Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[jcatron243]

Honestly I think the easiest way for them to get reservations is by letting people into the parks who are staying onsite first. (Of course I am in this boat and may be wishful thinking.) With early morning hours I suppose this would happen anyway.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Since this is another speculation thread and not an actual trip planning thread, I'm moving it to the Disneyland Community Board.

 

[mentos]

As discussed in the speculation thread, here's my opinion:

1) All AP's are now subject to reservations, with the option to "opt out" of the new terms.
2) All on-park guests will have priority in the parks.
3) That leaves about 10,000 spots available for non-park-hotel AP and ticket holders to fight over

 

[lindyv321]

We rebooked our November trip and for a variety of reasons decided to change our hotel to GCH. One of them being that hotel guests may be given priority access to the parks on each day of their stay.

 

[mentos]

We rebooked our November trip and for a variety of reasons decided to change our hotel to GCH. One of them being that hotel guests may be given priority access to the parks on each day of their stay.

Same, almost all of my speculative Disney trips between now and December booked at one of the on-park hotels.

I think I have one lonely Hilton reservation I reserved for $0 up front.

Darn, I just remembered JW Marriott was supposed to be open by now and I was SUUUPER excited about them opening up. Now I can't justify staying there until parks are at relatively full capacity with my only rate-limiting step being the flex pass reservation @ the 30 day mark.

 

[mentos]

SDL did something interesting and, in my opinion, quite fair to accommodate SDL APs (and existing ticket holders I believe) as they are currently requiring dated, single day tickets to be purchased as part of an advanced reservation system. SDL APs can reserve days with their passes (1 day in a 7 day period; reserved say must be used, expired, or cancelled to make a new one), but their passes will still be extended for the entirety of the time between the January closure date and the end of the advanced reservation system. We do not know if this or a version of this will come to DLR. But it's one possibility we might see or see a modified version of.

*I'm replying in the speculation thread, original post was in the moderated primary thread in the Disneyland subforum*

I had to do a double take when I read this, so Disney is effectively giving SDL APs free time to go to the parks?

For a minute I thought this was a nutty idea, but the more I say it out loud, it actually makes sense from a financial perspective. My original speculative idea was full cancellation of passes with opt out provisions.

The concern is here is that Disney already went down the road of halting AP payments for California pass holders on that monthly option and not extending the expiration date. They'd have to do a 180 on that (or leave that be and let those expire on-time).

Very interesting stuff. I have many thoughts.

 

[eMoneyBug]

Universal Studios Hollywood has stated that "Citywalk" and their theme park closed through at least May 31. Universal "Citywalk" in Orlando just stated a limited opening, so using this timeline as a model, 1 could hope that they announce some June openings soon.

Using Legoland in Carlsbad, CA, they have moved all vacation package reservations after June 19th. I'm also a Hilton TS owner and there is a resort there called Marbrisa that has not announced an opening date yet, while some Hilton TS in other States have opening as early as 5/21, so each State is different, but I think it's coming soon ...end of June / early July timeframe.

 

[Kender]

*I'm replying in the speculation thread, original post was in the moderated primary thread in the Disneyland subforum*

I had to do a double take when I read this, so Disney is effectively giving SDL APs free time to go to the parks?

For a minute I thought this was a nutty idea, but the more I say it out loud, it actually makes sense from a financial perspective. My original speculative idea was full cancellation of passes with opt out provisions.

The concern is here is that Disney already went down the road of halting AP payments for California pass holders on that monthly option and not extending the expiration date. They'd have to do a 180 on that (or leave that be and let those expire on-time).

Very interesting stuff. I have many thoughts.

(Small detail, but this was in the post asking about AP info, not the main information thread in case anyone is looking for it. Although I could see it getting merged at some point, it isn't currently at the time of this comment.)

Yup. It's been mentioned a few times in various threads, but I'm starting to realize many have just missed it? It was the very first thing that caught my eye and, frankly, of all the possibilities I've heard tossed around, I think it's the most fair option and it's one that has actually been done. I've mentioned in another thread (that speculated about if things were handled like SDL's opening) that I would be okay with a modification that APs weren't valid during that time, only dated tickets. I just want them to not include an advanced reservation system against me.

And that was only an option for DLR APs on the monthly plan to get payments waived and no extension. The other was to postpone the payments and get the extended expiration. That's the choice I picked because it would have been a bad value for me (large down payment) to take waived payments. They wouldn't have to do a 180 at all. It would just be a "hey, the extension period now includes this period of time because we consider it part of the closure/limited access time".

