Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[ryanpatricksmom]

Do you have any idea how smooth the entrance process from the IG has been with the new security scanners?

Very easy. Just remove umbrellas and hold them in front of you as you walk thru the scanner. I always take out our metal water bottles too, but they don't require it. Oddly enough the one thing that was consistently setting off the scanner was my sunglasses case, so if you have one of the type that snap shut, take that out as well.

 

[Sarahslay]

Do you have any idea how smooth the entrance process from the IG has been with the new security scanners?

super easy, I did it twice this weekend, it goes really fast

 

[andyman8]

Definitely was but maybe wasn't rolled out to all locations yet.

It was officially only available at select resort restaurants, so I guess now they’re officially beginning to roll it out to park restaurants. There may have been some sporadic testing at certain locations in the parks recently (as there usually is for these types of new features), but now it’s officially launching in some of the parks I guess.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Nope, when I try to go to Resort Offers, it brings me to the Reopening & Updates page. I also see this:
View attachment 523121

You'll have to call then. For whatever reason, some people with AP certificates are able to book AP rates online and others aren't. You're one of the unlucky ones. But you are most certainly eligible to book the rate.

 

[Mit88]

IG security was a breeze. They use the queue for the friendship boats to get to the screening tent but I’d guess that’s only really needed for rope drop. The security scanner is going to make entering the parks so much easier

 

[gottalovepluto]

IG security was a breeze. They use the queue for the friendship boats to get to the screening tent but I’d guess that’s only really needed for rope drop. The security scanner is going to make entering the parks so much easier

Do we have any more info on when those boats are going to be running? Can’t think Swalphin is happy about that situation.

 

[Mit88]

They’re currently working on the new tiling for the Guardians building. I like the look.

MouseGears is a disaster

 

[Princess2R]

We live in Nevada and I was able to apply the general discount for our 6 night stay at POP in Nov and saved $250. For POP I thought that was pretty good. I'm happy just having a discount.

You did this by calling on the phone and they gave you a discount for room only?

 

[Leigh L]

I think they're leaving out a lot of their drive down people. A lot of us midwesterners drive down. We only recently started flying down. For over 30 years we drove down from WI and IL exclusively.

I think it's weird to leave a lot of states out of a discount. I also think it would have been better for them to partner with airlines for the discounts. Would help both industries.

We're flying down tomorrow. Felt it was better to fly because it would take far less time than driving. Less time in random places is better IMO. If we were to drive we'd be stopping at a lot of strange bathrooms, and not sure what restaurants or hotels would even be open. Flying just seems like the safer choice at this moment for our situation.

We flew in mid-August down from Northern VA for these very reasons. We could do a straight drive I guess, but DH and I really did not want to and also wanted to avoid extra stops and a potential hotel night.

A friend of mine recently drove from Buffalo to Alabama and the hotel they booked in KY was closed when they arrived, they were moved to a different hotel brand next door.

Partnering with airlines is an interesting idea. Someone in another thread recently reported they booked Pop for $80 a night when they booked their flight. I think it was United? (but not sure on the airline - think it was direct with an airline though not a third party booking site IIRC).

 

[Justrose]

You did this by calling on the phone and they gave you a discount for room only?

Wondering this too! I didn't think my room-only reservation was eligible.

 

[Shellbells]

You did this by calling on the phone and they gave you a discount for room only?

To be honest I'm not sure if we had a room only that I added tickets to or a package booked but I went online and clicked "change reservation "
It gives you the option to change from base price to a "special offer"
I changed to the current deal and processed it. It took the 250 off my total price.
I did try to call but the hold time was over 2 hours so I just did it online.
*edit to say I am NOT an AP.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

I understand why WDW is limiting PH right now, but I sure am missing it as I plan our Dec trip. I think we'll only have 3 Disney days, and it would have been so nice to be able to hop to the 4th park.

