Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[Malcon10t]

Everyone 16 and older in AZ can get vaccines starting tomorrow! I’ve had mine for months (teacher) but I’m excited for my husband. I’ll feel so much better about traveling in general once he’s fully vaccinated, but especsilly to busier places like DL. The kids and I wear a mask all day, so masks are no big deal. I feel weirder without one now! Crazy how much changes in a year!

Yep, Pfizer vaccine is allowed for 16 and older.

I mask, and will continue to mask as the vaccines are 95% effective, and while I know if I am in the slim group who breaks into the 5% I probably won't get seriously ill, I can still spread it, plus the vaccines aren't tested against all the variants. Been wearing them so long, it really doesn't bother me. Agreed on the feeling weirder without one. And kids can get it, so I don't want to spread to my grandkids before they can get their vaccine.

 

[DLgal]

There is a thin possibility Orange county could be at Yellow by the time the park opens.
Just a heads up, part of Disney's agreement with the unions was the mask requirement thru 2022. To drop the masks will require union negotiation.

THROUGH 2022? That's not what Chapek alluded to. I'm sure they will be able to easily negotiate this away once the pandemic is over. No one LIKES wearing masks.

 

[Jaina]

There is a thin possibility Orange county could be at Yellow by the time the park opens.
Just a heads up, part of Disney's agreement with the unions was the mask requirement thru 2022. To drop the masks will require union negotiation.

Yes, I know. And we probably won't do a full family trip until then. My husband has a lot of anxiety connected with masks, and has worked super hard to get where he can wear one when needed, but a family trip with our kids can give him slight panic attacks even when NOT dealing with our whole tribe (we have 4 kids, 4-14) in an amusement park. So not a good plan for us. And that's also why I would take the older ones a few at a time or MAYBE the younger two when the weather is cool, but even then, my 4-year-old would be a big stretch to wear a mask for longer than 30 minutes straight, so it would be a wait-and-see thing before I planned a trip for her. She would enjoy it, but it would also be stressful, and who wants to spend $250 a day just in tickets for that? I've actually really enjoyed my 1-2 kid trips so much more than our full family ones (though those are awesome too) because the kids have to compromise less and get to pick what they do, and they love that!

Everyone 16 and older in AZ can get vaccines starting tomorrow! I’ve had mine for months (teacher) but I’m excited for my husband. I’ll feel so much better about traveling in general once he’s fully vaccinated, but especially to busier places like DL. The kids and I wear a mask all day, so masks are no big deal. I feel weirder without one now! Crazy how much changes in a year!

My junior high kids wear a mask most of their school day, but we've been lucky with microschools with the youngest three. (10, 7 and 4) They are in small classes, (less than 10) and can be spaced out enough for most of their activities that they only wear a mask parts of the day when they are working closely together. So they're not used to extended periods in a mask.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Have the fireworks been confirmed? Everything I’ve read says they are “hopeful” to have fireworks on the 4th. I am hoping for fireworks this year but I haven’t seen any of the major fireworks shows confirm they have had approval to launch yet. It’s going to be a very scaled down version of the fair. No rides or entertainment. They have to work around the vaccine superstation that is currently in place at the fairgrounds. That being said, we might actually go this year. We stopped going years ago. It was just too big of a pain to get in and out of with the crowds and parking before. Might be nice to visit with the limited capacity.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Geez, this just sounds like a nightmare.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...HVDhP2fm-Bpd-nga6buCCrw6E2tA7_CbsSMn2PSx2-JTY
"Indoor attractions will also be subject to time limits, according to state officials.

“There are going to be limits on indoor rides,” California Business and Economic Development Director Dee Dee Myers told the media in early March. “There will be a building capacity limit and then there will be a time limit. We’re still working out the details of that.”

State officials have not yet revealed what the time limits will be on indoor attractions.

Orange County, home to Disneyland and DCA, is currently in the red tier and could reach the orange tier by the time the Disney theme parks reopen in late April. That would help raise indoor attraction capacity to 25%, but then rider levels would remain stuck indefinitely at that level — with no indication when the limitations would be lifted.

