Worried wait times will be high

[luckytobeme88]

Do believe that the first week will be the best time to visit WDW if you are able to book DVC or staying at Fort Wilderness. The crowd will be LOW = less people = physical distancing will not be a problem.

 

[luckytobeme88]

I'm just curious...do you already have your reservation? I haven't heard of anyone being able to actually reserve yet and an interested in how it works.

The park reservation system is not up yet. We have our DVC resort reservation made weeks ago. From what I have read so. far, DVC members with existing reservations and/or with AP will have priority to make park admission reservations. Let's hope this is how it works

 

[soniam]

I don't have any expectations right now for my 7/12 trip, except that I will be putting on a mask before I walk out the door of the hotel room and will be wearing that mask unless I am eating, back in the room, or in the actual pool. I am glad to finally have an answer about opening day. I can wait to hear back the new system and their plans. I have waited this long for this vacation; I put in the DVC rental request at 12 months. We also had a canceled DCL cruise during this trip that we waited on for over a year; we booked on opening day for silver. We have had so many crazy things happen during vacations, ie tube strikes, 9/11, protests, and we have been to the parks during Thanksgiving, xmas, and Volcano Bay opening weekend. We have always had a good time and look back on the really quirky vacations with the fondest memories. If I feel uncomfortable, we will jut hang out at the resort, Disney Springs, Boardwalk, or drive home. Flying is a no go for me right now. It makes my skin crawl to see those pics of crowded planes. I am not saying everyone can be like this. Not everyone should be like this. We all have to do this in a way in which we feel comfortable. If I had very many worries, other than a little apprehensive about Covid, I would cancel. If you do go early on, please keep an open mind. Please do not bash Disney all over the place, because it's not like it was last year. Stating facts is fine and helpful to others, but constant complaining about things that people on these boards should mostly be fully aware of is ridiculous.

 

[PetePanMan]

I may have missed but I haven’t seen much officially on how they plan to load rides (I.e. every second row etc.) and clean between rides. This would have significant impact on wait times as well in addition to attendance.

 

[yulilin3]

I understand your point, but I think it's unfortunately a little simplistic for a number of reasons.

But mainly...we don't know what we don't know. The alternative could be worse; and that is where my family and I are. We are worried about our upcoming trip, yes. But, even IF we re-schedule....there is no guarantee that things will be changed by 2021 or 2022. There may still be restrictions in place. AND the crowds will be much higher by then. (maybe, probably, no one really knows)

If we knew, for a fact that fireworks and character meets and fastpass would be back this date, March 2021 as an example, then it makes it much easier to make that decision to re-schedule.

But right now, a lot of us are in a position where it's the lesser of two evils. Do we keep what we have, knowing that the trip is not going to be the trip we wanted or planned for? Or do we roll the dice, reschedule, and still have a less than ideal trip, and maybe even the conditions are even worse than they would have been?

I understand, the unknown is the worst part, but unless your coming week one of reopening you'll have an idea of what's happening.
All to say basically is that i fear some people still think that this "new normal" experience won't be as bad, spend all the money, come, and be completely disappointed ands then take it out on cm that have no control over what's happening
Just be realistic with your expectations, go outside and walk for hours wearing masks, think of the queues that you might have to do, the restaurants you might not be able to visit, and after that decide If you still want to come

 

[Doug S]

Waits will vary from ride to ride based on their ability to distance parties. Rides like Test Track will be the biggest victims, as I would think they'll only allow one party per car, regardless of size, since the rows are so close together. Rides like Soarin and FoP have more flexibility because they can put x amount of seats between parties. It seems like Disney IT was preparing before everything hit the fan to support more than just RotR for virtual queues. I would guess this is what Disney will go with for the e-tickets that can't handle standby only since it's one less system to develop. I'm sure this new park reservation system is going to be scotch taped together.

 

[Sandisw]

The park reservation system is not up yet. We have our DVC resort reservation made weeks ago. From what I have read so. far, DVC members with existing reservations and/or with AP will have priority to make park admission reservations. Let's hope this is how it works

There is nothing that supports DVC members will be given priority to reserve over cash guests for those same dates.

Can you share where you got that information?

