Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[skeeter31]

True but it looks different from a PR perspective. I would expect Disney to try to make the upgrade offer for those at CSR a little sweeter because they essentially have their reservations away to accommodate the NBA. I do think that they have been holding rooms at AKL Jambo and CR to accommodate the CSR reservations.

It’s a little bit different than your resort being closed and then offer you the option to stay somewhere else or you can get a refund if you choose not to accept that offer.

It’s actually the same. For all intents and purposes, CSR is closed to guests. You’ll get moved or asked if you want to cancel just like any other resort that is closed. Just because Disney is choosing to use that resort for another purpose doesn’t matter. It would be the same if they announced they were going to use POP to house cast members that need a place to stay. That resort is closed, whatever Disney wants to do with it is they’re prerogative. I don’t think CSR reservations are going to get a better upgrade than anyone else in any other closed resort.

 

[BrianR]

MLS and MLSPA close to avoiding lockout and paving way for Orlando tournament starting June 24th. No word on where in Disney they would stay, games would be at ESPN WWoS:

https://www.espn.com/football/major...layers-near-cba-deal-to-avoid-lockout-sources

 

[Eric Smith]

Interesting, so instead of a time limit like MaxPass in DLR they're going with a pass limit. This is going to be a whole new way to do the parks...

They couldn't do something like this with normal crowd levels in the parks at least at Disney. The paths would be choked with people. The standby lines are necessary to hold people.

 

[StevieB81]

I don't know how logistically they can put the NBA at Jambo. Jambo has the only quick service at AKL. DVC uses that. If they decide to somehow add a quick service that DVC could use then it might work. They did add a temporty quick service at Caribbean Beach so they have done it before.

Sanaa does quick service/grab and go
ETA: for breakfast

 

[nkosiek]

Why every other car?

Frankly, I'd do it for the appearance of safety if not actual safety. By doing it every other car, you could leave a car empty for a one way voyage allowing the UV rays to kill any virus that may have been in the car from previous occupants, it also would allow distancing in the wait area, plus I'm not sure I see them loading those resorts/gondolas up.

 

[gottalovepluto]

They couldn't do something like this with normal crowd levels in the parks at least at Disney. The paths would be choked with people. The standby lines are necessary to hold people.

Yes, the parks are designed for people to be in standby lines. But for now virtual lines have already been announced for Disney World. The question is how many. They are hoping drastic limits on park capcity will prevent the paths from being choked with people.

They won't be back to normal crowd levels at WDW for a looooooooong time...

 

[gottalovepluto]

MLS and MLSPA close to avoiding lockout and paving way for Orlando tournament starting June 24th. No word on where in Disney they would stay, games would be at ESPN WWoS:

https://www.espn.com/football/major...layers-near-cba-deal-to-avoid-lockout-sources

Oh hey!! Just posted an article from LA times on MLS on the MLS thread lol, I'm late it looks like! If they get an agreement Wed they'll beat the NBA...

 

[chicagoshannon]

Frankly, I'd do it for the appearance of safety if not actual safety. By doing it every other car, you could leave a car empty for a one way voyage allowing the UV rays to kill any virus that may have been in the car from previous occupants, it also would allow distancing in the wait area, plus I'm not sure I see them loading those resorts/gondolas up.

no. If it's not for actual safety (which it isn't) no need to do it. Everyone just needs to wash their hands when you exit.

 

[Jroceagles]

They told me they would be contacting me in the future. It was almost word for word what is posted on the posted in the Disney park blog, it might have been word for word.

My CC got refunded today for dinner reservations...just FYI since you were asking about yours

 

[Sandisw]

I agree, if they do this, it’ll be “you’ll be staying at this other resort or nothing at all, because the one you’re booked at will not be open for your dates”. In some cases it would be an upgrade but not all. I assume we’ll be finding out VERY soon if they’re doing this though, because people need time to cancel. They won’t have you try to check in at an all star & then tell you “this resort is closed, you’re moving to Pop”.

Speculation...I’m thinking in the next few weeks guests who have July reservations, if the resort they are at is closed, would be getting something from Disney letting them know if they were going to be given an option to move to an open resort.

I have been told that much of the nitty gritty with everything is still being worked out, and why mid June seems to be the time we will hear more about park reservations, and the moving or canceling of guests whose resorts remain closed.

 

[JPM4]

Do we think the swan and dolphin will still have park transportation? You can easily book a room there for opening week. Curious what Disney does with them.

 

[Marthasor]

So we have reservations arriving 7/11 and leaving 7/15 a.m. At CSR . Cash paid in full. Technically they’re “open” during our stay. Really, we’ll just have 2 parks and whatever resort they decide to give us. We’re definitely canceling, but I’ve been holding out for some sort of incentive to rebook next year. Should I hold out hope or just bail now?

All speculative, but IMHO, we aren't going to see a guest recovery offer or any type of promo for a very long time. There are just far too many guests who have been affected by it. Until they can ramp up to full capacity again, they aren't going to want to incentivize people to book.

From what the TA told me last night was that they are only offering the 35% discount (that "everyone" is talking about) for people that originally booked a package with the DDP. However, I haven't heard or seen diddly from Disney and I'm supposed arrive a couple of days before you so it might be only for guests who booked a DDP package at one of the deluxe resorts. Who knows...Disney itself hasn't really been a fountain of information.

The 35% off is only being applied to reservations that had free dining attached.

