Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[DisFitz]

I almost wonder if part of Disney's reluctance to say anything now is a result of how badly they misjudged the original re-opening date? They would not have offered free dining if they didn't think that folks would be able to use it June 1. . .

Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Disney corporate offices right now! They are probably having the great mask debate themselves!

 

[Tandy]

I almost wonder if part of Disney's reluctance to say anything now is a result of how badly they misjudged the original re-opening date? They would not have offered free dining if they didn't think that folks would be able to use it June 1. . .

Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Disney corporate offices right now! They are probably having the great mask debate themselves!

I like to think they are all standing around saying "Bob - check the Disboards to see what they say - If they are cool with it we are cool with it"

 

[SaintsManiac]

No, what temp do they consider she can't enter?

Sorry I had to put my glasses on. I am not sure and it was a Insta story, so it's gone now.

 

[Mzpalmtree]

I'm considering getting my Disney AP refund and (depending on how USO looks when they open) switching to a Universal pass for the year. I've been wanting to get one for a while but I didn't want to have both in the same year. But maybe it'd be fun to ride Hagrid's & the Hulk for a year while the rest of the parks ease back into opening up.

I am so tired of the “will they open” or “won’t they open” back and forth with Disney that I just made Universal reservations for the same time frame as our early July trip. Even though they should probably open at the same time, they seem more ahead of Disney and a Uni trip won’t stress me out so much with all the planning.

 

[Mit88]

You're right. Nobody knew this was coming, but they sure are handling it a whole lot better. I love Disney, but transparency is key, especially in a time like this.

As I said earlier, it’s the previously cancelled reservations that just got cancelled again for either the 2nd or 3rd time after Disney gave them incentives to rebook for June that I feel bad for. Getting the email for the first time doesn’t sting very much, but having to hear that your 2nd or 3rd reservation is cancelled from an email, and not straight from the mouth of the mouse is kind of a slap in the face. Equivalent to breaking up with a long term relationship over a text

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I am so tired of the “will they open” or “won’t they open” back and forth with Disney that I just made Universal reservations for the same time frame as our early July trip. Even though they should probably open at the same time, they seem more ahead of Disney and a Uni trip won’t stress me out so much with all the planning.

Universal definitely seems like an easier trip to take with so much unknown without all that planning involved.

 

[Mit88]

I'm considering getting my Disney AP refund and (depending on how USO looks when they open) switching to a Universal pass for the year. I've been wanting to get one for a while but I didn't want to have both in the same year. But maybe it'd be fun to ride Hagrid's & the Hulk for a year while the rest of the parks ease back into opening up.

You’re not the first person I’ve heard say that. Universal being more proactive could very well benefit them greatly because Disney doesn’t seem to know what the heck they’re doing right now

 

[Eric Smith]

You're right. Nobody knew this was coming, but they sure are handling it a whole lot better. I love Disney, but transparency is key, especially in a time like this.

How has Universal been more transparent than Disney? They've both done similar things.

 

[SarahC97]

I am so tired of the “will they open” or “won’t they open” back and forth with Disney that I just made Universal reservations for the same time frame as our early July trip. Even though they should probably open at the same time, they seem more ahead of Disney and a Uni trip won’t stress me out so much with all the planning.

I'm with you. I've been pricing out UO trips the last couple of days myself. I'm willing to go there if Disney can't get it together.

 

[Mit88]

How has Universal been more transparent than Disney? They've both done similar things.

Just from the behind the scenes moves they’ve been doing. It’s not something that’s blatantly obvious. They’re not out there making press releases about plans. But people that scour the theme park boards see that they’re working harder at making decisions than Disney, right now

 

[AmberMV]

How has Universal been more transparent than Disney? They've both done similar things.

They've sent out information regarding incentives for APs to visit Citiwalk...that's something Disney hasn't

 

[Sandiz08]

How has Universal been more transparent than Disney? They've both done similar things.

At this point I feel that I have heard more from Universal than Disney and I don't even have a Universal reservation. Go to their website and they have a lot of info. Its not even about the parks opening at this point, its about how things are being handled.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

They've sent out information regarding incentives for APs to visit Citiwalk...that's something Disney hasn't

I can’t remember so I could be off, but aren’t Disney’s normal AP discounts similar to the new UO incentives? Or within 5% at least?

 

[Eric Smith]

Universal definitely seems like an easier trip to take with so much unknown without all that planning involved.

I don't know that all that much planning will need to be done for a Disney trip with the limited crowd levels and other restrictions that will be in place. The planning revolves around ADRs and Fast Passes mainly. Table service will likely be operating in a limited fashion initially and I don't think wait times inside the park will be high enough to make fast passes necessary.

I think anyone who is keeping reservations in the June/July timeframe should understand that they won't be getting the normal full Disney experience and they will have to be ok with that. If they aren't they should probably cancel and re-book sometime in the late fall or winter at the earliest.

Personally, if I was going in the near term, I would probably try to just wing it. See what dining we can get short term and just ride things standby. We go often enough that missing a couple of the rides that may have ridiculously long lines wouldn't be a deal breaker for us. That's my outlook though and everyone else probably has a slightly different one.