 

[tinkerhon]

Disney is not telling the public that with no shows, no parades, no fireworks and no meet & greets, all the people normally occupied with those activities will be going to rides (because what else is there to do besides eat & shop). This fact combined with underfilled rides will make the wait times even longer than pre-virus wait times. As a DVC owner and passholder it grieves me to say it may not be worth the ticket cost for families anymore. What are you getting for your money? Long wait times and the ability to walk around and wave at characters.

There might be a bright side, however -
We cancelled our July trip ( there is no way my Disney-loving kids -( they have gone 3-4 times every year, since they were 6 mos old, and they are now 9 and 14) would enjoy this new experience -
My biggest concern (and there are many) was the bus transportation (wait times) - but then I thought of it like this - by the time you get a bus back to your hotel, a quick freshening up, and you might be ready to rope-drop in a few minutes !

 

[Jrb1979]

For those worried about wait times, treat it like an expensive version of Six Flags and you will be fine.

 

[TinkerTracy]

This is super interesting and something we are really looking into for our July trip. We also are worried of getting shut out of the parks (we have DVC reservations and are APs), so that is a factor as well. I am so curious to see what will happen!

 

[luckytobeme88]

There is nothing that supports DVC members will be given priority to reserve over cash guests for those same dates.

Can you share where you got that information?

I misspoke regarding only DVC members get priority entries. What I should have said was that since DVC members can still make reservations while other booking methods are unavailable. I jumped the gun with the assumption that we are likely to have majority of resort guests are DVC members and guests during the first week or two. Sorry for being uncleared and presumptive

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I don’t think they took away FP because they aren’t worried about wait times. I think they did it because they decided safety is more important than experience. Or they’d rather people post in message board about a crappy experience instead of posting that Disney didn’t care about safety.

OP, there is every possibility that lines are going to be long. There is also a possibility that there won’t be many places to site, relax, and cool off with restaurants and shops limiting capacity.

Think about how much you paid for tickets and if it is worth it to use them when the parks are being operated like this. Your tickets won’t lose value.

 

[hereforthechurros]

We are DVC members and will be there on the first day July 11th, 9am sharp in MK. It will be different but we are extremely flexible since we usually go at least twice a year.

Do people flying in from NY still have to quarantine?

 

[hereforthechurros]

I’m expecting average wait times for our August trip. Walkway and queues may feel less congested but I don’t expect to fly through all the rides. For better or worse, Disney is great at staffing to capacity. And in this case they really may not have enough staff.

We also plan to carefully watch things when they open and make a last minute decision on our trip. If things are too messy, we’ll skip it.

 

[Sandisw]

I misspoke regarding only DVC members get priority entries. What I should have said was that since DVC members can still make reservations while other booking methods are unavailable. I jumped the gun with the assumption that we are likely to have majority of resort guests are DVC members and guests during the first week or two. Sorry for being uncleared and presumptive

Got it! Yes, I completely agree that many of the first guests getting park reservations will be DVC owners since we are still booking!

Appreciate the clarification!,

 

[cakebaker]

If wait times were going to be a concern they wouldn’t of done away with FP+.

The only reason they did away with FP+ is it cannot work with their new reservation system. It’s also the reason they did away with adrs. It has nothing to do with expected crowd levels.

 

[luckytobeme88]

Do people flying in from NY still have to quarantine?

Good point! The official Florida State website has not been updated with new information since the Governor put his mandate in action March 2020.

 

[wilkydelts]

They only reason they did away with FP+ is it cannot work with their new reservation system. It’s also the reason they did away with adrs. It has nothing to do with expected crowd levels.

Incorrect because they could be delaying your booking for FP+ until you have a reservation just like they are for ADRs.
We only know why they got rid of them was for spacing issues as indicated directly from Dinsey.

 

[brockash]

The park reservation system is not up yet. We have our DVC resort reservation made weeks ago. From what I have read so. far, DVC members with existing reservations and/or with AP will have priority to make park admission reservations. Let's hope this is how it works

Ok, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something. I'm definitely anxious to hear how the system will work...I'm also curious as to how far ahead of your trip you'll be able to "reserve."

 

[luckytobeme88]

Ok, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something. I'm definitely anxious to hear how the system will work...I'm also curious as to how far ahead of your trip you'll be able to "reserve."

Glad to share my experience, once I get more details