Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[UOAP]

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'm pretty invested in Universal, but I do not think they will be open 6/1, and their website says "at least through May 31" which leaves it completely open if they want. It's just easier to be last minute with Universal because you don't need to plan the trip. You just go. If I had Disney reservations for June 1 I would not switch to Universal assuming they will be open. Unless you just want to hang at CityWalk.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Universal has always been a superior experience for me in FL. I now do Disney exclusively in CA. That might change based on what happens at EPCOT.

I find the two parks difficult to compare in some respects, but we REALLY enjoyed Universal and Harry Potter on our last trip. Disney probably wins on the little things and table service meals, but Universal has better rides (in my opinion).

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Disney has consistently stated they are closed indefinitely, don't know when they'll open, and just because they are taking July reservations doesn't mean they'll open in July. There's a lot of uncertainty about when they can open, and I don't know that there's much more they can say/do. If they commit to a July 1 opening (for example), and there's a spike in cases or some other issue and they can't open, then people will be mad all over again. Disney pretty much can't win, other than saying they are closed indefinitely and that's what they've done.

Yes. People will read into what they will.

Disney has said closed indefinitely. No matter how promising signs look for opening, it’s still not their fault if people read into them.

 

[Mit88]

They said they were closed until 5/31. If you aren't closed 6/1, you are open. Disney said they were closed indefinitely. That means they are closed until they are open. It's a very, very important use of language.

If I was booking a restaurant that was closed until 5/31, I'd book it for 6/1. If I was booking a restaurant that was closed indefinitely, I would book somewhere else.

And Disney said the day after they closed they were closed until March 31st. Did they open on April 1st?

 

[DGsAtBLT]

And Disney said the say after they closed they were closed until March 31st. Did they open on April 1st?

People thought they were going to, simply because they didn’t say they weren’t. We had people in late March thinking they were still going in 2 weeks or less. People were angry about the short notice Disney gave when the closure became indefinite.

There was conversation back then about how they should give a date like Universal not indefinite, but I think they did the right thing. Today would be even worse for some people had they said closed through May 31st.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

People thought they were going to, simply because they didn’t say they weren’t. We had people in late March thinking they were still going in 2 weeks or less. People were angry about the short notice Disney gave when the closure became indefinite.

There was conversation back then about how they should give a date like Universal not indefinite, but I think they did the right thing. Today would be even worse for some people had they said closed through May 31st.

I imagine Universal is going to revise their statement to closed through X date soon (something past June 1). We already canceled our July trip. Not going to try and plan another trip this year, but will shoot for either spring break, summer or maybe early November (for the RunDisney event) in 2021.

 

[jknezek]

And Disney said the day after they closed they were closed until March 31st. Did they open on April 1st?

No. Definitely a problem. But it's one thing to do it early on, it's another after months of trying to figure out what to do. Hey, if Universal opens 6/1, more power to them. If they don't this comparison of who did what better doesn't look so good. As it stands, Disney is more timely with their actions than Universal. If you have Disney reservations for early June, you are being told they are still closed. If you have them for Universal you are not as far as I can figure out.

What is the most important thing right now to customers? Knowing whether they can go or not. I'd say Disney is doing better. Not by much, and if Universal opens then I'll be wrong.

But this whole Universal is doing better is just a matter of optics and who you are madder at. I suspect people who had Disney vacations cancelled and have been on this board think Disney did a bad job. I suspect if you could find a Universal board this active, you'd find plenty of people who are going to be pretty irritated with them as well...

 

[Tandy]

People thought they were going to, simply because they didn’t say they weren’t. We had people in late March thinking they were still going in 2 weeks or less. People were angry about the short notice Disney gave when the closure became indefinite.

There was conversation back then about how they should give a date like Universal not indefinite, but I think they did the right thing. Today would be even worse for some people had they said closed through May 31st.

Correct - they said they were closed until the 31st.. People assumed that meant the first was open again.

 

[yulilin3]

I imagine Universal is going to revise their statement to closed through X date soon (something past June 1). We already canceled our July trip. Not going to try and plan another trip this year, but will shoot for either spring break, summer or maybe early November (for the RunDisney event) in 2021.

The $79 a night room in a brand new hotel is really tempting right now for June 1st. If I had the money I would book it

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

The $79 a night room in a brand new hotel is really tempting right now for June 1st. If I had the money I would book it

That's a crazy good price.

