Without Restaurants, How Do Guests Eat While Vacationing?

[JZCubed]

Maybe I'm missing something from the announcement by Disney that restaurant reservations have been/are going to be cancelled.....

If guests are staying at Resorts, how are they supposed to get food?

Does anyone understand what food establishments will be open?

Please explain.

Thank you in advance for commenting.

 

[Doug S]

Existing reservations are being cancelled, but most restaurants will not be closed. Most will still be open for ADR's, but it will be at highly limited capacity due to the current regulations. There are still a lot of unknowns as to what will exactly be open, and even once it's figured out it's all subject to change.

Every resort on property offers some kind of quick service option. I think there will be encouragement by Disney to take food either to-go to eat in your room or to utilize room service where available (potentially lower fees, as it's always been quite expensive to do room service).

 

[Figmentmommy]

Less capacity- not closed restaurants. Sounds like they will have ADRs available based upon their new capacity guidelines.

 

[Disneylover99]

I would just get quick service and take it back to my room.

 

[Krystal659]

I expect there will be places to eat, but I fear that in the heat of the summer I will be stuck with quick service locations that possibly do not have enough indoor seating. I had ADRs to ensure I would not be in that position, but now.....who knows.

I feel like this is a vacation lottery.

 

[Krystal659]

I would just get quick service and take it back to my room.

That may be harder if you are in the parks or not really wanting to eat at the same quick service restaurant for multiple days of a trip. I am at the Contemporary and I like Contempo Café but after a few days of it, I am really no longer looking forward to the same sandwich.

 

[StageTek]

That may be harder if you are in the parks or not really wanting to eat at the same quick service restaurant for multiple days of a trip. I am at the Contemporary and I like Contempo Café but after a few days of it, I am really no longer looking forward to the same sandwich.

I agree with you. Going to WDW in the first 6 months (maybe longer) is going to be hard. You may not feel like or want what restaurants offer. You may not be able to get into the restaurant you feel like eating at. Anyone choosing to go is in for an adventure. And it won't be easy.

 

[JZCubed]

Existing reservations are being cancelled, but most restaurants will not be closed. Most will still be open for ADR's, but it will be at highly limited capacity due to the current regulations. There are still a lot of unknowns as to what will exactly be open, and even once it's figured out it's all subject to change.

Every resort on property offers some kind of quick service option. I think there will be encouragement by Disney to take food either to-go to eat in your room or to utilize room service where available (potentially lower fees, as it's always been quite expensive to do room service).

You seem quite knowledgable about the topic, so if it's alright with you, let's continue......

So any family is going to be planning a vacation at a Disney Resort, and after having all their dining plans cancelled by Disney, families may find that 'availability' really means take-out?

I understand that there are going to be changes in capacity, but how the heck can a family honor their vacation plans when they have no idea if Disney is merely capable of serving anything beyond a mobile order for hamburgers & fries?

This is their plan?

Like everyone, we are frustrated.

But like many people, I am attempting to determine the value of my Disney vacation that NO LONGER INCLUDES fireworks, parades, and the ability to know where to eat.

Let's add - we have no idea if swimming pools are going to be open. No idea if indoor shows (i.e., 3-D movies, animatronics, sing-alone, etc.) are going to be available either.

To recap - Disney is offering folks with existing reservations the opportunity to come for a few rides at the Park they have reserved. That's it.

What is a family to do with their time if dining opportunities are questionable and non-Park options do not exist?

I will give Disney great latitude, but committing $1,000's with so many unknowns, still, may have finally reached the absurd to me.

<Shaking-head side-to-side>, this is their plan?

 

[Disneylover99]

That may be harder if you are in the parks or not really wanting to eat at the same quick service restaurant for multiple days of a trip. I am at the Contemporary and I like Contempo Café but after a few days of it, I am really no longer looking forward to the same sandwich.

If you're at the parks, I'd just eat at any quick service restaurant. If you're there in the summer, choose air-conditioned quick service restaurants. Eat at off hours to avoid waiting or crowds. It's what I normally recommend even before all these restrictions.

 

[Dean Marino]

Just us - DVC owners....
We are dumping our NOV 2020, and APR 2021 reservations.... until there is a place to go to.
....And not paying dues.

 

[Disneylover99]

this is their plan?

Yes. I think so. I really think they just hope many people will cancel so they can see what they can handle.

 

[Capang]

You seem quite knowledgable about the topic, so if it's alright with you, let's continue......