I know everything is super up in the air based on COVID restrictions, but are there any credible rumors as to when PH might come back?

 

[Krandor]

Disney is selling park hoppers for 2021. Doesn’t mean it will be back on Jan 1 but clearly they hope to have it back early next year. Can that? No way to know yet.

 

[Davdingo]

They’re currently working on the new tiling for the Guardians building. I like the look.

MouseGears is a disaster

What is the status of Mousegears?? Any glimmer of hope or wishful thinking at the moment

 

[hereforthechurros]

I’m bummed Ohio isn’t included maybe something else will be offered by November but if not we will still go if it seems safe.

Interesting to see what states are and aren't included. States bordering Ohio are, but Ohio isn't. Texas isn't. Maybe 12 hour drive time or less?

 

[hereforthechurros]

Absolutely, there are definitely a lot, but just from my perspective, I feel like DL passholders are protective of their parks and don’t care as much about WDW as everyone else cares about DLR. David from Fresh Baked for example hasn’t been to WDW in like 25 years.

Oh how true that is. I have family in southern cal and they do not have much love or respect for WDW.

 

[mum22girlz]

You'll have to call then. For whatever reason, some people with AP certificates are able to book AP rates online and others aren't. You're one of the unlucky ones. But you are most certainly eligible to book the rate.

Thanks, I called and saved over $800 on my reservation. I was on the fence about whether to activate my annual pass or not, but this made the decision final.

 

[Tiggr88]

Part of the reason Disney may be restricting the states is that they are trying to find out how price elastic demand is right now. Think about the comments on this thread and others.

No one is going to go to Disney with the Covid restrictions.​

No one is going to go to Disney no matter the cost since the economy is in such bad shape.​

More people would go to Disney if they offered a discount.​

They may be exaggerations but we've heard all kinds of variations on these themes. Right now times are so different that Disney may not be able to accurately predict if or how pricing will drive bookings. This way, they get to see it in a smaller sample size. If it drives significant bookings, they can roll it out more broadly. If it doesn't, then they may not bother rolling it out. Or perhaps try a steeper discount first. Historically they have a lot of information to predict what discounts would do to existing and new reservations that may not apply right now.

We also need to keep in mind that there is a real cost to Disney since these can be applied to existing reservations. For every reservation that takes advantage of the new discount, they lose 30% (assuming it was a full rack rate reservation and not a rescheduled rate already discounted). I'm not sure what % that is, but they will definitely lose some money. They need to recover that first before they start to make money on the new reservations.

One other thought. Although I wouldn't think it would be a big driver, if there are a lot of people canceling their full price reservations, maybe this is a way to keep existing reservations from cancelling. We don't really know what Disney is seeing.

Either way, Disney seems to be taking measured conservative approaches to relaxing and expanding capacity and offering discounts and this appears to be another example. If it is successful maybe they will roll it out further. If not, they don't lose as much money.

 

[PrincessV]

Whatever news Gustin has hinted at - could it possibly have anything to do with what TP is also hinting at? They're talking about big news coming, using Genie and "your wish is about to be granted" in their posts, and TP "2.0" coming soon... or am I connecting things that ought not be connected?

 

[Mit88]

What is the status of Mousegears?? Any glimmer of hope or wishful thinking at the moment

Nothing of note. I just haven’t been here yet since the temporary location opened. Not much they can do about it in that spot. They could have organized the process for the LE passholder merch as well.

Oh how true that is. I have family in southern cal and they do not have much love or respect for WDW.

it’s just weird. Maybe it’s because I’m a tourist to both that I find no reason to find them to be competition for each other. Like I’d take Disneyland over MK, but I’d take WDW over DLR. My favorite resort is Grand Californian, but I’d probably take 5 or 6 WDW resorts before Disneyland Hotel and literally all WDW resorts over Paradise Pier.

all in all, I would never be petty or entitled enough to choose 1 while the other isn’t up to standards because I love all 6 domestic theme parks