Superthread for Disneyland Resort Closure and Reopening, 3/14/20 - 7/17/20: Please Post All Relevant Questions and Information Here!

[Geemo]

With all the talk of wanting the parks to open ASAP regardless of the status of the virus, I think it's important to take extra consideration for the health and well-being of cast member’s in the theoretical situation of an early park re-opening.

Our sad feelings and desires to go back to the parks won’t somehow influence the parks to open ASAP. It is as if we are hoping Disney (in the name of profit) will ignore the risks of the pandemic and open early, forcing all of the furloughed workers to come back and risk their lives and the lives of their families just so we can ride Space Mountain for the 1,000th time.

It’s easy for us to say we as guests will maintain distancing, stay vigilant, and “survive” because we think we are tougher, younger, smarter, etc. than a virus. But every cast member that sells us merch, serves us food, takes our photopass pictures, checks our AP at the gate, or cleans the bathrooms is subjected to endless streams of people who could be infected (with or without symptoms that a simple temperature check is not going to detect).

Is our fun and anxiousness to return to the parks worth even one person dying or spending weeks in the hospital? I would hope your answer to that question isn’t: “anyone who chooses to come back to work at Disneyland does so at their own risk and is taking their own chances”. I would hate to see a cast member who loves their job have to weigh the fear of a) coming back to work and risking getting the virus or b) risking getting fired because they didn’t show up to work out of fear of the virus.

It’s also interesting that a lot of people chastise Disney for being a money-hungry greedy company, yet in this situation we find Disney doing the right thing by putting public health and safety ahead of profits. But in this instance it seems some are expecting Disney to act like a greedy corporation and ignore the Governor’s guidelines just so people can get their Disney fix.

Everyone is suffering through this and it’s going to try our patience and cause personal and financial stresses that we’ve never even considered before. We will get through it and Disneyland will open again.

I CAN’T WAIT to go back. But I will.

Well stated....
The Like Button isn't enough for your post.

Thank you!

 

[mentos]

Seriously! Definitely was sweating those non-refundable plane tickets for summer until I got the airline email allowing me to cancel/get a flight credit.

I can hear my dad’s ‘I told ya so’ lecture (pre-chaos) about booking refundable travel ringing in my ears now...

usually refundable tickets are just so darn expensive. You’re almost better off buying a CFAR trip insurance policy.

I have a fear of commitment so I always minimize “at risk” money. Hotels typically have 2-4 day cancellation windows, I fly Southwest as much as I can (helps being in a high traffic corridor), and book early in my DVC UY so I have time to rebook in the 7-11mo window.

The most important thing is keeping those deadlines straight, I have a google calendar full of them.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

It has been quite a day news-wise, and I know many of us are disappointed, hurt, and even reeling from all the announcements and the implications from Gov. Newsom's press conference.
Nevertheless, the rules and guidelines of this board still apply to this thread. Please keep all posts respectful, courteous, and ON TOPIC. This is not a thread to discuss politics, political figures, the virus itself, public health and our opinions thereon, speculation about when the parks will open and to whom, etc. This thread is for factual and official news concerning the DLR Closure and reopening. Please keep your posts focused on that. Venting and ranting have no place in this thread.
Please remember that the "report" button at the bottom of each post does work -- use it to let the mods know about posts that are out of hand and outside the guidelines and rules. It can help keep threads from getting way out of control. Thank you.
For those of you who have been trying very hard to stay on topic and to keep others on topic, thank you! Keep up the good work!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I know this thread is meant to avoid rumors/speculation but I'll just say this.... I'd rather see Disneyland stay closed a little longer and then open safely rather than opening too soon and having to immediately close. And as someone who lives in a tourist area, I can emphasize with locals (and the governor) that want things to be safe before opening the floodgates to out of town guests.

Disney will still be there when this is all said and done. They need to do what it takes to keep the community, cast members, and guests safe.

This thread is indeed meant to avoid rumors and speculation -- and your post is neither. It is common sense. And there is no rule against that here!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... Our rescheduled March trip is now August 3-8. I've felt for a long time that that was not going to happen. I think I'm going to call Southwest and deal with my travel funds tomorrow. I'll see if Lansky's will issue a raincheck; they did that back in March that was good for up to 3 years which is when I rebooked for August with them. Cancel the hotel and that just leaves the park tickets, which I can apply to tickets at some day in the future. At this point, I'm thinking not sooner than 2022. I'm not going through this again. It's been a not fun ride.

I'm so sorry. I know how hard you worked to plan for this trip and how much of yourself you invested in that planning for you and your family. Don't lose faith -- this trip will happen.. somehow, some day -- when the time is right, it will happen. And when it does, no matter what happens, whether things look like you planned or whether things are a total surprise, the magic will still happen. Faith, trust, and pixie dust -- it will still happen for you and your family. Big hug for you.

 

[Krandor]

Maybe tomorrow we will hear from the Gov, ”Disneyland is excluded.” It isn’t like he hasn’t said/done that before.

that wouldn’t matter. If all other mass gatherings like sports etc were closed disney isn’t going to open. The pr optics would be horrible. You’d get things posted like “angels stadium empty and can’t have games but right down the road ....”

