Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[FrankieWinthrop]

I think there are a host of reasons (financial, quarantine requirements, masks, caution and/or fear, reduced experiences (entertainment, resorts, restaurants), etc) why a lot of people aren't going to WDW right now. (And I'd guess they for most people, it's a combination of reasons.) I just know that among people I know, many are still traveling, they're just buying expensive motor homes and going to national parks. I also think wider advertising would help (maybe targeted advertising?), but as many have mentioned, that would probably get a lot of bad press.

We've done nearly 4 weeks of traveling since Corona hit. We used that stimulus money to take advantage of the cheap beach condos and one last week at Windsor Hills. We're lucky ones that have seen no ill effects from Covid since both my husband and I already work remotely. Our jobs kept trucking like normal and are flexible enough that we can work from where ever we are. I'd use a few days here and a few days there for different weeks and work the other days on the condo balcony looking at the ocean. We've become quite adept at backing a spare monitor! We did Disney last week after we were able to grab 3 days in the AP drop two weeks ago. We picked up an additional day each night and ended up with 5 park days. We also did 2 days at Universal (just DH and me) while we were with my parents at Daytona Beach Shores.

I never felt too close to anyone at Disney. Even rope dropping DHS for MMRR and RotR. We were the only ones through our touch point, walked to MMRR and got in line. I even made the comment to my DH that if you took a picture, we might LOOK close to people, but they were more than 6 feet away on all sides.

We're "green light" people. We're taking precautions, but still doing life. My kids are actually at Vacation Bible School right now. A local church is doing small VBSes in many different neighborhoods for 2 hours over 3 days.

 

[hereforthechurros]

The only deals they have are for APs and Florida residents if I remember correctly.

I don’t think they are trying to prevent FL residents. If they were concerned about FL’s numbers to the point of being concerned with larger number of locals coming, I think they would just be closed.

Okay so they're cool with new money Floridians! Kidding, your point is valid. But it does leave us all to wonder what the deal is with keeping AP blackout dates and AP days limited if they're hurting for attendance. I happen to believe they aren't hurting much for attendance, this limited capacity period was by design and it's only been what, 2.5 weeks of being open?

 

[WorldOfPooh]

Okay so now news dropped yet this more

Okay so they're cool with new money Floridians! Kidding, your point is valid. But it does leave us all to wonder what the deal is with keeping AP blackout dates and AP days limited if they're hurting for attendance. I happen to believe they aren't hurting much for attendance, this limited capacity period was by design and it's only been what, 2.5 weeks of being open?

There IT system probably can't change the AP blackout dates. Everytime they try to make a change they gets a sorry something went wrong screen with Stitch.

 

[hereforthechurros]

I don't understand why Disney doesn't actually drop the hotel prices if they are hurting for business. They offered the 40% off to AP's but the rates are not even as low as I booked last year on an AP discount - and last year I had all the full amenities of the resort! With the limited amenities and reduced staff needs, you would think they would actually offer a discounted rate on rooms to fill them.

We want to book rooms 2 weekends in August and I just can't pull the trigger on their prices. Swan might get my business with their AP discount. Even with parking and resort fee, it's still cheaper than the "discounted" Pop room!

Seems there is some hesitation with enticing new visitors during this time. AP and local discounts make sense because those people are already there and/or invested. Drawing new guests to a hotspot during an exploding global pandemic has to be frowned upon PR wise.

 

[Mit88]

Okay so they're cool with new money Floridians! Kidding, your point is valid. But it does leave us all to wonder what the deal is with keeping AP blackout dates and AP days limited if they're hurting for attendance. I happen to believe they aren't hurting much for attendance, this limited capacity period was by design and it's only been what, 2.5 weeks of being open?

But what if what we think as “hurting for attendance” is actually right around what Disney wanted? We can’t have it both ways. Busy parks, more money, less safety. Dead parks, less money, more safety.

Cuts can be made, and money will be there in the future. Maybe they're not as concerned as we’re all making them out to be with the lack of attendance? If they were as panicked as we’ve all assumed they are, they would certainly have made changes to entice the ticket buying audience, would they not? $200 a night at a value resort isnt going to pull in people. $120 tickets with no park hopping, no M&G, no fireworks, no parades isnt going to pull in people.

