Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Wreckem]

I am thinking of hoping on a plane and heading over tomorrow.

Yeah I wish I would have been able to move our 7 day trip to next week instead of Fourth of July week. I’m sure most of that week will be fine but I wish I could have taken advantage of the current non existent crowds.

 

[WonderlandisReality]

This portion of disboards is sponsored by the word SOON

And the letter “M”

Sorry. I could not contain myself.

 

[MrsBooch]

But when will SOON become NOW?

 

[EveDallas]

Universal updates, some of this posted previously by others: I know some of you are headed to universal. We are at UO now. I’m so glad we opted for the value resorts and didn’t spend more on the top tier for express passes bc everything was walk on all day it was just crazy. I can’t speculate on the upcoming days but if they are the same as what we experienced today I highly recommend this place. We were in IOA and US not doing VB. Everyone’s in a good mood, lots of places to cool off and take a “mask break” no wait at restaurants. They are selling masks with various themes in the corresponding area of the parks. No masks on Jurassic Park ride (once all seated) no masks in pool area or while swimming, no masks in restaurants but they do mobile ordering from the app. The app is having glitches where it doesn’t know you are in the area when you are actually inside the restaurant. This is now a “known issue” and it happened to us so they requested one party member come to the counter and order for all and pay. They do temp at resort and give you a wristband that’s good for the day. They haven’t switched the popcorn refill bucket from last year (red top, clear sand castle shape) and they have refillable mugs at the parks but not at the resorts. There are signs indicating drink machine locations. There are also signs indicating areas to cool off and wash hands. We saw many characters, minions on their vehicle out front, penguins of Madagascar, the scooby doo cast on their vehicle, transformers and more. All available for pics at a distance, the penguins even “danced” with us from afar haha. It was unreal today, felt like I had paid a lot extra to get into a special event (like EMM in the early days it was offered) but like it lasted all day, I may be ruined for theme parks after this haha!

Do you happen to know if the ice machines at the resorts are working?

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

Maybe additional conversation on mask brand and companies can be done through pm?

You are far too kind...

 

[Krandor]

But when will SOON become NOW?

SOON

 

[gottalovepluto]

And those two both have much better dining than Paradise Pier. Still perplexed by their choice to open PP before Disneyland Hotel.

DLH was like 1 month into a soft refurb of all
rooms when the music stopped out here so I am not surprised to see it last to open.

I was surprised to see PP on the list but price wise at least it’s remotely accessible compared to GCH rates... if they run it like they did SWGE preview period PP can be a good way to sell discounted rooms on the sly. We saw report after report of folks getting a call to be upgraded from PP to GCH- gratis. (They couldn’t fill GCH at what they were asking but they could fill PP so they pushed those folks to GCH so they could keeping selling PP rooms. I’m not saying that’s the play this time but it was last summer.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

We spoke to the supervisor. He said to renew now if we want to ensure that DH has access to the park reservation system (he reiterated that new expiration dates on APs will not be reflected until parks reopen on July 11).

Either he didn't understand me or I didn't understand the supervisor because we didn't really get an answer about what to do. Here's the situation:

DH's AP currently says it expires July 2, 2020. Obviously we don't know if WDW will extend APs past when the parks first reopen (extend until things are more normalized, etc), but at a minimum, his AP should have a new expiration date of at least Oct 27, 2020 (117 days that the parks are closed).
The supervisor said, "since your AP expires on July 2 and the parks don't open until July 11, you'll get 9 free days on your AP!"
I want to make sure that if we DO renew, that new AP is for Oct 27, 2020 through Oct 27, 2021 (or later). Our current AP extension should already be covered by the period from July 2 to July 11, that's not 9 "free" (extra) days we'd get by renewing like the supervisor was suggesting.
We shouldn't be penalized and miss out on the extension of DH's current AP by purchasing a renewal.

The supervisor also didn't seem to have previously considered that:
1) The park reservation system will have to be online before July 11, 2020 since that's the day parks open and how will people get into the parks without a previously-made reservation?;
2) That if AP expiration dates aren't extended (reflected in MDE) before parks open on July 11, a whole bunch of people could miss out on being able to make park reservations.

Frustrating, to say the least.

Wow. Another example of “better pay us now and everything will work out” this time coming to you from a freaking Supervisor! *Facepalm*

 

[Krandor]

DLH was like 1 month into a soft refurb of all
rooms when the music stopped out here so I am not surprised to see it last to open.

Agree on DLH. Like we talked about on here in regards to Epcot if they can work on DLH if they can work on things without having to worry about noise waking up guess they can get a lot more done a lot quicker. Run 2-3 shifts and be able to run a jackhammer at 2am with no issues and the project can move forward quicker.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I wonder if it's so they can continue work on the DLH - I think they are adding DVC to it.

