Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Pyotr]

They have not confirmed they would be required poolside, this is just what people have taken that statement to mean, particularly those who want to believe Disney is being insane and unreasonable with masks.

Could they be? Yes, never say never, right? Do we know enough to cancel a vacation based on wearing masks poolside? Absolutely not, IMO. If that is someone’s only dealbreaker, I would wait for Disney to specifically address pools.

In my situation, it’s not the only deal breaker. For my family it’s too much of a reduced experience. Unfortunately, my DVC points banking deadline is May 31 for my non expiring points so I have to make a quick decision.

I don’t blame Disney for what they’re doing and completely understand. My family trip can wait until next year.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Honestly, it’s illogical to expect people to wear them in a pool. Wet masks fall off and will get stuck and break the pool equipment. Therefore, the discussion should really be will the pools be open? It won’t be pools are open but wear a mask and potentially drown. There is WAY too much liability with that. I just can’t see Disney being advised masks in pools should be the rule...

People are concerned with poolside not in the pool. Even with taking the statement literally I think most (I hope most, at least) realize they are not going to put guests safety at risk masking them up in a pool.

 

[Krandor]

I rage cancelled my June 18-22nd trip. That was my 4th trip I had cancelled so I was furious at the time. I guess i'll miss out on any guest recovery offer but hopefully i'll get something being an AP holder.

Not necessarily. I canceled my april trip and got the recovery offer.

 

[KBoopaloo]

It makes me wonder just how Disney will do over the next year (rest of 2020). Their experience is different, guest confidence is shattered (in "knowing" what to expect and how to plan). We here a lot of people just not wanting to go until next year, not renewing APs because this entire year looks "shot", being burned out trying to plan (after being canceled 2-3 times), and of course still worried about going to a very public place amid a pandemic.

You'd think after 4 months of being closed .. they'd want to come back with a roar and get people back in the parks, but it seems like the circumstances warrant them coming back with a whimper (which .. to me .. further erodes guest confidence of coming back sooner than later).

I think what they want is to come back in a safe way that hopefully ensures they will be able to STAY open and not have to close again. It would be woefully irresponsible to “come back with a roar” (whatever that means) during a pandemic and start cramming people back into the parks at usual summer levels. And for every person who is upset with the way they have gone about this now there is another person who is pleased to see them taking such a cautious approach and will feel that much more confident in traveling to their beloved parks and resorts again.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

People are concerned with poolside not in the pool. Even with taking the statement literally I think most (I hope most, at least) realize they are not going to put guests safety at risk masking them up in a pool.

Oh good! I was getting concerned. I’ve spent too much time reading this board this morning and started questioning everyone’s logic!

 

[DGsAtBLT]

In my situation, it’s not the only deal breaker. For my family it’s too much of a reduced experience. Unfortunately, my DVC points banking deadline is May 31 for my non expiring points so I have to make a quick decision.

I don’t blame Disney for what they’re doing and completely understand. My family trip can wait until next year.

Yeah, I get that. DVC points makes it a sticky situation.

I just worry that it’s becoming spread as fact and people are just seeing that and cancelling possibly for no reason.

 

[TakesFaithTrust&PixieDust]

It makes me wonder just how Disney will do over the next year (rest of 2020). Their experience is different, guest confidence is shattered (in "knowing" what to expect and how to plan). We here a lot of people just not wanting to go until next year, not renewing APs because this entire year looks "shot", being burned out trying to plan (after being canceled 2-3 times), and of course still worried about going to a very public place amid a pandemic.

You'd think after 4 months of being closed .. they'd want to come back with a roar and get people back in the parks, but it seems like the circumstances warrant them coming back with a whimper (which .. to me .. further erodes guest confidence of coming back sooner than later).

My confidence in Disney has grown. Being in Florida I’m aware of the daily numbers. The virus is still out there. Most of us wear masks. How irresponsible it would have been to open up with a bang only to cause a huge outbreak. Then people would be ripping on Disney that they didn’t do enough to keep cast and guests safe. Patience is the key in all of this. By July things may look a lot better and guidelines adjusted. Just my opinion.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266027496497197056

 

[tinkerhon]

Let me try to help address some of your concerns.

