Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[JaxDad]

We met families from Utah, Georgia and many other states that said they were there because they saw low crowds on the news and booked last minute trips so I was thinking the same thing...that if everyone shows up for low crowds they create a big crowd haha

“Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.”
- Yogi Berra

 

[Vern60]

I think this will be the last Disney trip I ever take in July. It’s just been way too hot for me. (I was originally scheduled for May)

Ha ha, we came to that same conclusion last year We were thinking even if we can then only afford to go every other year or so it'd be worth it to avoid that oppressive heat. Plus, depending on when you go you might get the extra Christmas decorations.

 

[jpeterson]

I think this will be the last Disney trip I ever take in July. It’s just been way too hot for me. (I was originally scheduled for May)

Ha! My favorite trips have been in July and August! But we are Texans so maybe it's not such a change for us.

 

[jpeterson]

“Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.”
- Yogi Berra

"Nobody drives in New York, there's too much traffic"
-Philip J Fry

 

[Vern60]

My understanding is it could be some time before the Epcot Monorail starts running. They may be waiting until all of the monorail resorts are fully open, which would be September 21, to consider reopening it since (without Park Hopping) that would be its only use. The FriendShip boats, on the other hand, will be resuming operation between Epcot, DHS, and the resorts on Wednesday with the reopening of the Dolphin.

ETA: The FriendShip boats will only be operating between Epcot, Disney’s BoardWalk, Dolphin, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Thanks andyman8, I'm assuming no friendship boats at Yacht or Beach because of NBA or resorts not open yet? Still though, fun to see them moving about. I'm a huge fan of Disney's alternative transportation. I have a lot of fun during our vacations pointing out all the alternative transportation methods we could use to get from a to b .... "or, we could ride the resort boat to poly, walk over to tcc and take the monorail", hehe

 

[Vern60]

"Nobody drives in New York, there's too much traffic"
-Philip J Fry

I am so dense sometimes, that Yogi Berra quote flew right over my head until I read this one, then lightbulb

 

[BrianR]

Just got back late last night from a week down there. All in all a great trip. Had some cropdusters at Epcot to avoid before they clarified the eating / drinking while stationary piece, but other than that everyone followed the guidelines, and if they weren't were corrected pretty quickly. It rained for a bit every day we were there, so I think it broke up the crowds if there were any. If you could dodge the early afternoon rain the later in the day times were awesome. We did all of AK from rope drop to 1 PM, plus doing FoP 3 times. I do think there are certain parks that are busier on certain days of the week. I'm not sure if it aligns with what typical days of the week were busy at each park before the closure or not, but the parks we had multiple days at we could definitely see differences in attendance. We also bought a ton of stuff on that AP 30% discount, but it looks like the prices on at least some things are higher. Not sure if it was they typical annual increase from 2019 to 2020 that we saw or if it was a bump post closure.

Oh yeah, bring lots and lots of masks. We had gone crazy between different sources, including Etsy, and you'll find the material performs differently in that climate. We had some that worked OK at home, but with the level of humidity down there weren't good at all. We also had to do a load of mask laundry for our cloth ones, so pack a laundry bag for delicates so you can just chuck the whole bag in the washer.

One word of caution though: We were stuck on Rise (well between a preshow and the ride) for about 90 minutes. The hallway we had had basically enough for two lines and a divider down the middle, which had the plexi add-on and distancing markers. Well the industrial engineers didn't take into account the ride failing (which that day had at least 3 hours of downtime when we finally got called at 3:30), and didn't put any dividers under the railing. So of course everyone sits on the floor on their marker and surprise! all of that engineer's work was for nothing, since it was wide open. This is a very specific part of the ride queue where this is an issue and only during a ride outage. When we got to go on again on our second HS day, we walked right through there no problem, and I took notice at the rest of the queue lines and this very specific part is the only one where I saw it "could" happen.

 

[Helvetica]

They altered Elsa’s dress so she can actually walk.

 

[Farro]

I miss those things!! I was lucky enough to get to ride them one trip and they were the coolest Disney ride!

So I just watched a ride video...those looked awesome! nice long ride too!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Those wearing the paper surgical masks, how many are you going through a day?

