Opening WDW with Social Distancing

[Walt Disney1955]

The way I see Disney world opening I fully expect Disney to open and have approx. 20% capacity the 1st few weeks increasing to 30%-35% capacity during the remainder of the year.

(International travelers cannot travel to the US at this time)

(extremely limited flights in the US to Orlando most carriers have cut schedules for May and June by 90% and Orlando is a leisure market it’s not a money maker)

Many folks are not ready to travel

Millions of people are unemployed and people are not going to spend money to go to Disney they will be pinching penny’s

I would expect to see 50% levels in attendance by Spring 2021 (the majority of people visiting will be pass holder for the foreseeable future)

Hand sanitizing stations around the parks and resorts

Hand washing stations around the parks and resorts

Guests will be required to wear masks except for younger kids who won’t wear them

Temperatures will be taken once entering the bag check area and at other times at the parks unknown to guests.

Tables at dining halls will be spaced farther apart


-Resorts open June 1

-Parks open a few days later

-Parks are open first to resort guests only for the 1st 7-10 days this will allow Disney to practice and see how crowd control and operating rides and waits go (plus they can track guests during that time).

-Two weeks later parks open to APH’s

-July 1 parks open to regular ticket holders

-Boarding groups will be used for the popular rides

-More fast passes will be allowed and used.

-Right side of main street side walk one way heading towards the castle

-Left side of main street heading towards the entrance.

-Every other car/ride vehicle is empty if they are close together.

-Double the distance for ride rows

-Disney will have markers down for how far to stand apart

-Quick service meals only for the 1st 30+ days

-Limited capacity on the busses, boats and Monorails

-Character’s around the park but no meet and greets for the 1st 30-60 days

-Fireworks will continue with proper social distancing

-Parades will continue with proper social distancing

-CM’s will be around doing cleaning of railings and rides all day long.



Hopefully by Labor day or October more things can be added.

Good grief man. Just stay home if you are hoping these things are implemented. Getting my temperature checked? Being forced to wear a mask? Social distancing at a parade? Hello, have you ever actually SEEN a parade at Disney World? This is just nonsense. We have lived every single day of our lives with a viruses at least as deadly if not more in the flu and the common cold (by the way, kills a ton of elderly every year) and we carried on. Let's not get nuts here. Just wash your hands like normal, and no one should even have to think about that. People need to go to a place where they can relax.

 

[Tom P.]

Good grief man. Just stay home if you are hoping these things are implemented. Getting my temperature checked? Being forced to wear a mask? Social distancing at a parade? Hello, have you ever actually SEEN a parade at Disney World? This is just nonsense. We have lived every single day of our lives with a viruses at least as deadly if not more in the flu and the common cold (by the way, kills a ton of elderly every year) and we carried on. Let's not get nuts here. Just wash your hands like normal, and no one should even have to think about that. People need to go to a place where they can relax.

There's no point in rehashing the "is COVID-19 worse than the flu" debate here. You are not going to change your mind and neither is anyone else, regardless of what the data tells us. Also, it would undoubtedly venture into politics, which is verboten.

What I will tell you is this: What you are saying is not going to happen. There is not even a 0.01% chance it is going to happen. Walt Disney World is not going to open up soon and go back to normal and just take the attitude of "we are all adults; we can do as we please." First, WDW is not opening anytime soon. Second, when they do open, many of the measures you scoff at are going to be in place. Bob Iger has already discussed some of them publicly. Yes, there will be temperature checks. Yes, there will be social distancing rules. Yes, there may be a requirement to wear masks. Yes, some attractions and shows may be cancelled because they can't meet those requirements.

You can say it's ridiculous all you want, but I am telling you reality. That is what's going to happen.

 

[Getachew]

Yes it is. If you choose not to go on vacation or even leave your home because of a virus then that is your choice, don't make it a demand for the rest of us. We are adults we can do as we please.

Problem is, your choices are putting others at risk. Things are different now.

