Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[hertamaniac]

Fast forward a year from now and I suspect the line waits won't be too much different than this weekend.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Lol Disney you can keep lying to us with “35% capacity” Certainly not that today. Magic Kingdom is a mess.

Amen. We left at noon. Walkways were packed. Restaurants were packed. No additional dining was open. Worst day we’ve had at WDW in almost 20 visits. Our Uber driver told us her roommate/niece is a CM and said that attendance wise things are pretty much back to normal. We were there over Christmas and it was nothing like this weekend.

 

[hereforthechurros]

It is 35%, they stated so to investors during the earnings call.

And I concur, it’s too many. Sounds crazy there! 90 mins for Pirates?!! Yikes!! Maybe it will quiet down tonight since they’re open until 10pm?

Chapek also said they’re using creative engineering so 35% does not mean 35% per normal times, it means they’ve come up with new capacity numbers and are weighing against those.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Why would anyone expect short lines on a federal holiday, pandemic or not? Wait times were long like this over the Christmas break too.

Not a fair point. Disney is enticing people with 35% capacity talk but if you expect that to look like it should you’re a fool. And It’s not about expecting short wait times, it’s that there’s nowhere else to go. Many things still closed, limited dining, limited capacity. I can say I’ve never seen pirates hit 90 and that wasn’t even the worst offender for what’s typical today. Staffing wasn’t in line with attendance which isn’t okay considering they have exact numbers for park attendance now. Sleepy Hollow had at least 60 people in line at one point. Like, everywhere was a mess. We were there over Christmas too so can compare the different experiences.

EDIT: not saying YOU are a fool, I mean those going expecting 35% of a typical day get to play the fool.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Not a fair point. Disney is enticing people with 35% capacity talk but if you expect that to look like it should you’re a fool. And It’s not about expecting short wait times, it’s that there’s nowhere else to go. Many things still closed, limited dining, limited capacity. But I can say I’ve never seen pirates hit 90 and that wasn’t even the worst offender for what’s typical today. Staffing wasn’t in line with attendance with isn’t okay considering they have exact numbers for park attendance now. Sleepy Hollow had at least 60 people in line at one point. Like, everywhere was a mess.

Huh?

The poster I quoted said they feel bad for anyone who has today as their only MK day.

Today is President’s Day. It’s a federal holiday. Some have a long weekend off, some have the week off. The park is going to be very, very busy. How is that point unfair?

I said in a following post, I wouldn’t go to WDW right now and will not until covid is better. I would not personally be comfortable at all with today’s crowds. I’m not saying it’s ok that it’s so busy. I just don’t understand why people are shocked that it is today

 

[hereforthechurros]

Huh?

The poster I quoted said they feel bad for anyone who has today as their only MK day.

Today is President’s Day. It’s a federal holiday. Some have a long weekend off, some have the week off. The park is going to be very, very busy. How is that point unfair?

I said in a following post, I wouldn’t go to WDW right now and will not until covid is better. I would not personally be comfortable at all with today’s crowds. I’m not saying it’s ok that it’s so busy. I just don’t understand why people are shocked that it is today

Because you’re ignoring the fact that it’s basically normal holiday crowds without the normal offerings.

edit: to be there today and overhear SO many people in lines blown away by the crowds means clearly many were surprised. A lot of people were enticed by the 35% capacity they’ve been hearing about.

Typing on my phone please excuse typos!

 

[mom2rtk]

Because you’re ignoring the fact that it’s basically normal holiday crowds without the normal offerings.

edit: to be there today and overhear SO many people in lines blown away by the crowds means clearly many were surprised. A lot of people were enticed by the 35% capacity they’ve been hearing about.

Typing on my phone please excuse typos!

If I had to guess, I'd say hard ticket parties are around 35% capacity. Anyone who's been to a sold out party knows how busy 35% can actually be in reality. But you're right. I bet some people are booking thinking it means 35% of normal attendance.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Because you’re ignoring the fact that it’s basically normal holiday crowds without the normal offerings.

edit: to be there today and overhear SO many people in lines blown away by the crowds means clearly many were surprised. A lot of people were enticed by the 35% capacity they’ve been hearing about.

Typing on my phone please excuse typos!

I’m not ignoring anything. It was the same way at Christmas too. 35% of total capacity is a LOT of people. I’m well aware of what’s open and what’s not. I wouldn’t go right now.

Not to mention, many people go President’s weekend not thinking it will be as crowded as Christmas, spring break, etc. and it always is. People have been surprised about February President’s weekend crowds on these boards for years pre-covid.

Anyway, I think you’re missing my point and I’m missing yours so probably best to just move on.

 

[New Mouse]

It is 35%, they stated so to investors during the earnings call.

And I concur, it’s too many. Sounds crazy there! 90 mins for Pirates?!! Yikes!! Maybe it will quiet down tonight since they’re open until 10pm?

