Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

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Which is the whole point of my OP. If its something that can be interpreted in many different ways, its because its a “Just in case” type of article. Theres nothing of real substance in what they wrote other than covering their behinds. There were quite a few “That doesnt sound promising” replies. What doesnt sound promising, that they wrote a bunch of words on their website that doesnt mean anything in regards to what theyre actually going to do?

Yeah I don’t think it sounds bad or good.

It sounds like, well dang we better say something since Universal did and people are getting antsy.
 
There are rumblings that Universal may only open a few of the hotels at first, and bring the others online later, moving reservations for the others. Royal Pacific, Cabana Bay, and Hard Rock only initially, Portofino shortly later, then then others (aventura, Sapphire, Dockside, Bayside) waiting for results from the first (although they would reopen quickly.) Still nothing official, though, yet, but I'd suspect soon. Disney may do something similar with resorts. This is such a moving target it's hard to really say.
 
There are rumblings that Universal may only open a few of the hotels at first, and bring the others online later, moving reservations for the others. Royal Pacific, Cabana Bay, and Hard Rock only initially, Portofino shortly later, then then others (aventura, Sapphire, Dockside, Bayside) waiting for results from the first (although they would reopen quickly.) Still nothing official, though, yet, but I'd suspect soon. Disney may do something similar with resorts. This is such a moving target it's hard to really say.

I don't know if Disney can do the same thing because of DVC.

Universal not only doesn't have a timeshare to worry about but their hotels are private owned, by Lowes Hotels I believe. So they don't even have to take the full liability or set up procedures for the hotels.
 
June 1st was their best guess at opening. People swore up and down they knew it wasn’t guaranteed. People got upset when those reservations were cancelled, specifically that Disney offered them in the first place.

They can’t win until they’re open, and then we’ll move on to critiquing how they are enforcing or aren’t enforcing things, when they should or shouldn’t loosen safety measures, etc. Unless they can vanish this pandemic away someone’s going to be mad at them for one thing or another.
No ppl got upset when they had to wait to find out they were cancelled with the clandestine email campaign rolled out on a random Thurs morning. And that’s not even Dvc. Most of them they haven’t even had the deceny to send emails to yet. My cousin tried to called DVC yesterday about her 6/8 reservations after the cash reservations started getting cancelled & no one she talked to had any clue if hers were cancelled or not. Not acceptable. That’s what ppl are mad about.
 


No ppl got upset when they had to wait to find out they were cancelled with the clandestine email campaign rolled out on a random Thurs morning. And that’s not even Dvc. Most of them they haven’t even had the deceny to send emails to yet. My cousin tried to called DVC yesterday about her 6/8 reservations after the cash reservations started getting cancelled & no one she talked to had any clue if hers were cancelled or not. Not acceptable. That’s what ppl are mad about.
This is because DVC isn’t cancelling on the same schedule as the other resorts. She will hear a week ahead.
 
I think a lot of people are focused on the 3rd paragraph which could hint that a June opening isn’t happening at WDW.

I read more into “Real-time adjustments“ comment regarding tickets, passes, and experiences. I think they do have an opening date in mind for WDW and are ready to announce but they realize that because of limited dining capacity at restaurants (with some closures), they will likely have to cancel some ADRs. If park hours are reduced, it could also affect fast passes. Other events are also likely to be impacted.

Perhaps they are trying to soften the blow. Imply that they may not be opening in June, but actually open in June but with a lot of reservations and others plans being canceled.

What 3rd paragraph? What did I miss? 😁 Besides about 20 pages lol
 
We did Mythos last time and it was just eh, think I’ve mentioned food a few times and I’m starting to need a diet just thinking about the comments I’ve made. 😂 I work really hard all year but my vacations all bets are off, it’s all about the food (and drink)! Anyway, Universal really needs to up their game in the restaurant department.
Why do you mean? It was voted the best theme park restaurant in the world by some magazine. /s
 


They've NEVER said anything other than they don't know...closed until further notice. They knew well in advance that my May trip wasn't going to happen, but all they did was quietly cancel it 3 weeks prior, same for June. Make a stinking decision, announce it, and run with it. At least then ppl. know you respect their time/plans etc and are trying. They've known for basically forever that the governor was going to back whatever they wanted to do...he basically said it himself. They've been meeting with the other parks as part of the task force for weeks. They knew UO was going to announce and the date. They're just wanting to hide behind in case it doesn't go well and while of course any business can open/not open whenever they please; it does seem like a slap in the face to those who have reservations with no knowledge of what's happening with them. -Even moreso to those who rescheduled their original reservation at the promotion of Disneys "free dining" to still be canceled with little notice and/or lack of communication etc.
Right so either there is something fishy going on (the nba) or they don’t have their stuff together & neither looks good.
 
