Walt Disney World Park Hours cut starting September 8 2020

giantgolfer

Well-Known Member
Because Disneyland is closed and costing Disney money in maintenance and utilities. The California Gov is an idiot. Disney World and Universal been open since July and the cases keep coming down. Restaurants in Florida can open at 100% after phase 3. I few hours ago I tried to get a table in Disney Springs and everything is full and the line for Polite Pig was really long, all the way outside of the restaurant. Went to another restaurant outside WDW and it was full. I had to dine on the bar.
You do realize it’s Friday night, right? One of the busiest nights of the week for ANY restaurant anywhere in the country?
 
Sad but true. Nearly half of hotel rooms are still closed as well as a large number of restaurants. The parks are filling up with locals with APs (especially on weekends) but there’s no sign of the tourist crowd coming back any time soon. That’s why the furloughs became layoffs. Universal is even worse with all the tickets sold in the summer that turned a 1 day ticket into an AP through Christmas. There was some hope that things would have improved and maybe there would be a nice holiday bump but that’s seeming less likely. They would have to open more resorts pretty soon if they expect a big bump in demand. It would be great for CMs out of work.
Right now all I see is cars with out of state license plates driving around Orlando. People are moving to Florida and renting apartments and vacation rentals waiting for the shutdowns to be over. If Disney opens to 50% or 100% the parks will get full. At least they should open Epcot to 100% to let people in to the restaurants.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Right now all I see is cars with out of state license plates driving around Orlando. People are moving to Florida and renting apartments and vacation rentals waiting for the shutdowns to be over. If Disney opens to 50% or 100% the parks will get full. At least they should open Epcot to 100% to let people in to the restaurants.
I think Disney has a pretty good idea how much demand there is. They know what future bookings look like. I’m skeptical they would layoff so many CMs after having them furloughed for 6 months if demand was going to be back to near 100% soon. I also think they would have announced the opening of additional resorts to make sure they aren’t turning away potential guests, especially with the usually popular holiday season fast approaching.
 

Miss Bella

Well-Known Member
The economy is not down. Right now try to get a restaurant reservation in Disney springs, Friday or Saturday, is almost impossible. Every restaurant is full and they are at 100% capacity. If WDW opens to 50% or 100%, the parks will get full.
I'm not surprised Disney Springs was packed when we were there in August,. Normally we eat in Epcot at least 3 nights during our stay, but I liked the restaurants we ate at in Disney Springs better. It made me think I don't need park hoppers.
 

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
You mean just visiting the resorts and walking around? They aren’t allowing that? How do they stop you?
I'm at WDW now, and haven't been stopped from visiting other resorts. If you arrive by Disney Transportation, there's no problem.

I've had coffee and a pastry at both Boardwalk and Beach Club via Epcot's International Gateway. I plan to visit Grand Floridian tomorrow via Monorail for a drink.
 
You do realize it’s Friday night, right? One of the busiest nights of the week for ANY restaurant anywhere in the country?
Ok, will take pictures if I go back during the week. Universal tomorrow you will see 45 min or more for Shrek. Thats how you know if the park is full. A lot of locals go to the parks just to the restaurants. They should open Epcot to 100% if they want more revenue and save jobs. Right now I see so many out of state license plates it feels like summer. If you want to build a pool in your home, you need to wait until 2021, that how bad the economy is.
 

legwand77

Well-Known Member
Agreed. The travel restrictions are only a small part of the bigger picture. It impacts people from certain states and all international travelers but not everyone. IMHO the top reason people who would normally go to WDW are holding back is still health concerns (travel overall more so than specifically WDW) but a close second is probably people don’t want to go because of a reduced overall experience at the same price: masks required, no fireworks/parades, rides/shows closed, no fast pass, reduced hours, restaurants/resorts not open yet, no character meets, etc... That’s just my anecdotal experiences. I know a lot of people who cancelled trips to WDW this year. :(

The economy is also a factor for anyone who lost their job, lost a second income or is concerned either of those things could still be coming. While WDW’s key demographic may not be hourly hospitality workers who were deeply impacted some other professions are also impacted. Flight attendants and airline pilots, managers at hotels and restaurants, owners or chefs at restaurants, the guy who owns my barber shop, people who drove for Uber or tended bar a few days a week for extra income that they used for vacations and leisure activities. My wife hasn’t worked since March. She was only working part time, but her whole salary pretty much went towards our travel budget. We are far from starving, but I have a little less to spend on a vacation. The economic impact can be felt at all levels even though the entry level or hourly workers are being hit the hardest.
I get your perspective but realize that is just in the hardest hit areas and the ones that are still under restrictions. Howver it is not as bad as you are seeing locally. That is what i was alluding to in my post about travel around the country. There are many places were there is no major economic impact, there is some obviously but not major. Life is back to normal or getting really close in some areas of the country. For example went out tonight ate dinner at a 100% full restaurant with no masks at all servers and patrons alike. also stopped off at a bar and had a few drinks again no masks anywhere. Only time I wore a mask this week was breifly at a Starbucks before I sat down, at a grocery store and on a couple of flights.

That said back to WDW as others have mentioned things are getting busy there as well. It is really fascinating to see how some states/areas are still in a version of lockdown and some are not. It is only going to be busier. Anecdotal but everyone i know have only modified vacations to go were things are more open and with less restrictions, ie Florida. etc. and not going to NY tristate area frankly because there is nothing to do there and the hassle. Which is a shame.
 
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