What if COVID19 dissapears/they find a cure etc?

[Pluto777]

Obviously it's what we all hope for, but what will they do with the 'ticket reservation system' if COVID 19 stops being a threat sometime in 2020 or 2021?

We plan to go back to WDW, but ONLY if all the restrictions and dangers of Corona are finished.
With this in mind, do you all think it's risky planning a fully refundable trip (minus airfare) without having a reservation in the parks for 2021 under the new system with the assumption that you do not plan to go ANYWAY unless the threat of Corona is over?

 

[randumb0]

I think the reservation system is here to stay. This allows Disney to more closely monitor attendance and staff appropriately. I see it as a major cost saver

 

[Randywatson79]

I think the park reservation system would hurt park hopper pass purchases in the long run. It would kill it for me and frankly dampen the Disney experience, removing about the last bit of spontaneity you can have there.

If you think planning and reserving dining half a year before a trip is bad, wait til you have to book which park you walk into. Next up will be reserving your spot in the bathroom stall (kidding of course).


I feel like between dining reservations and fast passes, good analytics should be able to figure out crowd flow.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

it will not disappear. they may never find a cure. they might not even get the vaccine for several years.
so I wouldn't think of travelling at all until there is a better answer for tourism.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

it will not disappear. they may never find a cure. they might not even get the vaccine for several years.
so I wouldn't think of travelling at all until there is a better answer for tourism.

This is absolutely true. Those of you friends out there that do not realize that what is happening with this thing is going to be happening for years are in for a sad surprise. Disney is going through the motions hoping for the best, expecting the worst. As should we all. There may be months on end that Disney closes due to high rates of infection. Europe may not allow tourism to the US for years in the old manner. Disney may not re-open at all. We don't know but the magic will not be the magic we remember if there is any Disney left. Sorry for the pessimism but we all need to wake up.

 

[Sabine W.]

I think the recent extreme crowding at the parks, particularly HS, is a health and safety concern (even apart from covid). Although it is a pain to plan your trip in such great detail in advance, people who buy date-specific tickets (which is most people) already do that to some extent. I have already rearranged the dates of my park passes, and it was a pretty easy process.

As far as park-hopping, my hope is that, in the distant, covid-free future, the park pass system will be used to limit morning entries only, so that people who wish to park hop can freely enter another park in the afternoon, when the influx of people has already passed and some people are leaving for mid-day breaks. Hopefully that would be enough to thin out crowds at rope-drop in the long-term. It doesn't help with evening fireworks crowding, however.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

The reservation system was in the works before Covid. There’s no way they threw it together that quickly, as glitchy as it was. What I don’t understand about the pushback on the reservation system, people were already choosing dining 6 months in advance, and Fastpasses 60 days in advance. So you’ve already made your decision about which parks you are visiting. I’m sure they will eventually add the ability to hop and change parks into it, and once they are back to full capacity, you will probably only encounter availability issues on major holidays. and you could probably switch park the morning of, the same way you can cancel your park hoppers and change the day of if there is availability.
I see this as a good thing. They can put out more accurate crowd calendars and they can better handle the crowds at their busiest times.
But if you are asking whether you should book a refundable trip for 2021 based on Covid and the reservation system being gone, I wouldn’t count on it. Even if we get a vaccine fairly soon, there’s a ton of people who put off trips this year who have rescheduled for next year. Plus it’s the 50th anniversary so it’s going to be more crowded overall, even if it’s back to “normal”.

 

[Brett Wyman]

This is absolutely true. Those of you friends out there that do not realize that what is happening with this thing is going to be happening for years are in for a sad surprise. Disney is going through the motions hoping for the best, expecting the worst. As should we all. There may be months on end that Disney closes due to high rates of infection. Europe may not allow tourism to the US for years in the old manner. Disney may not re-open at all. We don't know but the magic will not be the magic we remember if there is any Disney left. Sorry for the pessimism but we all need to wake up.

I think thats an incredibly dark take on things. People are vacationing right now with the numbers soaring. THAT is the new reality. People will learn to live, work, AND VACATION around the virus as best they can.

 

[osufeth24]

This is absolutely true. Those of you friends out there that do not realize that what is happening with this thing is going to be happening for years are in for a sad surprise. Disney is going through the motions hoping for the best, expecting the worst. As should we all. There may be months on end that Disney closes due to high rates of infection. Europe may not allow tourism to the US for years in the old manner. Disney may not re-open at all. We don't know but the magic will not be the magic we remember if there is any Disney left. Sorry for the pessimism but we all need to wake up.

lol no

 

[LizzyDragon]

We plan to go back to WDW, but ONLY if all the restrictions and dangers of Corona are finished.

If your standard is no danger from Corona, then I would not book a 2021 vacation. It sounds like you're looking for a state where nearly everyone is vaccinated against the disease. As a vaccine is unlikely to be available until next year, and it'll take time to get it distributed once it is available, I would not make travel plans until after that point if you want to get your risk of contracting the virus close to zero.

 

[siren0119]

Agree with PP - if your litmus for being able to travel again is that all restrictions are lifted and COVID isn't a concern, I wouldn't book anything for 2021 and possibly 2022 as well. It's going to take time to really get our arms around this virus and how to handle it, they are still learning things about it that changes the vaccine approach and the ways we test for and treat it.

that said, we have chosen to resume our life WITHIN the restrictions. We booked a 2021 trip, made our peace with whatever restrictions and limited experiences that will bring. Life goes on, in the sense that the rules may have changed but we can adapt to whatever the new "normal" is. I recognize that others may have to make different choices, that's just what we decided as a family.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I don't think it's a matter of us wanting to visit. Disney won't reopen if the virus is raging. If they do then maybe they will weather the storm with the die hards spending money. I am in the boat that we all need to live our lives too. Disney will protect its guests even if that means staying closed.

 

[FanforDisney]

If your standard is no danger from Corona, then I would not book a 2021 vacation. It sounds like you're looking for a state where nearly everyone is vaccinated against the disease. As a vaccine is unlikely to be available until next year, and it'll take time to get it distributed once it is available, I would not make travel plans until after that point if you want to get your risk of contracting the virus close to zero.

At what point would you make travel plans? Today, Fauci stated that he would be happy with a 70 -75% effective vaccine. People are putting too much into a vaccine solving the virus.

"Dr. Anthony Fauci says he would "settle" for a Covid-19 vaccine that's 70% to 75% effective, "

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/28/health/fauci-coronavirus-vaccine-contact-tracing-aspen/index.html

 

[JM23457]

At what point would you make travel plans? Today, Fauci stated that he would be happy with a 70 -75% effective vaccine. People are putting too much into a vaccine solving the virus.

It was interesting that he said he would "settle for" it, but then immediately added that it wouldn't contain the virus because not enough Americans would be willing to take the new, rushed-to-market vaccine. He cited the percentage of Americans polled who said they wouldn't take it.

It seemed to be his indirect way of suggesting that Americans should be forced to get the vaccine, since he would accept a vaccine with only 70% efficacy, but admits that wouldn't stop virus transmission unless almost all Americans took it, and he stated that about 30% of Americans don't want to take it.