The restrictions mean Disneyland and DCA will have far less ride capacity and the parks could opt to keep some low capacity attractions closed. As a result, fans expecting relatively low crowd levels when the parks initially reopen with attendance restrictions could still find themselves waiting in long attraction lines."

The rest of the article breaks down the capacity of all the indoor and outdoor rides and speculates on which ones will be closed.

I'm so over these extensive restrictions- this indoor/time limit calculation with rides is just over the top IMO.

 

[edhmom]

Geez, this just sounds like a nightmare.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...HVDhP2fm-Bpd-nga6buCCrw6E2tA7_CbsSMn2PSx2-JTY
"Indoor attractions will also be subject to time limits, according to state officials.

“There are going to be limits on indoor rides,” California Business and Economic Development Director Dee Dee Myers told the media in early March. “There will be a building capacity limit and then there will be a time limit. We’re still working out the details of that.”

State officials have not yet revealed what the time limits will be on indoor attractions.

Orange County, home to Disneyland and DCA, is currently in the red tier and could reach the orange tier by the time the Disney theme parks reopen in late April. That would help raise indoor attraction capacity to 25%, but then rider levels would remain stuck indefinitely at that level — with no indication when the limitations would be lifted.

The restrictions mean Disneyland and DCA will have far less ride capacity and the parks could opt to keep some low capacity attractions closed. As a result, fans expecting relatively low crowd levels when the parks initially reopen with attendance restrictions could still find themselves waiting in long attraction lines."

The rest of the article breaks down the capacity of all the indoor and outdoor rides and speculates on which ones will be closed.

I'm so over these extensive restrictions- this indoor/time limit calculation with rides is just over the top IMO.

That is a pretty sad article.
"State officials have not yet revealed what the time limits will be on indoor attractions." Considering theme parks can open in 6 days, i certainly hope state officials are in communication with parks, if not the public, so they have time to plan what they need to do.

 

[brightlined]

I'm so over these extensive restrictions- this indoor/time limit calculation with rides is just over the top IMO.

I don't particularly care for this author - he keeps injecting ragebait into what otherwise reads like a well-researched article.

It's the same guy who started the meme about how they would ban screaming on roller coasters:

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...rill-rides-theme-park-association-recommends/
One of his tricks is to change "could" to "will" to make things sound certain. Example:

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...parks-will-enforce-out-of-state-visitors-ban/
"Online reservation systems will use geocoding and GPS data to determine where theme park visitors live.

'Because they are required to make reservations online, they will be able to determine where people are coming from,' Myers said. 'That will be an important tool for the operators to use.'"


Myers was saying that they could use that information. This dude said they would, which he doesn't know. (I saw at least one person repeat that here as factual statement.)

Even in this article, he's quoting the state from three weeks ago to say that the indoor time restrictions are happening. He's also stating that they "haven't announced it yet" like they were ever going to. The state might already be working with the parks to get it figured out - he doesn't know that, or what they're actually doing, but he wrote an article about it anyway.

I've now got OC Register in my quarantine list - I'll read it, but I won't take it seriously until someone else separately confirms the story.


(Apologies if I sound super-serious - ragebait is the #1 thing about the internet and media that drives me the most bonkers - especially in the case of that "no screaming" article.)

 

[Malcon10t]

OC should reach Orange tier in the next few weeks. Likely before they open. So they will be at the 25%.

There is a thin possibility they could be at yellow and 35%.

"State officials have not yet revealed what the time limits will be on indoor attractions." Considering theme parks can open in 6 days, i certainly hope state officials are in communication with parks, if not the public, so they have time to plan what they need to do.

For some reason, I'm thinking the time limit is 15 mins.

 

[brightlined]

For some reason, I'm thinking the time limit is 15 mins.

Total speculation myself:

I'd hope if they do that, they'd take square footage into account. Like, there's a big difference between a 15-minute experience like the Tiki room and a 15-minute experience like Pirates.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I don't particularly care for this author - he keeps injecting ragebait into what otherwise reads like a well-researched article.