No. That’s still in the drawing board/approval process.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Wow. Another example of “better pay us now and everything will work out” this time coming to you from a freaking Supervisor! *Facepalm*

Yeah, even though we do want to ultimately renew his AP, we'd rather do it at the end of October (when the current should be extended to) and keep the ~thousand dollars in our bank account until then. I'm partially worried about renewing now to safeguard our chances of obtaining park reservations, having the new expiration date say July 11, 2021, and spending valuable vacation time with guest relations trying to get things sorted out.

 

[disneyfan150]

Yeah I wish I would have been able to move our 7 day trip to next week instead of Fourth of July week. I’m sure most of that week will be fine but I wish I could have taken advantage of the current non existent crowds.

I was joking when I first talked about heading out tomorrow. But the more I think about it and the more irritated I get waiting on Disney, I might just take a little trip. I was originally booked for Disney on July 5th. I rebooked for August and hope we make it. I agree with you, the low crowd level sounds great!

 

[Jothmas]

DH just called the AP line, he said the CM initially told him the same thing (that the new expiration dates will be not reflected until the parks reopen). We're on hold now while she speaks to her supervisor for more information.

ETA: Nope, clear as mud. We spoke to the supervisor and he said to just renew the AP right now if we want to make sure that DH has access to the park reservation system as soon as it opens.

I wonder if it will be like FP+, where you could call and get a FP planning key card added for the specific days needed after an AP expired. Maybe it will be handled similarly on case-by-case basis. It's so ridiculously inefficient, especially now that a firm date has been set for reopening.

 

[Makmak]

Do you happen to know if the ice machines at the resorts are working?

We do have an ice bucket in our room with liners and all but I’ve not checked the actual machines ...I’ll have a look today.

 

[EveDallas]

We do have an ice bucket in our room with liners and all but I’ve not checked the actual machines ...I’ll have a look today.

Thank you!

 

[New Mouse]

I wonder if it will be like FP+, where you could call and get a FP planning key card added for the specific days needed after an AP expired. Maybe it will be handled similarly on case-by-case basis. It's so ridiculously inefficient, especially now that a firm date has been set for reopening.

Ultimately they just need to extend APs for a year. They are too concerned about the profit, when right now they should be fighting to make the experience seamless for their most loyal customers.

 

[Minniefan18]

Wow. Another example of “better pay us now and everything will work out” this time coming to you from a freaking Supervisor! *Facepalm*

I found this on the disneyworld website. The answer depends on if you paid in full or paid monthly.
If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:
All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.
As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.

If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan:
On April 5, 2020, we automatically stopped and will waive monthly payments due while the theme parks are closed. We will also retroactively refund payments made between March 14 through April 4, 2020. Payments will resume on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment dates once the parks reopen. Please note, pass expiration dates will not be extended and passes will expire upon their originally scheduled expiration dates.
As an alternative, Guests who are paying for Walt Disney World Annual Passes using our monthly payment program may choose to have their monthly payments postponed starting with payments due April 5, 2020 through the park closure period, and then resumed on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment date once the parks reopen. Postponed payments will be collected in the months following the end of the Passholder’s currently scheduled payment term. The pass will be extended the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the theme parks. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.

 

[Jacq7414]

Is it possible that the CM was thinking of the cabins at Wilderness Lodge?

I can’t tell you how many times I have had to correct friends that Ft Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge is different.

Same. When we stayed at the WL people were like “oh it’s so nice there. I went camping there as a kid.” No not the same.
On a side note, I’d LOVE to stay at the cabins at WL. They look so fun

 

[Leigh L]

Here we are waiting on Disney for August, and I just got an email the airline just canceled our flights...erg.
So we continue to wait...lol. In the meantime, do I rebook with another airline (I took the refund with this one) or wait? I feel like it's so close to finding out with Disney I want to hang on to this trip.
This was not a wrinkle I had been thinking about. I understand with current travel environment it'll happen, it just wasn't on my radar today

EDIT: I impulsively just booked 4 round trip flights for $260 total on JetBlue. If these JetBlue flights get canceled or we need to change, credits are good for 24 months as long as I booked by June 30. It all worked out for an even better price, better flight times, and a more preferred airline!

 

[mcmry5]

Here we are waiting on Disney for August, and I just got an email the airline just canceled our flights...erg.
So we continue to wait...lol. In the meantime, do I rebook with another airline (I took the refund with this one) or wait? I feel like it's so close to finding out with Disney I want to hang on to this trip.
This was not a wrinkle I had been thinking about. I understand with current travel environment it'll happen, it just wasn't on my radar today

Not sure if Southwest is an option where you live, but we have had great success with them. Their cancellation policies have always been great-- they never charge a change fee (if there's a price difference, you have to pay that, but if it's a lower cost, they actually give you credit back). You can cancel up to ten minutes before your flight departure and get future flight credit. Because of all this craziness, we adjusted our flights back in March and they gave us so much credit back that the credit paid for our flights out to WDW in July!

Anyway, that might be worth looking into if you know you will be flying to WDW at some point!