News Spring Break and Easter 2021 crowd watch

[Sirwalterraleigh]

By not opening more attractions, shows or even restaurants, Disney is forcing people to be unable to "social distance". what is open now was all fine and dandy when capacity limit was say, 25,000. But now that its 35,000 AND parks are hitting that mark, they need to be opening more things. There is no way to socially distance with that many people and NO additional offerings.
We're going at the end of April and I am hopeful the crowds will have calmed down SOME. I know it won't be like it was when we went in the fall though.

So what should they open?

And this is the kicker: what’s in it for them? They want more revenue, but they want it their way. They’ll want all their hotel rooms booked prior at full price. Then they’ll want all their restaurants prebooked and high, fixed price menus. Then let’s talk about ticket increases.

It’s a catch 22...right now they are maximizing their reduced labor costs as it stands...they’ll want promises to increase overhead by one penny.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Wait...wait...wait

All parks are at park pass capacity? Does this mean that the parks are now physically at capacity as well?

Well...they are the reduced cap.

i cant wait to see pictures. Will be interesting to see what the parks look like at the new capacity.

Supposedly no new capacity...but if they get a ton of complaints...that line will move. They’ll deny it...but there’s only so far you can hold the line.

What is the new capacity?? Insanity?

I’m curious to see what this looks like.

Honestly: the smart thing would have been to lock out the APs (again)

 

[Walt d]

If I’m reading the calendar right online it looks like all parks are completely sold out for AP’s, Resort Guests, and new Park tickets from now until the 20th.

Is that right?

This cant go to the park you want has me worried! Are they going to do this on the 50th and you cant get into the mk. Thats not going to fly, we want to be in the first bunch outside MK like we were for the 25th. And not told you cant go in.. when does bobby i leave for good?? Not to soon..

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This cant go to the park you want has me worried! Are they going to do this on the 50th and you cant get into the mk. Thats not going to fly, we want to be in the first bunch outside MK like we were for the 25th. And not told you cant go in.. when does bobby i leave for good?? Not to soon..

Well... this is not going to any park. The calendar shows 0 availability for passholders, hotel guests, and single day tickets.

There was a really great dvc rental deal that I was ready to pounce on today but not having access to any parks didn’t seem to make any sense.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This cant go to the park you want has me worried! Are they going to do this on the 50th and you cant get into the mk. Thats not going to fly, we want to be in the first bunch outside MK like we were for the 25th. And not told you cant go in.. when does bobby i leave for good?? Not to soon..

That was a completely different world...they hadn’t even started fastpass yet...there were no dining reservations...tickets were structured to reward loyalty.

It was practically the Stone Age

 

[Touchdown]

This cant go to the park you want has me worried! Are they going to do this on the 50th and you cant get into the mk. Thats not going to fly, we want to be in the first bunch outside MK like we were for the 25th. And not told you cant go in.. when does bobby i leave for good?? Not to soon..

Who wants to tell him MK reservations are currently sold out for Oct 1....

There’s a good chance more will open up if they increase capacity because Covid blows away but I doubt Reservations are going to be gone by then.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Who wants to tell him MK reservations are currently sold out for Oct 1....

There’s a good chance more will open up if they increase capacity because Covid blows away but I doubt Reservations are going to be gone by then.

I wonder if reservations will ever go away. Not because of Covid of course.

 

[Touchdown]

I wonder if reservations will ever go away. Not because of Covid of course.

Once capacity returns to normal they will become meaningless except for Christmas-NYE and special events because capacity will never be reached.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Once capacity returns to normal they will become meaningless except for Christmas-NYE and special events because capacity will never be reached.

There is a point: throttling down employees and hours to cut it right to the bone.

I can’t tell you the exact date...but they’ve wanted to know exactly who was gonna be in the park down to the exact number for going on 30 years.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

There is a point: throttling down employees and hours to cut it right to the bone.

I can’t tell you the exact date...but they’ve wanted to know exactly who was gonna be in the park down to the exact number for going on 30 years.

At some point it makes more money to turn some guests away and fill all 4 parks evenly with limited staffing. This week will give them lots of numbers to look at....

 

[NelleBelle]

Well...they are the reduced cap.



Supposedly no new capacity...but if they get a ton of complaints...that line will move. They’ll deny it...but there’s only so far you can hold the line.



I’m curious to see what this looks like.

Honestly: the smart thing would have been to lock out the APs (again)

I thought they had locked them out at one point and then opened up more dates? SMH—are there even that many APs right now? I guess there must be enough to matter. What a mess!