I would say that with 2 sources of the rumor, a few different travel agents, and the BC CM who said they were being briefed on dealing with guests who were moved there and being upset at the lack of a food court/QS, the resort moves seem pretty likely to happen. The issue we don't know is for how long? Is it just pre-opening? We are staying July 4th to the 11th and don't expect it to be very busy even if they do consolidate guests into the DVC resorts. I wonder if they are waiting to see how many people cancel before making any hard decisions?

As far as we know, only DVC resorts will be open during your stay, so there may not be any consolidations at that time. I'm not sure they will be moving people from other resorts pre-July 11 when no parks will be open.

 

[Sandisw]

So we have reservations arriving 7/11 and leaving 7/15 a.m. At CSR . Cash paid in full. Technically they’re “open” during our stay. Really, we’ll just have 2 parks and whatever resort they decide to give us. We’re definitely canceling, but I’ve been holding out for some sort of incentive to rebook next year. Should I hold out hope or just bail now?

IMO, I think any resort special that would be for a future trip would not be dependent on whether you cancel or wait for Disney to do so.

However, being you are CSR and the rumored deal of NBA signing off will happen this week, I’d at least wait to see if that happens,

This way, if it becomes confirmed, you know you’d be moved, and might heat sooner rather than later from Disney.

 

[chasgoose]

I don't see them opening extra properties just to run hotels at low capacity. They have their prioritie$

I guess, but the cost of running more hotels at lower capacity is probably lower than the cost of a COVID outbreak that could be traced to bad safety practices at the resorts. It would be a lot easier to space guests out (like empty rooms between occupied ones) and also be able to really deep clean a room after a guest stays in one (basically, taking rooms offline for a day after a guest checks out).

Also there are other considerations like Legionnaires Disease to be concerned with. Large resorts (and office buildings) are not designed to be unoccupied for such a long period of time. If no one is using the water from the pipes there is a good chance the bacteria that causes Legionnaires and other issues can develop and spread to the guests. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some maintenance CMs going through the resorts and running the water every so often to keep that from happening. Regardless, Legionnaires is one of the many reasons reopening a resort is not as simple as merely turning on the lights and saying go. Each closed resort will take some time to come online and be able to receive guests, even on a reduced basis, and the longer they stay closed the longer that is likely to take.

Finally, it gives Disney more flexibility to adapt more quickly as things change, for example if they need more social distancing or flexibility to be able to clean rooms and accommodate the guests that are coming, that's easier to do with more open resorts, and given that closed resorts can't immediately open, it might make sense for them to open as many resorts as they think they can while still being able to cover costs. I doubt that all resorts will be open at first (and I could see the first two weeks of open parks being limited to DVC since those have to open sooner and will be operational by the time the parks open), but I think there are reasons they might be inclined to bring more resorts online sooner than later. It honestly depends on information we don't have such as Disney's target occupation rate across all resorts given capacity limits in the park and how many people have cancelled or will cancel, but there are both safety and operational reasons why opening more resorts might be more cost effective than minimizing the number of resorts that open.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

Speculation...I’m thinking in the next few weeks guests who have July reservations, if the resort they are at is closed, would be getting something from Disney letting them know if they were going to be given an option to move to an open resort.

I have been told that much of the nitty gritty with everything is still being worked out, and why mid June seems to be the time we will hear more about park reservations, and the moving of guests whose resorts remain closed.

You would think...I have a 7/07-7/18 reservation and have heard diddly-squat; would cancel outright, but booked the free DDP back in January and would like hear if they are going to offer any discount to make-up for it. I know they don't "have to," but they have been holding my money for 5 months now.

 

[Sandisw]

You would think...I have a 7/07-7/18 reservation and have heard diddly-squat; would cancel outright, but booked the free DDP back in January and would like hear if they are going to offer any discount to make-up for it. I know they don't "have to," but they have been holding my money for 5 months now.

The website does say that things will be canceled within 7 days of check in if your resort is closed during your trip, and Disney did make sure to remove the language about other resorts opening the 11th.

So, you certainly have time to wait it out!

 

[Lord Fantasius]

I guess, but the cost of running more hotels at lower capacity is probably lower than the cost of a COVID outbreak that could be traced to bad safety practices at the resorts. It would be a lot easier to space guests out (like empty rooms between occupied ones) and also be able to really deep clean a room after a guest stays in one (basically, taking rooms offline for a day after a guest checks out).

But after a certain point, there really is nothing Disney can do to absolutely 100% guarantee someone isn't going to catch an illness/disease and have it traced back to a Disney property by a half-rate lawyer and sue Disney for a gazillion dollars. The laws just aren't written yet to cover this scenario, which is why they have to follow "The Plan" they presented to the state...when Joe Smith (not actual name) decides to sue Disney 14 days after he returns home, they can at least defer to the "approval" they received from the state and then the state becomes the liable party. The Disney lawyers are calling the shots here...

 

[rockpiece]

Do we know if Ubers/Lyft are still going to be running? My mom is not a fan of the Disney buses so a reduced bus schedule really doesn't effect us. We mainly use Uber/Lyft to get around and more recently the Skyliner.

 

[mhautz]

I'm starting to wonder if Disney isn't really close to just pulling the plug on all resort reservations and allowing existing reservation holders to re-schedule based on available inventory. That would suck, but maybe it's the best way to get rid of a lot people.

Edit: 100% speculation

 

[Llama mama]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1267819654266814477

So express pass is the way to go???????