 

[jknezek]

Just from the behind the scenes moves they’ve been doing. It’s not something that’s blatantly obvious. They’re not out there making press releases about plans. But people that scour the theme park boards see that they’re working harder at making decisions than Disney, right now

I think this is incredibly subjective. Universal really hasn't done or said anything much different from Disney. I think people that are mad at Disney think Universal is doing "better" simply because they are mad at Disney. Universal Orlando is closed to 5/31. Disney is closed indefinitely. Universal is only "ahead" of Disney if you suspect they will open 6/1. If they don't, then they have led their guests on even longer than Disney, who has been pretty upfront about saying, at least for the last 4-6 weeks, they simply don't know when they will open.

What is worse? Someone saying, "we don't know" honestly, or someone saying 6/1 right up until they don't open 6/1? I know Disney fans got all excited yesterday for 6/1, but that is their fault, not Disney's. Disney is closed indefinitely right now. People on these boards are exceptionally emotionally invested, and so they are lunging and grabbing for any scrap that they can find. So they are extra frustrated when it doesn't go their way.

The people that are exceptionally emotionally invested in Universal are probably going to feel the same way 6/1... Wonder if they will look at Disney and say "man I wish Universal had been more honest, I'm switching to a Disney trip."

 

[Eric Smith]

Just from the behind the scenes moves they’ve been doing. It’s not something that’s blatantly obvious. They’re not out there making press releases about plans. But people that scour the theme park boards see that they’re working harder at making decisions than Disney, right now

Are they really? They're opening CityWalk a bit earlier than Disney Springs, but that's all I've seen so far. Disney is a much larger operation and very well could take longer to open up. I think Disney is doing things and we just aren't hearing about them.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think this is incredibly subjective. Universal really hasn't done or said anything much different from Disney. I think people that are mad at Disney think Universal is doing "better" simply because they are mad at Disney. Universal Orlando is closed to 5/31. Disney is closed indefinitely. Universal is only "ahead" of Disney if you suspect they will open 6/1. If they don't, then they have led their guests on even longer than Disney, who has been pretty upfront about saying, at least for the last 4-6 weeks, they simply don't know when they will open.

What is worse? Someone saying, "we don't know" honestly, or someone saying 6/1 right up until they don't open 6/1? I know Disney fans got all excited yesterday for 6/1, but that is their fault, not Disney's. Disney is closed indefinitely right now. People on these boards are exceptionally emotionally invested, and so they are lunging and grabbing for any scrap that they can find. So they are extra frustrated when it doesn't go their way.

The people that are exceptionally emotionally invested in Universal are probably going to feel the same way 6/1... Wonder if they will look at Disney and say "man I wish Universal had been more honest, I'm switching to a Disney trip."

I think Disney’s indefinite closure was much better and more cautious than Universal’s closed until May 31st business. Unfortunately taking reservations start the 1st and with a recovery offer to boot caused people to believe Disney said the same thing (May 31st), but the distinction should have been important.

Its Universal that recently changed the wording of their closure, not Disney.

 

[Mit88]

I think this is incredibly subjective. Universal really hasn't done or said anything much different from Disney. I think people that are mad at Disney think Universal is doing "better" simply because they are mad at Disney. Universal Orlando is closed to 5/31. Disney is closed indefinitely. Universal is only "ahead" of Disney if you suspect they will open 6/1. If they don't, then they have led their guests on even longer than Disney, who has been pretty upfront about saying, at least for the last 4-6 weeks, they simply don't know when they will open.

What is worse? Someone saying, "we don't know" honestly, or someone saying 6/1 right up until they don't open 6/1? I know Disney fans got all excited yesterday for 6/1, but that is their fault, not Disney's. Disney is closed indefinitely right now. People on these boards are exceptionally emotionally invested, and so they are lunging and grabbing for any scrap that they can find. So they are extra frustrated when it doesn't go their way.

The people that are exceptionally emotionally invested in Universal are probably going to feel the same way 6/1... Wonder if they will look at Disney and say "man I wish Universal had been more honest, I'm switching to a Disney trip."

I don’t disagree, they’re both doing the best they can in a very frustrating and terrible situation for all. And maybe it’s a little because we don’t hear about Universal ghost cancelling reservations when they absolutely might be. But they also didn’t incentivized cancelled guests to book a new trip at a time that wasn’t guaranteed to be opened. Disney could easily make things right for those people in the end, but right now, for those cancelled on multiple times without a word from Disney, I don’t blame them for being frustrated.

 

[RamblingMad]

As I said earlier, it’s the previously cancelled reservations that just got cancelled again for either the 2nd or 3rd time after Disney gave them incentives to rebook for June that I feel bad for. Getting the email for the first time doesn’t sting very much, but having to hear that your 2nd or 3rd reservation is cancelled from an email, and not straight from the mouth of the mouse is kind of a slap in the face. Equivalent to breaking up with a long term relationship over a text

Do you think they really have the resources to call everyone? It’s not doable.

What I do wonder is if they’re canceling folks that they think will spend the least per guest, or are the cancellations random to reduce attendance in the parks.

 

[AmberMV]

I can’t remember so I could be off, but aren’t Disney’s normal AP discounts similar to the new UO incentives? Or within 5% at least?

Their tier system is completely different, and though they are a big duo in Orlando, Universal and Disney are very different with different offerings. For instance, their top tier pass at Universal is half the price of the top tier pass at Disney. Universal's lowest tier pass is under the price of Disney's lowest tier for similar (but not the same!) benefits. The point is, Universal is definitely appearing to be more outgoing and offering more communication than Disney is.