What 3rd paragraph? What did I miss? 😁 Besides about 20 pages lol
Count me as one who doesn’t see some massive importance to the 3rd paragraph....or any paragraph, but here it is:

“Given the current uncertainty as to when we will reopen Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort, we’ve had to periodically adjust the schedule for the ability to book hotel reservations at our resorts. While we’re currently accepting reservations starting in July 2020 at both resorts, as this situation evolves, timing may continue to shift. “
 
Right so either there is something fishy going on (the nba) or they don’t have their stuff together & neither looks good.
Here’s another option. They submit their plans Tuesday, formal presentation on Wednesday and we’re done. Well, except for the sure to come outrage because whatever decisions they make as to opening dates and procedures will be wrong.
 
Count me as one who doesn’t see some massive importance to the 3rd paragraph....or any paragraph, but here it is:

“Given the current uncertainty as to when we will reopen Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort, we’ve had to periodically adjust the schedule for the ability to book hotel reservations at our resorts. While we’re currently accepting reservations starting in July 2020 at both resorts, as this situation evolves, timing may continue to shift. “

There were several people who commented that the mention of the July date and “timing may continue to shift” didn’t seem to bode well for a June opening.

I was basically responding to those comments. I think they are getting close to announcing reopening plans but they also realize they probably have a bit of a mess to deal with as far as ASRs if restaurants are at limited capacity (and some with delayed openings).
 
Seems like there were no crowds at DS today according to a handful of reports. It’s not that surprising. Wearing masks in 90+ degree heat to go to eat and shop sounds terrible to me. Not to start the great mask debate (seriously!!!), but I wanted to share something from personal experience. It was in the 90s here today with what felt like 1000% humidity. I wore my mask on my handful of errands. It was soooo hot and sweaty which is making me seriously reconsider if we’ll go this summer with this mask requirement. I’m not saying it isn’t necessary. I’m simply saying I may decide I don’t want to do it and not go.
 
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Take this for what you will. Was posted by WDWPro and gives some insight on what Disney is doing.

Today I'd like to update you on Disney's plans for reopening Walt Disney World. Universal's June opening date has actually caught Disney off guard, as it is much more aggressive than previously thought. As recently as two weeks ago, the plan for Walt Disney World had been to reopen August 31st with the prior three weeks of August used to retrain cast. Part of the issue for Walt Disney World is that the federal government is currently paying cast members receiving unemployment a sum equal to $600 per each week they are out... and Disney simply can't match those amounts if they bring back cast. The federal government will (presumably) cease those payments after July. Furthermore, Disney has identified that requiring children to wear masks in summer Florida heat could result in extremely unhealthy situations and PR issues. As an example, let's say you require a child to wear a mask who also happens to have asthma. The heat being near 100 degrees, the parents allow the child to remove the mask as they're dehydrated and having breathing issues... other guests see this and likewise want to remove their masks in the sweltering sun. Now you've either got to enforce the rule on the asthmatic child suffering in the heat, or you have to allow all the other guests to likewise remove their masks. To this effect, Disney has actually even considered using old "smoking areas" as areas where you're allowed to temporarily remove your mask for relief. There are other issues with reopening in early to mid summer, including issues surrounding the Fourth of July. There are issues surrounding guests coming from American hot spots (New York, New Jersey, etc). It's much easier to say "no" to a Florida citizen guest entering Disney Springs on a relatively cool day due to a high temperature versus saying "no" to an entire family from South Dakota who counter that their child's temperature is too high only because its 101 degrees at 2 o'clock as they try to come back from their hotel.