 

[Aurora0427]

I don’t think Disneyland is going to ban APs when they reopen, like Shanghai has done. We live in San Diego, and the marketing department for tourism for the region is focusing on how to attract visitors from California, Nevada, and Arizona. All states that are also within driving distance to Disneyland, or an extremely short flight. In San Diego they aren’t planning a national campaign for at least a year, and have no idea when they’ll resume international marketing.

I think Disneyland might take a similar approach.... offer excellent incentives for those coming in from California, Nevada and Arizona to stay on site, and then allow in limited numbers of local AP holders. Obviously my idea would need some tweaking, but it’s the approach San Diego is taking.

 

[DLgal]

Honestly I think the easiest way for them to get reservations is by letting people into the parks who are staying onsite first. (Of course I am in this boat and may be wishful thinking.) With early morning hours I suppose this would happen anyway.

There is no guarantee that EMH is still going to be a thing. I suspect it will go away, at least temporarily.

 

[mentos]

(Small detail, but this was in the post asking about AP info, not the main information thread in case anyone is looking for it. Although I could see it getting merged at some point, it isn't currently at the time of this comment.)

Noted! Mainline forum, different thread. I stand corrected.[/quote]

Yup. It's been mentioned a few times in various threads, but I'm starting to realize many have just missed it? It was the very first thing that caught my eye and, frankly, of all the possibilities I've heard tossed around, I think it's the most fair option and it's one that has actually been done. I've mentioned in another thread (that speculated about if things were handled like SDL's opening) that I would be okay with a modification that APs weren't valid during that time, only dated tickets. I just want them to not include an advanced reservation system against me.

Most of the news I was reading about SDL was about capacity and social distancing, but we all know the fun stuff is how their AP system is operating and the minutiae involved. It appears they have three tiers and monthly payments available, so such a solution would be relatively easy to port here to DLR.

And that was only an option for DLR APs on the monthly plan to get payments waived and no extension. The other was to postpone the payments and get the extended expiration. That's the choice I picked because it would have been a bad value for me (large down payment) to take waived payments. They wouldn't have to do a 180 at all. It would just be a "hey, the extension period now includes this period of time because we consider it part of the closure/limited access time".

Ya know, I still haven't called about that, they also haven't refunded that March payment (unless I overlooked that too). I think nothing is moving until we have an open date, so I suppose there's still hope for me to do what you did with pass extension. But with all this uncertainty, I'm sinking into a new reality that, while the parks may open, being in the first or second batch of folks to get in may not be the best personal decision to make.

If I had no child & were 10 years younger, I'd probably be first in line. Oof, it's hard to square the happiness that is Disneyland with the idea that "I might get horrendously sick and die and leave my kid without a father." It's like a real life Bambi (yes I went there!)

 

[mentos]

There is no guarantee that EMH is still going to be a thing. I suspect it will go away, at least temporarily.

I'd actually make an argument that EMH would be beneficial. You would be able to space out the entrance of park guests in a staggered fashion. I don't think they'll implement this, but a reservation for the entrance of the main gates *could* be built with a time entry (i.e. EMH for hotel guests at 7am, 1/2 outside guests at 8am, other half after 9am).

Not sure if that would matter in the end.

Since we're in full fantasy mode here, they should rebuild/reopen the PPH entrance to DCA!

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I don’t think Disneyland is going to ban APs when they reopen, like Shanghai has done. We live in San Diego, and the marketing department for tourism for the region is focusing on how to attract visitors from California, Nevada, and Arizona. All states that are also within driving distance to Disneyland, or an extremely short flight. In San Diego they aren’t planning a national campaign for at least a year, and have no idea when they’ll resume international marketing.

I think Disneyland might take a similar approach.... offer excellent incentives for those coming in from California, Nevada and Arizona to stay on site, and then allow in limited numbers of local AP holders. Obviously my idea would need some tweaking, but it’s the approach San Diego is taking.

My husband was supposed to attend an international sporting event at WDW in April. That event was changed to a US only event due to travel restrictions and moved to June. It was then canceled completely this week. The organizers of the event said they were told by Disney that it over likely that, when WDW first opens, it will only be open to Florida residents so it would be impossible for teams to travel in from out-of-state to compete. They actually changed the format of this event for next year in anticipation of travel between states either being restricted by mandatory quarantines once you enter a new state, and/or just unwillingness of teams to travel on an airplane to participate.

Take this with a grain of salt, who knows how much is true with the history of different CMs giving different information....