Disney hasn’t gotten to the position of power and fame they’re currently at out of luck. They make calculated decisions, and not wanting to overcrowd the parks in the middle of a pandemic seems like another one

 

[hereforthechurros]

But what if what we think as “hurting for attendance” is actually right around what Disney wanted? We can’t have it both ways. Busy parks, more money, less safety. Dead parks, less money, more safety.

Cuts can be made, and money will be there in the future. Maybe they're not as concerned as we’re all making them out to be with the lack of attendance? If they were as panicked as we’ve all assumed they are, they would certainly have made changes to entice the ticket buying audience, would they not? $200 a night at a value resort isnt going to pull in people. $120 tickets with no park hopping, no M&G, no fireworks, no parades isnt going to pull in people.

Disney hasn’t gotten to the position of power and fame they’re currently at out of luck. They make calculated decisions, and not wanting to overcrowd the parks in the middle of a pandemic seems like another one

The rest of my post went on to say I actually don't believe they're hurting much for attendance...

 

[Mit88]

The rest of my post went on to say I actually don't believe they're hurting much for attendance...

I quoted you to essentially add on to what you were saying, not to dispute

 

[mattpeto]

They need put Mulan on VOD and start reclaiming some revenue.

Movies theaters are cooked for a while.

 

[Mit88]

They need put Mulan on VOD and start reclaiming some revenue.

Movies theaters are cooked for a while.

They’d need to make $800,000,000 on VOD in order to just break even. Very, very, very slim chance Mulan comes to VOD. There are also contracts in place that these movies need to meet a theatrical window in order to drop on VOD/Streaming. Hence why New Mutants continues to try and release in theaters

 

[AmberMV]

They’d need to make $800,000,000 on VOD in order to just break even. Very, very, very slim chance Mulan comes to VOD. There are also contracts in place that these movies need to meet a theatrical window in order to drop on VOD/Streaming. Hence why New Mutants continues to try and release in theaters

Wait, are you saying Mulan cost them almost 1 billion dollars to make? That can't be right

 

[Mit88]

Wait, are you saying Mulan cost them almost 1 billion dollars to make? That can't be right

Its not just the shooting budget that goes into account. Marketing costs a ton. The money that theaters pay them to screen the movie, paying the cast and crew, etc.

 

[Jrb1979]

But what if what we think as “hurting for attendance” is actually right around what Disney wanted? We can’t have it both ways. Busy parks, more money, less safety. Dead parks, less money, more safety.

Cuts can be made, and money will be there in the future. Maybe they're not as concerned as we’re all making them out to be with the lack of attendance? If they were as panicked as we’ve all assumed they are, they would certainly have made changes to entice the ticket buying audience, would they not? $200 a night at a value resort isnt going to pull in people. $120 tickets with no park hopping, no M&G, no fireworks, no parades isnt going to pull in people.

Disney hasn’t gotten to the position of power and fame they’re currently at out of luck. They make calculated decisions, and not wanting to overcrowd the parks in the middle of a pandemic seems like another one

I disagree. I think they were hoping to have reservations full for just about every day. Outside of DHS parks aren't full and spots are available. There is a reason day tickets are available and they have opened more spots for AP holders. They are in a hard place right now as they need more people in the parks but they don't want to discount much as they don't want to PR from encouraging people to travel when the numbers are bad. What Disney needs to happen is for cases and deaths to drop dramatically quickly.

 

[Mit88]

“Tenet” cost around $225 million to produce and “Mulan” had a budget of $200 million. Add on marketing costs, which are usually around half of the production budget, “Tenet” will need to achieve $350 million in ticket sales just to break even and “Mulan” would need around $300 million. It’s unclear if either film would be able to reap a fraction of that from the U.S.


This is if they released both movies in theaters. The reason the 800,000,000 comes into play is due to the $20 price tag of renting the movie, and larger families/groups of friends that would typically pay $15-$20 per ticket are now getting to see the movie for much, much cheaper depending on the family/group size.

 

[Mit88]

I disagree. I think they were hoping to have reservations full for just about every day. Outside of DHS parks aren't full and spots are available. There is a reason day tickets are available and they have opened more spots for AP holders. They are in a hard place right now as they need more people in the parks but they don't want to discount much as they don't want to PR from encouraging people to travel when the numbers are bad. What Disney needs to happen is for cases and deaths to drop dramatically quickly.

Day tickets were set to go on sale regardless. They said so in their initial proposal of the parks reopening. “Individual Tickets will be made available later in the summer”. They never said when they’d release, they could have released them exactly when they planned to all along.