• Masks at pool deck - This hasn't been directly confirmed at all. This seemed to start with some speculation (seemingly by some folks who weren't happy about the mask requirement) after there was a DVC statement that said masks would be required at the resorts as well. Disney has not explicitly said what areas of the resorts (pools, restaurants, etc...) I could easily see them saying that masks are encouraged but not required within the gated pool areas. Disney certainly will not allow face masks in the pool.
• Hotels - Right now, Disney has only committed to having the DVC resorts and FW open. I'd imagine that list will grow by 7/11, but we don't know.
• Transportation - Disney has said that "limited" bus transportation will be available starting on 6/22. Monorail and ferryboat will come back online when the parks reopen. No word on Skyliner or DME yet.
• FP+ - No word yet.
• Dining - No word yet.
• Park Reservations - Disney has said that guests with "existing reservations" will get priority followed by APs and "exisiting ticketholders."

That's all we know for sure. I understand everyone's frustrations right now, but this is a lot for Disney to sort through. As I've said previously, they could have just cancelled everybody and made everyone over within the new parameters. Can you imagine how many people would be upset if that happened? There's a lot of uncertainty out there right now, and if you're not okay with the uncertainty, I'd advise you to cancel. There is nothing normal about what is happening right now, so I don't think it's fair to expect Disney or anybody to abiding by their normal practices and procedures. I don't mean this in a mean-spirited way; I think there are genuinely many valid reasons why guests would want to cancel their reservations right now.

On the bright side, I also do not think they're intentionally trying to limit this reopening to FL Residents and DVC Members. I think something they've made amply clear in the last 24 hours is that they're going to be taking care of guests with existing reservations. Because of that, they're taking this slowly and trying to figure out what solutions make the most sense, logistically and financially. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to limit this more than usual from the bloggers/lifestylers/local influencers, who line up for hours and don't really spend a lot of money. My personal opinion is that FW + the DVC Resorts are not the only hotels you'll see open in July.

thanks much ! Ok - so I guess the obvious question (and biggest concern) are the hotels (and some would argue the transportation)
So, hypothetically, (and we know how far in advance many book their trips ) if you booked a non- DVC or FW reservaion, and your dates are on (or around) the date when parks open -
( For example, we are booked for 7/14 at ASMovies) - hotel has been booked since first week of November - ) - right now we don't know where we are going to be staying and/or if the hotel is going to be open ? And the trip is only 6 weeks away - so what happens to ppl booked in any other hotel, that might be coming from a distance and staying 5-10 days (or longer) ?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I have reservations for the week(with park tickets) of July 18th. Do we know for certain if someones resort wont open, they will be moved to another resort? And if they do that, who is responsible for the price difference if there is one? Also I have my FP's selected, I assume that wont have any influence on park reservations? Will the FP's even be utilized?

No we do not know for certain if some hotels will be closed. We're just speculating.

IF some are closed we do not know if Disney will move you. It's industry practice to relocate guests when you cancel their reservation but Disney is under no obligation to do this.

Who pays? It's industry practice Disney pays but again, we do not know. What they cannot do is force you to pay more, they must offer to refund your room (you will be roomless but you'll have a refund).

Traditionally Disney upgrades folks when they have to move them for some reason. Some think Disney will continue that tradition, others don't. It's ALL speculation is this new era.

Unknown if FP will be used during the reservation period or if they will get you an automatic reservation

 

[DGsAtBLT]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266027496497197056

Lol. It’s almost like the huge wait times were a result of opening day demand and opening day demand alone.

 

[Krandor]

thanks much ! Ok - so I guess the obvious question (and biggest concern) are the hotels (and some would argue the transportation)
So, hypothetically, (and we know how far in advance many book their trips ) if you booked a non- DVC or FW reservaion, and your dates are on (or around) the date when parks open -
( For example, we are booked for 7/14 at ASMovies) - hotel has been booked since first week of November - ) - right now we don't know where we are going to be staying and/or if the hotel is going to be open ? And the trip is only 6 weeks away - so what happens to ppl booked in any other hotel, that might be coming from a distance and staying 5-10 days (or longer) ?