 

[Jrb1979]

Since they don't know when they will reopen they should stop taking any NEW reservations til they know for sure when they are opening.

 

[Eric Smith]

Is it bad to say people aren’t as annoyed with Universal because nobody here cares quite as much? We’re the DISboards with a small Universal section that some people don’t even know exists, not the reverse.

I was thinking the same thing but I couldn't figure out a nice way to say it.

 

[Mzpalmtree]

Is it bad to say people aren’t as annoyed with Universal because nobody here cares quite as much? We’re the DISboards with a small Universal section that some people don’t even know exists, not the reverse.

I love Disney and will continue to in the future when (hopefully even if it’s a while from now) things can start to normalize a bit. But being a type A person who makes spreadsheets and plans out our trip so far out— all this uncertainty is killing me. We do go a fair amount but this time we will have my son and his girlfriend with us and they don’t go a lot and I don’t know when they will be able to go with us again. We have military tickets and Disney is not being great about those—like a lot of things they have no official word about what they will do about them and keep passing us off to SOG where we bought them from. We may be able to get them turned over for new tickets but then again maybe not...so we may be out some money we can’t get back...that along with all the curve balls to my admittedly obsessive planning has made the simplicity of a Universal trip appealing. It’s not that I care less. It’s just that I can’t keep putting so much into the planning for the disappointment. If a Universal trip gets cancelled I put far less effort into it so it’s less of a loss. That’s my take anyway. I am not cancelling my Disney trip until I have to. I would rather go there but I’m also not putting any more effort into it. Sorry for the long post, lol.

 

[leahgoogle]

You have to hold everyone to the same standard to move people quickly through check points.

And how does that conversation go? My daughter runs hot. How does the employee know that you’re not lying to get your kid into the park?

I was in no way trying to say that my daughter should be admitted if this is the rule. Just mentioning it in case there are other people in the same situation. If WDW went by this temp point, I (and maybe others) would have to reconsider a trip because of our personal situation. Geez.......

 

[Eric Smith]

Universal has always been a superior experience for me in FL. I now do Disney exclusively in CA. That might change based on what happens at EPCOT.

I'm curious why you felt Universal was a superior experience in Florida. I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm genuinely curious.

We've found Universal to be a 1-2 day experience at best. Their dining options aren't fantastic and some areas of their parks seem to be very poorly done. Most of their IP also doesn't appeal to us (minus Simpsons and Harry Potter).

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Since they don't know when they will reopen they should stop taking any NEW reservations til they know for sure when they are opening.

Our closed libraries won’t even let me put books on hold (online of course) until they reopen lol.

I get the continued reservations though. Not from a cynical deposit hoarding POV, but because they probably want to be ready to go when they can finally open, and let people continue booking planning and thinking about Disney trips. Besides, whatever date they let them begin (if they didn’t just cut them off entirely) would become the new “opening” date no matter what they say.

 

[jknezek]

Since they don't know when they will reopen they should stop taking any NEW reservations til they know for sure when they are opening.

I disagree. If people want to speculate on when they can go, let them. That way you have an idea of demand and you can space out reservations. It's very valuable data and probably why they said any capacity they open at they can fill. Disney is doing it with a very minimal reservation fee and a very liberal cancel at any time and we'll give you your money back policy. Honestly, it's up to people not to go crazy when indefinitely actually means indefinitely.

 

[Violetspider]

Since we're kind of on Universal, off topic or not, is that a decent trip for a solo traveler? Meaning a multiple day on-site stay?

 

[RufusCat]

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

Proactive or reckless?

 

[Tjddis]

I seriously doubt anyone was blindsided by the cancellation emails. Unless one was living under a rock, they know what the situation is. Disney hasn't announced an opening date because they probably don't know the exact date. I would guess that we'll see an announcement about a week before the parks actually open so that they can be sure that they will be able to open.

I assure you there are people out there who may be fully aware of the situation but booked to post June 1 because Disney “said to.” There are also people who think the shut down should be ended ASAP and all this caution is an over reaction. )I do not think that btw) Again Disney does not have to tell me when they are opening because of course they can’t know. But they do know when they are not opening. And they should be much more proactive and transparent with their paying customers to the extent that they can be. There are people getting 2nd and 3rd rescheduled trips cancelled. Those people are entitled to be frustrated and lack of any communication at all besides a cancellation email does not help. Blindsided May have been the wrong word choice on my part. But it is rather shortsighted from a customer service perspective