Delayed 2021 Reopening

[Woodview]

Just for your information

My Wife has just received her Official EU Digital Covid Certificate issued by

The Republic of Ireland with its Unique Certificate Identifier

My one should be here by Friday

NOTE Relevant information can be found at https://reopen.europa.eu/en

 

[mel2014]

A few more updates from the health minister today, including that the requirements won't apply to 12-17 year olds until August 30 (and which implicitly confirms that 11 and under will also continue to be exempt). That solves the issue for two of our party but still waiting for confirmation for non-EU, non-Brits:

lepoint.fr/sante/pass-sanitaire-des-regles-de-souplesse-pour-les-12-18-ans-13-07-2021-2435404_40.php

https://www.bfmtv.com/sante/olivier...-aout-pour-les-12-17-ans_AN-202107130446.html

https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2...ents-will-apply-from-august-30.S1WGevj6O.html

https://www.france24.com/fr/france/20210713-mineurs-salariés-transports-l-extension-du-pass-sanitaire-suscite-des-interrogations

This last article indicates that Parc Asterix is intending to set up on-site testing at the entrance.
Maybe Disney can do the same to expand the Loxamed relationship to cover rapid antigen tests available the day before or morning of planned entry.

 

[bex7583]

How are these tests so much cheaper anywhere else, but, the UK. They cost twice as much, it's just a money making business.

I like they are doing this though, I'd already seen loads of messages from people asking where they could get tests when needed for going home. So this will be very convinient.

There are lots of PCR postal options in the UK for £60 and under. It's the quick result onsite ones that are expensive

 

[moorhunhe]

There are lots of PCR postal options in the UK for £60 and under. It's the quick result onsite ones that are expensive

Not sure if those are good enough if you want to travel? As they want you to have a negative test done 48 or 72 hours before you travel.
Honestly, I'm not paying attention much, until I read "no more testing requiered when fully vaccinated". I mean, 60 £ is almost the price of the Eurostar to Brussels, so that's just another trip, but then wasted on a test when being vaccinated.

 

[mel2014]

There are lots of PCR postal options in the UK for £60 and under. It's the quick result onsite ones that are expensive

I have no personal experience with this, but someone on another travel site recommended this company for rapid self tests that provide a certificate: https://www.c19testing.co.uk/

These say their antigen test is EU approved but it's not clear to me whether that means it is approved for use as the Health Pass in France (specifically whether it has the QR verification code).

 

[Karin1984]

For the Ultimate Princess Celebration marketing campaign to bring Disney more money from already existing merchandise........

We are getting a Princess Celebration season!
For 1 week... 23 till 29 August.
Entertainment, snacks, and surprises with the Disney princesses and Queens Elsa & Anna!

This probably translates into adding the Frozen 2 parade floats from Winter 19/20 to the Princess Calvacade, have cookies with Nutella with a princess printed on them, and replace where possible the other character selfies with princesses. Some have had other spots than Fantasyland in the past so I am guessing: Merida instead of Cowboy Goofy/Pocahontas instead of Cowgirl Minnie both in Frontierland, Tiana near the River Boat, Aurora opposite Plaza Gardens, Moana in Frontierland. There can be a princess next to the Pavillion and opposite Bella Notte. Rapunzel roams around Bella Notte more often, so my money is on putting her there and then Belle next to the Pavillion. Cinderella & Prince stay at the Auberge in front of the carriage, and Snow White & Prince will stay near the wishing well.
That only leaves Ariel... Can we throw her in the castle moat?

In the Studios we will keep Anna & Elsa in the Animation building and Cinderella switching off with Belle in the Mickey & the Magician theater (did I tell you those selfie spots are back from last year). Maybe Anna & Elsa will upgrade to their Movie 2 costumes.

As it's only a week, I would not expect anything more. It would be great if they would do a reprise of the Princess Waltz or the Pirates & Princess show.... but I do not count on it.

