Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Bibbobboo2u]

but I'm sure there is language in there that the tickets don't guarantee you entry into any park

The current promo page for an AP states that admission is not guaranteed and is subject to capacity and other closures, but they can't just take your money and give you nothing in return. Your purchase of tickets is an exchange of money for another thing of value. They sell the tickets, and they know their capacity limits. We don't. We buy in good faith under the belief that a ticket is for park entry, not maybe for park entry (or I guess we are really buying in blind faith, choosing to ignore the fine print). Is a park ticket/AP now going to be relegated to a mere lottery ticket that might get you the chance to compete to gain entry to a park? I sure hope not, but it seems like it might be.

 

[rteetz]

There's one BIG story I think we've all missed today: Goofy's Candy Co. reopened!!!

(As did SW Galactic Outpost, DisneyStyle, Pin Traders, Ever After Jewelers, and Marvel Super Hero HQ)

And Candy Cauldron

 

[Randy Miller]

Why is Jambo a good choice? I don't know much about AKL. TIA

Might not be a good choice for everyone, but the pool is zero entry ( we have 2 special medical needs little dudes we would be bringing) they would enjoy just being at the resort being able to see the animals, it seems that great food options will be available... Sanaa, Jiko and Mara. We “really” picked YC because, well we love it, and SAB. It was our “back up” plan for something to do when there was going to be less park time, I think AKL Jambo would lend itself well to this also

 

[DisneyEater]

I am somewhat one of those folks. I'm okay with no parades, fireworks, meet and greets, and even TS dining. If my kids were still little or it was our first trip, then I'd wait. But since we have been several times and my kids are older (14 and almost 11), the other stuff, while nice and we enjoy, we are okay with missing out on. For me, the thing that would cause me to cancel because of the loss of value is if attractions are closed. I would hate to pay all of that money and have some shows or rides closed.

Yeah. We go for rides and food. If the lines are shorter because of lower capacity, that's a bonus for us.

I'd prefer everything back to normal, but we are happy to go either way if we can.

 

[disneyfan150]

Might it be a good choice for everyone, but the pool is zero entry ( we have 2 special medical needs little dudes we would be bringing) they would enjoy just being at the resort being able to see the animals, it seems that great food options will be available... Sanaa, Jiko and Mara. We “really” picked YC because, well we love it, and SAB. It was our “back up” plan for something to do when there was going to be less park time, I think AKL Jambo would lend itself well to this also

Thanks! I have a reservation for August at YC, so I was wondering.

 

[CrimsonRave]

What we are looking forward to most? Well when we went to DL we went for a quick 3 day trip.... This time we planned 5 days, just gives us more time to walk round and discover everything!

 

[Eric Smith]

So I have seen no communication from Disney since their sudden announcement to cancel all ADRs. I don’t count that silly communication drop this morning: thanks Disney, you are going to clean my room before I check in.

It makes me wonder if it wasn’t for the DVC points debacle if they would even be thinking of opening in July? Would they wait til end of year or even later to see what the second wave looked like and to get their ducks in a row.

This is silly. Disney wasn't going to leave their parks closed for the rest of the year. Chapek said in the MSNBC interview that they would open the parks if they could produce a positive contribution which means that they wouldn't lose as much money with the parks open as they were then the parks were closed

But opening even to DVC resorts causes an awful lot of questions around annual passes, park hopping etc. Before the complete blackout we saw them make several announcements then walk them back or even just delete them without explanation. It really makes me think: maybe the news blackout isn’t planned, maybe they actually can’t figure out the logistics of opening.

I don't think they have every detail planned out, but they're opening the parks in over a month so that's ok. This is a very complicated problem.

Annual passes: do you extend all annual passes and essentially give those that are lucky enough to get a reservation free days in the park? If you don’t then those that can’t get reservations have been impacted negatively. And if you do those that don’t get the freebies will be mad. I know a Pass isn’t a guaranteed admission but the expectation we all bought with was that denial of park privileges was under extraordinary circumstances like on Christmas Day when the park was literally full. Even then you could go to another park. It wasn’t bought with the expectation that it merely gave you a chance of entering a lottery to maybe get into a park on a particular day.

They did exactly this in Shanghai. I don't think they'll start the clock on APs on July 11 or 15. I think they'll start the clock once they reliably have excess availability in the parks.

Hoppers is another issue. People paid extra expecting to be allowed to hop. It could be argued that many people wouldn’t have bought their passes at all if they couldn’t hop. Refunding the difference or days of nonentry isn’t really good enough if a vacation is completely ruined. I’m not a lawyer but this sounds like a legal issue to me. And not everyone can simply travel in a few months so holding their money isn’t a good policy either.

They'll refund the hopper portion of the tickets. They're not going to keep that money.

Another thought I have is: Perhaps they they do know how to do it but can’t get the software to work. It would make sense to push off a launch day announcement if the software isn’t working. But at what point do they push out their start date if they have to keep banging away at the software?

I’d love to hear others thoughts.

Remy has said that they're having trouble getting the reservation system to work. He did say they have some backup plans.

 

[DisneyEater]

Why is Jambo a good choice? I don't know much about AKL. TIA

I think Jambo is probably the best resort, but I don't like staying there due to location. Location of BC/YC/BW is too good to beat.

 

[Arguetafamily]

Why is Jambo a good choice? I don't know much about AKL. TIA

IMO the beautiful expansive check in area "lobby", Kidani has a "normal" small hotel lobby style. The access to the QS restaurants and AYCE restaurant. The gift shop is larger and nicer. Feels more fancy Deluxe Disney hotel.

Edit: I thought you were asking of the two AK resorts, sorry. My kids love looking at the animals and the surroundings. We love the food options and the resort extras like the safari's.