Correct but I expect we'll hear about resorts soon since they will want to get reservations back online and can't do that until they determine and announce all that (and announce may just be what shows up on the website). NBA is also a consideration in that too so it might be after the NBA decision before we know details on resorts.

 

[Krandor]

Lol. It’s almost like the huge wait times were a result of opening day demand and opening day demand alone.

and the insane number of vbloggers

 

[rteetz]

and the insane number of vbloggers

And eBay shoppers.

 

[gottalovepluto]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1266027496497197056

Narrator: shocking no one in the Disney fan community, DS was Ghost Town status until 6/22 when some very bored DVC vacationers rolled in...

 

[Krandor]

Lol. It’s almost like the huge wait times were a result of opening day demand and opening day demand alone.

and a cautionary tale not to base "new" WDW demand on July 11 and 15. Will be lots of people wanting to be able to say they were there on day 1.

 

[J-BOY]

and a cautionary tale not to base "new" WDW demand on July 11 and 15. Will be lots of people wanting to be able to say they were there on day 1.

Well, we won't have to wait until we see pictures of long lines at that point. We'll be able to tell by the availability of park reservations.

 

[tlmadden73]

My confidence in Disney has grown. Being in Florida I’m aware of the daily numbers. The virus is still out there. Most of us wear masks. How irresponsible it would have been to open up with a bang only to cause a huge outbreak. Then people would be ripping on Disney that they didn’t do enough to keep cast and guests safe. Patience is the key in all of this. By July things may look a lot better and guidelines adjusted. Just my opinion.

Agree .. I just think that after two months, some people's patience is gone (perhaps mine is).

But I do think that Disney opening in July is shocking, but probably a smart move as that gives them time to see what happens over the next 30 days. I mean here we are at the end of May and things are much better (virus-wise) than beginning of May. (things have re-opened .. haven't spiked .. more data shows it isn't near as deadly as thought).

I guess .. I just feel we, as a country, need to get back out there and start to feel safe again. The more things that open up (like Florida theme parks) .. the better we'll feel it is safe to get back out there. Even if it is baby steps, we need to get to a point where we "sorta" treat this like the flu .. because this could be out there for a while and I just don't feel like masks and social distancing can last in the long term, so at SOME point we are all going to have to feel comfortable going out and about .. just like we do during flu season.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Agree .. I just think that after two months, some people's patience is gone (perhaps mine is).

But I do think that Disney opening in July is shocking, but probably a smart move as that gives them time to see what happens over the next 30 days. I mean here we are at the end of May and things are much better (virus-wise) than beginning of May. (things have re-opened .. haven't spiked .. more data shows it isn't near as deadly as thought).

I guess .. I just feel we, as a country, need to get back out there and start to feel safe again. The more things that open up (like Florida theme parks) .. the better we'll feel it is safe to get back out there. Even if it is baby steps, we need to get to a point where we "sorta" treat this like the flu .. because this could be out there for a while and I just don't feel like masks and social distancing can last in the long term, so at SOME point we are all going to have to feel comfortable going out and about .. just like we do during flu season.

I'm getting to that point now that I know we aren't all going to die from grocery shopping. I still think opening up slowly with safety measures and then easing back to normal is the smart way to do it.

I said very early on that they shouldn't open at all with so many restrictions. I think they didn't intend to, but here we are. I also think these restrictions will be eased up much quicker than we all thought back then.

 

[tinkerhon]

No we do not know for certain if some hotels will be closed. We're just speculating.

IF some are closed we do not know if Disney will move you. It's industry practice to relocate guests when you cancel their reservation but Disney is under no obligation to do this.

Who pays? It's industry practice Disney pays but again, we do not know. What they cannot do is force you to pay more, they must offer to refund your room (you will be roomless but you'll have a refund).

Traditionally Disney upgrades folks when they have to move them for some reason. Some think Disney will continue that tradition, others don't. It's ALL speculation is this new era.

Unknown if FP will be used during the reservation period or if they will get you an automatic reservation

But if , as speculated by some, only dvc and Fw are open, where do they relocate you to? Would they put everyone that had to be moved to DVC ?