Rumor about “modified experiences” when Disney reopens (read 1st post for potential modifications being considered)

[tlmadden73]

It’s counter intuitive for them to adjust prices to reflect decreased offerings in the parks to entice more people to come if there is still a need for decreased offerings.

I agree the rumoured cuts make it harder to find value in the prices, but that might be appealing to Disney at this stage.

Oh .. I agree that they wouldn't want to INCENTIVIZE people to come with lower prices or discounts. I am saying they should throw the people that DO end up keeping their reservations a bone for the reduced experience. Basically say -- if you have a reservation already (no new ones) . .and we have to open the park at reduced capacity and you don't cancel you are going to get ... this (a gift card, a bounceback offer, free tickets, etc.)

Really, as unrealistic as it is, Disney should wipe the slate clean of all reservations for the next few months, announce when they are opening, announce a capacity cap, and start taking limited reservations for the opening so people know what they are getting for the price.

I mean .I would think Disney still needs to deal with all these existing reservations anyway -- what if they have more guests booked for Early July than they want in the parks then? What about ADRs that people have booked 180 days ago? Which do they honor if they reduce restaurant capacity? What about Fast passes? Will they be needed?

 

[SarahC97]

From Facebook..

Pete Werner
6 mins ·
According to WFTV, we'll have reopening dates for Orlando's theme parks tomorrow afternoon!!

I hope so. I presently have five separate reservations -- I'd like to take it down to one. LOL

 

[JacknSally]

I didn't know this -- thanks!

No problem! I've worked in the sales department for and managed a couple of non-Disney hotel properties so I'm full of useless quirky hotel knowledge like this.

 

[DisLiss]

Yeah, if Disney's goal is to have people only in the parks for 2-3 hours, then they really only want locals. I'm not sure alienating out of state people with money is a good strategy unless its super temporary....like a month or two.

I mean, isn't attendance usually 75 percent out of staters?

Yeah, but technically aren't the quarantine requirements still in place for a few states? (All of which are East Coast states.) It's bound to draw ire if they start pushing for out of staters to come on down when some still aren't really allowed to yet---at least not in a way that works for the typical vacationer. I mean sure, maybe a few people have enough time off to go spend 2 weeks hanging around on their own in a hotel room or Great Aunt Matilda's basement guest room before heading off to WDW, but most guests won't be able to do that.

 

[tlmadden73]

From Facebook..

Pete Werner
6 mins ·
According to WFTV, we'll have reopening dates for Orlando's theme parks tomorrow afternoon!!

Let the guesses begin!

Based on how things have slowly progressed this month and how DisneySprings is just opening I could see:

1) Not opening parks until July.
2) Only opening parks to LOCAL guests from mid-June until July and opening July 1 to "normal" reservations.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I agree. I've been wondering what causes people to think there will be shorter waits. Perhaps they feel far less people will show up than are allowed to show up? In other words, if WDW is allowed to have 50% capacity, and their rides are set up for 50% capacity, but they only reach 25% capacity in attendance, so the lines go faster than expected.

But if attendance is 50% and the rides are set up for 50%, then in my mind the waits would be about the same as usual, at least *if* people moved through the line and boarded as quickly as they normally do. But if there is time being spent wiping things down or explaining things to guests, then the line might actually move more slowly.

Shanghai had very low waits when it opened (not sure what’s going on there now) even though tickets sold ultra fast for opening likely due to the very low capacity they actually let in.

We obviously don’t know what WDW will do the same or different, but there’s a chance for low waits I suppose.

 

[SarahC97]

No problem! I've worked in the sales department for and managed a couple of non-Disney hotel properties so I'm full of useless quirky hotel knowledge like this.

Not useless -- it's "insider info"!

 

[DisLiss]

Shanghai had very low waits when it opened (not sure what’s going on there now) even though tickets sold ultra fast for opening likely due to the very low capacity they actually let in.

We obviously don’t know what WDW will do the same or different, but there’s a chance for low waits I suppose.

The bolded part is the bane of my existence right now, LOL! Nothing like telling someone who loves to plan ahead that they absolutely cannot have the info they need to plan a darn thing to drive them stark raving mad!

 

[Anna H]

Ooooh I'm so nervous for the official announcment! I'm verrrry out of state so I'm not even sure if we'd get bumped for low capacity/locals only priorities. We have a resort reservation and we saw that they had still been taking reservations I have a feeling they won't open until September. I don't know why. Ahhhhh!!

 

[DGsAtBLT]

The bolded part is the bane of my existence right now, LOL! Nothing like telling someone who loves to plan ahead that they absolutely cannot have the info they need to plan a darn thing to drive them stark raving mad!

What you aren’t enjoying living through a real life version of the movie Groundhog Day?

