Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[dismom58]

Why? I don't get the June 1st obsession.

WDW will open when they decide to open.

If folks are reserving and planning to visit in June (or July or August or January) certainly they have heard of the Worldwide Pandemic that's taking place currently. The planning should take place, but with this in mind.

How would anybody be surprised if things change and cancellations happen?

Selfishly I've rarely done a WDW trip and hoped we don't have to cancel from an illness or injury or funeral etc.

But with this, I consider the chance of interruption as likely as hair on a cat-certainly not surprising.

I hope they open asap and whoever wants to go and follow the rules goes. But until they are open nobody can.

Ah common sense love it

 

[cakebaker]

Well made point. I think the fact that most people on here who are posting have a vested interest in the parks opening sooner rather than later, there is a bound to be an optimistic bias in the interpretation of statistics. I freely admit I was looking for any reason to interpret the data optimistically when my trip was planned for July this year. But now I have postponed my trip until next year, I am now starting to analyse the data more objectively - although I still want operations to get back up and running ASAP, especially the construction, so that my trip next year will be as 'normal' as possible.

I'm quite the opposite. I want them to open by the time our trip is here. We were already cancelled once, in the first wave that had no notice at all. I do think they'll be open, in some form, by June 1 or at least some time in early to mid-June. I look at the statistics and trends and I see thatvery few states opening followed the federal guidelines of a 14 day downward trajectory before beginning to open. I'd love to be able to put an honestly positive spin on the data, but it's not there. The thing is, states opening isn't being data driven at all, regardless of what politicians say. It's being driven by money. So, if busineses are going to open, Disney not opening won't help. They might as well do it and let's just see what happens. You can both want to Disney to open and look at the data objectively. Regardless, I have no reason to cancel my reservations yet- and booking out a year away is not something I ever do.

 

[rpb718]

Ah common sense love it

There are a lot of folks that need to remove their Disney-colored glasses and take a real look around.

 

[gottalovepluto]

For those that haven't opened the Disney Park Blog article, these are the guidelines Disney is working with closely
https://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/media_root/document/HealthandSafetyGuidance.pdfstraight from the guidelines:
Responding effectively to COVID-19 is a shared responsibility. Our guidance reflects the essential role the travel industry must play to help promote the health and safety of our customers and employees. But no industry can overcome this challenge alone. Travelers also have a responsibility. They must adopt new travel practices and follow sciencebased guidelines to help protect the health of their family and those around them, including fellow travelers and industry employees. In the spirit of collective action needed to defeat COVID-19, we urge travelers to do their part and follow government and industry guidance to help protect themselves and others. By working together, we can overcome the challenge, begin to reopen our economy and responsibly get America traveling again.

Well that’s a whole lot of nothing lol. They’re going to follow state and local guidelines. FL could open mañana. CA in 2025.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I doubt they will restrict platinum passes if the park is open, especially if you have a resort reservation too. I live 1500 miles away, but have been an AP holder at least 10 of the last 15 years. We make week long trips about 3 times a year & stay onsite, deluxe resorts, usually club level. We currently have trips booked for July & September. There is no way on earth I will buy more tickets when I have an AP that is good til at least the middle of December. I won’t make those trips if my AP is blacked out.

WDW has a huge number of out of state AP holders who stay onsite several times a year. I don’t believe they will risk alienating them by trying to make them buy extra tickets to enter the parks when they have active APs. And then Disney would have to offer some compensation. What would that be? They have already said they will extend the APs or refund for the time the parks are closed. What would they give me if they refuse to let me enter the parks for months after reopening? It won’t do me any good it they extend my AP until next March... I don’t intend to travel next winter. Will they reimburse me for my AP from the time it closed til it expires in December? They already said they won’t. So they have to let the APs be used if the park is open.




That is a totally different situation. You have to purchase tickets to take advantage of a free dining promotion. But you certainly can use your AP to enetr the parks during that resort stay. You can do whatever you want with the tickets you purchase as part of the promotion. You can save them to use later, use them towards renewing the AP, transfer them to someone else later or even throw them away. Or you can skip the free dining all together if you don’t want to buy extra tickets. That is your option. Disney saying... you have a valid AP but we won’t let you use it at all is totally different.





Agree! Out of state AP holders spend a huge amount of money at WDW. If they want me to make a “reservation“, that’s fine. I have no problem doing that so I can save my place. But if they let me book a resort stay & I have a valid AP, they better not try & tell me I can’t get in a park unless I buy a second ticket.