 

[Storm]

Good grief man. Just stay home if you are hoping these things are implemented. Getting my temperature checked? Being forced to wear a mask? Social distancing at a parade? Hello, have you ever actually SEEN a parade at Disney World? This is just nonsense. We have lived every single day of our lives with a viruses at least as deadly if not more in the flu and the common cold (by the way, kills a ton of elderly every year) and we carried on. Let's not get nuts here. Just wash your hands like normal, and no one should even have to think about that. People need to go to a place where they can relax.

There is no way anything you just said is going to happen , it wont just be "wash your hands like normal" and there WILL be social distancing , I will not even respond regarding your comparison of the virus to the flu because its just false and has been proven a billion times , but if you expect WDW to open anytime soon and like "normal" , you're in for a shock.

 

[Lilofan]

I didn't go to WDW during the last week it was open in March, but I followed threads on the subject. Please go back and read the accounts of how well that worked in real time. A number of posters reported the hand sanitizer stations were often empty.

Empty sanitizer stations would be worse than useless for preventing infection.

And if the units are kept full, sanitizing doesn't last very long in a theme park. WDW would need LARGE quantities of sanitizer to satisfy theme park crowds. MK has what, about 56,000 visitors every day? And how many staff members? And how many times a day would each person want to sanitize their hands?

Also, where is WDW getting all this hand sanitizer? Are they making their own? Importing it?

Do all the FL hospitals, police, EMT's, and all the rest of the first responders have an ample supply of sanitizer to meet their needs? (If not, what is WDW's answer to the media attention that might generate?)

Maybe the situation has improved in the last few days, but last I looked, stores near me were completely cleared out of anything resembling isopropyl, hand sanitizer, or really just about any kind of disinfectant.

When theme parks had hand santizer locations spread throughout the theme parks in early March, there were reports from members that multiple locations were already depleted on sanitizer. Good points. If we can't find hand sanitizer in the grocery stores, does WDW have the magic touch to have an abundance?

 

[Seanual757]

When theme parks had hand santizer locations spread throughout the theme parks in early March, there were reports from members that multiple locations were already depleted on sanitizer. Good points. If we can't find hand sanitizer in the grocery stores, does WDW have the magic touch to have an abundance?

We stayed in March 6-8, and we were at the parks (Epcot on 3/14) we saw and used the hand sanitizer at the resorts and parks, as well as the hands free wash stations. At least at Epcot they did not run out.

If Disney is like my company they have plenty on hand my company has tens of thousands of gallons on hand I suspect Disney has the same.

 

[Seanual757]

Good grief man. Just stay home if you are hoping these things are implemented. Getting my temperature checked? Being forced to wear a mask? Social distancing at a parade? Hello, have you ever actually SEEN a parade at Disney World? This is just nonsense. We have lived every single day of our lives with a viruses at least as deadly if not more in the flu and the common cold (by the way, kills a ton of elderly every year) and we carried on. Let's not get nuts here. Just wash your hands like normal, and no one should even have to think about that. People need to go to a place where they can relax.

Actually yes we go almost weekly but No way Disney is going to not do any of the above. Just wait and see the governor of Florida is itching to open the state and his order will squash any local mayors order. Just wait and see we have 9 days left before the social distancing is set to expire in Florida. With both Georgia and S. Carolina opening up it's just a matter of time until the restrictions ease here in Florida.

 

[Storm]

Actually yes we go almost weekly but No way Disney is going to not do any of the above. Just wait and see the governor of Florida is itching to open the state and his order will squash any local mayors order. Just wait and see we have 9 days left before the social distancing is set to expire in Florida. With both Georgia and S. Carolina opening up it's just a matter of time until the restrictions ease here in Florida.

You should probably think about what will happen AFTER the restrictions are eased , it's a disaster waiting to happen and it will happen , first it was the beaches and now everything will basically open back up and of course no social distancing , it wont be as straightforward as you think and they might end up shutting down the state again.

 

[Seanual757]

You should probably think about what will happen AFTER the restrictions are eased , it's a disaster waiting to happen and it will happen , first it was the beaches and now everything will basically open back up and of course no social distancing , it wont be as straightforward as you think and they might end up shutting down the state again.