 

[bclittle]

The folks that had June trips had barely any availability of FastPasses a 60-67 days. Not only the Tier 1 headliners were difficult to get, but many, many, many Tier 2's were not available until the afternoon, etc. It led many to speculate that there were reasons for the FPs being unavailable, besides being busy (it was noted by many that availability was worse than Christmas, Spring Break, etc.). For example, that FPs would not be happening when they reopened and instead virtual queues would be used. Or that many parks would be closed. We don't know yet, but the lack of FP availability in June suggests that the number of FPs allocated in June was much lower than it had been before the closures. We don't know why, but it's not just because they would have been "busy."

I did FPs for my July 9-13 trip and had a similar experience, no headliners were available. I typically can get some Tier 1s later in the trip, but this time no FoP for any day and no HS Tier 1s at all. So there is either more people going during this time or fewer FPs available.

 

[SarahC97]

I did FPs for my July 9-13 trip and had a similar experience, no headliners were available. I typically can get some Tier 1s later in the trip, but this time no FoP for any day and no HS Tier 1s at all. So there is either more people going during this time or fewer FPs available.

I had a similar experience for both a June trip and an early July trip when booking fastpasses. I just assumed, especially when looking at resort availability, there were just fewer fastpasses to be had.

 

[xuxa777]

With all the news organizations saying we will have dates tomorrow afternoon, I bet we get a leak today/tonight, come on insiders do your magic.

 

[Letsoflyakite]

Shanghai had very low waits when it opened (not sure what’s going on there now) even though tickets sold ultra fast for opening likely due to the very low capacity they actually let in.

We obviously don’t know what WDW will do the same or different, but there’s a chance for low waits I suppose.

Yeah, I saw on the first day pretty low waits, but was seeing 40 minute wait times the following day. If someone has wait time averages from China the last week or so, that would be pretty interesting to see.

 

[Anna H]

Let the guesses begin!

Based on how things have slowly progressed this month and how DisneySprings is just opening I could see:

1) Not opening parks until July.
2) Only opening parks to LOCAL guests from mid-June until July and opening July 1 to "normal" reservations.

I like the "idea" of a soft opening for locals and your timeline seems pretty reasonable to me. If a locals-only rule bleeds into August then we definitely won't be able to go. We are from New England. I already feared that many pre-made reservations would get canceled even if they do open. Unless a lot of people canceled on their own, summer is a busy time and they might be at capacity limits before they even start reducing. Why do I do this to myself? Lol

 

[hereforthechurros]

Let the guesses begin!

Based on how things have slowly progressed this month and how DisneySprings is just opening I could see:

1) Not opening parks until July.
2) Only opening parks to LOCAL guests from mid-June until July and opening July 1 to "normal" reservations.

Crazy to think all the theme parks pulled together plans for reopening, dates, and received approval from Florida in less than a week. Hoping this is right so this madness can end! (Or just begin in other ways muhahahaha)

edit: I see they are being presented tomorrow not approved yet. I’m sure sign off won’t take long though.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Let the guesses begin!

Based on how things have slowly progressed this month and how DisneySprings is just opening I could see:

1) Not opening parks until July.
2) Only opening parks to LOCAL guests from mid-June until July and opening July 1 to "normal" reservations.

I saw another post today that said nba and possibly mls are finalizing plans to play at wide world of sports. I believe if this is true, WDW doesn’t open until games are over due to bubble restrictions. I can see Disney closing roadways to prevent non sporting guests access. Can’t have a bunch of Disney guests trying to track down their favorite athletes. This guess could put us at a mid to late July opening, depending on how many games nba wants to play.

 

[Violetspider]

I had a similar experience for both a June trip and an early July trip when booking fastpasses. I just assumed, especially when looking at resort availability, there were just fewer fastpasses to be had.

I figured my dreadful 60+1 thru 60+3 (starting July 6th) was due to 4th of July extended stays. The rest of my FP days were a breeze. I've since been able to straighten out 60+2 and +3, but my 60+1 at HS is still super crappy. I did manage a Tier 1, but late afternoon (not desirable). I generally have difficulty with FPs when the family chooses a near July 4th trip.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Crazy to think all the theme parks pulled together plans for reopening, dates, and received approval from Florida in less than a week. Hoping Pete is right so this madness can end! (Or just begun in other ways muhahahaha)

This is something they’ve surely been working on since closing, or at least since they realized the closure would be long term.

 

[Broncho52]

I saw another post today that said nba and possibly mls are finalizing plans to play at wide world of sports. I believe if this is true, WDW doesn’t open until games are over due to bubble restrictions. I can see Disney closing roadways to prevent non sporting guests access. Can’t have a bunch of Disney guests trying to track down their favorite athletes. This guess could put us at a mid to late July opening, depending on how many games nba wants to play.

This wouldn’t be a smart business move by Disney. They would make way more money having the parks open on a limited basis then they would from hosting the NBA and MLS. The NBA and MLS may still be at Disney WWOS but I don’t see that affecting the parks at all.