We are Premier Passholders and I was very heartened by the announcement of how Shanghai Disneyland will be handling the date-based ticket purchases along with APs being able to make reservations during the "Advanced Reservation Period". Details are below:

1. Purchase dated admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland prior to their arrival, as on-site sales will not be available. Annual Pass holders must make a reservation for their visit date and time through Shanghai Disney Resort’s official online channels before their visit to the park. During this “Advanced Reservation Period,” General Admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland will not be accepted;**

**The validity period of a Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass will be extended for the number of lost days falling between the park’s closure date of January 25, 2020 and the end of the “Advanced Reservation Period.”

So, basically, at SDL, AP holders can make reservations during the Advanced Reservation Period AND the APs will be extended to cover those dates as well - IMHO, it kind of makes the AP essentially free during the Advanced Reservation Period. If they implement this same policy at WDW/DL, I, for one, would be very happy. The only guests who will have to purchase additional, separate, date-based tickets are those that hold general admission tickets (or those who never purchased tickets to begin with). I'm not sure how they would handle this - I'm sure guests who purchased resort packages with tickets included will throw a fit if they are told they have to buy more tickets to get in. We shall see!

 

[jade1]

There are a lot of folks that need to remove their Disney-colored glasses and take a real look around.

I don't think its Disney colored glasses (not across the board anyway). More like adding Logic colored glasses.

Those saying June 1 shouldn't open need to use logic as well, just as much as those saying it should.

Taking reservations for June makes total sense to me, even if they end up cancelling nobody should be surprised-and factor that possibility into their planning.

WDW will open when they feel the time is right, and in a manner they believe is the safest.

And at that point were back to Freedom of Choice and Personal Responsibility.

 

[cakebaker]

I'm not sure how they would handle this - I'm sure guests who purchased resort packages with tickets included will throw a fit if they are told they have to buy more tickets to get in.

And that's why they won't implement the SDL method. They aren't going to tell resort guests they can't go to the parks, regardless of what kind of tickets they have. The could well limit entry to AP holders and/or resort guests, but I have 0 doubt that resort guests will be allowed entry as long as they have any kind of valid ticket. Then again, they might just limit it to resort guests only and then we'll have a bunch of AP holders unhappy. No way to know, but SDL is not any indication of how WDW will open.

 

[MichelinMan]

The main page for Florida: Floridahealthcovid19.gov has links to all sorts of stats. The top of their report shows percentage of positive test daily over the last two weeks. And yes, that percentage is going down. You can also find that same info by county. And Orange County for the last two weeks has a high day of 3.6% and a low of .04%, so really good. I’m guessing they are doing so much testing in Orange compared to other counties in hopes of opening the theme parks soon.

Thanks for that. It does help me a bit, although looks like it only includes the last 2 weeks of daily data - but I can at least start adding that to my spreadsheet I'm using to analyse all sorts of data across the whole world.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

And that's why they won't implement the SDL method. They aren't going to tell resort guests they can't go to the parks, regardless of what kind of tickets they have. The could well limit entry to AP holders and/or resort guests, but I have 0 doubt that resort guests will be allowed entry as long as they have any kind of valid ticket. Then again, they might just limit it to resort guests only and then we'll have a bunch of AP holders unhappy. No way to know, but SDL is not any indication of how WDW will open.

Yes, I understand that. However, they can certainly implement the AP portion of the SDL process without implementing the date-based, general guest ticket policy. If they are going to start blocking APs in any way, they will have to figure out a way to compensate the AP holders. I have zero block-out dates on my AP, they can't, altogether, block me from the parks and not compensate me in some way.

 

[cakebaker]

Yes, I understand that. However, they can certainly implement the AP portion of the SDL process without implementing the date-based, general guest ticket policy. If they are going to start blocking APs in any way, they will have to figure out a way to compensate the AP holders. I have zero block-out dates on my AP, they can't, altogether, block me from the parks and not compensate me in some way.

As they're doing in SDL, they could add the days or refund for the portion including the partial opening. I've been wondering how they would handle AP's if they don't fully open. It doesn't seem right to start the clock on our AP's if they don't open all the parks or in some way restrict who can enter. My guess is going with they're not going to restrict who can visit, but just go with a lowered capacity and follow their normal closure phases. But my tea leaves are getting pretty weak at this point, so just have to wait and see.

 

[tlmadden73]

I think APs are just risky in general right now.

