News Round Up 2020

[nkosiek]

Well, great, now I'm more worried and hesitant again. At this point, we're leaning on the side of going to our trip in late August, and we've decided to drive instead of fly to avoid airport/plane/Magical Express, and we'd also use our car most likely to go to parks other than Magic Kingdom (staying at Copper Creek) to avoid the buses.

Without stops, it would be about a 14-hour-drive for us. I was already a little worried about the stopping part of it, but your comment about the rest areas now has me quite worried. Was that both ways, or were the rest stops quiet on your way down? What time did you travel coming back? My plan is to leave about 6:00 in the evening, and get down there about 10:00 am, with stops for food and bathroom breaks factored in.

We drove back and forth from Philly over the last 2 weeks. I felt going down wasn't as bad as coming up in terms of rest stops/masks. Coming back up was like, "Please let me cross the Mason-Dixon Line". That said, we came back on a Saturday and Sunday, so there were more people than when we drove down on a Weds/Thursday.

 

[rteetz]

**HOPEFUL**

Any chance they'll add openings since they are all currently sold out.......or do I just need to obsessively check......??

I think that depends on how many people choose the refund option.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

'Eligible runners who select to participate in the virtual race will receive a race shirt and medal for each distance they complete, in addition to the satisfaction of completing the race they’ve been training for.'

Not sure if that is worth $89/$129/$208 or $352. That's a pretty high level of satisfaction there for those prices.

 

[rteetz]

'Eligible runners who select to participate in the virtual race will receive a race shirt and medal for each distance they complete, in addition to the satisfaction of completing the race they’ve been training for.'

Not sure if that is worth $89/$129/$208 or $352. That's a pretty high level of satisfaction there for those prices.

You get a gift partial refund. It’s not much tho. $10 for the 5K, $30 for the 10K, $90 for the half, and $100 for the challenge.

 

[wdwrule]

**HOPEFUL**

Any chance they'll add openings since they are all currently sold out.......or do I just need to obsessively check......??

I’m hoping for the same thing. It would give them extra revenue at least to open it up to additional participants of the virtual run.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

You get a gift partial refund. It’s not much tho. $10 for the 5K, $30 for the 10K, $90 for the half, and $100 for the challenge.

I did see that gift card mentioned but hadn't realized it meant you were getting a little back. That actually does make the prices a bit more palatable.

 

[wareagle57]

at the very least they should let them book "day of" from any of the open buckets

Agree. It’s ridiculous to see them pandering to locals that never had an AP but locking out the people who care enough to buy the highest level pass. Nevermind the fact that Platinum passes are now no more valuable than any other pass.

That said, while we haven’t been able to go exactly where we want spur of the moment, we have had good luck getting the parks we want eventually and it hasn’t been THAT bad. I feel like we’ve made great use of our passes in the last 2 weeks, but touring in a completely different way than we usually do. Once we are both back to work, we will basically only have weekends(or Epcot) due to the extremely early closures at the other parks.

 

[Princessclab]

It was a museum piece, not on Disney property. Plus it’s owned by Arribas Bro’s, not Disney. It’s just based on a Disney item.

Thank you for the clarificaton on where it was etc. ☺

 

[Anthony Vito]

We drove back and forth from Philly over the last 2 weeks. I felt going down wasn't as bad as coming up in terms of rest stops/masks. Coming back up was like, "Please let me cross the Mason-Dixon Line". That said, we came back on a Saturday and Sunday, so there were more people than when we drove down on a Weds/Thursday.

What times of day did you drive? We're coming from Delaware, so a pretty similar drive.

 

[OSUZorba]

This just goes back to $$. They don't make more money when an AP walks through the gates. They already have that money. I know, I know, APs will spend in the parks... but it's not going to make up for the difference a ticket would make. I think it'd be great if they can offer more last-minute AP availability, but I 100% understand why they are limiting it.

Right now they are just losing the extra income APs do spend and upsetting their most loyal customers for absolutely nothing. If they aren't full they are losing money by screwing APs. Not to mention goodwill.