So any family is going to be planning a vacation at a Disney Resort, and after having all their dining plans cancelled by Disney, families may find that 'availability' really means take-out?

I understand that there are going to be changes in capacity, but how the heck can a family honor their vacation plans when they have no idea if Disney is merely capable of serving anything beyond a mobile order for hamburgers & fries?

This is their plan?

Like everyone, we are frustrated.

But like many people, I am attempting to determine the value of my Disney vacation that NO LONGER INCLUDES fireworks, parades, and the ability to know where to eat.

Let's add - we have no idea if swimming pools are going to be open. No idea if indoor shows (i.e., 3-D movies, animatronics, sing-alone, etc.) are going to be available either.

To recap - Disney is offering folks with existing reservations the opportunity to come for a few rides at the Park they have reserved. That's it.

What is a family to do with their time if dining opportunities are questionable and non-Park options do not exist?

I will give Disney great latitude, but committing $1,000's with so many unknowns, still, may have finally reached the absurd to me.

<Shaking-head side-to-side>, this is their plan?

It all depends your expectations. If we are able to go and get park reservations we will be happy. ADRs will be 60 days out and eventually you will be able to make them again. If people are put off by not having the vacation they imagined they can most likely get refunds from Disney and go some other time.

 

[StageTek]

So any family is going to be planning a vacation at a Disney Resort, and after having all their dining plans cancelled by Disney, families may find that 'availability' really means take-out?

I understand that there are going to be changes in capacity, but how the heck can a family honor their vacation plans when they have no idea if Disney is merely capable of serving anything beyond a mobile order for hamburgers & fries?

This is their plan?

Right now that's the plan. Not ideal is it?

Like everyone, we are frustrated.

But like many people, I am attempting to determine the value of my Disney vacation that NO LONGER INCLUDES fireworks, parades, and the ability to know where to eat.

Yep, we are all trying to decide.

Let's add - we have no idea if swimming pools are going to be open. No idea if indoor shows (i.e., 3-D movies, animatronics, sing-alone, etc.) are going to be available either.

To recap - Disney is offering folks with existing reservations the opportunity to come for a few rides at the Park they have reserved. That's it.

What is a family to do with their time if dining opportunities are questionable and non-Park options do not exist?

I will give Disney great latitude, but committing $1,000's with so many unknowns, still, may have finally reached the absurd to me.

<Shaking-head side-to-side>, this is their plan?

It seems financially absurd to me, too.
<hands-and-shoulders-up> It seems that's their plan...

 

[JZCubed]

It all depends your expectations. If we are able to go and get park reservations we will be happy. ADRs will be 60 days out and eventually you will be able to make them again. If people are put off by not having the vacation they imagined they can most likely get refunds from Disney and go some other time.

My Resort reservation is 60-days from yesterday.

Disney cancelled some of dining plans today.

I have no idea what Disney will do and/or change in the coming days.

I can get no refund for my prepaid DVC points; I cannot reschedule in the current calendar year.

FWIW, my expectation is a RESORT vacation, not a day at Six Flags (without the roller coasters).

To extract any value from a Disney vacation, a family must go to a Park, eat whatever Disney decides they can make available, and return back to your hotel with nothing but some yet to be determined Park experiences available - all subject-to-change at any moment based on the whims of Disney.....and after folks have committed $1,000's.

You may say, "You don't have to go to the Parks."

But Disney has given us no idea what else may be open to enjoy; and they have shown they are willing to take away our food (reservations).

 

[WDWCAfan20]

This is a temporaray plan. The INITIAL plan to get it reopened while still following the required restrictions. Things will change based on how opening goes and what is going on with COVID-19 etc. But if they are keeping initial capacity to 20%, then best bet is that even with reduced capacity at restaurants, ADRs should still be possible. To be honest, yeah, it sucks, but after reading multiple articles about it and talking to some family and friends who have worked at both WDW and DL, they are doing what they can under these restrictions and circumstances. Did anyone think they were just going to re open everything at once?

Yes things are going to be different. They are going to be different everywhere. Not just Disney. If you can't like it, don't go. It's that simple. Wait until more things are open...but it sounds like things such as fireworks, parades, parties, etc are going to be some of the last things because of the crowds.

The people I really feel bad for are those who were planning to take Make-a-Wish trips to WDW. I would be interested in knowing how they are handling that unfortunate situation.

But at least for me, and many of my friends who are Disney Crazy as well, we are grateful that they are trying to reopen in the safest way possible. Not ideal. It sucks. But I am just happy to see that they are trying to bring Disney back into the world, even if will never be the same.

