular. We will see I guess. I just want Casey’s & Gastons to open so I can get that god awful cheese sauce, some corn dog nuggets and wash it all down with a LeFous Brew & cinnamon bun for dessert. Obviously.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't know Ben. I can tell you that the actors that play Jack Diamond, Paige Turner and Evie Starlight are ready to go back but want to be able to wear masks which is their main issue

Not sure if masks would work everywhere but I feel like the Citizens of Hollywood could make it work and incorporate them into their shows

 

[casaya95]

Went to DHS today and MK yesterday. I saw no issues with masks whatsoever, and I was so thrilled. It really feels like all the people at the parks currently are the “lifers” who already understand the parks; didn’t see many confused guests.

In terms of the parking situation at DHS, we didn’t get let in until around 9:15 or so and we were the first car. By that point, though, there were a ton of people already in the park via Skyliner. We’re going back Monday, so we’ll try that option rather than driving.

We got BG 24 exactly at 10, got called around 1:10.

 

[gatechfan99]

Can’t wait to hear Part 2 tomorrow!

Well, thought I’d update today with our HS day, especially if it helps someone with planning. First, obviously, it felt much more crowded than MK yesterday, but at least to me, not uncomfortably so. We had a lot of line waiting but people seemed to keep their distance.

Parking- they seem to have different times every day. Got to the cones off the exit ramp (before the pay gates) about 8:40 and they were turning people around and said lot didn’t open until 9:00. I looped around, got back around 8:50 and they were letting cars stay at the cones. We were probably behind about 20 cars at that point. After about 5 minutes, they let everyone pull up to the gates but no further. Did not actually start letting people through the gates until about 9:20.

Temp check was crowded but moved fast. No real line at bag check or tap stiles. We went straight to MMRR and were in line about 9:40. Lots of people ahead of us so I assumed buses and Skyliner were quicker than driving today. Good thing is line was moving, so they must have started the ride way before 10:00.

Ok, so 9:59:30, we got the app fired up for RotR. Refreshed right at 10, all our party was there, had BG 13 in about 3 seconds. Not sure how long they lasted but lots of people around us got one. Wound up going down so didn’t ride until about 12:30. I later noticed they were at BG 71 at 5:00.

Were done with MMRR around 10:20, got TSL done after that.

Afternoon felt pretty light. Short wait for Falcon. My kids did RnR Coaster 4 times in a row with essentially no line.

So again, crowded but still much lighter than regular times. Again, good mask compliance. Heat is bad, not sure the mask has made it much worse. My kids have been great with them. Youngest is 7 and you have to pry it off his face when it’s time because he never takes it off. Overall recommendation same as yesterday. If on the fence, come down at this time. People are doing well with compliance and crowds will never be this good again. We’ve got AK tomorrow so hopefully an easy day.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Any word on issues or restrictions with using Uber/Lyft to get around property?

 

[DisMommyTX]

In my opinion, Epcot has been by far the most affected park. Even with Food and Wine, I am not sure it is worth a day. So many shops are closed and it isn't the same without the workers from other countries. Future World is so ugly with all the walls and no fountain. The good news: Boulangerie Patisserie less Halles in France was open.

Epcot is one of my favorite parks, but I would skip going to it, unless you are at Disney for several days.

We are considering just the opposite, making EP our only 2 day park. We have visited all 4 parks once this trip, now trying to decide which to repeat tomorrow, our last day. We usually visit every park at least twice, 7-10 day trips with at least a half day in a park every day. This trip was different in many ways, but we really felt like we 'finished' each park on our one day there. We have a park pass for HS tomorrow, but considering whether to switch to EP or MK, or just chill in the pool.

We didn't see any of the characters at Epcot, so I kind of want to go back for that--the cavalcade sounds like it is worth seeing. We arrived late and spent a while in future world, then it rained for a couple hours. We circled the whole World Showcase, but it was after 7pm. I understand that there is no set schedule, but does anyone know what time others have seen characters? We've had pretty awful luck on catching characters all week. HS aparently has three sets of characters that drive through the park, but we literally saw the same Pixar group 4 times, and Dis Jr once. After missing them for 2 dsys, we really want to see Mickey and friends somehow before we leave!

 

[LSUmiss]

For those watching wait times, this entire week we’ve found wait times significantly overstated at all parks except AK. For example, we just walked on Splash three times in a row with 30 minutes posted each time. BTMR posted at 35 and from entering the line to boarding was 12 minutes. Yesterday Test Track showed 60 minutes and it was a 15 minute wait.

Yes MMRR said 45 & was basically walk-on. Maybe 20 min wait but line moved the whole time.

I wonder if it’s b/c they’re just guessing b/c I doubt they’re giving that card lanyard thing that the use for guests to give to the CM at the front of the line.