I dunno, in theory we should already know peak wait times for full capacity but it seems to be higher...may just be my perception.

 

[New Mouse]

35% in Disneys advertising is likely a lot different than 35% in a normal year. To have 35% of normal attendance but only 70% of your offerings open at 50% capacity, it leads to a much bigger and crowded feeling. I think Disney execs suck at math tbh.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

35% in Disneys advertising is likely a lot different than 35% in a normal year.

Where do they “advertise” the 35% number? They share it on investor calls and updates - where else? It’s not a part of any ad campaign. Do casual WDW travelers (people who don’t read discussion boards every day) even know the number?

I think most are just expecting “less than normal” due to covid.

 

[New Mouse]

Where do they “advertise” the 35% number? They share it on investor calls and updates - where else? It’s not a part of any ad campaign. Do casual WDW travelers (people who don’t read discussion boards every day) even know the number?

Many guests these days arent casual travelers.

 

[Eric Smith]

35% in Disneys advertising is likely a lot different than 35% in a normal year. To have 35% of normal attendance but only 70% of your offerings open at 50% capacity, it leads to a much bigger and crowded feeling. I think Disney execs suck at math tbh.

It’s 35% of maximum park capacity. They’ve been clear on that from the beginning. The difference is that the parks are at least close to that number over this weekend due to the holiday. It’s the same as it was over Christmas. I was there in early December and experienced it.

Everything seems super crowded because of the distancing in the lines, especially in Magic Kingdom. When we were there, the pirates line extended in to Frontierland. Jungle Cruise was almost to the hub. The BTMRR line snaked through the Frontierland train station. This problem was most noticeable in Magic Kingdom.

The issue has nothing to do with the executives math skills. Rides are forced to run at reduced capacity due to distancing requirements. The lines are physically long due to the same distancing requirements. There aren’t a ton of restaurants open due to the lower than average crowd levels. We found that if we ate off of peak times, we were fine.

 

[mom2rtk]

It’s 35% of maximum park capacity. They’ve been clear on that from the beginning. The difference is that the parks are at least close to that number over this weekend due to the holiday. It’s the same as it was over Christmas. I was there in early December and experienced it.

Everything seems super crowded because of the distancing in the lines, especially in Magic Kingdom. When we were there, the pirates line extended in to Frontierland. Jungle Cruise was almost to the hub. The BTMRR line snaked through the Frontierland train station. This problem was most noticeable in Magic Kingdom.

The issue has nothing to do with the executives math skills. Rides are forced to run at reduced capacity due to distancing requirements. The lines are physically long due to the same distancing requirements. There aren’t a ton of restaurants open due to the lower than average crowd levels. We found that if we ate off of peak times, we were fine.

If the numbers are close to typical over a holiday weekend, then why aren't more restaurants open?

 

[New Mouse]

It’s 35% of maximum park capacity. They’ve been clear on that from the beginning. The difference is that the parks are at least close to that number over this weekend due to the holiday. It’s the same as it was over Christmas. I was there in early December and experienced it.

Everything seems super crowded because of the distancing in the lines, especially in Magic Kingdom. When we were there, the pirates line extended in to Frontierland. Jungle Cruise was almost to the hub. The BTMRR line snaked through the Frontierland train station. This problem was most noticeable in Magic Kingdom.

The issue has nothing to do with the executives math skills. Rides are forced to run at reduced capacity due to distancing requirements. The lines are physically long due to the same distancing requirements. There aren’t a ton of restaurants open due to the lower than average crowd levels. We found that if we ate off of peak times, we were fine.

Maxium park capacity in a covid world needs to be calculated to claim 35% of that number. 35% in a covid world might as well be 80% of capacity in a normal world and its shown. Its deceptive.

 

[New Mouse]

If the numbers are close to typical over a holiday weekend, then why aren't more restaurants open?

Because they fired their staff without thinking it all the way through

 

[mom2rtk]

Because they fired their staff without thinking it all the way through

But with reservations and historical data, they've known for some time how busy it was going to be.

 

[fatmanatee]

Worth noting: 100k is max capacity, 60k is the average daily attendance.

 

[gottalovepluto]

If the numbers are close to typical over a holiday weekend, then why aren't more restaurants open?

Because the costs associated with reopening them and closing them when the holiday crowds leave don’t make the $$$$ math work.

 

[Eric Smith]

Maxium park capacity in a covid world needs to be calculated to claim 35% of that number. 35% in a covid world might as well be 80% of capacity in a normal world and its shown. Its deceptive.

I agree just saying 35% is deceptive, but I don’t know of a better way for Disney to put a number on it. They could put out an actual number, but that would just sound big because most people wouldn’t have a concept of how large these parks are. You could do a percentage of an “average” day but that’s a pretty fuzzy number