It's the same guy who started the meme about how they would ban screaming on roller coasters:

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...rill-rides-theme-park-association-recommends/
One of his tricks is to change "could" to "will" to make things sound certain. Example:

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/03/...parks-will-enforce-out-of-state-visitors-ban/
"Online reservation systems will use geocoding and GPS data to determine where theme park visitors live.

'Because they are required to make reservations online, they will be able to determine where people are coming from,' Myers said. 'That will be an important tool for the operators to use.'"


Myers was saying that they could use that information. This dude said they would, which he doesn't know. (I saw at least one person repeat that here as factual statement.)

Even in this article, he's quoting the state from three weeks ago to say that the indoor time restrictions are happening. He's also stating that they "haven't announced it yet" like they were ever going to. The state might already be working with the parks to get it figured out - he doesn't know that, or what they're actually doing, but he wrote an article about it anyway.

I've now got OC Register in my quarantine list - I'll read it, but I won't take it seriously until someone else separately confirms the story.


(Apologies if I sound super-serious - ragebait is the #1 thing about the internet and media that drives me the most bonkers - especially in the case of that "no screaming" article.)

I didn't find this particular article that "rage bait-ish" though. Just breaking down what we know about ride restrictions and what rides might be affected. Most of which lines up to what we've already talked about here.

We really won't know how much indoor rides will be affected until the state releases the finished guidelines anyways. Hopefully it won't be too bad. WDW had pretty long lines during our visit just from having to space people out every other row- not feeling too optimistic about how long lines would be with tougher restrictions than that. I wonder if CA will allow plexiglass as a distancing solution? Or if people still can't be seated by each other- plexiglass or not. That's what's helping the wait times at WDW is adding the plexiglass to certain rides.

I'm still dying to know what the Fantasyland line queues will be like! Maybe Peter Pan's will stretch down by the Snow White well?

 

[brightlined]

We really won't know how much indoor rides will be affected until the state releases the finished guidelines anyways. Hopefully it won't be too bad. WDW had pretty long lines during our visit just from having to space people out every other row- not feeling too optimistic about how long lines would be with tougher restrictions than that.

Part of it for me - I've been expecting (for no reason) that the state would just send someone to the affected parks to help them evaluate which rides can open and how to go about doing so. The indoor rule affects Universal and Disney the most, and it's not all that many rides in the grand scheme of things. "Guidelines" feel kinda arbitrary.

Like, I wouldn't shut Pirates just because it's a 15-minute ride. I'd let it open if Disney made sure the queue was substantially outside. (Basically, hold guests back from entering the building until right before they load.) I probably wouldn't open the Tiki room, but I'd consider it if it were possible to run it with the doors open.

(Btw - if the state did that, it would explain why we haven't heard anything.)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Disney spent the last year working on the virtual queue system. The indoor queues are really the thing I'd be most concerned about if I were the state, and that would solve most of that.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I probably wouldn't open the Tiki room, but I'd consider it if it were possible to run it with the doors open.

No Tiki room might be a dealbreaker for me.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Disney spent the last year working on the virtual queue system. The indoor queues are really the thing I'd be most concerned about if I were the state, and that would solve most of that.

Let's hope, they sure could have utilized it much more at WDW but chose not to. Mainly because keeping people packed in long lines frees up other areas of the park since there aren't as many other things to do (no entertainment, parades, characters, etc.) besides ride attractions. They want people in lines to manage physical distancing better in walkways and other areas- for that reason, I'm not too optimistic about virtual queues. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I'm worried about Indy! No Indy would be another dealbreaker for me. One of our favorites!

I won't come back until at least all the rides are open- that's a hard line for me. I can deal with everything else but not that.

 

[audrey2580]

So I personally think the time limits have to do with capacity. Example would be: you can have a 15 minutes ride but no more than X amount of people can be in that enclosed space per hour. I think it could change if there are open doors / windows or they have an air filtration system. I think it's more complicated that just time wise. But maybe I'm over thinking it.

 

[Winnowill]

I'm worried about Indy! No Indy would be another dealbreaker for me. One of our favorites!