Disney has never stated that they hoped to fill capacity at the parks every day in the middle of Florida being a hot spot. Dissuading non-locals with a lack of money-saving offers, and even emails basically asking people to push their trips back say the contrary

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I am going to give my opinion which I am SURE will be slaughtered but here goes.....

I think Disney will make some cuts but I do not believe they will close the parks. I suspect they may open up park hopping to Epcot 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs) to encourage spending on Food/Bev/Shopping. I think Epcot has the least appeal entertainment-wise and most appeal Food/Bev-wise. When visitors have the restriction of no park hopping they are going to choose a different park for entertainment thus leaving Epcot empty. DS is overrun in the evening because visitors wishing to stay in the bubble but leave their resort have no other choice for the evening hours. Visitors with cars may choose to go off property to spend their evening dollars or go to a local store to buy beverages/food and stay in their rooms.

 

[anthony2k7]

And if you don't have one? I doubt a lot of local APs use magic bands.

I'm just curious. I don't think Disney would differentiate between being at a park the entire day or just for an hour - they would just say "hey, you used your AP". (if they are even doing that)

Well there are the basics like they know when you last used your AP for merch/dining discount vs your entry time.

Then there are other things they could be doing but it has never been officially confirmed if they do or don't.... like facial recognition on park entry and again on exit.

 

[MrsBooch]

We're "green light" people.

What does this mean?

 

[Mit88]

https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program/mem...ited-time-30-merchandise-discount-for-members

 

[anthony2k7]

But what if what we think as “hurting for attendance” is actually right around what Disney wanted?

Didn't andyman8 say yesterday that they weren't happy with attendance? I generally believe him, he seems to know what he's talking about.

 

[tlmadden73]

We've done nearly 4 weeks of traveling since Corona hit. We used that stimulus money to take advantage of the cheap beach condos and one last week at Windsor Hills. We're lucky ones that have seen no ill effects from Covid since both my husband and I already work remotely. Our jobs kept trucking like normal and are flexible enough that we can work from where ever we are. I'd use a few days here and a few days there for different weeks and work the other days on the condo balcony looking at the ocean. We've become quite adept at backing a spare monitor! We did Disney last week after we were able to grab 3 days in the AP drop two weeks ago. We picked up an additional day each night and ended up with 5 park days. We also did 2 days at Universal (just DH and me) while we were with my parents at Daytona Beach Shores.

I never felt too close to anyone at Disney. Even rope dropping DHS for MMRR and RotR. We were the only ones through our touch point, walked to MMRR and got in line. I even made the comment to my DH that if you took a picture, we might LOOK close to people, but they were more than 6 feet away on all sides.

We're "green light" people. We're taking precautions, but still doing life. My kids are actually at Vacation Bible School right now. A local church is doing small VBSes in many different neighborhoods for 2 hours over 3 days.

This .. my family just went on a mini-vacation to the mountains .. doing mainly outdoor activities, but I felt safe. I mean most (including us) are taking precautions and just have to remember not EVERYONE around you has it. We went to Tweetsie Railroad (opened with just the train ride, no amusement attractions, but at a severely reduced ticket price ($10). We went to a zoo, an apple orchard and hiking int he mountains. It felt normal and nice, the only frustrating part is the unknown and inconsistency of restrictions at places. Do you need a reservation? Does a hotel serve a decent breakfast? etc. etc.

We were seriously tempted to just extend our vacation and head south and go to Disney despite the heat and mask requirements. We did okay going to our zoo and Tweetsie .. though the temps are a bit cooler in the mountains.

Still are tempted for later in the summer or early fall .. the only thing holding me back is either "wasting" or existing tickets (that have hoppers) for a reduced experience and the inability to get APs (which would feel more of a value especially if can use them next year during "normal" times.

And its not like I am not taking this seriously. It has hit close to home, but like the statistics have shown, most people get this and recover just fine. I've had 3 people in my immediate family (including my parents in their 70s (in a different state)) get COVID .. despite taking precautions .. yet they are fine after a really long two weeks with minor cold symptoms. My niece (locally) had a short fever and has been fine since. No other family members caught it despite being at family gatherings when they first had symptoms.

We actually ditched our plans to travel to visit my parents to do this mountain vacation.

We (as a country) can get out there and live this summer and fall (while still being careful!). I'd recommend it. Based on the amount of people encountered (and license plates) plenty of other people are doing it too.