 

[only hope]

Yeah. To each their own. I’m not a fan of the aviary...I have bad luck with bird rooms...But I have a feeling seeing a closed up Nemo show when we’re there next week will bring tears to my eyes. My family loves that show! We usually see it twice when we’re in AK and have met the cast twice. Maybe we’ll just reenact it ourselves and sing the songs (in our of course) as we walk by.

How does one go about meeting the cast?? Though that may not be a thing when they return. I’ve seen the show probably a dozen times the past few years and the actor playing Marlin has always been the same. I know there must be more than one as no one works seven days a week but we’ve never seen anyone else. I’m so familiar with him as Marlin that once I could tell thirty seconds into the show that the poor man had a cold.

I am so mad at Disney digging into their no mask for actors policy. Ri-dic-u-lous!!!

Those poor CMs could be working, Disney guests could be entertained and Disney could be making money off the guests excited for more options

Not sure if masks would work everywhere but I feel like the Citizens of Hollywood could make it work and incorporate them into their shows

I thought the hold up was Disney refusing to test. This is ridiculous. All the people I saw in entertainment at Uni wore masks. Why can’t the entertainment cm at Disney do that too? Yeah, it looks different and means you can’t forget even during entertainment that there’s a pandemic, but the tm/cm and guests safety is more important. I don’t understand why WDW would place image above safety.

 

[LSUmiss]

I want to be able to go to the MK or HS every night if I want to. Having APs spoiled us.

I used to like that too. But with these staggered shortened hours, I’m not sure it would be worth the hassle anyway,

 

[LSUmiss]

It's the thing, there are so many ways to tour the parks. I stay at least an hour when i have the chance just at gorilla falls trail, i like touring conservation station and sitting down at the aviary inside maharajah jungle trek

Agreed & for us with DS 2 we can go slow & still get everything done that we want to do.

 

[LSUmiss]

Is the Mexico ride running but not showing wait times on the app?

Yes it was yesterday.

 

[LSUmiss]

For those of you with questions wondering what it feels like? Here are a few thoughts from the AP preview of MK and just returning home from Epcot today.

Yes, it is still magical! However, you need to be able to cope with the fact it is a different kind of magical than your normal, carefree vacation. If you are good with that, you will have a wonderful time. We were so happy we were back! it was a much needed mental boost. You will forget the stress of the outside world, but it is not your typical full emersion, all day long break from reality.

Masks will drive you a bit crazy now and then. The humidity is what makes masks harder to deal with. Know your tolerance for humidity and extreme heat, my watch said true feel 102+ today. We are local, used to the climate and yet we only lasted 3 hours between breaks. Stay hydrated, just stop and rest now and then. Masks muffle peoples voices and people generally seemed quieter, I didn't hear as much chatter, no foreign languages being spoken. That seemed so strange.

The character cavalcades are cute and brighten the day, there are so few guests, the characters will wave and pose... just for you ...even on main street! rare! ALL the princesses together, dancing around the train station? or maybe out joy riding around world showcase in a fancy carriage pulled by gorgeous horses? magical! The castle make over is prettier than I thought, the blue really stands out against the sky, the gold is tasteful, the pink is not plastic princess, more like faded red bricks.

You can hear the park music and see all the landscaping you never quite noticed before. Not much popcorn smell. More aggressive ducks, squirrels and birds. No rushing to the next FP or waiting around aimlessly for an hour until your next one. You can meander in one direction and ride whatever you come across. No need to criss cross lands in a FP panic. Photography of the park architecture, signs or rides is easy with no one barging into your frame. Not many MM photographers around...

Mobile ordering is mostly easy, no restroom waits, almost everything walk on, hardly any strollers. Shop without stress. Walk freely without the stop and start crowd shuffle. Buy a balloon because you're not going to bop guests in the head.

There is less happy energy from guests and more of a quiet hum. A sense of mindfulness. People either distracted with masks or simply avoiding others. Safety signs, Hand sanitizer stations, plexi glass barriers, CM's with masks and shields over their faces, no smiles to be seen, yes, it feels different, less theatrical.

We felt good about visiting, crowd levels, most of the safety measures. Now and then we would feel a little freaked out, especially at first. We were actively trying to be mindful, used lots of stinky hand sanitizer and just felt happy to be there again.

And for us it felt more magical than ever. With DS (2), the hustle & bustle of the massive crowds were too much most of the time. Walk on rides & the fact that he can hold our hands & walk through the parks without getting trampled has made this the best wdw trip yet for us.

 

[LSUmiss]

Went to DHS today and MK yesterday. I saw no issues with masks whatsoever, and I was so thrilled. It really feels like all the people at the parks currently are the “lifers” who already understand the parks; didn’t see many confused guests.

In terms of the parking situation at DHS, we didn’t get let in until around 9:15 or so and we were the first car. By that point, though, there were a ton of people already in the park via Skyliner. We’re going back Monday, so we’ll try that option rather than driving.

We got BG 24 exactly at 10, got called around 1:10.

Yay! You made it!