I bought one months ago (literally a few weeks before all this happeend) in anticipation for a June trip (that I may not be taking). It is not activated, but it is money spent that I can't get back right now (unless Disney is offering refunds for APs that have been purchased but NOT been activated yet?)

I have a June trip planned, and if I don't go, then my AP is still good until I activiate, but even if I go in June .. I don't know how much value it will be for me if there are "restrictions" for the coming year. So will it be worth activating it now? So many questions.

So active and future Passholders are probably reconsidering their vacations plans for the near AND long term, which devalues that AP significantly.

But, I trust Disney. I think Disney definitely will be considering how they handle their AP holders (and future AP holders). I feel if the parks aren't up to "full capacity" for a while they will definitely do something for AP holders (extend their APs?) to encourage them to come back in the non-virus times (next year?) and spend the money Disney will desperately need.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I think APs are just risky in general right now.

I bought one months ago (literally a few weeks before all this happeend) in anticipation for a June trip (that I may not be taking). It is not activated, but it is money spent that I can't get back right now (unless Disney is offering refunds for APs that have been purchased but NOT been activated yet?)

I have a June trip planned, and if I don't go, then my AP is still good until I activiate, but even if I go in June .. I don't know how much value it will be for me if there are "restrictions" for the coming year. So will it be worth activating it now? So many questions.

So active and future Passholders are probably reconsidering their vacations plans for the near AND long term, which devalues that AP significantly.

But, I trust Disney. I think Disney definitely will be considering how they handle their AP holders (and future AP holders). I feel if the parks aren't up to "full capacity" for a while they will definitely do something for AP holders (extend their APs?) to encourage them to come back in the non-virus times (next year?) and spend the money Disney will desperately need.

Never thought I would be happy about letting our APs expire, but here we are.

 

[woody337]

Very well said.

Yes it was

 

[Sarahslay]

Well that’s a whole lot of nothing lol. They’re going to follow state and local guidelines. FL could open mañana. CA in 2025.

Well, I felt like they were saying “we can do what we can do, and we can only do so much, people traveling have a responsibility to take certain matters in to their own hands regarding health and safety.” So basically, it’s to all the people saying they don’t think they should have to follow certain guidelines (like wear masks) because Disney or other parks should handle it. Like “yeah, we’ll be doing everything we can, buy you need to realize you have a responsibility too.” Which I completely agree with, parks, stores, and restaurants can do everything right, but if the public ignores guidelines it’s pretty much all for nothing.

 

[Sarahslay]

We are Premier Passholders and I was very heartened by the announcement of how Shanghai Disneyland will be handling the date-based ticket purchases along with APs being able to make reservations during the "Advanced Reservation Period". Details are below:

1. Purchase dated admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland prior to their arrival, as on-site sales will not be available. Annual Pass holders must make a reservation for their visit date and time through Shanghai Disney Resort’s official online channels before their visit to the park. During this “Advanced Reservation Period,” General Admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland will not be accepted;**

**The validity period of a Shanghai Disneyland Annual Pass will be extended for the number of lost days falling between the park’s closure date of January 25, 2020 and the end of the “Advanced Reservation Period.”

So, basically, at SDL, AP holders can make reservations during the Advanced Reservation Period AND the APs will be extended to cover those dates as well - IMHO, it kind of makes the AP essentially free during the Advanced Reservation Period. If they implement this same policy at WDW/DL, I, for one, would be very happy. The only guests who will have to purchase additional, separate, date-based tickets are those that hold general admission tickets (or those who never purchased tickets to begin with). I'm not sure how they would handle this - I'm sure guests who purchased resort packages with tickets included will throw a fit if they are told they have to buy more tickets to get in. We shall see!

General admission tickets (at least those bought using the date based method of fees, or those affected by the closure due to canceled trip who have essentially been allowed to use them until December 15) are already essentially date based tickets. My husband can’t use his until July 8, and has X amount of days to use his tickets, the only thing they’d have to do is say for us to register which park you are using for what day. There is a difference in SDL though that doesn’t correlate with WDW: they don’t have 4 parks. It’s easy to do date based tickets when you are only selling to one park, the US parks would essentially then have to sag “ok, you’re coming for these dates, but what parks can we expect you at?” We have many days where we are at one park in the morning and another for dinner at night, we have no ADRs in MK, so if they made us do one park a day it would really change our plans. Too many variables for WDW that SDL just doesn’t have.