Oh, they have added some more magic shots, a vintage border in front of Walt's statue in the Studios and a Bambi themed one in Frontierland.

 

[Karin1984]

French themeparks see a 20 - 50% decline in visitors after introduction Health Pass
(Article is in French, couldn't find an English translation)

So, on July 21st France introduced a pass sanitaire, a health pass. You need this to get access to museums, themeparks etc. As of August restaurants and malls will be added to this list. You get the pass (via an app) when you are fully vaccinated, got cured from Covid or have a negative test not older than 48 hours.

In the first week of introduction all French themeparks, including Disney, saw a decline of 20-50% in visitors, with max 70%. While the announcement did get a lot of French people make their vaccine appoints, it also makes that people decide to wait till they have had their shots, or decide to wait till the measures are over.

There are no exact numbers for Disney, but what I did notice today. It's the height of summer holidays and at midday the longest queues were for Space & Big Thunder Mountain 45 minutes (no FP available).

 

[Karin1984]

I was at the parks today from 16:00 - 19:30. Saw Minnie, Goofy, cowgirl Minnie, Captain Hook & Smee, Captain Jack Sparrow, saw the tricylces with Timon, Rafiki, Baloo and Stitch in his car. Did Pirates, Phantom Manor, Indiana Jones, Small World and Buzz Light Year. Took it really easy and slow, watched the set of the pirate characters. Captain Jack Sparrow was fun, he almost did a little show, teaching the kids to yell like a pirate, and he wanted to see if they could swim, so then we ended up with half a dozen children on the ground demonstrating their swimming skills. It was cute.

Wait times were inflated. Pirates said 25 minutes, was 15. Phantom said 35 was 25, Indiana Jones said 15, was 5. Small World said 10, was walk on. Buzz said 5 and was 5.
As mentioned in another thread, reasonably quiet. Longest lines were about 40-45 minutes for rides as Space & BTM.
The line for the river boat was long every time I passed it.

Social distancing isn't a thing anymore. I kept my distance with the people in front of me, but I had no energy for the people behind me. Mask compliance was good.

Ended the night at King Ludwigs for dinner and mocktails. Walked by the Marvel hotel. Okay, it is really beautiful and well designed. I'll admit that. Still don't think it's worth the price ;-) we will try the Skyline Bar tomorrow after the parks.

Oh, and because some people find this interesting, in our standard room at NPB we do have one big wall mounted flask with shampoo/douche gel mix, and we have individual bottles with shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

 

[Karin1984]

Disneyland Paris is looking for character & parade performers again!

On the audition page of Disney we can see that there will be 3 auditions in France mid-end of August. For both character & parade performers. They are not looking for specific characters, both male/female, Disney & Marvel. For a minimum 4 month contract.

This means... we might get a parade back

 

[Karin1984]

We just tried the new menu of Fuente del Oro for lunch. Our conclusion skip it. The jalapenos are okay (not spicy), the vegetable thingy was okay, the churros were chewy and the beer tasted weird.

So we tried something new, but will not try it again.
We are now in line for the Disney Jr. Show, advice from cm is to come about 40 minutes before show time.

 

[cwis]

We just tried the new menu of Fuente del Oro for lunch. Our conclusion skip it. The jalapenos are okay (not spicy), the vegetable thingy was okay, the churros were chewy and the beer tasted weird.

So we tried something new, but will not try it again.
We are now in line for the Disney Jr. Show, advice from cm is to come about 40 minutes before show time.

Have you tried the frozen margharita? Wasn't expecting much though pleasantly surprised with it.

Otherwise I agree with you that while the offering is different it is somewhat quite bland.

 

[Karin1984]

Have you tried the frozen margharita? Wasn't expecting much though pleasantly surprised with it.

Otherwise I agree with you that while the offering is different it is somewhat quite bland.

No, we didn't. I don't drink and my friend is more a beer-girl.