 

[castlecake2.0]

We decided to skip the main parks & just do water parks this trip. I'm really nervous what those will look like without capacity caps. I can see half of WDW descending on blizzard beach when the parks become too overwhelming. Definitely packing my patience

Blizzard Beach also has a capacity cap, they just don’t participate in the reservation system. They advise you to buy your ticket online before you come, as they’ll stop the sale of them once the park is close to capacity. There’s also a number you can call to check but I’d have to look for it.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Some ideas for people looking to do things outside of the parks:

Skyliner tour, great in the mid afternoon, can “fly” to resorts on the line and take a look around

visit fort wilderness for canoe or kayak rental, archery, horseback riding etc or visit the ranch to see the Main Street horses

book a fishing excursion

visit community hall at DVC resorts for a variety of craft activities like ceramic painting, make your own tervis etc

bike rentals available at old key west, Saratoga springs, fort wilderness

Soccer golf at Disney magnolia golf course, this is really fun if you haven’t tried!

walk or monorail (during off peak times) around seven seas lagoon and visit the resorts

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

In terms of capacity, I know Disney has said 35%. I read recently that 35% of max capacity is about 60% of a normal day capacity. So with the amount of shows/restaurants/ people eaters closed, those crowd pictures definitely look right.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Some ideas for people looking to do things outside of the parks:

Skyliner tour, great in the mid afternoon, can “fly” to resorts on the line and take a look around

visit fort wilderness for canoe or kayak rental, archery, horseback riding etc or visit the ranch to see the Main Street horses

book a fishing excursion

visit community hall at DVC resorts for a variety of craft activities like ceramic painting, make your own tervis etc

bike rentals available at old key west, Saratoga springs, fort wilderness

Soccer golf at Disney magnolia golf course, this is really fun if you haven’t tried!

walk or monorail (during off peak times) around seven seas lagoon and visit the resorts

Not that I don’t appreciate all of these things.

But the prices are at a point that if you’re trying to travel there and you don’t have access to the parks...you’re trying too hard.

Disney world was great when their philosophy was to makes it so they offer more than you can do...repeat satisfaction. It’s slowly slid since.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Not that I don’t appreciate all of these things.

But the prices are at a point that if you’re trying to travel there and you don’t have access to the parks...you’re trying too hard.

Disney world was great when their philosophy was to makes it so they offer more than you can do...repeat satisfaction. It’s slowly slid since.

I agree, I wouldn’t want this to be the norm, it’s also the first spring break we’ve experienced in Covid times, so it’s a learning opportunity for everyone. I think resort guests should be the last to be blocked out of a park over APs, so that could be an adjustment going forward. It’s also balancing what the parks can handle in a comfortable way. What’s the bigger dissatisfaction for guests, not being able to get into a park, or being in a park thats too crowded for its own good? And if going forward during busy times this is going to be more normal, than they really have to make sure there’s plenty of resort activities available for guests to do. They really used to play this up in the 90s, then slowly over time all the focus was put on the parks and not all the other amenities that are available.

Side note, I’m growing concerned that none of the resorts have their motor boat rentals back, that’d be a huge loss if they don’t return.

 

[surfsupdon]

I agree, I wouldn’t want this to be the norm, it’s also the first spring break we’ve experienced in Covid times, so it’s a learning opportunity for everyone. I think resort guests should be the last to be blocked out of a park over APs, so that could be an adjustment going forward. It’s also balancing what the parks can handle in a comfortable way. What’s the bigger dissatisfaction for guests, not being able to get into a park, or being in a park thats too crowded for its own good? And if going forward during busy times this is going to be more normal, than they really have to make sure there’s plenty of resort activities available for guests to do. They really used to play this up in the 90s, then slowly over time all the focus was put on the parks and not all the other amenities that are available.

Side note, I’m growing concerned that none of the resorts have their motor boat rentals back, that’d be a huge loss if they don’t return.

The 90s were a great time at the Disney Resorts. The amount of recreation we used to do was terrific. My sister and I would literally boat and bike daily. But you are right, the emphasis on each individual resort was dropped to focus on the Parks instead,

Right before the pandemic, the Resorts were doing a nice job with recreation. I know Moderates lost their boat rentals, which stinks, but we gained Fun Runs, yoga, painting classes, and exercise classes. That was pretty cool. Hope we get these offerings back.

 

[castlecake2.0]

The 90s were a great time at the Disney Resorts. The amount of recreation we used to do was terrific. My sister and I would literally boat and bike daily. But you are right, the emphasis on each individual resort was dropped to focus on the Parks instead,

Right before the pandemic, the Resorts were doing a nice job with recreation. I know Moderates lost their boat rentals, which stinks, but we gained Fun Runs, yoga, painting classes, and exercise classes. That was pretty cool. Hope we get these offerings back.

My partner works in recreation and he said these were all very popular activities, so hopefully they return!

 

[DCBaker]

Here's what the rest of March and beginning of April currently look like for Resort/Ticket Guests.

 

[Daily Magic]

I’ll be visiting from 4/11-4/17 and I keep looking all those sold out dates right before I go. I’m hoping the spring break crowds are gone by the time I visit. Seeing all those green days for now gives me hope.