Oh I have we have two factors no matter what are not good. 1st as stated infections will happen and even spike once states open up honestly it will not matter until a vaccine is ready people will still get sick. We have ways to limit the spread as much as we can while opening things up. 1St off if anyone thinks Disney will be at 100% capacity when they open is nuts, 50% just as crazy, we are talking about 20-30% capacity for the remainder of the year.

Disney can and they will open with social distancing as best as they can, you can move lines, you can space people out 6 ft away, you can go behind guests and clean rides, you can operate with every other car empty, you can limit folks in the parks (they do it when the parks reach capacity). They can offer boarding groups, more fast passes, ect……

If you think Disney will stay closed for the rest of the year or 18 months in our current situation the last thing we will need to worry about is vacations or Disney opening the country an itself will be bankrupt.

They can and WILL offer solutions I may not be what WE like or want but they WILL open. Disney needs to start up revenue again at $30-$40 million a day in losses the larger the company the harder they will fall and any company can and will fall and fail. They have shareholders and they will tell the company what to do. I am telling you the current plan is 6/1 unless the Governor extends the stay at home orders and that is about as likely as me hitting the lottery on Wednesday.

 

[Storm]

Oh I have we have two factors no matter what are not good. 1st as stated infections will happen and even spike once states open up honestly it will not matter until a vaccine is ready people will still get sick. We have ways to limit the spread as much as we can while opening things up. 1St off if anyone thinks Disney will be at 100% capacity when they open is nuts, 50% just as crazy, we are talking about 20-30% capacity for the remainder of the year.

Disney can and they will open with social distancing as best as they can, you can move lines, you can space people out 6 ft away, you can go behind guests and clean rides, you can operate with every other car empty, you can limit folks in the parks (they do it when the parks reach capacity). They can offer boarding groups, more fast passes, ect……

If you think Disney will stay closed for the rest of the year or 18 months in our current situation the last thing we will need to worry about is vacations or Disney opening the country an itself will be bankrupt.

They can and WILL offer solutions I may not be what WE like or want but they WILL open. Disney needs to start up revenue again at $30-$40 million a day in losses the larger the company the harder they will fall and any company can and will fall and fail. They have shareholders and they will tell the company what to do. I am telling you the current plan is 6/1 unless the Governor extends the stay at home orders and that is about as likely as me hitting the lottery on Wednesday.

I definitely dont disagree with you , I'm expecting the most expensive resorts to open sometime soon , probably mid may to june , with one park open only for the guests in the resorts and of course with a temp check upon entry and maybe a test for the virus as well. They will also probably count as guinea pigs as to see if the measures are working or not , but I dont see any value resort opening anytime soon , even in June.

 

[celluloid]

By defacto the park will have just as many people not wanting to go as wanting to go. That will help the crowds mitigate themselves to an extent.

If you limit guest spending too much and only let 20 percent of people in, you are going to operate at a loss.

 

[Storm]

By defacto the park will have just as many people not wanting to go as wanting to go. That will help the crowds mitigate themselves to an extent.

If you limit guest spending too much and only let 20 percent of people in, you are going to operate at a loss.

Which is probably what is going to happen until they at least see if the measures they put in place at that point are working, there has to be a testing phase and it cant be a value resort , it has to be something more limited so the most expensive resorts are a good option , along with one park being opened to those staying on that resort only.

 

[celluloid]

Which is probably what is going to happen until they at least see if the measures they put in place at that point are working,

Define "working?" I presume you mean that the guests are happy with it and ease from anoperations level and not on a working to mitigate actual risk level, becuase they are not going to reopen just to get results that may have worked when they find out months later.

 

[Storm]

Define "working?" I presume you mean that the guests are happy with it and ease from anoperations level and not on a working to mitigate actual risk level, becuase they are not going to reopen just to get results that may have worked when they find out months later.

What I meant was for both the guests to be "happy" with it and for the measures to work regarding the virus and preventing it from spreading.

 

[celluloid]

What I meant was for both the guests to be "happy" with it and for the measures to work regarding the virus and preventing it from spreading.

That data takes time.