 

[stlrod]

I called yesterday about the special prices for those who had vacations cancelled due to the virus. I had a DVC reservation and was curious as to whether I could re-book using the new package rates. I was told the "up to 35% off" was basically good for everybody but to get the extra $50 per night gift card you had to have a reservation number which was cancelled. They easily honored my reservation number and re-booked me for mid August at 30% off with the $50 per nights credit. Of course, this as before the press conference so looks like I may be moving the reservation. (I was also told while you could only get this special once, you could move the dates.)

 

[cmrdgrs]

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/california-governor-says-no-mass-202207536.html
“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” Newsom said. “So large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers, all together across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations.”
Newsom acknowledged that expectations can change, and he resisted setting any sort of timeline.
But, he added, “When you suggest June, July, August, it is unlikely.”


I suppose things could change and I hope this is wrong, but if you're making plans now, you might want to take this into consideration.

Thank you for sharing this clip from Governor Newsom.

I had made a Disney Collection reservation at GCH over Easter weekend that obviously did not happen due to the Covid-19 closures. I rescheduled to the last 3 days of my UY (July 29 - 31) with the hopes of giving myself the most amount of time possible to not lose the points.

This information sends me back to the drawing board. In an attempt to noodle ways to salvage my 332 "reservation" points. Dang it!

 

[Aurora0427]

News kept rolling in today: no county fair; probably no state fair; no disneyland.....if we get our beaches open, that will be a saving grace for us here in SD.

We still have our Aulani for August and holding onto those for now. May actually extend it to two weeks if this continues and they keep the two week quarantine

I was so sad they cancelled the county fair. I will cry the day they open the beaches. We just stare longingly at the ocean. At this point the day I can take my dog to the groomer and can walk on the beach will be the BEST DAY EVER!

 

[katyringo]

Can I just post here how sad I was yesterday? I miss being worried about if we would get a boarding group or not. Seems so silly now.

 

[Aurora0427]

With all the talk of wanting the parks to open ASAP regardless of the status of the virus, I think it's important to take extra consideration for the health and well-being of cast member’s in the theoretical situation of an early park re-opening.

Our sad feelings and desires to go back to the parks won’t somehow influence the parks to open ASAP. It is as if we are hoping Disney (in the name of profit) will ignore the risks of the pandemic and open early, forcing all of the furloughed workers to come back and risk their lives and the lives of their families just so we can ride Space Mountain for the 1,000th time.

It’s easy for us to say we as guests will maintain distancing, stay vigilant, and “survive” because we think we are tougher, younger, smarter, etc. than a virus. But every cast member that sells us merch, serves us food, takes our photopass pictures, checks our AP at the gate, or cleans the bathrooms is subjected to endless streams of people who could be infected (with or without symptoms that a simple temperature check is not going to detect).

Is our fun and anxiousness to return to the parks worth even one person dying or spending weeks in the hospital? I would hope your answer to that question isn’t: “anyone who chooses to come back to work at Disneyland does so at their own risk and is taking their own chances”. I would hate to see a cast member who loves their job have to weigh the fear of a) coming back to work and risking getting the virus or b) risking getting fired because they didn’t show up to work out of fear of the virus.

It’s also interesting that a lot of people chastise Disney for being a money-hungry greedy company, yet in this situation we find Disney doing the right thing by putting public health and safety ahead of profits. But in this instance it seems some are expecting Disney to act like a greedy corporation and ignore the Governor’s guidelines just so people can get their Disney fix.

Everyone is suffering through this and it’s going to try our patience and cause personal and financial stresses that we’ve never even considered before. We will get through it and Disneyland will open again.

I CAN’T WAIT to go back. But I will.

Thank you for this....as much as I love Disney, I shudder to think about it Opening too soon. You are correct about needing to protect cast members.
At this point, after being in our home since 3/14, I’m looking forward to simply walking on the beach and taking my kids to the playground! I don’t need Disneyland to open before it’s safe! Thank you for this reminder! Really love the Disneyland board... most everyone here is so nice and respectful!

 

[KPeterso]

I immediately had the same though about Disneyland. I have a late July reservation (DVC VGC) that I'm holding on to as I have time to bank my points, but I'm thinking there is about a 1% chance of it happening. Super sad.

I have a mid July (Disneyland's birthday) VGC dvc reservation. I am still holding onto it, but am assuming it will be cancelled sooner rather than later. Once it does get cancelled, I will need to call DVC to reallocate my banked points onto my November reservation. My May VGC reservation has not yet been cancelled, but I know it will be. I have until 7/31 to bank my points, so giving it a little more time.

 

[cmrdgrs]

I have a mid July (Disneyland's birthday) VGC dvc reservation. I am still holding onto it, but am assuming it will be cancelled sooner rather than later. Once it does get cancelled, I will need to call DVC to reallocate my banked points onto my November reservation. My May VGC reservation has not yet been cancelled, but I know it will be. I have until 7/31 to bank my points, so giving it a little more time.

