Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[mi*vida*loca]

It does.

So if more buckets are opening around a certain time it makes me assume that more things will be opening at that time.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So if more buckets are opening around a certain time it makes me assume that more things will be opening at that time.

It *should* - but that could also be that they have figured out how to increase capacity on what is already open (e.g., installing plexiglass on RotR)

 

[Jrb1979]

I really do wonder if most of the availability is based how full the resorts are. Those Disney would know well in advance roughly how many reservations they need to keep open. Depending on how many people are staying on property they constantly move availability per each bucket.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I really do wonder if most of the availability is based how full the resorts are. Those Disney would know well in advance roughly how many reservations they need to keep open. Depending on how many people are staying on property they constantly move availability per each bucket.

Makes sense too. Imagine telling someone who paid to be onsite that they can’t get into a park.

 

[Mit88]

Makes sense too. Imagine telling someone who paid to be onsite that they can’t get into a park.

They basically did when the reopening was announced. A hotel reservation doesn’t guarantee you a reservation in the parks were the words they used. Obviously it hasn’t been an issue yet, but they were covering themselves in the oft chance that it did occur

 

[hereforthechurros]

Depends on what time you did this. At all times except before park opening, Disney buses don't go to the Epcot Resorts from Epcot and Studios. Early morning, we would run buses to those resorts when I was driving. After park close, sometimes we also would run a bus back. During the day, I can't ever remember doing an Epcot Resorts run in the 2 years I was assigned to Studios or Epcot.

Of course, when the boats were down, buses would run. Just didn't happen when I was scheduled.

Yeah the Mears bus to the parks from S&D has only been in process since they reopened. Once boats are back I expect this to cease.

I miss the boats

 

[tink2424]

I see many talking about lines being in the sun being extremely hot. Normally I would not be one to carry an umbrella on a sunny day as 'normal' lines and umbrellas just don't work. In the days of SD lines, it would seem an umbrella is a good option to help keep the sun off your party and not negatively affect others around you.

Yes, we had umbrellas and definitely used them but it didn't help too much. The other thing Disney can and should do it get more fans for these overflow line areas. You need to give people shade & moving air to help keep them cool. Normally Disney is very good at this but with these extended lines you really have no relief.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I do think it’s cancellations. And changes. Gosh a couple weeks ago I was almost ready to cancel Disney not because of Disney but because of my airline. Disney IT is just so bad they can’t automatically refill the buckets so it all waits until someone gets around to clicking the refill button.

I agree. If these are for Halloween week then we are about two weeks out, right? Even in pre-pandemic days I would often keep solo trip reservations right up until the last minute depending on if I could snag a good flight and if things worked out with work/time off. With everything being so uncertain now I can definitely see a good number of people hopefully making reservations for Halloween week a couple of months back thinking home state quarantines might be lifted by now and just now finally coming to terms with not going.

 

[hereforthechurros]

I think they just moved the goalposts on what they’re basing the 25% off of.

There’s 2 numbers that are used for Disney parks. Average daily attendance, and Max Capacity. It was probably once 25% of the daily average, and now it’s 25% of Max capacity. Still technically 25%, but it’s a higher 25%.

considering people that were there Labor Day weekend and have been recently are saying the parks are busier now than that weekend, and all 3 buckets were filled Labor Day weekend, and right now the buckets aren’t all filled, it’s pretty straightforward to see they’re allowing more people in the parks now than they were before

Right starting to connect those dots as well. Chapek gave us the 25% figure but also said that it would stay there for the foreseeable future right? I don't know his exact quote, would be good to know. Yet we are seeing buckets fill up, we are seeing the crowds, and the holiday marketing blitz is on sooo... what's gonna give?

 

[Leigh L]

I do think it’s cancellations. And changes. Gosh a couple weeks ago I was almost ready to cancel Disney not because of Disney but because of my airline. Disney IT is just so bad they can’t automatically refill the buckets so it all waits until someone gets around to clicking the refill button.

I tend to agree. In the last two days, I've seen dinner reservations at MK start to open up for the 5 and 6 p.m. The last week or two I've seen nada for our dates (early November) except for a handful of lunch ones.

Now if they'd only drop later evening ADRs based on the extended hours...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

They basically did when the reopening was announced. A hotel reservation doesn’t guarantee you a reservation in the parks were the words they used. Obviously it hasn’t been an issue yet, but they were covering themselves in the oft chance that it did occur

well, even before the park reservation system you were never 100% guaranteed access to the parks - if they hit phase 4 of closign no one could enter. Now that was really, really, really, remote but they never promote that having an onsite hotel reservation grantees you access to a park

 

[mi*vida*loca]

They never promote it and it’s not guaranteed in the fine print but we all know it would get ugly if that hit the airwaves. People booking trips but not able to get into a park. Because all they need is bad publicity during this time.

