Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[WonderlandisReality]

I got the email for a AOA stay. August 15-29. Deadline for response was 7/16. When I confirmed I was still planning on coming it said (paraphrasing) they would reach out if they needed to move us.

This feels like running a gauntlet to confirm that we want to go and the DL news feels like mid March deja vu.

 

[gottalovepluto]

View attachment 503945

Cue that awkward moment leaving Disney with egg on its face... I really don’t think DLR expected the union pushback nor the CA cases rising.

 

[Mit88]

It does have to sting for Disney because I’m sure reopening on the 65th anniversary was something special. And now they will have to be closed altogether

 

[JenBush]

I guess I’m glad I still have my backup Universal vacation booked in case WDW decides to delay reopening last minute :/ I thought for sure I was going to WDW after successfully booking theme park reservations and sitting on hold for over 10 hours to get my hotel reservation fixed. Now, I’m not so sure.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I guess I’m glad I still have my backup Universal vacation booked in case WDW decides to delay reopening last minute :/ I thought for sure I was going to WDW after successfully booking theme park reservations and sitting on hold for over 10 hours to get my hotel reservation fixed. Now, I’m not so sure.

Im not sure anyone can be completely sure of their trip until they’re checking out of the resort at this point

 

[kylenne]

Disney will say we did something that stopped us from getting the email.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se

 

[Mit88]

Im not sure anyone can be completely sure of their trip until they’re checking out of the resort at this point

You cant even enjoy a socially distant weekend by yourself on discovery island without your vacation being interrupted

 

[chicagoshannon]

Cue that awkward moment leaving Disney with egg on its face... I really don’t think DLR expected the union pushback nor the CA cases rising.

You would have thought they cleared it with the union before announcing.

 

[runjulesrun]

I got the following email from Disney about the same time as everyone else. It does not specify my trip dates or give me a button to confirm. It tells me to contact my TA which in this case is myself, lol. Interestingly, on the TA side, I have received no instruction from Disney as to how to confirm my client's reservations. If I weren't on DIS, I would probably be kind of lost.

Returning to a World of Magic​

Though some of our experiences have changed, the magic never fades. It never wavers. And it’s still waiting for you to come and experience it. That’s why we are excited about your upcoming Disney Resort hotel stay. ‌ But to help you confirm if now is still the right time for your visit, please review the following operational updates and contact your Travel Professional to confirm, modify or cancel your upcoming visit. ‌ Here are a few of the changes: ‌ HEALTH AND WELL-BEING MEASURES While visiting Walt Disney World Resort, all Guests ages 2 and older—along with all Cast Members—will be required to wear face coverings. To learn more about this and other measures we have put in place, visit here. ‌ THEME PARKS & EXPERIENCES As a reminder, Magic Kingdom® Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Park are scheduled to reopen on July 11 followed by EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios® on July 15. To help manage attendance, we’re introducing Disney Park Pass service, a new Theme Park reservation system. All our Guests (including Guests of Disney Resort hotels) will need to make a reservation to enter the Theme Parks. Please be aware that you’ll first need a My Disney Experience account and a valid Theme Park ticket or pass linked to it to use the system. Park reservations are limited in capacity, subject to availability and are not guaranteed. Please check the Theme Park Reservation calendar prior to confirming your Resort stay. Guests will be able to select one Park per day. Visiting more than one Park per day will be temporarily unavailable. At this time, new ticket sales are temporarily paused. For more information on Theme Parks and tickets, please visit here. Disney Springs® is currently in a phased reopening with many retail and dining locations ready to welcome you. For more information on Disney Springs®, please visit here. ‌ RESORTS Many Disney Resort hotel benefits and amenities may be temporarily unavailable. Select Disney Resort hotels are currently planned to reopen in a phased approach. Check here for the latest details. ‌ If you have a reservation at a Disney Resort hotel that won’t be open during your travel dates, your Travel Professional can help you modify it. And if you have a room and Theme Park ticket package, your Travel Professional can help modify that too. ‌ DINING During your stay, dining locations and experiences may be limited to manage capacity and foster physical distancing. To learn more about important dining details, visit here. ‌ TRANSPORTATION Resort transportation around property will be available in limited capacity to allow for physical distancing. Also, if you are arriving via Orlando International Airport, you may still take advantage of Disney’s Magical Express Service. Details here. ‌ We know a stay here during this time will be different. But the world needs magic now more than ever. And we can’t wait to have you here with us. Hope to see you real soon! ‌ Please contact your Travel Professional by July 1, 2020 to learn more about your options.​

 

[DGsAtBLT]

You cant even enjoy a socially distant weekend by yourself on discovery island without your vacation being interrupted

Disney has become SO over the top about all of this

 

[Ryan King]

Just checked my August 3rd reservation for the Poly...and it’s changed to the Contemporary. I was hoping it would just get switched to the DVC side of the Poly. I wasn’t sure we’d be going either way, but I guess this is my sign to cancel. Sigh...