I think Dec UYs are in a good position to not lose points. Good luck with your travel plans.

 

[KPeterso]

I think Dec UYs are in a good position to not lose points. Good luck with your travel plans.

In my case, yes and no... I have some banked 2018 points that I am going to most likely lose. I have a Sept WDW trip planned, but am thinking I will be cancelling as it will be with my Mom who is 80+ years old, and I am not sure it will be a good idea. I will decide on that one in July so I can cancel and bank the majority of my points. Thankfully, it will only be a small portion of previously baned points that I will lose (unless I can get some last minute VGC reservations in the fall when DL opens). I also have a Feb Use year (yes, I have more than 1 use year) that I may lose about 15 points on too. As much as it kills me to lose points, I will get over it and throw them in RCI if I need to.

 

[mentos]

In my case, yes and no... I have some banked 2018 points that I am going to most likely lose. I have a Sept WDW trip planned, but am thinking I will be cancelling as it will be with my Mom who is 80+ years old, and I am not sure it will be a good idea. I will decide on that one in July so I can cancel and bank the majority of my points. Thankfully, it will only be a small portion of previously baned points that I will lose (unless I can get some last minute VGC reservations in the fall when DL opens). I also have a Feb Use year (yes, I have more than 1 use year) that I may lose about 15 points on too. As much as it kills me to lose points, I will get over it and throw them in RCI if I need to.

This sucks. This is also a very active discussion going on in the DVC subforum about whether to dump into RCI, or wait for some sort of announcement from DVC. What owners didn't want to do was dump into RCI and Disney comes back and says "hey here's something for you..." which would have been a better option than RCI.

I have banked 2018 points combined with current 2019 points for one night in May (24pts total) on an August UY, as disappointed as I will be to lose them...it could have been worse.

The joys of ownership have to be balanced with the risks and responsibilities of ownership, unfortunately. Even if I have to move out of my house, I still owe property taxes =( I ache for those with 100..200...300+ points at risk. That's potentially years of scrimping/saving for the dream vacation suddenly gone.

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

I was jut watching some POV ride videos and the thought struck me that even once the restrictions on gatherings, and things opening up again, I wonder how much time it would actually take Disney to get everything back up and running. Do they have any maintenance going on right now (I know there is not going to be any regular wear and tear on the rides, grounds etc.) but there has to be some sort of quality assurance/maintenance prior to the parks getting back up and running. No idea how long that would take but you would have to think that would take some time. A day, a week or longer? Food for thought on any potential opening.

 

[CastAStone]

I was jut watching some POV ride videos and the thought struck me that even once the restrictions on gatherings, and things opening up again, I wonder how much time it would actually take Disney to get everything back up and running. Do they have any maintenance going on right now (I know there is not going to be any regular wear and tear on the rides, grounds etc.) but there has to be some sort of quality assurance/maintenance prior to the parks getting back up and running. No idea how long that would take but you would have to think that would take some time. A day, a week or longer? Food for thought on any potential opening.

I have heard from a reliable source that WDW will take 2 weeks. I would assume DLR is similar.

 

[MemoriesintheMaking]

I called yesterday about the special prices for those who had vacations cancelled due to the virus. I had a DVC reservation and was curious as to whether I could re-book using the new package rates. I was told the "up to 35% off" was basically good for everybody but to get the extra $50 per night gift card you had to have a reservation number which was cancelled. They easily honored my reservation number and re-booked me for mid August at 30% off with the $50 per nights credit. Of course, this as before the press conference so looks like I may be moving the reservation. (I was also told while you could only get this special once, you could move the dates.)

Has anyone else re-booked a cancelled DLR room with the 35% off plus $50 gift card, and then successfully moved the dates once again, while keeping the discount and gift card?

We had an April trip that I cancelled and then re-booked with the special offer for the middle of August, as an optimistic time frame guess. Now that it's pretty evident August will be a no-go, I wonder if I'll be able to keep the discount and incentive for another date, possibly in the fall or sometime in the later part of 2020...

We're just driving whenever we get to go, so I don't have to worry about airfare, and we already have our DL tickets, so I may wait until July to actually reschedule the room.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone for keeping this thread going. As always, very grateful to Disboards and this great forum. I hope everyone is staying safe.

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

I have heard from a reliable source that WDW will take 2 weeks. I would assume DLR is similar.

Interesting and thank you for the information. I wonder if it might be a tad faster in DLR as the scope of operations in WDW is much larger on the whole then DLR.

 

[CastAStone]

Interesting and thank you for the information. I wonder if it might be a tad faster in DLR as the scope of operations in WDW is much larger on the whole then DLR.

Could be, I have no way to learn about DLR reopening specifically except these boards. My understanding is that at least at WDW they've sent in some people to put the attractions into a sort of a storage mode - emptying hydraulic chambers, removing rubber elements that can't stay in one position indefinitely without warping, etc. That stuff and landscaping I could see taking significant time to fix - DLR is a lot smaller than WDW but it also has far less staff and more worker protections/work rules.