 

[LSUmiss]

I don’t think theyre increasing capacity, I think more people are feeling comfortable with going to the parks. A lot of “I feel safer at Disney than anywhere else” will draw in the people on the fence. There were a lot of people in here even saying that they wanted to wait and see how the opening went before deciding to go down, and I’m sure thats the feeling elsewhere as well. They’ve waited, they’ve seen, and they’re deciding to go.

I also think it’s ppl who see how empty it is (was) who want to go experience that rarity. But the irony is it makes it more crowded! I’m so happy we got to go last week. I was worried about being a guinea pig, but it was wonderful!

 

[rteetz]

Those wearing the paper surgical masks, how many are you going through a day?

I want to say Len Testa said he went through about 5?

 

[OKWFan88]

Those wearing the paper surgical masks, how many are you going through a day?

On my 11 day trip I brought a 50 pack of them and by the last day, only had 15 left. So used 35, some days we went thru more (days it rained etc).

 

[chicagoshannon]

I also think it’s ppl who see how empty it is (was) who want to go experience that rarity. But the irony is it makes it more crowded! I’m so happy we got to go last week. I was worried about being a guinea pig, but it was wonderful!

I'm really sad out trip isn't until September becaue things seem to be picking up now. Maybe it will settle down again come September. lol

 

[JM23457]

I think this will be the last Disney trip I ever take in July. It’s just been way too hot for me.

Same here. After our reopening week trip, we decided to never return in the summer again.

We've taken 4 summer WDW trips before, so it isn't like we were newbies. But we used to be able to tour early morning & late evening, and spend afternoons chilling out at the resort. The shorter hours don't permit that. Touring midday was so brutal that we never want to go back to Orlando in summer again.

Like most native Texans, we prefer to spend summer afternoons in air conditioning or at the pool.

 

[Mit88]

I'm really sad out trip isn't until September becaue things seem to be picking up now. Maybe it will settle down again come September. lol

Mine is in August and I know its going to be “crowded”. Unless things start turning much worse and Disney completely loses control of the enforcement at the parks, I think week by week you’re going to see a little more and a little more and then you’ll start seeing maybe 2 of the buckets completely filled. Even at full current capacity, there will be room in the parks to walk around, but the ride lines would get very long because of the social distancing on the rides, and in the lines, and the ride vehicles having to be cleaned, etc.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The guy is in plain sight. If I can see it from the background of a photo, surely someone at the parks, CM or not had to have seen him. And maybe someone did and immediately told him to put his mask above his mouth and nose. That’s the problem with still pictures you can catch something in a photo that can tell a completely different story than seeing it in person.

We can tell the whole thing. We saw the photo. We are the Internet Police after all. That dude is so close to other people he’s basically a second away from murdering grandma! And even if he was eating or drinking the mask should be back on before he so much as swallows!!! Disney rules say actively eating or drinking!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I want to say Len Testa said he went through about 5?

Woah. I need to watch for more sales!

 

[jsbowl16]

I dont think crowds will go up much more. Fall sports are starting soon and school right after that. I can't see people taking kids out of school to go to Florida and then in some states they have to quarantine when they get back for 2 weeks.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

We are scheduled to arrive end of September but my son (age 8) is really unsure if he wants to go because he has to wear a mask, so we are back and forth on if we should keep our reservation. What masks are your kids using that they are tolerating in the heat? Also, are you feeling like the overall experience (and expense) is worth it with all the current changes? Hope your family continues to have a great trip!

My kids are 9 and 7 and haven't really complained much about the masks. Here's a pic of the kind they've been wearing, simple cotton with pleats. I've been wearing the Vivien and Vincent ones mentioned on the thread and I've been pretty happy with them. The kids also got the Disney baby yoda ones, but didn't wear them long because they're much hotter.

We went to MK today and is seemed quite a bit busier than DHS yesterday. Still had fun and got a lot done, but I do wish we got there earlier. We got into the park around 9:45 or 10:00 and there were already waits for several rides. We have a half day there on Tues so we'll try and get there by 9.

Good luck on your Sep trip!