Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[Disneylandmamaof5]

Hey.. no Dole Whips? WHAT?

 

[gerilyne]

Hey.. no Dole Whips? WHAT?

I think they will be available at the Tropical Hideaway. I had the same reaction though.

 

[jodybird511]

And with the limited offerings, that's gonna create long lines and waits for mobile order time slots.

This is one of the biggest challenges/frustrations at WDW. We were there in November, and you really have to plan ahead--otherwise, SUPER long waits for crappy food. When we were there, thanks to advice from others on the WDW side of the boards, we would place our mobile orders several hours in advance on the app in order to get a decent time. You have to choose a time and pay when you place the order, but they don't actually start making your food until you click the "I'm here" button, or something like that. This is the strategy I recommend for everyone, given the extensive food closings at DLR.

 

[Malcon10t]

I wish there was a way of determining how many people within the 35% capacity amount are CA residents with tickets already who also want to go opening day

I just want to clarify that while Disney CAN open with 35%, the behind the scenes rumor is they will be opening considerably lower to ramp up.

And if they are opening at 20%, they only need 20% of food space. But I have also "heard" other (not all) dining locations are expected to open on or about May 13th.

 

[DLgal]

I just want to clarify that while Disney CAN open with 35%, the behind the scenes rumor is they will be opening considerably lower to ramp up.

And if they are opening at 20%, they only need 20% of food space. But I have also "heard" other dining locations are expected to open on or about May 13th.

May 14 is also when park hours are set to extend, so maybe this super limited opening will just be for the first 2 weeks.

Hmm...makes me want to perhaps schedule my park reservations AFTER May 14.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

May 14 is also when park hours are set to extend, so maybe this super limited opening will just be for the first 2 weeks.

Hmm...makes me want to perhaps schedule my park reservations AFTER May 14.

I was thinking the same thing. I am sure the limited restaurant openings were cost and space saving measures because DLR was not prepared for reopening in California to be accelerated the way it is now. With the longer park hours already planned for May, perhaps DLR just needed that extra time to hire back and train all of those CMs because they just couldn’t do it all at once. At least that’s my wishful thinking...

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Only using your comment since it summarizes a lot that is closed. But honestly, I am not surprised. If you have been following WDW, these are all closed there too. Especially a lot of dining. It seriously is mainly just riding rides down there. No real shows yet (only notable exceptions I can think of is the Frozen sing along at HS and the bird show at AK). No meet and greets. No parades or fireworks. I was much more tired at the end of my days when I was there last month as I was not getting the chance to sit for periods of time by stopping into shows.

Agreed, it's a very different experience. We're normally ride people anyways but without FP that really does turn into a lot of standing.. all day long.

Anyone else just longing for the pre-covid Disney days? I never realized (well, maybe I did since we went twice a year lol) how good we had it.

 

[jodybird511]

I was thinking the same thing. I am sure the limited restaurant openings were cost and space saving measures because DLR was not prepared for reopening in California to be accelerated the way it is now. With the longer park hours already planned for May, perhaps DLR just needed that extra time to hire back and train all of those CMs because they just couldn’t do it all at once. At least that’s my wishful thinking...

I hope this is the case, but remember that there is still a LOT closed at WDW, including almost all shows and character dining.

 

[DLgal]

I was thinking the same thing. I am sure the limited restaurant openings were cost and space saving measures because DLR was not prepared for reopening in California to be accelerated the way it is now. With the longer park hours already planned for May, perhaps DLR just needed that extra time to hire back and train all of those CMs because they just couldn’t do it all at once. At least that’s my wishful thinking...

Yep. Also, I don't think this has been talked about yet, but it was posted yesterday that OC has high enough testing numbers to have "immunity", so to speak from moving BACK a tier if case numbers climb. So, it is expected that we will stay in Orange tier permanently, and once we move to Yellow tier, we will stay there until the state retires the tier system. That may make it easier for DL to project capacity and staffing further out.

It is also possible that the limited food offerings are a supply issue. Especially random things like Mickey pretzels not being available at first.

 

[DLgal]

I hope this is the case, but remember that there is still a LOT closed at WDW, including almost all shows and character dining.

I don't expect shows and character dining to come back for a LONG time, but given DLs smaller footprint, having such limited CS and food cart offerings is going to be a real logistical problem.

I am really struggling with the fact that there will be basically NO food options in the entire back half of DL park. No Toontown eateries, only Ronto roasters in SW land, nothing in Critter Country, etc. This is going to overcrowd the open locations, and with limited seating due to distancing requirements, it can end up being a really bad situation.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Yep. Also, I don't think this has been talked about yet, but it was posted yesterday that OC has high enough testing numbers to have "immunity", so to speak from moving BACK a tier if case numbers climb. So, it is expected that we will stay in Orange tier permanently, and once we move to Yellow tier, we will stay there until the state retires the tier system. That may make it easier for DL to project capacity and staffing further out.