I also hope that it wont be too long until DL can begin a gradual reopening sometime soon.

 

[Disneylover99]

I can get no refund for my prepaid DVC points; I cannot reschedule in the current calendar year.

Sorry, I don’t know a thing about DVC, but can you reschedule your prepaid DVC points to next year? If so, that’s what I’d do.

 

[westie55]

My family, too, is struggling with the idea of paying full price for a mere fraction of a Disney vacation. I get that it is a pandemic and that there really is no other optionand that safety must come first, but I still mourn what we are losing as a family. Part of me still wants to go, but the other part of me says it is crazy to pay so much for so little (compared to all our other trips). I would hold out but I am tempered by the reality that things may not be normal for a very, very long time.

 

[JZCubed]

Just us - DVC owners....
We are dumping our NOV 2020, and APR 2021 reservations.... until there is a place to go to.
....And not paying dues.

My apologies to those that not wanting to understand some of the 'inside-baseball' elements of annual Disney Vacation Club (DVC) ownership.....

Annual points are purchased by owners with a long-term commitment.

Points are used to reserve DVC rooms in buildings that are typically adjacent to (i.e. Bay Lake Tower & Contemporary) and/or apart of (AKLodge has both DVC & 'Guest' rooms) Disney Resorts.

Owners get annual points after purchasing, and after paying annual dues.

Owners may chose to 'roll over' unused-points into the following year; possibly doubling their available points that following year.

An owner may never have more than double their annual points (which would include rollover points).

Rollover points may not be rolled-over again.

There are similar rules associated with 'borrowed points' from their annual allotment (from their next year of points).

 

[JZCubed]

My family, too, is struggling with the idea of paying full price for a mere fraction of a Disney vacation. I get that it is a pandemic and that there really is no other optionand that safety must come first, but I still mourn what we are losing as a family. Part of me still wants to go, but the other part of me says it is crazy to pay so much for so little (compared to all our other trips). I would hold out but I am tempered by the reality that things may not be normal for a very, very long time.

The notion of a 'model vacation' and 'new normal' for many things are clearly a work-in-progress, Disney is no exception.

But I'm not sure I'm willing to pay a premium for this experiment.

I'm kinda' curious about revisiting the Parks similar to 'the old days' when it was pay-one-price and there were no FP+ reservations to be made.....we waited, and waited, and waited.....

But I was also a child when families had to buy tickets (and some families could afford more tickets).....and my sister and I waited 2-hours to ride Space Mountain the year it opened. I now ride Space Mountain (and every other Disney-thrill) with my pre-teen daughter - and she experienced both 'Old-Fantasyland' into the newly expanded Fantasyland, and other Park enhancements (i.e.m Pandora, Starwars).

I'm OK with Disney making changes, but seems as if too many non-Park things are missing from the advertised product....and Disney reserves the right to change the rules again and again at a moments notice.....

Parks are not the only thing folks do on a days-long resort vacation. And if the balance of the resort-portion of a stay mostly includes take-out food, and in-room movies, etc. because that's all any resort most anywhere in the U.S. can provide - feels silly paying for the privilege of travel.

A lesser-Park experience is no vacation if everything else is just like home.

A vacation should feel like, well, a vacation.

 

[Capang]

My Resort reservation is 60-days from yesterday.

Disney cancelled some of dining plans today.

I have no idea what Disney will do and/or change in the coming days.

I can get no refund for my prepaid DVC points; I cannot reschedule in the current calendar year.

FWIW, my expectation is a RESORT vacation, not a day at Six Flags (without the roller coasters).

To extract any value from a Disney vacation, a family must go to a Park, eat whatever Disney decides they can make available, and return back to your hotel with nothing but some yet to be determined Park experiences available - all subject-to-change at any moment based on the whims of Disney.....and after folks have committed $1,000's.

You may say, "You don't have to go to the Parks."

But Disney has given us no idea what else may be open to enjoy; and they have shown they are willing to take away our food (reservations).

I check in the day the parks reopen. Dining reservations will be available. But there is no other way to do it currently. They have to abide by health and safety mandates set forth by the state. They can't have packed restaurants and they can't fairly pick and choose who keeps an ADR and who loses one.

As for points, call DVC. They worked with me to save 50+points I had banked from 2018.

If you truly feel there is no value for you then postpone your trip. No one can change the situation all of us are in. We just need to roll with it. No sense in going if you are extracting your value from events that may no longer exist for the time being.