Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[DGsAtBLT]

While this is a time of "expecting the unexpected," there's a difference. There was a large financial incentive for Disney to host the NBA. These rumored operational changes don't seem to make sense financially, and Disney isn't likely to implement supposed cost-saving measures if they would actually result in a net loss; it defeats the purpose.

I don’t think we know that extreme cost cutting measures like keeping entire parks closed certain days of the week wouldn’t be a gain for them. We have no idea if they are actually pulling in what they hoped to be to justify opening the way they chose to, and we also don’t know if their projections are telling them whether it remains the same, or gets worse/better.

Hence the never say never.

 

[dlavender]

I don’t think we know that extreme cost cutting measures like keeping entire parks closed certain days of the week wouldn’t be a gain for them. We have no idea if they are actually pulling in what they hoped to be to justify opening the way they chose to, and we also don’t know if their projections are telling them whether it remains the same, or gets worse/better.

Hence the never say never.

I would have never thought that after the reopening that we would see numbers like what has been suggested here, 4-6k total at MK for a day?!

That is obviously not sustainable.

I agree. I would never say never.

 

[runningstitch]

for anyone interested, I'll be live streaming from Volcano Bay at noon today and weather permitting, riding the skyliner later today

Where can I go to watch these streams? I don't see them on your FB page anymore...thanks!

 

[MrsBooch]

I see we are in the "they're going to close" phase again.

Is there anything that they can do to increase attendance and still remain responsibly opened? Or is this as simple as lack of travel confidence and in many instances, lack of being able to travel. For example - if there weren't travel restrictions or quarantines being imposed on certain parts of the states or world, do we think that the attendance would be improved?

 

[KBoopaloo]

The NFL has been planning a no bubble season but I've seen some rumblings about it from some sports reporters after the MLB debacle this week. I keep wondering if Disney might reach out and suggest the NBA bubble they already created could be used as one of multiple NFL bubble sites if they are able to delay the start of their season until after the NBA finishes in October. The NFL would need to do it more like the NHL is doing it with more than one bubble location because they have so much more personnel but you have to think they might be considering it now? If revenue is as bad as it appears to be at WDW, I bet they would be happy for the opportunity should it arise.

 

[dlavender]

I see we are in the "they're going to close" phase again.

Is there anything that they can do to increase attendance and still remain responsibly opened? Or is this as simple as lack of travel confidence and in many instances, lack of being able to travel. For example - if there weren't travel restrictions or quarantines being imposed on certain parts of the states or world, do we think that the attendance would be improved?

I think the only thing that will help is getting FL off the "hot spot" list.

Right now many people just can't or won't travel to FL.

So their pool of customers is limited to locals. And the only way to get more of them is to drastically reduce resort rates. But even that may not be enough. I don't know why they haven't tried that yet, though.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I see we are in the "they're going to close" phase again.

Is there anything that they can do to increase attendance and still remain responsibly opened? Or is this as simple as lack of travel confidence and in many instances, lack of being able to travel. For example - if there weren't travel restrictions or quarantines being imposed on certain parts of the states or world, do we think that the attendance would be improved?

I think it’s less they’re going to close and more there’s always the possibility they could roll back (like we just saw with resort opening dates).

I think if the numbers are actually low it’s a lack of desire/ability to go, which is made up of many components some virus related some not. That can’t be entirely fixed by incentives given by Disney, but I’m sure that would be enough for some. Given that all 4 parks do not sell out, and they shifted availability to APs, I think they could responsibly (provided you believe the current status quo is responsible) attract more guests.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I agree. I would never say never.

I made that mistake once. I told my wife "there is NO way they will close Disney World. It will NEVER happen."

The very next day Disney World announced it was closing.

I'm NEVER going to live that one down (I guess I still haven't learned my lesson but, in that context, I think it actually holds up).

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I made that mistake once. I told my wife "there is NO way they will close Disney World. It will NEVER happen."

The very next day Disney World announced it was closing.

I'm NEVER going to live that one down (I guess I still haven't learned my lesson but, in that context, I think it actually holds up).

I remember watching the shut downs in Italy, and reading an article about a woman who was discussing the hardships of keeping kids at home, educating them, and it just seemed so impossible for it to get THAT bad here.

We all know what happened with that, lol.

 

[Hettie]

Is there anything that they can do to increase attendance and still remain responsibly opened? Or is this as simple as lack of travel confidence and in many instances, lack of being able to travel. For example - if there weren't travel restrictions or quarantines being imposed on certain parts of the states or world, do we think that the attendance would be improved?

I would think it depends on what percentage (in normal times) of guests are frequent visitors or die-hard fans. I'm a TA and from what I saw when we were able to move bookings to 2021, the infrequent or once-in-a-lifetimers are mostly pushing their trips out until "all the things" return. They want dining plans, character meets, fireworks, parties, etc. and I think many of them will keep pushing their trips until some or most of those return. How much do those guests contribute to earnings? Hard to say, but I would guess it's a larger percentage than frequent visitors that are willing to roll with reduced offerings.

 

[mattpeto]

The NFL has been planning a no bubble season but I've seen some rumblings about it from some sports reporters after the MLB debacle this week. I keep wondering if Disney might reach out and suggest the NBA bubble they already created could be used as one of multiple NFL bubble sites if they are able to delay the start of their season until after the NBA finishes in October. The NFL would need to do it more like the NHL is doing it with more than one bubble location because they have so much more personnel but you have to think they might be considering it now? If revenue is as bad as it appears to be at WDW, I bet they would be happy for the opportunity should it arise.