 

[Pens Fan]

Depends on what time you did this. At all times except before park opening, Disney buses don't go to the Epcot Resorts from Epcot and Studios. Early morning, we would run buses to those resorts when I was driving. After park close, sometimes we also would run a bus back. During the day, I can't ever remember doing an Epcot Resorts run in the 2 years I was assigned to Studios or Epcot.

Of course, when the boats were down, buses would run. Just didn't happen when I was scheduled.

The Friendship boats are not currently running the Epcot resort routes - at any time. Mears is running busses to and from Swan/Dolphin in the interim.

 

[Mit88]

Right starting to connect those dots as well. Chapek gave us the 25% figure but also said that it would stay there for the foreseeable future right? I don't know his exact quote, would be good to know. Yet we are seeing buckets fill up, we are seeing the crowds, and the holiday marketing blitz is on sooo... what's gonna give?

People are buying it, so he’s doing something right. Just like people bought the “School starts next week, so the parks will die down” and “Animal Kingdom and Epcot are only going to be open 5 days a week”.

They could bring FP and Park Hopping back and the parks are filled to the gills and Chapek says “we haven’t raised capacity” and there would still be a contingent of people that believe it.

A company like Disney admitting and going public that they’re raising capacity would not go over well through the media, especially when they’re trying to get California to allow them to open their parks. As long as people are buying it, why not just continue to stretch the truth? If it gets questioned, there’s different capacity points they could reference that it is still indeed 25%, just a different 25% that what was believed to be earlier

 

[mattpeto]

Yes, the rest of 2021 is bookable and park reservations are open and bookable. Just re-booked the October package I cancelled from this year.

Just curious were you able to do it online or did you have to call? My reservation won't let me do it online.

 

[Farro]

They added (or in process) Nomad Lounge to the Walk Up Waitlist on MDE.

While some will think it's good news, I have to say I find it super disappointing that this wonderful place that was once one of the few places that was so easy to just pop in on a random afternoon to relax with very few young children (yes, they are allowed, but whenever we went it was mostly adults/older kids) on the gorgeous verandah with wine and apps is now so popular you have to be on a waitlist. Watched a vlog - they waited 60 minutes! Grrr.....

Maybe if we go at off times, won't be so bad.

Anyways, it's on MDE, currently at a 30 minute wait!

 

[Moliphino]

They added (or in process) Nomad Lounge to the Walk Up Waitlist on MDE.

While some will think it's good news, I have to say I find it super disappointing that this wonderful place that was once one of the few places that was so easy to just pop in on a random afternoon to relax with very few young children (yes, they are allowed, but whenever we went it was mostly adults/older kids) on the gorgeous verandah with wine and apps is now so popular you have to be on a waitlist. Watched a vlog - they waited 60 minutes! Grrr.....

Maybe if we go at off times, won't be so bad.

Anyways, it's on MDE, currently at a 30 minute wait!

They had been taking names and phone numbers at the door and texting you when you could go in earlier this month. We were told it could be up to an hour, so we went and got drinks at the Dawa only to have to chug them when we got the text at about 20 minutes. It was kind of nice not having to stalk tables, really.

 

[hereforthechurros]

They added (or in process) Nomad Lounge to the Walk Up Waitlist on MDE.

While some will think it's good news, I have to say I find it super disappointing that this wonderful place that was once one of the few places that was so easy to just pop in on a random afternoon to relax with very few young children (yes, they are allowed, but whenever we went it was mostly adults/older kids) on the gorgeous verandah with wine and apps is now so popular you have to be on a waitlist. Watched a vlog - they waited 60 minutes! Grrr.....

Maybe if we go at off times, won't be so bad.

Anyways, it's on MDE, currently at a 30 minute wait!

Yeah we've only been once but it was the day after Christmas and we walked up to a table no problem. Interesting that it would be so crazy now. At least joining the walk up wait list ensures a table at some point. But it's also just another thing losing the spontaneity factor at WDW.

 

[Farro]

Yeah we've only been once but it was the day after Christmas and we walked up to a table no problem. Interesting that it would be so crazy now. At least joining the walk up wait list ensures a table at some point. But it's also just another thing losing the spontaneity factor at WDW.

Exactly.

Oh well.

 

[cranbiz]

I know. Old stock image. But it is only an imagined bus after all.

I'll imagine that they were a good bus to drive.

I know most drivers hated them but I preferred to drive a Nova. I was happy to be one of the first drivers to drive one of the 5 new ones that Disney got as a settlement from Novabus in 2010. The Gillig's were fine but I felt the Nova had better viability. Unfortunately the original Nova's had problems (one of them was occasional spontaneous combustion) and the Gillig's were much more trouble free.