Indy would be, I think, kind of a special case. YES, it has an indoor queue, but it can easily lend itself to social distancing because, except for the intro video area, it's almost all a line, not switchbacks. Also, they don't let people into the indoor area to the point where it fills up, anyway. They'd have to eliminate access to the interactive queue elements and re-think the video holding area, but I don't think either of those things would be difficult.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Indy would be, I think, kind of a special case. YES, it has an indoor queue, but it can easily lend itself to social distancing because, except for the intro video area, it's almost all a line, not switchbacks. Also, they don't let people into the indoor area to the point where it fills up, anyway. They'd have to eliminate access to the interactive queue elements and re-think the video holding area, but I don't think either of those things would be difficult.

I think I might cry when it comes time to ride Indy again- that's a family favorite. We did Dinosaur at WDW and the whole time my son was like "I'm just going to close my eyes and try to pretend it's Indy"

I feel like we read something about them requiring theme parks to limit the use of indoor line queues in something at one point but I think I'm starting to lose track of what's what.

 

[DLgal]

Well, recently CA released new guidance for social distancing at schools among students, in line with the CDC 3 feet recommendation. Our district sent home an email yesterday that said they will align with that new guidance going forward.

If 3 feet is good enough for masked students at schools, it should be good enough for theme parks too. And if you are saying it is safe to have students 3 feet apart in a classroom for an entire school day, you can't logically argue about time limits on indoor attractions.

Since that CDC guidance came out after the theme park reopening guidance, I'd expect to see some revisions.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

If 3 feet is good enough for masked students at schools, it should be good enough for theme parks too. And if you are saying it is safe to have students 3 feet apart in a classroom for an entire school day, you can't logically argue about time limits on indoor attractions.

You'd think so but I think we all know that this entire time theme parks have been held to different standards than other settings.

 

[DLgal]

You'd think so but I think we all know that this entire time theme parks have been held to different standards than other settings.

Well, yeah, but I wouldn't put it past the theme park representatives to push back on these restrictions in light of this new CDC guidance which CA has CHOSEN to adopt in its own schools. You either follow the science or you don't.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Well, recently CA released new guidance for social distancing at schools among students, in line with the CDC 3 feet recommendation. Our district sent home an email yesterday that said they will align with that new guidance going forward.

If 3 feet is good enough for masked students at schools, it should be good enough for theme parks too. And if you are saying it is safe to have students 3 feet apart in a classroom for an entire school day, you can't logically argue about time limits on indoor attractions.

Since that CDC guidance came out after the theme park reopening guidance, I'd expect to see some revisions.

I’ll preface this by saying I think that 3 feet apart with masks on while standing in line in a well ventilated area will be fine. That being said, I think the argument against that for theme parks is, at theme parks, you’re being exposed to thousands of people throughout the day. Students in school are supposed to be in stable groups, so they are theoretically only being exposed to the same small group of students throughout the day. And are able to easily isolate that small group if someone ends up being exposed or coming down with the virus.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Well, recently CA released new guidance for social distancing at schools among students, in line with the CDC 3 feet recommendation. Our district sent home an email yesterday that said they will align with that new guidance going forward.

If 3 feet is good enough for masked students at schools, it should be good enough for theme parks too. And if you are saying it is safe to have students 3 feet apart in a classroom for an entire school day, you can't logically argue about time limits on indoor attractions.

Since that CDC guidance came out after the theme park reopening guidance, I'd expect to see some revisions.

Eh, I think that’s a false equivalency. School is much more of a “necessity” involving a largely low-risk population in fairly fixed locations... I don’t think risk assessment there can be directly applied to a theme park.

Desks being set up three feet apart is also very different than lines on the floor that often have a crowd of people in a group, including a stroller. Even stationed on markers “six feet apart,” we often found ourselves no more than about two feet from the groups around us... so for queues, at least, I don’t think they’d change that. (I mean, I hope not, honestly.)

I definitely think ride lines will be much longer than people seem to expect. The number of people talking about “how nice” it will be at 25% capacity... I don’t expect that, at all, to be honest. Limited ride capacity + new cleaning procedures + very little else to do... I think ride lines will be slow. You should have seen the pier games last weekend! More than five minutes cleaning between each group...

We’ll see, though. Until it’s open and we actually see how things are, it’s just a lot of wheel-spinning.