News Walt Disney World's COVID-19 reopening plans announced - July 11

[sjhym333]

Really cant see the sense in continuing with the reopening. Floridas cases are out of control, you'd be opening in a worse position than if they'd just kept them open the whole time.

It was far, far too soon but people seem to continue to bury their heads in the sand about this whole thing. Realistically the entire state should've been planning to stay closed until the R rate was below 0.5, and even then with strict social distancing and requiring masks everywhere. It'd have made it so much quicker and easier to get things under control instead of this "La la la I'm not listening everything will be fine" attitude that the government (and state) has.


I know we all want to get back to WDW...but look at the rise in FL:

Have we flattened the curve in Florida? - Johns Hopkins

Daily Confirmed Case Trends (7-Day Moving Average) in Florida

coronavirus.jhu.edu

Absolutely. Orange County is requiring masks, ER visits were up this weekend and restaurants in Dr. Philips, Mills 50 and UCF areas are closing because employees are testing positive. Not sure why anyone would want to rush to Disney. Yes Disney will do everything to keep people safe but the place is still staffed by people living in a hotspot.

 

[Mainahman]

I hope you get one of those three-bedroom villas. It's just me and my 15 year old son. I just need two beds.

3 beds of some sort will be fine. it was the 2 bathrooms we really needed to get everyone going in the morning. We will see. i finally got through after 2 hours of playing chicken with the phone system, now ive been on silent hold for 50 mins. I have a slew of work meetings today, so i wont be able to try again until after noon today, and hope i can get someone before guest services closes.

 

[Mainahman]

I don't know what the fix was for. My specific example is that we park hop to Epcot specifically to eat. If we can't park hop, we will eat off site instead of the things we enjoy at Epcot. That's revenue for Disney.

its been said many times by Disney themselves. No park hopping. 1 park a day, thats it. id say were likely to see hopping back maybe next year the way they are rolling things out.

 

[Q_Division]

Perhaps I've missed this but no Columbia House when MK opens? I know the layout is a bit odd but it always seems to have more space to me than most of the others.

 

[Jrb1979]

My DH works for an airline. They have had an outbreak. Dozens have tested positive, but they are essential and they still go to work. Same goes for me I'm a healthcare worker. There's a lot of essential workers that have worked through this pandemic. We don't have a choice. I really doubt Disney is going to walk this back after putting their guests through hell trying to rebook and make park reservations.

The key difference is you and you DH are essential. Disney is not essential. CM's health is more important then a guests reservation.

 

[Horizons '83]

Does anyone know how Oga's is going to work? They always would squeeze you in like sardines in that small place. It must have to drastically reduce its capacity to make it safe for everyone, particularly with no one wearing masks in there. Each party gets its own booth or table?

 

[wdwmagic]

Does anyone know how Oga's is going to work? They always would squeeze you in like sardines in that small place. It must have to drastically reduce its capacity to make it safe for everyone, particularly with no one wearing masks in there. Each party gets its own booth or table?

Capacity limited to about 20 people would be my guess, and yes I would think own booth would be the only way to go.

 

[Miss Bella]

The key difference is you and you DH are essential. Disney is not essential. CM's health is more important then a guests reservation.

Paying your bills is also pretty darn important. Neither one of us would voluntarily give up getting paid.

 

[wdwmagic]

Perhaps I've missed this but no Columbia House when MK opens? I know the layout is a bit odd but it always seems to have more space to me than most of the others.

I think it may be a case of trying to only operate enough locations to meet the expected demand. MK is running a couple of large restaurants, so it may be that CHH is not needed.

 

[Miss Bella]

3 beds of some sort will be fine. it was the 2 bathrooms we really needed to get everyone going in the morning. We will see. i finally got through after 2 hours of playing chicken with the phone system, now ive been on silent hold for 50 mins. I have a slew of work meetings today, so i wont be able to try again until after noon today, and hope i can get someone before guest services closes.

Good luck I'll be trying this afternoon.

 

[Mainahman]

Good luck I'll be trying this afternoon.

Well it took me 2 hours to get through the all circuts are busy, then an hour of hold, so i had to hang up. i cleared a meeting, one cancelled, and now i try to get back in the phone jungle so i can go to other meetings while i wait.

 

[marni1971]

Does anyone know how Oga's is going to work? They always would squeeze you in like sardines in that small place. It must have to drastically reduce its capacity to make it safe for everyone, particularly with no one wearing masks in there. Each party gets its own booth or table?

Capacity limited to about 20 people would be my guess, and yes I would think own booth would be the only way to go.

Capacity is down across the board, from transport to rides to restaurants. To parks. By a lot. It’ll make for an interesting time to say the least.

 

[Roy G. Dis]

Going to central Florida this summer and trying to not get exposed to Covid is like trying to stop a wave by punching a hole through it.

 

[Miss Bella]

Well it took me 2 hours to get through the all circuts are busy, then an hour of hold, so i had to hang up. i cleared a meeting, one cancelled, and now i try to get back in the phone jungle so i can go to other meetings while i wait.

Try calling the direct line to GS. 407-939-7866. It took me an hour of pushing redial to get in, but once I did it was only a 3-minute hold. It took her about 15 minutes to find availability. I got my first choice which was WL. We got a deluxe studio at boulder ridge. I was hoping for a one-bedroom, but oh well. I'm happy it's done and I can take a nap this afternoon.

 

[MadMax11]

Capacity is down across the board, from transport to rides to restaurants. To parks. By a lot. It’ll make for an interesting time to say the least.

I assume they're limiting the number of hotel reservations they'll be taking too...right?