It is also possible that the limited food offerings are a supply issue. Especially random things like Mickey pretzels not being available at first.

Oh that's good news! That gives folks more confidence to book (when the time comes for out of staters) if we know they won't suddenly regress and say "oh sorry, you're out of luck!"

My son would starve without pretzels... he's a picky eater so usually I just feed him those all day long..

 

[DLgal]

Oh that's good news! That gives folks more confidence to book (when the time comes for out of staters) if we know they won't suddenly regress and say "oh sorry, you're out of luck!"

My son would starve without pretzels... he's a picky eater so usually I just feed him those all day long..

There is still Wetzels. And, I guess Napolini for pizza (the manager at Naples told me they plan to reopen the CS once the parks open). They better get ready for a surge from picky kids who were used to getting pizza in the parks!

 

[audrey2580]

I know we have to pick a park when we make reservations and since we have parkhoppers we can head to the other park at 1:00. So will they be holding space for those people? I guess what I'm thinking is - what if Disneyland is sold out of reservations for the day and you make reservations (with your hopper ticket) for DCA, will you be abe to get into Disneyland later?

 

[mlggator22]

I don't expect shows and character dining to come back for a LONG time, but given DLs smaller footprint, having such limited CS and food cart offerings is going to be a real logistical problem.

I am really struggling with the fact that there will be basically NO food options in the entire back half of DL park. No Toontown eateries, only Ronto roasters in SW land, nothing in Critter Country, etc. This is going to overcrowd the open locations, and with limited seating due to distancing requirements, it can end up being a really bad situation.

Yes, this was in my opinion a real problem when we hit WDW in November. There were just a few CS options open and if you tried to eat during any of the normal lunch or dinner window, the wait was horrible. I also have picky eaters in my family, which made mobile ordering a nightmare.
When you are selecting your time, you are basically reserving a time slot for them to make your food. They don't actually make your order until you say "I'm here." This caused HUGE crowds to form around the pick up area as everyone waits for their food. These crowds also created problems with blocking walk through areas. I see this being a big issue with Red Rose Tavern as that is located at a pinch point already.

 

[brightlined]

I know we have to pick a park when we make reservations and since we have parkhoppers we can head to the other park at 1:00. So will they be holding space for those people? I guess what I'm thinking is - what if Disneyland is sold out of reservations for the day and you make reservations (with your hopper ticket) for DCA, will you be abe to get into Disneyland later?

The language they're using so far has a lot of hedging in it, which makes it all hard to predict.

My hunch at this point - DLR's capacity will be kept artificially below the state's restrictions in order to give them wiggle room to allow hopping. It'll just put DL at a higher percentage of capacity during part of the day, but one that the park can (legally) absorb. (Unless they discover otherwise during the soft launch two weeks.)

 

[AZMermaid]

Maybe they need the ToD folks feel good about their pretzels and Dole Whips!

 

[edhmom]

This is one of the biggest challenges/frustrations at WDW. We were there in November, and you really have to plan ahead--otherwise, SUPER long waits for crappy food. When we were there, thanks to advice from others on the WDW side of the boards, we would place our mobile orders several hours in advance on the app in order to get a decent time. You have to choose a time and pay when you place the order, but they don't actually start making your food until you click the "I'm here" button, or something like that. This is the strategy I recommend for everyone, given the extensive food closings at DLR.

Once you clicked the "I'm here" button was it a reasonable wait, or would you click it 15 minutes before you were actually there? Whenever I've used it at DL it's been great with one exception at Jolly Holiday that took FOREVER.

 

[mlggator22]

Once you clicked the "I'm here" button was it a reasonable wait, or would you click it 15 minutes before you were actually there? Whenever I've used it at DL it's been great with one exception at Jolly Holiday that took FOREVER.

For us at WDW, you clicked "I'm Here" it was 10 to 15 minutes, 20 at the worst.

 

[BGinCali]

There is still Wetzels. And, I guess Napolini for pizza (the manager at Naples told me they plan to reopen the CS once the parks open). They better get ready for a surge from picky kids who were used to getting pizza in the parks!

I always ate each week at Napolini’s - so glad to hear the CS will re-open too! (What I wouldn’t give for one of their California pizza’s )

 

[Winnowill]

The WDW system has you book each day one at a time. Also at WDW, if you have 5 days of park tickets, you can book 5 days of park reservations. They only limit the APs to 3 booked reservations with the exception being if you have a resort reservation.

This is good to know, because we have 5-day hoppers, also, and I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get reservations for all five days we'll be there. It's not like I'll be able to go back and forth to Anaheim to make the 13-day window if I can't get the days I need from the get-go.