If the churros were fresh, then maybe they would have been better, but they were standing under a heater for a while.


To give everyone some reopening news. When you stay at the hotels, you cannot get to Disney Village before 8.00 (unless you would need to catch a train). At 8 security opens. Then you go through Disney Village, Starbucks opens at 8 as well. Then you line up in front of World of Disney to have your health pass scanned, this opens at 8.15, then you go in line for the entrance, which opens at 8.30 and then you can do whatever you want.

Not every CM was aware that if you have an AP and stay at one of the Disney hotels, you do not need a park reservation. Some CMs got confused, but there were others around who knew what the rules were.


We did the Cars Route 66 road trip, the entrance is really hidden, and we had to ask for directions. The ride is cute, it is good that it is shorter. However, in the end, it is not a great ride and unless you have massive Cars fans with you, I would say skip it.

 

[moorhunhe]

When I first heard about the new Cars ride, I was so hoping for something like at California Adventure.
But having seen pics now of what they turned Tram Tour in, it seems like such a dissapointment. It's shorter, and all they did was replace a few props to make it look like Cars.
So much potential for that massive amount of space!

 

[Karin1984]

We were talking about it, one thing that would really upgrade this ride is to have animatronics instead of stationary cars where only the eyes move.

It is just underwhelming. But the CMs look very cool in their leather jackets in combination with the 50s music, I got a T-birds vibe.

 

[BadPinkTink]

When I first heard about the new Cars ride, I was so hoping for something like at California Adventure.
But having seen pics now of what they turned Tram Tour in, it seems like such a dissapointment. It's shorter, and all they did was replace a few props to make it look like Cars.
So much potential for that massive amount of space!

We were talking about it, one thing that would really upgrade this ride is to have animatronics instead of stationary cars where only the eyes move.

It is just underwhelming. But the CMs look very cool in their leather jackets in combination with the 50s music, I got a T-birds vibe.

I just watched this on YouTube, um yeah, underwhelming Had to go watch a POV of Radiator Springs Racers from Disneyland California afterwards

 

[cwis]

We were talking about it, one thing that would really upgrade this ride is to have animatronics instead of stationary cars where only the eyes move.

It is just underwhelming. But the CMs look very cool in their leather jackets in combination with the 50s music, I got a T-birds vibe.

I would suggest to have very low expectations and ride it anyway. Prepare for the worse then you might enjoy the refresh, it's actually cute!

 

[mousefan73]

Can somebody confirm this new policy in France with the health certificate. I spoke with a person on the phone at center parks since that’s where we are staying. Thank God our entire family is fully vaccinated. The lady stated that if we were not we would have to show a negative test when we checked in and then also said that for each time we basically leave the property for each new day we would have to show another new negative test? I assume maybe because CenterParcs is also like a resort with their pool and everything.

Thank God this doesn’t affect us since we are fully vaxxed anyways. And then my mom read somewhere that if you are a non-French citizen quick antigen tests are costing around 25 years each. If the above is true for a family of kids who cannot be vaxxed, I can’t see a DLP vacation for multiple days being feasible. I’m telling you I’m thanking God every day my teens were able to get fully vaxxed sooner than we thought they would be.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Can somebody confirm this new policy in France with the health certificate. I spoke with a person on the phone at center parks since that’s where we are staying. Thank God our entire family is fully vaccinated. The lady stated that if we were not we would have to show a negative test when we checked in and then also said that for each time we basically leave the property for each new day we would have to show another new negative test? I assume maybe because CenterParcs is also like a resort with their pool and everything.