The DVC side looks pretty full, so maybe that’s why.

 

[kylenne]

The DVC side looks pretty full, so maybe that’s why.

I saw on someone’s vlog who was there yesterday (I think it was Prince Charming Dev?) that they’re doing social distancing with the actual guest rooms too. So they won’t put two different parties next to each other.

 

[RWinNOLA]

I spoke to soon Check your email I just got one from Disney @ 8:01pm to confirm that I will still be going for my Labor Day trip. I need to confirm by 8/5/2020. I’m DVC so I confirmed. This was the blurb about the park reservation system which isn’t written very well.

THEME PARKS & EXPERIENCES
As a reminder, Magic Kingdom® Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Park are scheduled to reopen on July 11 followed by EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios® on July 15.
‌
To help manage attendance, we’re introducing Disney Park Pass service, a new Theme Park reservation system. All our Guests (including Guests of Disney Resort hotels) will need to make a reservation to enter the Theme Parks. Please be aware that you’ll first need a My Disney Experience account and a valid Theme Park ticket or pass linked to it to use the system. Park reservations are limited in capacity, subject to availability and are not guaranteed. Please check the Theme Park Reservation calendarprior to confirming your Resort stay. Guests will be able to select one Park per day. Visiting more than one Park per day will be temporarily unavailable.

At this time, new ticket sales are temporarily paused.

For more information on Theme Parks and tickets, please visit here.
‌
Disney Springs® is currently in a phased reopening with many retail and dining locations ready to welcome you. For more information on locations open at Disney Springs®, please visit here.

Nope. Didn’t get it. Like I said, I received the initial e-mail on 5/29 about priority to book theme park reservations but not a single e-mail from Disney since.

I was able to make my park reservations and everything looks in order on MDE but for some reason I have stopped receiving e-mails. Guess I will need to keep stalking this thread to make sure I don’t miss anything really important.

 

[Krandor]

Maybe spacing people around the resort more than they typically would in general to lessen hallway crowds and elevator backups where applicable?

My guess is it’s something they do while they have lower occupancy and can do it without much trouble .

If capacity is low then no reason not to but on the DVC side they can't reduce capacity overall. if DVC members want to reserve 100% of the rooms they have to allow it. If you are not at 100% then sure spread people out.

 

[Sunnywho]

I saw on someone’s vlog who was there yesterday (I think it was Prince Charming Dev?) that they’re doing social distancing with the actual guest rooms too. So they won’t put two different parties next to each other.

I suppose if doors are close like they are in some values, you would have people potentially within six feet of each other when coming or going. I also read that some hotels unrelated to Disney are letting a room sit overnight and not booking guests into a room that was just vacated in case the virus lingers in the air. It's easy to do that if the hotel is empty enough.

 

[mattpeto]

Sitting here worried that DW closing is also now imminent seems really selfish and shallow of me that I feel like that, but I can’t help it either.

It just feels like we are turning the corner, when the 4 gates are opened. We will get there...

 

[LSUmiss]

Disney will say we did something that stopped us from getting the email.

They basically have told me this when I told them before I wasn’t getting the emails.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

If capacity is low then no reason not to but on the DVC side they can't reduce capacity overall. if DVC members want to reserve 100% of the rooms they have to allow it. If you are not at 100% then sure spread people out.

I know they can’t, that’s why I said while occupancy is low. Probably pretty easy to keep up right now. Great time to request the perfect room too lol.

 

[FatBambi]

Sitting here worried that DW closing is also now imminent seems really selfish and shallow of me that I feel like that, but I can’t help it either.

It just feels like we are turning the corner, when the 4 gates are opened. We will get there...

It doesn't sound like DL was nearly as far along in their reopening process as WDW is, and the local government in Florida is really supportive of Disney opening and/or making their own decisions. There are a lot of things moving and in place to suddenly dead halt and backtrack with guests and CMs both. I'm remaining hopeful and trying to ignore the anxiety in the pit of my stomach.

 

[AmberMV]

It will return. They make too much money on it, and invested too much money in it (see GDT CL) to kill it. Imho it will not return in its old form until COVID is at bay. It could definitely return in a pseudo format if they have enough demand, where conference rooms are used or something if the lounge isn’t big enough, lounges that can utilize outdoor air get set up for that (although FL weather won’t be too friendly to that unless they have awnings to block rain), individual plates or CMs serving and manning things like alcohol and espresso machine- you know, COVID aware methods.

But- they still need the demand to make it work. Maybe they open a couple CL and see how it goes?

I booked a CL for Jan 2021