This is where their greed is shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[OSUZorba]

With a AP Disney is making $0 from you going to the park. If you buy a ticket they get $$ in hand. Once in the park usually both will buy food and other items. So once your in it’s a wash. Disney is just looking for some easy $$

And getting a goose egg for their efforts. Parks sell APs to fill the parks, especially when they are otherwise dead. Also what does this say about how Disney feels about their customers? "Yeah, you spent the cost of 2 10-Day park hoppers and another 2-Day hopper, so you can have three days in the park. Thanks for the money, chump."

 

[MommaBerd]

Wow, no need or is it really that necessary to get defensive over a simple question. Not all parents would be 'mortified' and some would blame Disney for having the castle in a place where children could hurt it. Not uncommon now that parents believe their children do no wrong, as others have said here including the post you quoted.
Pretty sure Disney is insured for it.

The intention of the question was to see what Disney's reaction was; sorry you did not get that and went to a negative personal attack.
Hope the rest of your day goes better.

The way your question was worded, “Any parent accountability?” sounded presumptuous and accusatory, in my opinion, and in no way insinuated that you wanted to know “Disney’s reaction.” And just as you didn’t think your comment was inflammatory, I don’t feel that my response was a personal “attack” on you. Defensive of parents, yes, but not a personal attack. By stating that museums likely have insurance for things like this does not absolve the parents’ or children’s responsibility, either. This is all I have to say on this matter.

 

[nkosiek]

What times of day did you drive? We're coming from Delaware, so a pretty similar drive.

We split it up, visiting my sister in Richmond for a night, so left Philly at 10:30am, got to her place by 3:30 (no mean feat with a 5 and 2 year old who need bathroom breaks). We left Richmond at 9:30am and got to Savannah around 5:30/6pm (stopped in Selma, NC for lunch, even driving a half mile to a playground/park to eat in). Left Savannah around 10, stopped for lunch at the rest area just south of Jacksonville (we packed some fruit and the like) and were crossing under the sign at 2:35pm. These were middle of the week.

Coming back, we left WDW on Saturday the 18th around 11:30am, and made it to Fayetteville, NC around 8:30pm (woulda been earlier but the little guy got sick and we had to stop for a bit to let him get some crackers and just not move for a bit). Left Fayetteville around 9:30, reached my sister's in Richmond around 12:45. Left her place around 2:30, nasty traffic north of Richmond, took 301 back for quite some way, got back to Philly a little after 8 on Sunday night.

I'm not a 14 hour drive all at once guy, and my kids won't do it. We didn't think it was bad in terms of masks or traffic on the way down. On the way back up, I'm assuming since it was a weekend that is why we saw so many more people, and I'd say masks were at 50%, and even most of those were just mouth guards. We really noticed it when we stopped at a truck stop on I4 40 minutes after leaving WDW (5 year olds!!!!) and none of them were wearing one, nor were any of the other cars that pulled over (we seemed to start a trend, as 5 cars pulled off too and almost all had little kids who needed to go). I-4 is a construction mess for the 15-20 miles closest to WDW. Also, I-Exit may be a game changer in terms of apps for parents. We were prepared for bathrooms, rest stops, food places, everything.

 

[Princessclab]

The way your question was worded, “Any parent accountability?” sounded presumptuous and accusatory, in my opinion, and in no way insinuated that you wanted to know “Disney’s reaction.” And just as you didn’t think your comment was inflammatory, I don’t feel that my response was a personal “attack” on you. Defensive of parents, yes, but not a personal attack. By stating that museums likely have insurance for things like this does not absolve the parents’ or children’s responsibility, either. This is all I have to say on this matter.

Lol! SMH.

 

[Anthony Vito]

We split it up, visiting my sister in Richmond for a night, so left Philly at 10:30am, got to her place by 3:30 (no mean feat with a 5 and 2 year old who need bathroom breaks). We left Richmond at 9:30am and got to Savannah around 5:30/6pm (stopped in Selma, NC for lunch, even driving a half mile to a playground/park to eat in). Left Savannah around 10, stopped for lunch at the rest area just south of Jacksonville (we packed some fruit and the like) and were crossing under the sign at 2:35pm. These were middle of the week.