Thank God this doesn’t affect us since we are fully vaxxed anyways. And then my mom read somewhere that if you are a non-French citizen quick antigen tests are costing around 25 years each. If the above is true for a family of kids who cannot be vaxxed, I can’t see a DLP vacation for multiple days being feasible. I’m telling you I’m thanking God every day my teens were able to get fully vaxxed sooner than we thought they would be.

this is the official Covid 19 FAQs on their website

Is it necessary to present a health pass when I arrive on a French domain?
Since July 21, in accordance with the announcements of the President of the Republic of July 12, 2021 and the details of the Government on previous announcements, and in order to ensure the safety of all our customers, we will ask to present the health pass to all our customers (from 18 years old) at the entrance of the domain when they arrive. Please note that we may also need to check identity documents.

Since July 21, without a valid health pass, access to the Center Parcs Domains has been refused for people over the age of 18.

For all children from 12 years old and up to 17 years inclusive , no health pass will be required at the entrance to the areas before August 30. For all children under the age of 12 , no health pass is necessary.

All customers with a reservation from July 21 will be notified by email. We are expecting a large number of calls in the coming days, please rest assured that we are doing everything possible to get back to you as soon as possible.

We remain attentive to the evolution of the situation and we will inform you if we were to put in place new conditions. We also encourage you to consult our website which is regularly updated.

What is a valid health pass?
To obtain a valid health pass, there are 3 options:
• A complete vaccination schedule (with the last injection at 7 days or more depending on the vaccines).
• A negative PCR or antigen test dated less than 48 hours before your day of arrival. (Please note that PCR / antigen tests are valid for 48 hours from the time the test is performed. For example: a test performed on Monday at 12 noon is valid until Wednesday at 12 noon.)
• An RT- test PCR or antigen positive attesting to recovery from Covid-19 dating at least 11 days and less than 6 months.

Do I have to present my health pass to enter and leave the domain during my stay?
Since July 21, if you wish to leave the domain during your stay, please note that all customers (from 18 years old) will again have to present a valid health pass when you return to the park. We draw your attention to the validity dates of PCR or antigen tests.
Without a valid health pass, access to the Center Parcs Domains will be refused for people over the age of 18.

From July 21 to August 30, all children under the age of 18 will not have to present a health pass when they return to the park.

Do I have to present a health pass to access each infrastructure (indoor activities, restaurants, etc.)?
The health pass will only be checked when you enter the domain. You will thus be able to freely access all of our infrastructures throughout your stay, such as our Aqua Mundo aquatic areas or our restaurants without having to present your health pass each time.

What barrier measures are in place in the parks?
In accordance with the regulations in force, wearing a mask outdoors is not compulsory. Wearing a mask indoors in places open to the public is compulsory for all children from 6 years old .

Wearing a mask is not compulsory in the aquatic areas of the Aqua Mundo.

We invite all our customers to continue to apply the barrier measures.

 

[mousefan73]

Thank you! Didn’t read that yet. I only yesterday rebooked for the first week of September. So that’s true after 48 hours one needs to get retested. I did ask the lady if they had testing on site as I was curious and she said no only the German locations. And then I would have to check locally if I needed a test. I need to Google and see what my mom read is true or not about the 25 euros. I’m just worried if cases pick up they might extend testing to everyone even those that are vaccinated. Let’s hope not.

 

[HappyHammer]

The face mask for kids is the only thing stopping my family from going this month. My wife and I are double vaccinated and we would have been travelling with our girls aged 10, 7 and 4. We were so excited to be planning a surprise trip for them after all this time and multiple trips cancelled.

It is so frustrating, I spent ages pricing up the disney hotels and planning a day in Paris and was just about to book but double checked the mask rules luckily. For 6 year olds and over to have to wear a face mask all day long, inside and outside does seem extreme when the rest of France is not this strict. We could have coped with them wearing a mask inside or in queues but all day long out in the open does seem extreme. My 7 year old wears glasses to and as I glasses wearer myself, no matter which mask I use they are very difficult with steaming and visibility.

I know there's many who will say they can still spread and I'm not here to get into a big debate over our views on masks etc (I still wear a mask where required or where I wish too on top of this even though double vacc'ed). However, I can't see DLP getting many kids back like it used to until this is reconsidered.