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

This isn’t every page of survey but had the main points.

Looks like it posted from Left to right, then down to the next row.

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Did anyone notice that everything says "temporarily suspended" other than FP+, which says "suspended"??
Edit: One section says "suspended" for FP+ but another says "temporarily suspended." I really think someone at Disney is trying to mess with us.

 

[Randy Miller]

Thanks! I have a reservation for August at YC, so I was wondering.

YC, with SAB and Hurricane Hannas, would be my very first choice...but, I am just wondering if we will get “walked” to BCV with no SAB.....
So, I’m trying to think of an alternative, just in case!

 

[Eric Smith]

It's definitely going to be a unique and HOPEFULLY once in a lifetime experience. If I lived closer I would go.

It'll at least be a story in the future that we went to Disney World during the COVID restriction days.

 

[tarak]

I am somewhat one of those folks. I'm okay with no parades, fireworks, meet and greets, and even TS dining. If my kids were still little or it was our first trip, then I'd wait. But since we have been several times and my kids are older (14 and almost 11), the other stuff, while nice and we enjoy, we are okay with missing out on. For me, the thing that would cause me to cancel because of the loss of value is if attractions are closed. I would hate to pay all of that money and have some shows or rides closed.

We are, too. We've been so many times, we don't really worry about fireworks or M&G. Table service is only important if it's a restaurant they really enjoy. The lack of park hopping bothers me. We usually stay at an Epcot resort so we can enjoy the World Showcase at night. One trip, my husband wandered over to get breakfast in France while everyone else slept in. Those are the things I'll miss. On the other hand, every single trip and plan over the last four months and the next three have been cancelled (including college tours with my oldest daughter). I suspect we'll jump at the chance to enjoy Disney in November.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

They did exactly this in Shanghai. I don't think they'll start the clock on APs on July 11 or 15. I think they'll start the clock once they reliably have excess availability in the parks.

I didn’t think they would start then, but I’m slightly less confident now. I worry we’re going to have to make a decision regarding refund or extension before we know with certainty how they will be extending it, and because they don’t have solid (Publicly released) plans they won’t be able to work with those of us who need it individually.

Hoping that they’ll have more concrete AP info once they open the reservation system and we have a clearer picture what that looks like, so we can all make informed decisions.

 

[Anthony Vito]

Why is Jambo a good choice? I don't know much about AKL. TIA

Might not be a good choice for everyone, but the pool is zero entry ( we have 2 special medical needs little dudes we would be bringing) they would enjoy just being at the resort being able to see the animals, it seems that great food options will be available... Sanaa, Jiko and Mara. We “really” picked YC because, well we love it, and SAB. It was our “back up” plan for something to do when there was going to be less park time, I think AKL Jambo would lend itself well to this also

What he said . . . we've been intrigued by AKL for a while, but a big negative for us is the all bus transportation and not being close to parks like the Epcot resorts or the MK resorts. I think our kids would love seeing the animals all the time (although I'm worried about it smelling more in the summer), and the pools are supposed to be nice. With the current situation and the parks not being as important as normal so planning on more resort time, some of the usual downsides aren't as relevant. Plus, we're actually considering driving if we do go, since this seems like the perfect time to give it a try (it's a 14+ hour drive, so we're very much on the fence on that part as well). If we have a car, that reduces the distance/bus factor even more. I honestly hadn't thought about it until today, but now that I am thinking about it - it's very intriguing.

 

[teeeera]

This isn’t every page of survey but had the main points.

Looks like it posted from Left to right, then down to the next row.

View attachment 500220View attachment 500221View attachment 500222View attachment 500223View attachment 500224View attachment 500225View attachment 500226View attachment 500227View attachment 500228

I am getting a strong “WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DO TO GET YOU $?**|!#£{|>$;!,$; TO CANCEL?!” vibe from this survey

 

[SaintsManiac]

What he said . . . we've been intrigued by AKL for a while, but a big negative for us is the all bus transportation and not being close to parks like the Epcot resorts or the MK resorts. I think our kids would love seeing the animals all the time (although I'm worried about it smelling more in the summer), and the pools are supposed to be nice. With the current situation and the parks not being as important as normal so planning on more resort time, some of the usual downsides aren't as relevant. Plus, we're actually considering driving if we do go, since this seems like the perfect time to give it a try (it's a 14+ hour drive, so we're very much on the fence on that part as well). If we have a car, that reduces the distance/bus factor even more. I honestly hadn't thought about it until today, but now that I am thinking about it - it's very intriguing.

It doesn’t smell bad. Stayed there last July and it was heavenly. Spent a rainy day at the resort and loved it. We had our car and went to eat at Burger Fi and shop at Target. Both were minutes away.
Savannah view is worth every penny.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I never get these surveys. I feel like my account is in the "Nah, it's all good. We can do pretty much whatever we want and still get her money" pile.

...and sadly they are not entirely wrong

#ihaveaproblem

 

[woody337]

I never get these surveys. I feel like my account is in the "Nah, it's all good. We can do pretty much whatever we want and still get her money" pile.

...and sadly they are not entirely wrong

#ihaveaproblem

I'm with you on that. I didnt get one at all and I go in 39 days

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

I am getting a strong “WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DO TO GET YOU $?**|!#£{|>$;!,$; TO CANCEL?!” vibe from this survey

They really don't want to have to be the bad guys and cancel guests after they have opened. It would not look magical at all and would generate some bad PR because there would most definitely be a "pecking order" that we would quickly figure out and discuss here. Cancellations to date have been "across the board", but after they open, that won't be the case. If Disney has to cancel guests after opening, they will end up creating winners and losers, which is a PR nightmare waiting to happen. Our reservations later in the year are at a moderate, so we would likely be in the latter group.