WDW COVID-19 Operational Changes- Reservation System-Rope Drop Procedures

[teach22180]

I think when a vaccine begins distribution,even a very limited one to start,and all signs point to sometime in December,there will be a HUGE "light at the end of the tunnel" feeling and even though there will still be hard months ahead,I think the "appetite" to close WDW again just won't be strong enough.

I don't think the pres can do a shutdown. It's really a state decision. He can shut down air traffic, so that is what I'm nervous about because I fly.

 

[yulilin3]

Please let's focus on ther CURRENT operationsl impacts and not what MIGHT happen
Talk of vaccines can be done in the community forum

 

[sswally]

I know this changes on the regular, but when are parks actually opening these days? And when are rides starting to run? When we were there several months ago, we were able to get in the parks about an hour before “opening” and some rides were running early (MMRR, FoP) but a lot were not. We like to get the most out of the mornings, so is there somewhere I can find out generally when parks are allowing entry and what rides are operating early for our trip next week? We had a couple of days last time where we wasted time standing in lines for rides that didn’t open until park “opening” when we could have taken advantage of rides that were actually running early if we would have known which way to go in advance.

 

[yulilin3]

I know this changes on the regular, but when are parks actually opening these days? And when are rides starting to run? When we were there several months ago, we were able to get in the parks about an hour before “opening” and some rides were running early (MMRR, FoP) but a lot were not. We like to get the most out of the mornings, so is there somewhere I can find out generally when parks are allowing entry and what rides are operating early for our trip next week? We had a couple of days last time where we wasted time standing in lines for rides that didn’t open until park “opening” when we could have taken advantage of rides that were actually running early if we would have known which way to go in advance.

Park opens almost immediately after parking lots open, so about an hour to 45 minutes prior to official opening. As far as attractions that's an operational decision made everyday so it can vary and it's not guaranteed

 

[tjlamphere]

As an AP, I have booked Park Reservations for the max that I am allowed....but....my birthday is a few weeks after our latest reservation, and I always spend it at Epcot. How can I check to see if any reservations are available for Epcot for my birthday (February 18)? I am thinking of cancelling one of my days in early February and using it for the 18th.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

 

[Brett Wyman]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ort,passholder,tickets&defaultSegment=tickets

 

[tjlamphere]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ort,passholder,tickets&defaultSegment=tickets

Excellent....thanks for this link....did not know this was available....I should be good to go. Eases my mind. Thanks again.

 

[BridgetR3]

I just checked the park availability calendar for next week and it has some strange things.

For example, on November 24 Animal Kingdom is at capacity. Any idea why this would be? It is not at capacity on any other day and it seems like AK could handle a LOT of people.

Then MK is sold out for the day before and the day after Thanksgiving but not on Thanksgiving which is when you are always told to avoid MK. So it appears that MK is actually busier on the other days than on Thanksgiving.

What do you guys make of this? Trying to wrap my mind around how to handle crowds and reservations. THANKS!

 

[fitzperry]

Has anyone watched the availability calendar closely enough to know if dates ever go back to green? Last night I started looking at a kind of last minute mid-December trip, and HS was available on two or three of the days we're considering. Today it's gone. Is it worth watching to see if they open up again?

 

[BridgetR3]

Not sure why my thread was merged here as I don't feel it has anything to do with Covid but.....I'll go with it. What percent capacity do we think the parties have at MK? I wonder if it is more or less than 35%. I also wonder how close to sold out all of the parks are for Thanksgiving and if it's worth it to now start moving my park days.....

 

[mom2rtk]

Not sure why my thread was merged here as I don't feel it has anything to do with Covid but.....I'll go with it. What percent capacity do we think the parties have at MK? I wonder if it is more or less than 35%. I also wonder how close to sold out all of the parks are for Thanksgiving and if it's worth it to now start moving my park days.....

I wouldn't try to compare crowd levels between hard ticket parties in the MK and a certain capacity level now. In many ways, those 2 events are polar opposites. Party crowds are there primarily for special events, characters, shows, fireworks and parades. For that reason, ride lines are generally low during a hard ticket party. The parks right now have none of those special draws, just rides. So the crowd is going to be much more heavily distributed to the rides. So even if both had 35% capacity (which I don't think is too far off), I think it would feel very different.

 

[brockash]

Has anyone watched the availability calendar closely enough to know if dates ever go back to green? Last night I started looking at a kind of last minute mid-December trip, and HS was available on two or three of the days we're considering. Today it's gone. Is it worth watching to see if they open up again?

Yes, they have many times.

 

[yulilin3]

Not sure why my thread was merged here as I don't feel it has anything to do with Covid but.....I'll go with it. What percent capacity do we think the parties have at MK? I wonder if it is more or less than 35%. I also wonder how close to sold out all of the parks are for Thanksgiving and if it's worth it to now start moving my park days.....

No one can give you an answer on this, Disney doesn't release numbers, as far as rearranging, just make sure to check the availability calendar before cancelling a day

 

[fitzperry]

Yes, they have many times.

Thank you!

 

[jlnten17]

I wanted to book a last minute trip for December and stay on site but HS is completely blocked out for resort guests with great availability for AP. We have been a couple of times this fall so if we can’t make a reservation it will be fine but I thought Resort Guests had the greatest chance of securing a park reservation. Is this no longer accurate?

 

[yulilin3]

I wanted to book a last minute trip for December and stay on site but HS is completely blocked out for resort guests with great availability for AP. We have been a couple of times this fall so if we can’t make a reservation it will be fine but I thought Resort Guests had the greatest chance of securing a park reservation. Is this no longer accurate?

merging you to the operational thread.
There's never been mention of the quantities for each slot. Also Disney has reshuffled the availability around a lot, so keep checking as they may open back up, it was never said that resort guests would have more availability than the other 2, also it depends on when in Dec you are coming, some AP are blocked off, so that might show some availability for AP but not for resort guests
In short the numbers are not set in stone

 

[jlnten17]

merging you to the operational thread.
There's never been mention of the quantities for each slot. Also Disney has reshuffled the availability around a lot, so keep checking as they may open back up, it was never said that resort guests would have more availability than the other 2, also it depends on when in Dec you are coming, some AP are blocked off, so that might show some availability for AP but not for resort guests
In short the numbers are not set in stone

Thank you. I knew there were different banks of availability. I was just under the impression that Disney wanted to keep availability highest for resort guests. From a business standpoint it makes the most sense as it encourages people to stay on site (and spend more $). I will keep checking back.

 

[yulilin3]

Thank you. I knew there were different banks of availability. I was just under the impression that Disney wanted to keep availability highest for resort guests. From a business standpoint it makes the most sense as it encourages people to stay on site (and spend more $). I will keep checking back.

they might have started with this idea but when resorts didn't fill up and local APs were left without a reservation they started the reshuffling, they will definitely continue doing the shuffle to accommodate demand

 

[Tormania]

I know they are letting guests in the parks well before the "official" park openings and I know that nothing is guaranteed to continue like that.......BUT.....for those that have been recently what is the "norm" for letting guests in the park prior to the official opening times? It seems like almost a full hour early has been reported numerous times at all of the parks, but I don't want to make assumptions either. And to piggyback on this topic, are resort buses running early enough to get you to the parks 60-75 minutes before official openings?

Thanks!!!

 

[nw6675]

Epcot was 10ish am for resort guests with an 11 am opening published time. Bus picked us up at 9:45 at GF. We were held 2 minutes at Epcot bus stop until 10 sharp. We were literally first in line at temp tent. We were at Soarin' by 10:15. This was about 2 weeks ago.