Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[bernina]

I mean...those with June reservations were able to reschedule to July 11-Dec 31 BUT wasn't it ONLY a DVC property they could reschedule to?

DVC or Ft. Wilderness.

 

[AmberMV]

Crap. Crap. Crap. I am very unhappy to see more than one agency reporting this. And a bit excited to see if UO eats their lunch, dinner and Christmas Feast... once people get into a habit of how easy UO and how much affordable their APs are... UO is no WDW but I think they have the potential to take a decent bite of WDW’s business for the next couple years...

Well and Busch Gardens/SeaWorld are offering 30% off annual passes and all tickets this week too...And Universal is offering 15 month annual passes. Not only are they getting the jump on Disney but they are also being fiercely competitive to grab up the time of any potential vacationers.

 

[gottalovepluto]

DVC is a timeshare. Members have "ownership" so they run into a lot of problems the longer they keep those properties closed.

Heard anything about GCH DVC? With CA started Phase 3 in the next couple weeks I’d think if they have the same rules as FL DVC they could run into trouble keeping them closed... and GCH DVC is very much integrated into the GCH hotel so keeping DVC open but hotel closed could be much more awkward out here...

 

[AmberMV]

DVC or Ft. Wilderness.

I feel like the clues are being placed and we just have to pick them up. June res. can only reschedule to DVC or Ft. Wilderness through Dec 31, and now we are getting reports that only DVC/Ft. W resorts will be open through the end of this year....

It's not confirmed until it's confirmed, but...

 

[vinotinto]

I feel like the clues are being placed and we just have to pick them up. June res. can only reschedule to DVC or Ft. Wilderness through Dec 31, and now we are getting reports that only DVC/Ft. W resorts will be open through the end of this year....

It's not confirmed until it's confirmed, but...

Maybe the travel agents misunderstood based on Disney only allowing DVC as the option for rebooking to a future date those initially booked June 22-July 5? I don’t know this TA at all. It seems they heard it from their Disney rep, but it’s not official.

I think we’re going to learn a lot once the next wave of post July 4th check-ins come through, and we see what options there are for confirming or modifying. If the deluxes attached to DVC reopen in July (even if not all), we’re good. If not, well, you want to get crazy, we’ll get crazy!

 

[gottalovepluto]

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[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

End of the year?! Disney is confusing me so much.

Might be the first year I try universals beautiful hotels and just travel to Disney parks.

Being cautious is one thing. Making drastic lasting decisions in June is another

 

[andyman8]

John from DIS/Dreams said they heard the same thing today on the podcast.

I would be shocked if that was the case. I would expect not everything to come back right away though. I think they are more or less waiting to see how many people cancel. They has sort of set deadlines to try and get people to cancel by Friday. I would expect some more news this weekend. They seem to like to burry it then.

Are you sure he said that exactly? I don't think he did. I think what he was saying is that, at this time, if you want to modify your reservation (only ones between 6/22-7/4), you can only move it to a DVC resort or FW. He noted that dates can only be changed through the end of this year since 2021 packages are not available yet. I think Pete speculated a bit, but I think John was just "reporting" what we know so far. I don't think he (or Pete) was referencing any "inside information," like was referenced in the post above.

What we're seeing right now is effectively a "roll call" of who's in and who's out for the DVC resorts-only initial reopening period. They need to get a sense of who's coming when (or just cancelling) before they can begin the process of consolidating resorts and identifying which resorts should operate and which ones shouldn't. The process of consolidating resorts would be a hefty one (a much bigger undertaking than this roll call), and they need as firm numbers as they can get to do it, so rather than just making those 6/22-7/4 guests either stick with what they've got or cancel, they're giving them some sort of option to modify (instead of them canceling and then rebooking) but doing so without committing to a "pending" resort (to avoid having to move some of these guests again). Once they've got those firmer numbers, they can begin the process of determining when which resorts should open and moving reservations. That was the original plan at least.