 

[ruthies12]

I sure hope Disney makes an announcement of some sort of plan soon. I'd like to get flights booked for my June 20th trip if I can but I'm afraid to book anything nonrefundable at this point and I feel for people who have trips planned earlier, my mom's friend is booked for June 1st and she planned that trip last year. She was told by a phone CM that they are opening May 16th and she is ordering groceries from garden grocer and making plans based on that and already has plane tickets.

I wonder when we'll hear from Universal. Not that this necessarily means anything but I have an AP to Universal that was set to expire in September and has already been extended to December 15th. Based on my calculations if they are only extending for the number of days that they are closed then my extension would put them opening on June 15th. Of course another extension could always be forthcoming but I wonder if they are aiming for June 15th and that's why they put that date. Or if they just picked a random date lol.....

 

[gottalovepluto]

I sure hope Disney makes an announcement of some sort of plan soon. I'd like to get flights booked for my June 20th trip if I can but I'm afraid to book anything nonrefundable at this point and I feel for people who have trips planned earlier, my mom's friend is booked for June 1st and she planned that trip last year. She was told by a phone CM that they are opening May 16th and she is ordering groceries from garden grocer and making plans based on that and already has plane tickets.

I wonder when we'll hear from Universal. Not that this necessarily means anything but I have an AP to Universal that was set to expire in September and has already been extended to December 15th. Based on my calculations if they are only extending for the number of days that they are closed then my extension would put them opening on June 15th. Of course another extension could always be forthcoming but I wonder if they are aiming for June 15th and that's why they put that date. Or if they just picked a random date lol.....

omg that's scary I SO hope she gets to go but... yikes! Disney has got to reign in this CM phone speculation but with everyone working from home it's gotta be a lot harder to monitor.

 

[loveDisneyinTN]

I sure hope Disney makes an announcement of some sort of plan soon. I'd like to get flights booked for my June 20th trip if I can but I'm afraid to book anything nonrefundable at this point and I feel for people who have trips planned earlier, my mom's friend is booked for June 1st and she planned that trip last year. She was told by a phone CM that they are opening May 16th and she is ordering groceries from garden grocer and making plans based on that and already has plane tickets.

I wonder when we'll hear from Universal. Not that this necessarily means anything but I have an AP to Universal that was set to expire in September and has already been extended to December 15th. Based on my calculations if they are only extending for the number of days that they are closed then my extension would put them opening on June 15th. Of course another extension could always be forthcoming but I wonder if they are aiming for June 15th and that's why they put that date. Or if they just picked a random date lol.....

When did this Phone CM tell her they will be open on May 16th?? Obviously we know Phone CM's are NOTORIOUSLY INACCURATE, but even for them, it is very reckless of that person to tell someone such a definitive date....

 

[helloconnie]

I don't know if this has been posted already but.... Disney Chief Medical Officer released letter stating what they are looking at for domestic park re-opening....
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...s-from-chief-medical-officer-dr-pamela-hymel/
I think they are "socializing" these changes so people start getting used to them before they actually announce park opening and changes.

 

[SmittS]

I think APs are just risky in general right now.

I bought one months ago (literally a few weeks before all this happeend) in anticipation for a June trip (that I may not be taking). It is not activated, but it is money spent that I can't get back right now (unless Disney is offering refunds for APs that have been purchased but NOT been activated yet?)

I have a June trip planned, and if I don't go, then my AP is still good until I activiate, but even if I go in June .. I don't know how much value it will be for me if there are "restrictions" for the coming year. So will it be worth activating it now? So many questions.

So active and future Passholders are probably reconsidering their vacations plans for the near AND long term, which devalues that AP significantly.

But, I trust Disney. I think Disney definitely will be considering how they handle their AP holders (and future AP holders). I feel if the parks aren't up to "full capacity" for a while they will definitely do something for AP holders (extend their APs?) to encourage them to come back in the non-virus times (next year?) and spend the money Disney will desperately need.

I have the exact same scenario. APs purchased (through Sam's) but not activated in preparation for a June trip with on-site stay. I booked a backup on-site stay for early July. Disney has had two rounds of price increases since I purchased these APs, so I have no desire to try to refund them as what I paid is a tremendous value versus the cost now. WDW is different from SDL with regards to quantity of on-site resorts, so I'm hoping they use those with on-site stays to corral capacity, whether with APs or standard tickets. If they limit park hopping that will disrupt my plans so I'll have to adjust slightly but we can manage if necessary.