Whereas Universal has now dropped the hammer by having their plan accepted and approved by Governor DeSantis, Disney has yet to submit their plan to the governor. That will likely now have to change as Disney simply won't allow Universal to corner the theme park market in Orlando for an entire summer. Simultaneously, Disney had previously taken a very cautious approach to reopening at a later date, utilizing an intra-company protocol known as Secure Circuit. This protocol would see Magic Kingdom and MK resorts opening first with health screenings at every security screening. However, with Universal planning to reopen everything essentially - including even their water park - Disney is really put in a difficult position. Not only are they now pushed to open earlier than expected, but they also are pushed to reopen more than they had originally planned right off the line. This has created a scramble from within the company to determine how they could reopen more safely and how they could staff such a measure so early. Further complicating these issues is that Disney had planned to use Shanghai data to assist in developing a plan for reopening WDW, but DeSantis' administration is opposed to using any Shanghai information as evidence of success/failure because they feel information coming out of China is completely unreliable (for all we know, the CCP may even be selecting who signs up for the theme park as a global PR stunt).

So where does that put Disney at this point? Well, the test run at Disney Springs has went okay, but not great. Although D'Amaro has moved up in ranks, for all intents and purposes he is still acting as the lead for WDW Resort since the company's main focus is now on getting it up and running in some capacity. And since he was on the ground at Disney Springs, he's well aware that many guests simply ignored the mask mandates once inside Disney Springs. He's also aware that many used the exceptions for guests eating or drinking to avoid wearing the mask. And finally, he's aware that there were some bizarre YouTube style moments where guests even attempted their own barbecue setup outside of a restaurant. And outside of making your own barbecue area, it's hard to blame guests if they find ways to socially distance and take off their mask using a beverage as cover to do so. You can imagine that when sweat is pouring down your body in Fantasyland, you might be inclined to use that large iced latte as a means by which to take off the bloody mask for five minutes as its now drenched in sweat and gross. If half the park is doing that, you've got a problem. And even with a proposed 15,000 maximum capacity at Magic Kingdom at reopen, that's still an unavoidable issue.

Other random things to note:
The Star Wars hotel did not have "designers" inside the building planning where lights and speakers go during the governor's stay-at-home orders, despite rumors to the contrary.

Universal has upended everything Disney was planning for reopening as of now, and will almost certainly reopen significantly before WDW. Disney will now have to race to re-plan and reschedule, as will other local theme parks.

Disneyland is still no where close to reopening. I would not expect to see it reopen this year. If it does, it would likely be no earlier than November.

Disney had no plans to reopen Typhoon Lagoon and/or Blizzard Beach this summer. With Universal going the opposite direction, Disney may try to reopen one park, and I'm told it would have to be Typhoon Lagoon (not sure why though). Universal is using its own data about pool chemicals to reopen, but Disney is very reluctant due to the need for guests to take cover during serious (and often) thunderstorms. In these times, guests MUST take cover inside in close proximity, and there's no plan for how to resolve that.

At bare minimum, from the time the go-ahead is given, its a two week process to get just the Magic Kingdom and MK resorts up and running with limited capacity, operations, and menu items. DeSantis has yet to even approve a plan from Disney, so don't expect the reservation cancellations to stop this week.

Ops has said it's just not feasible to wipe down every vehicle between use for most attractions. In the alternative, there may be "wipe stations" for guests to grab a wipe prior to entering the vehicle, or there may simply be a sanitation station for guests after exiting the vehicle.

There's a weird issue about masks and high speed attractions that's being discussed. Apparently a non-disclosed incident occurred in Shanghai in which a guest on a fast attraction had their mask come out of normal position and the guest couldn't resolve the problem due to ride restraints. Disney is looking at how to avoid such a problem with a child on a ride such as Rock'n Roller Coaster. I'm told no solid solution has been determined just yet. It's an unlikely situation, but you would just need one time of a mask becoming a health issue mid-ride for it to be worthwhile to avoid.

The cost and availability of fireworks have both went in poor directions for Walt Disney World. Even if fireworks can be planned to return in some capacity, it is much more difficult to acquire shells, as well as more costly. Supply chains for fireworks have been greatly disrupted.
 
Has anyone seen any updates on quarantine guidance from the state of Florida?

I have not seen anything officially.

Anecdotally, we have family in Mobile who drove to Pensacola Beach today. They said traffic was being stopped on the way into Florida and travelers were asked if they had been to certain states recently (she didn't mention which states they asked about specifically other than Louisiana) - if you had been in those states, you were directed to a parking lot to have your temperature taken.

She did not say anything about quarantining being mentioned at this stop, though it still might have come up, or might have come up if you had your temperature taken.
 
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