With that in mind, I don't know what trends they've seen or what the folks in Park Ops may be saying about capacity. Everything is subject to change, but personally, I would be shocked if at least a couple resorts didn't come online in July, given all the info/updates they've posted about CL (the only DVC with CL isn't reopening initially) and other "hotel-side" services, not to mention committing to such a prolonged closure (what if some miracle happens and a vaccine or treatment is discovered in September and tourism rebounds quickly). Also, if they were to keep every resort closed through the end of the year, they would probably still have to keep some CMs on furlough through the end of the year (they previously expected the furlough to end by October). While there are large holes to fill without CPs and IPs, there would be way too many resort CMs for the number of available roles.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Maybe the travel agents misunderstood based on Disney only allowing DVC as the option for rebooking to a future date those initially booked June 22-July 5? I don’t know this TA at all. It seems they heard it from their Disney rep, but it’s not official.

I think we’re going to learn a lot once the next wave of post July 4th check-ins come through, and we see what options there are for confirming or modifying. If the deluxes attached to DVC reopen in July (even if not all), we’re good. If not, well, you want to get crazy, we’ll get crazy!

Remember when someone said buckle up?...

 

[MaC410]

I feel like the clues are being placed and we just have to pick them up. June res. can only reschedule to DVC or Ft. Wilderness through Dec 31, and now we are getting reports that only DVC/Ft. W resorts will be open through the end of this year....

It's not confirmed until it's confirmed, but...

But aren't these resorts, DVC and Ft Wilderness, currently the only announced resorts opening so far? It makes sense to only offer rebooking to the resorts they absolutely know will be open. That doesn't necessarily mean they are the only resorts going to be open for the rest of the year.

Not saying that you are claiming anything is truly proof of this rumor but it does make sense to only offer rebooking to the resorts they actually know will be reopening.

 

[Arguetafamily]

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Definitely know Dreams, used them three times now

 

[gottalovepluto]

Do they really have such few reservations on the books that they could open only the DVC side? I can’t imagine Disney running the “keep and confirm - modify - cancel” game much longer.

View attachment 500114

I don’t see that on their FB page? https://m.facebook.com/twosisterstravelcompany/

 

[hereforthechurros]

I feel like the clues are being placed and we just have to pick them up. June res. can only reschedule to DVC or Ft. Wilderness through Dec 31, and now we are getting reports that only DVC/Ft. W resorts will be open through the end of this year....

It's not confirmed until it's confirmed, but...

I can believe it. They’re putting so much effort into this new system and the reopening that it’s probably appealing to run like this for the next six months, especially when many healthcare systems are prepping for a fall wave. Better to run lean and responsibly for the rest of the year than open things a bunch of resorts too quickly and have to shut them back down. I mean someone mentioned some resorts being shut down for six* months after 9/11 so it’s not crazy to think this could be more wide reaching between health & safety issues + a recession. Obviously waiting for wdw confirmation, but it’s not outside the realm of believability.

*three months not six

 

[vinotinto]

Remember when someone said buckle up?...

We thought things were bad when they cancelled the July FPs, Free Dining Plans, and ADRs. If they have to cancel on some people after the parks reopen, they are going to have unhappy guests.

I really am hoping it’s a misunderstanding, but there is a part of me that thinks it is a plausible scenario. Otherwise, all those guests that were moved from June and given only DVC/FW options, once they reopened the other resorts, couldn’t they move their reservation, in effect, negating so much of the effort of the past week?

 

[andyman8]

I mean someone mentioned some resorts being shut down for six months after 9/11 so it’s not crazy to think this could be more wide reaching between health & safety issues + a recession.

Just for context, CBR and POFQ both closed down after 9/11 for about three months.

 

[andyman8]

I don’t see that on their FB page? https://m.facebook.com/twosisterstravelcompany/

It appears that the post was taken down?

 

[hereforthechurros]

Just for context, CBR and POFQ both closed down after 9/11 for about three months.

Thanks for confirming!

 

[LSUmiss]

So do we think ppl in regular resorts will be moved or cancelled?

 

[rteetz]

Heard anything about GCH DVC? With CA started Phase 3 in the next couple weeks I’d think if they have the same rules as FL DVC they could run into trouble keeping them closed... and GCH DVC is very much integrated into the GCH hotel so keeping DVC open but hotel closed could be much more awkward out here...

Not yet

 

[LSUmiss]

Also if this is the case, that’s more deception. They’re still allowing agency exclusive TAs to book regular hotel rooms. So you’re allowing ppl to book rooms, you have no intention of honoring.