 

[Mainahman]

Try calling the direct line to GS. 407-939-7866. It took me an hour of pushing redial to get in, but once I did it was only a 3-minute hold. It took her about 15 minutes to find availability. I got my first choice which was WL. We got a deluxe studio at boulder ridge. I was hoping for a one-bedroom, but oh well. I'm happy it's done and I can take a nap this afternoon.

im playing that redial game as we speak, its lunch time on the east coast. so id assume call number is up and reps is down for lunch.

 

[Mainahman]

Try calling the direct line to GS. 407-939-7866. It took me an hour of pushing redial to get in, but once I did it was only a 3-minute hold. It took her about 15 minutes to find availability. I got my first choice which was WL. We got a deluxe studio at boulder ridge. I was hoping for a one-bedroom, but oh well. I'm happy it's done and I can take a nap this afternoon.

what resort were you coming from? Im hearing all over the place on people from ALl stars. some cabins, even though it only has one bathroom etc. Ill take whatever.

 

[brifraz]

Just a quick thought about the current situation in Florida and concerns about WDW re-opening.

First off, I am definitely concerned. I'm supposed to be there July 12-28. And, while the couple weeks of significantly increasing numbers has raised my level of concern, here's a thought to those who are suggesting Disney immediately push back their opening plans. (all numbers shared are compiled via a combination/average of the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracking numbers, the NY Times tracking numbers, and the Florida state portal).

We are 18 days from WDW reopening (with numerous restrictions). In the last 18 days, the number of positives appears to have increased from about 600/day weekly average to about 3000/day weekly average. The percent positive has also apparently increased over that same time period from about 3% to about 12%. Both of those are not good numbers. The increase SEEMS to correlate to the changes to restrictions in Florida that happened at the beginning of June.

The initial re-opening easing of restrictions in early May met with an apparent decrease in percent positive (5% to 3%) mainly because testing increased while total positive cases appear to have remained about the same. In the past week, many of the counties in Florida have increased restrictions which 'should' result in those numbers starting to decrease over the next few weeks.

Now the current restrictions are not as strict as those that were in place in April, but if we look at 18 days starting in mid-April, there was an apparent decrease in positives (about 1000 down to about 600) and percent positive (down from about 11% to about 5%). Do I expect this kind of decrease in numbers over the next 18 days? Nope. Do I expect a decrease of some kind in the next 18 days? Yes.

The restrictions in the Disney plans are closer to those in place in April than those in place now, which (in theory) would make working and vacationing at Disney safer than being elsewhere in Florida. Should they continue to look at the numbers? Absolutely. If things continue to move in a negative direction should they consider postponing opening? Absolutely. Should they decide to postpone opening right now? IMHO, no.

Sorry that ended up being a little more than my 2 cents, but I like to be thorough in presenting the material that informs my decisions. Have a great day everyone and stay safe and healthy!

 

[sjhym333]

Just a quick thought about the current situation in Florida and concerns about WDW re-opening.

First off, I am definitely concerned. I'm supposed to be there July 12-28. And, while the couple weeks of significantly increasing numbers has raised my level of concern, here's a thought to those who are suggesting Disney immediately push back their opening plans. (all numbers shared are compiled via a combination/average of the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracking numbers, the NY Times tracking numbers, and the Florida state portal).

We are 18 days from WDW reopening (with numerous restrictions). In the last 18 days, the number of positives appears to have increased from about 600/day weekly average to about 3000/day weekly average. The percent positive has also apparently increased over that same time period from about 3% to about 12%. Both of those are not good numbers. The increase SEEMS to correlate to the changes to restrictions in Florida that happened at the beginning of June.

The initial re-opening easing of restrictions in early May met with an apparent decrease in percent positive (5% to 3%) mainly because testing increased while total positive cases appear to have remained about the same. In the past week, many of the counties in Florida have increased restrictions which 'should' result in those numbers starting to decrease over the next few weeks.

Now the current restrictions are not as strict as those that were in place in April, but if we look at 18 days starting in mid-April, there was an apparent decrease in positives (about 1000 down to about 600) and percent positive (down from about 11% to about 5%). Do I expect this kind of decrease in numbers over the next 18 days? Nope. Do I expect a decrease of some kind in the next 18 days? Yes.

The restrictions in the Disney plans are closer to those in place in April than those in place now, which (in theory) would make working and vacationing at Disney safer than being elsewhere in Florida. Should they continue to look at the numbers? Absolutely. If things continue to move in a negative direction should they consider postponing opening? Absolutely. Should they decide to postpone opening right now? IMHO, no.

Sorry that ended up being a little more than my 2 cents, but I like to be thorough in presenting the material that informs my decisions. Have a great day everyone and stay safe and healthy!

I don't believe that Disney will push back the reopening for a lot of reasons. I understand why people are ready to vacation there now. For me...I'm not sure it's worth it in the current environment. Restaurants outside Disney are closing because of staff testing positive. Disney has no control over what a CM does during their personal time and having worked in large corporations including many years at WDW Disney can't watch every CM to ensure they are following protocols.

 

[sbunit]

I think it's fair to say that Disney has reached the point of no return regarding it's opening. They've announced and implemented too much to change course now IMO. Does that mean they absolutely cannot shut it down again? Of course not, Disney can do what it wants when it wants. But realistically speaking, it doesn't make much sense to roll out the park reservation system and have people start making reservations and travel plans to pull the rug out from underneath them at this point in time. Then what happens to their credibility later when they announce "another re-opening?" This time we are opening for real, please book? Unless Covid gets significantly out of control where it is affecting Public Health capacity to an insurmountable degree, Disney has committed themselves to open.