The NFL in a bubble project would be extremely challenging, way more than the NHL and NBA.

32 teams, 53 man rosters, probably another 50-100 of necessary staff per team, 16 week regular season and postseason. Add Broadcasters, TV crews, Doctors, medical facilities, NFL fields (does WWW even have football fields?). Probably close to 10,000 people would have to leave their family for 4+ months. Not saying it can't be done and I'm sure the NFL would make it profitable to Disney to help them through these hard times.

It's still worth exploring because it's not likely to work without the bubble.

 

[JacknSally]

Where can I go to watch these streams? I don't see them on your FB page anymore...thanks!

@yulilin3 just started the skyliner stream.

 

[mattpeto]

I see we are in the "they're going to close" phase again.

Is there anything that they can do to increase attendance and still remain responsibly opened? Or is this as simple as lack of travel confidence and in many instances, lack of being able to travel. For example - if there weren't travel restrictions or quarantines being imposed on certain parts of the states or world, do we think that the attendance would be improved?

I definitely think more people would travel if they didn't have to bunker down at home for 10-14 days. I'd suggest that's the #1 factor of poor attendance so far...

 

[MrsBooch]

I definitely think more people would travel if they didn't have to bunker down at home for 10-14 days. I'd suggest that's the #1 factor of poor attendance so far...

i absolutely agree - I'm interested to see IF florida ever hops off the hotspot list - what that will do to the attendance numbers.

 

[Sarahslay]

You'd think though before they do that, they'd try some other things. Like resort prices are still kinda high.

I was looking at middle of the week late sept, and even with the 40% AP almost all the open resorts were $300+ a night. Not saying they go super cheap, but I personally wouldn't pay that much when I already live close by

Seriously, it does get a little bit much when everything is hundreds of dollars a night even with a discount. With how the economy is right now, not even bringing the pandemic in to play, most people just aren't willing to shell out that kind of money at the moment. I think before they start tossing out more resorts (like they just did with BWI and BC) they could try steep discounts/promotions to entice people to come. I can tell you the last thing that will help financially is drastically scalling back services and park hours more. We have 4 trips on the books between now and next summer, and I can say if they start making it so we are paying full price for even less I'm out. I've been fine with things for now, but if they make it so Epcot is a 1/4 of a park with only 2 boat rides and a few food options I won't be happy, or limiting certain parks to certain days making it even harder to get a reservation. We are spending a ton of money over the next year, I'm sure they would most certainly be happy to take it, but they won't get any of it if they do all the stuff on that list.

 

[runningstitch]

@yulilin3 just started the skyliner stream.

Thanks for the info...unfortunately, I can't get into the stream...maybe you have to be invited?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I remember watching the shut downs in Italy, and reading an article about a woman who was discussing the hardships of keeping kids at home, educating them, and it just seemed so impossible for it to get THAT bad here.

We all know what happened with that, lol.

I felt the exact same - like wow, that is pretty crazy what is happening in Italy. I mean, yeah I am sure we might get some over here but won't get that bad where the country is shut down or anything ....


... yeah, I was so naive .... and it some ways it is when Disney shut down that it felt the most real - and still crazy to think how many days WDW was closed (and Disneyland is still closed) compared to how many days in total the parks were closed prior to 2020

 

[Dentam]

I was looking at middle of the week late sept, and even with the 40% AP almost all the open resorts were $300+ a night. Not saying they go super cheap, but I personally wouldn't pay that much when I already live close by

I'd suggest keeping an eye on the dedicated DVC rentals for rent. There are over 300 for Sept on David's site. I had them take mine off and am now planning to make the trip with my dad for Labor Day week. Watching a lot of vlogs and hearing about people's experiences on here have made me feel comfortable enough to go.

On the numbers side of things, it is expected for the number of deaths to go up for awhile since those lag behind case counts. With case counts going down, we should see the death rate decreasing in FL soon as well.

 

[Jrb1979]

i absolutely agree - I'm interested to see IF florida ever hops off the hotspot list - what that will do to the attendance numbers.

A few might travel if that happens but the big thing which many will start feeling soon is lack of disposable income. Many won't be able to afford a vacation let alone a Disney one.

 

[Brianstl]

They aren’t making the money now though. Disney won’t close DVC resorts again. They are going to be very limited in any resorts they do open back up though until people start coming. So many areas have quarantine restrictions right now.

I think if Disney was exploring any of those four options mentioned on the Magic board there would have been far more TBD dates for resort openings in their only days old announcement. CBR wouldn't be opening today and they wouldn't be opening Yacht Club in just over three weeks. Those opening mean they have at least enough reservations in the system to keep operating like they are now.

Scaling back park operations even more has the likely potential to put WDW under even more financial stress. It will lead to massive cancelations of reservations and tell those on this fence about booking a trip not to come.

What they need to do is find ways to generate the most income possible from the guest they do have on site. I am shocked they have not yet brought dining plans back in some form. Dining plans are a big money makers for Disney. From all reports about restaurants at the parks/resorts, it doesn't sound like having dining plans would over stress the system. Disney would just need to make clear that dining locations are far more limited than normal.