I have a suspicion that DLR will open to only CA residents, or residents of states that are coordinating alongside CA to use the same guidelines to reopen, for the first month or two. I also don’t think AP’s will he blocked or banned, I think the majority of people in the parks will end up being AP holders. Let’s face it, the economy sucks right now and the population that can afford tickets and/or is willing to spend money on a vacation to Disneyland has been reduced significantly.

 

[Kender]

Noted! Mainline forum, different thread. I stand corrected.

Sorry for being picky! Just want someone to be able to find it if they want to

Most of the news I was reading about SDL was about capacity and social distancing, but we all know the fun stuff is how their AP system is operating and the minutiae involved. It appears they have three tiers and monthly payments available, so such a solution would be relatively easy to port here to DLR.

First thing I did when they announced reopening was go straight to their information page and look at the fine print lol! I know it's likely we won't be exactly like SDL, but it's definitely a good baseline to look at.

Ya know, I still haven't called about that, they also haven't refunded that March payment (unless I overlooked that too). I think nothing is moving until we have an open date, so I suppose there's still hope for me to do what you did with pass extension. But with all this uncertainty, I'm sinking into a new reality that, while the parks may open, being in the first or second batch of folks to get in may not be the best personal decision to make.

If I had no child & were 10 years younger, I'd probably be first in line. Oof, it's hard to square the happiness that is Disneyland with the idea that "I might get horrendously sick and die and leave my kid without a father." It's like a real life Bambi (yes I went there!)

The March payment is only refunded if you take the "waived payments and no extension" option. So if you haven't called, definitely won't see it quite yet. I believe it's supposed to refund prior to parks opening, but as I didn't take that option, I have no idea for sure . I just know full pay passes won't get their partial refund until the parks reopen, but we all know that because they won't know how much to refund until then. The March payment is known, though.

I get waiting to call until they say "you have to make a decision". Especially in a situation where you have a child. No child for me to worry about. My mom is in the at risk age group, but one wouldn't know it looking at her. If I were in your position? I'd be a lot more torn in my decision and holding off for more information. No Bambi children!

I figure if they actually do an advance registration system, it might last long enough to add a decent amount of time. If they follow SDL's model for extensions, that would be great for families like yours and others that want to social distance longer or the regulations are not doable.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

I just know full pay passes won't get their partial refund until the parks reopen, but we all know that because they won't know how much to refund until then. The March payment is known, though.

When I Sunday the CM I spoke to told me they weren't processing any refunds until after the parks reopen and they are only putting the note on your pass based on the choice you make.

 

[Kender]

When I Sunday the CM I spoke to told me they weren't processing any refunds until after the parks reopen and they are only putting the note on your pass based on the choice you make.

Yes. And that's what I said about the partial refunds for paid in full passes. They cannot be refunded until the amount is known which will not be known until the parks open.

The March payment refund is the one that's honestly up for debate since, officially, it says they would be "retroactively refunded" (on my call it was stated this would only happen for those who chose to waive payments and not extend). It doesn't give a date for sure and I haven't followed to see if anyone has had a refund processed, but it's logical this could be processed at any time once Disney is ready to process them. This one doesn't need a reopen date.

I take everything CMs tell me a huge helping of salt, though.

 

[mentos]

I get waiting to call until they say "you have to make a decision". Especially in a situation where you have a child. No child for me to worry about. My mom is in the at risk age group, but one wouldn't know it looking at her. If I were in your position? I'd be a lot more torn in my decision and holding off for more information. No Bambi children!

Remember when our three most difficult questions regarding a trip to DL were a) do I have enough time off from work, 2) do I have enough money for stuff, and d) are my fingers fast enough for a ROTR boarding group?

Ah the old days.

 

[Kender]

Remember when our three most difficult questions regarding a trip to DL were a) do I have enough time off from work, 2) do I have enough money for stuff, and d) are my fingers fast enough for a ROTR boarding group?

Ah the old days.

I'm laughing and crying

 

[jacandjan]

Honestly I think the easiest way for them to get reservations is by letting people into the parks who are staying onsite first. (Of course I am in this boat and may be wishful thinking.) With early morning hours I suppose this would happen anyway.

IMHO I believe you are right. After that group I think Flex Pass and above along with single and muti days tickets will have the next best chance. After all this group has traditionally been the ones that spend more money and Disney will want as much as they can get out of limited capacity .

 

[mentos]

I'm laughing and crying

I’m not crying, you’re crying!
(EDIT: i dunno why I wrote that since that’s quite obviously what you wrote)

It’s 1am and I’ve literally pencilled out a flow chart of AP possibilities as well as the pros/cons/risks of going in August-November.

I have work in 6hrs, lord help me.