Also, for anyone thinking the resorts will open first, particularly only giving access to onsite resort guests, that will likely not happen. Even if every room at WDW hotels were filled to 100 percent capacity, attendance cap would not be met. It never gets to that booking level, there is always avalibility. Even if you have 1/4th of the resorts full, which would essentially be your deluxe resort accomodations that would be around 7,500 guests in park(s) (probably less because not all are in the parks at one time)
Not really a viable option to operate. That is an extreme loss and they would lose less by just waiting another month or two.
Not to mention the limited spending of those people once inside the park or limited options that the resorts would feature.


The phases you will see will likely be the less money making attractions that appeal to longer stays and overseas vacationers like the water parks and certian acitivites/wings of resorts.

 

[Getachew]

Oh I have we have two factors no matter what are not good. 1st as stated infections will happen and even spike once states open up honestly it will not matter until a vaccine is ready people will still get sick. We have ways to limit the spread as much as we can while opening things up. 1St off if anyone thinks Disney will be at 100% capacity when they open is nuts, 50% just as crazy, we are talking about 20-30% capacity for the remainder of the year.

Disney can and they will open with social distancing as best as they can, you can move lines, you can space people out 6 ft away, you can go behind guests and clean rides, you can operate with every other car empty, you can limit folks in the parks (they do it when the parks reach capacity). They can offer boarding groups, more fast passes, ect……

If you think Disney will stay closed for the rest of the year or 18 months in our current situation the last thing we will need to worry about is vacations or Disney opening the country an itself will be bankrupt.

They can and WILL offer solutions I may not be what WE like or want but they WILL open. Disney needs to start up revenue again at $30-$40 million a day in losses the larger the company the harder they will fall and any company can and will fall and fail. They have shareholders and they will tell the company what to do. I am telling you the current plan is 6/1 unless the Governor extends the stay at home orders and that is about as likely as me hitting the lottery on Wednesday.

I don't think they will wait 18 months, but they are likely not to open too soon either, even if the Florida Governor gives it the ok.

 

[Seanual757]

That data takes time.

Also, for anyone thinking the resorts will open first, particularly only giving access to onsite resort guests, that will likely not happen. Even if every room at WDW hotels were filled to 100 percent capacity, attendance cap would not be met. It never gets to that booking level, there is always avalibility. Even if you have 1/4th of the resorts full, which would essentially be your deluxe resort accomodations that would be around 7,500 guests in park(s) (probably less because not all are in the parks at one time)
Not really a viable option to operate. That is an extreme loss and they would lose less by just waiting another month or two.
Not to mention the limited spending of those people once inside the park or limited options that the resorts would feature.


The phases you will see will likely be the less money making attractions that appeal to longer stays and overseas vacationers like the water parks and certian acitivites/wings of resorts.

Overseas folks will not be coming anytime soon.

Airlines have cute May & June Flight schedules by 90%, I do not see international travel being allowed for a good 4-6 months.

 

[NelleBelle]

WDW has already rebooked people for stays starting 6/1 and what about people who already had reservations to stay after 6/1 who haven’t cancelled or had WDW cancel their reservation? I’m sure these guests are staying at all levels of resorts unless they’re going to all be bumped up into one category? Are they going to tell them to come stay at the resort but that’s it—no theme park admittance for you despite having booked packages with tickets??

 

[larryz]

WDW has already rebooked people for stays starting 6/1 and what about people who already had reservations to stay after 6/1 who haven’t cancelled or had WDW cancel their reservation? I’m sure these guests are staying at all levels of resorts unless they’re going to all be bumped up into one category? Are they going to tell them to come stay at the resort but that’s it—no theme park admittance for you despite having booked packages with tickets??

Good questions. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Seanual757]

WDW has already rebooked people for stays starting 6/1 and what about people who already had reservations to stay after 6/1 who haven’t cancelled or had WDW cancel their reservation? I’m sure these guests are staying at all levels of resorts unless they’re going to all be bumped up into one category? Are they going to tell them to come stay at the resort but that’s it—no theme park admittance for you despite having booked packages with tickets??

I would be ok with just chilling at the pool that is our plan anyway for our June 7-13 trip we shall see how it plays out either way we all have one thing in common and that is to return to Disney.