Coming back, we left WDW on Saturday the 18th around 11:30am, and made it to Fayetteville, NC around 8:30pm (woulda been earlier but the little guy got sick and we had to stop for a bit to let him get some crackers and just not move for a bit). Left Fayetteville around 9:30, reached my sister's in Richmond around 12:45. Left her place around 2:30, nasty traffic north of Richmond, took 301 back for quite some way, got back to Philly a little after 8 on Sunday night.

I'm not a 14 hour drive all at once guy, and my kids won't do it. We didn't think it was bad in terms of masks or traffic on the way down. On the way back up, I'm assuming since it was a weekend that is why we saw so many more people, and I'd say masks were at 50%, and even most of those were just mouth guards. We really noticed it when we stopped at a truck stop on I4 40 minutes after leaving WDW (5 year olds!!!!) and none of them were wearing one, nor were any of the other cars that pulled over (we seemed to start a trend, as 5 cars pulled off too and almost all had little kids who needed to go). I-4 is a construction mess for the 15-20 miles closest to WDW. Also, I-Exit may be a game changer in terms of apps for parents. We were prepared for bathrooms, rest stops, food places, everything.

Thank you - that's very helpful. Our kids are 6 & 8 now, so we're hoping we fare a little better with the stops. We're also worried a little about our 6 y.o., when she was 4, we drove up to Rhode Island, and she started feeling nauseous from the motion and watching movies along the way. Those are additional reasons we're driving overnight - try to minimize the need for breaks and the need to keep them occupied. Hopefully now that she's older, she'll fare a little better. I downloaded that iExit app, so I'll have to play with it. I'm a little worried about what will be open when we're traveling, but I'm also going to try to keep a list of the companies that are requiring masks in their businesses nationwide and look for those near the travel route. Thanks for the info!

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1286285235219505152

 

[TheMaxRebo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1286285235219505152

Looks like Disney came out with an announcement about this:

https://blogmickey.com/2020/07/disn...istance-virtual-queue-a-week-into-operations/
"For guests with a Disney Park Pass reservation to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the attraction will continue to have limited availability accessible through the My Disney Experience app virtual queue. Starting Friday, July 24, guests will have an opportunity at either 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. to join the virtual queue. These two opportunities are intended to give guests more flexibility in their planning, and are also a way to further support physical distancing. "

bold is mine - still not sure this is enough as if you want to get on the ride you really need to be there prior to opening to try for the 10am slot so you are still going to have the crowding at "rope drop"

 

[TheMaxRebo]

so not Disney related but as it relates to movie releases (and then what could this mean for Mulan) but Bill & Ted 3 is going to be released in theaters and VOD on Sept 1st ... obviously could change prior to then but they are still thinking theaters will be open by Sept 1st, but also having the VOD option, so will be interesting to see how that plays out

https://thrillgeek.com/2020/07/23/bill-and-ted-face-the-music-coming-theaters-digital-september-1/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

AMC is delaying reopening til mid to late August (previously July 30th).

""This new timing reflects currently expected release dates for much anticipated blockbusters like Warner Bros.' Tenet and Disney's Mulan, as well as release dates for several other new movies coming to AMC's big screens," the company said in a release."

 

[jknezek]

AMC is delaying reopening til mid to late August (previously July 30th).

""This new timing reflects currently expected release dates for much anticipated blockbusters like Warner Bros.' Tenet and Disney's Mulan, as well as release dates for several other new movies coming to AMC's big screens," the company said in a release."

Chicken meet egg. We aren't releasing movies because movie theaters aren't open. We aren't opening theaters because there are no movies. Except the real problem is we aren't opening theaters because they don't believe anyone actually wants to sit in one for 2 hours with a bunch of unknown people around.

It's kind of a mess and I'm not sure how it gets resolved, but going to a movie theater right now, like going to a theme park, is very, very low on my list of things to do.