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

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
Disney is getting blasted all over social media right now. People are very very unhappy over this.

They may need a redo on this one.
If people really thought that FP+ and existing reservations could carry on in view of all the changes they really need to have a good think and get a grasp of reality. It was very obvious that as soon as we got into the territory of requiring reservations to enter the park and extremely limited capacity that things were never going to be able to carry on as they were.

Perhaps the only blame with Disney could be that over the years they changed the park experience to reach such a degree of hyper-planning and complexity that it is now difficult and jarring to return to a simpler model.
 

stratman50th

Well-Known Member
But I'm going to need a few good resort dining reservations or otherwise I might downgrade my Deluxe resort reservation - there's no point staying at the Poly if I can't get an Ohana dinner. Might as well stay at Art of Animation and eat at Landscape of Flavors (not tossing any shade at AoA, loved it when I did a split stay a few years ago).
Pandemic or not, this has been a thing for a long time. Last time we stayed at the Poly was 2010. That year, and the two previous we couldn't get ADRs at 'Ohana. We got in by lining up at the reservation desk in the lobby and waiting as a walkup. Not something I thought was a plus, not being able to eat at the restaurant in the hotel you were staying at.
 

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
If people really thought that FP+ and existing reservations could carry on in view of all the changes they really need to have a good think and get a grasp of reality. It was very obvious that as soon as we got into the territory of requiring reservations to enter the park and extremely limited capacity that things were never going to be able to carry on as they were.

Perhaps the only blame with Disney could be that over the years they changed the park experience to reach such a degree of hyper-planning and complexity that it is now difficult and jarring to return to a simpler model.

Unfortunately the social media mob doesn't react to reason. The major disconnect is probably the lack of communication and timely messaging. Everyone knew that things were going to change, but the messagings or lack there of was a major problem in aggravating the reaction that has occurred. Disney for the last decade has conditioned people into preplanning every second of their experience and then overnight they basically blow up the system that everyone has been used to and has become accustomed to. You can imagine the result of that in terms of guest reaction.
 

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
If people really thought that FP+ and existing reservations could carry on in view of all the changes they really need to have a good think and get a grasp of reality. It was very obvious that as soon as we got into the territory of requiring reservations to enter the park and extremely limited capacity that things were never going to be able to carry on as they were.

Perhaps the only blame with Disney could be that over the years they changed the park experience to reach such a degree of hyper-planning and complexity that it is now difficult and jarring to return to a simpler model.


Can i quote this multiple times???
 
You know Captain I thought that way also lol but it seems almost EVERY vacation venue is going to be doing the same thing. I've been googling around and just about every place is Mask, plexiglass and temperature checks.
New world
That’s odd. Every resort I’ve checked other than Disney and Universal have masks required for employees and optional for guests. Disney and Universal are anomalies, as far as I’ve seen.

Maybe you aren’t looking at Southern beach resorts? Or other resorts in Orlando? There seem to be plenty of options for those who want their entire vacation to be a “Relaxation Area.”
 

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
Got it....the local market take....do want to point out the SC beaches I'm referring as the "lesser" beaches, not Hilton Head and Myrtle


Anyhoo.......I can't imagine what it is going to be like to go back. We've been extremely busy during these times of shut down(s), and its getting time for a quick breather. It might be extremely traumatic as Disney was an "escape" pre-covid. Now it will be a reminder of how things have/will change
I have been out very minimally over the past 10 weeks. I was getting my groceries delivered for about the first 8 and not going anywhere else aside from a walk or bike ride. Going to City Walk a couple weeks ago, and then Springs a day later was a bit jarring. Yes it was nice to be back but it was incredibly weird, from the markers to the signs to the plexiglass to the masks. Now that I've been to Springs 3 times the abnormal has started to feel normal.
 
I got it too. Not DVC.

I think it might be people with tickets or passes on their profile.
I’ve still got nothing at all from them. Not one word of communication. Not for June. Not for July. And my resort reservations and fastpasses for June and July are still in the system- and my dining reservations are still there for July.
 

jpeden

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
"According to a Facebook post by one of the Walt Disney World transportation unions, Disney will be offering all full-time Cast Members the option to voluntarily transfer to a temporary role to get back to work quicker."

"The voluntary transfer would be a one-call that goes out to all full-time Cast Members who then must request a transfer. Cast Members will not be automatically transferred, and this doesn’t apply to any other status besides full-time. Disney will attempt to fill positions with Cast Members who previously worked them first, and backfill with Cast Members who have volunteered for this temporary transfer.

Cast Members will be paid according to the rate set forth for their new, temporary location, and they will be transferred back to their old location once it reopens, in seniority order."


Interesting that they are being paid according to the rate of their new job and not their actual job. That could be good or bad depending on the employee - but at least they're giving them this opportunity.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
This is going to affect the uk bookings massively and I wonder if that is deliberate. We get the free dining plan almost year round with packages and therefore everyone’s free dining plan is cancelled now which makes the holiday at least £1000 more expensive / ice also noticed that the 35% off a future reservation is not on the blog anymore? Sorry if I’m being blind. So basically my son who has a reservation in October with free dining at akl now has lost all his reservations, has 14 day ultimate tickets which include park hopper and water parks which aren’t happening and less opening times - I can’t seem many uk people coming over even when they can under those circumstances as it’s basically making a holiday a lot more expensive that they’ve already paid for with less experiences - and again perhaps that’s what they want, no internationals
I think it would be safe to say at this point Disney would rather not have any UK visitors. They will not have the capacity in the parks to acommodate all the domestic guests, never mind international visitors.

There is of course also some doubt about the US opening the border, UK airlines resuming flights and the UK allowing non-essential international travel.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
I arrive at Disneyworld on August 17, you think it is possible that some of the decisions that have been made have been relaxed. In other words, the meets and greets or parades return.
I think it is highly unlikely that we will see any of those in August. For what would essentially be large gatherings at parades and meet and greets, we need an effective vaccine or no risk of transmission. That would seem unlikely in the near future.
 

duder

Active Member
Not surprising that they decided to cancel all the ADRs and Fastpasses, not sure how they could have avoided those decisions.

I'm disappointed that our Chef's table at V&A was cancelled, but I'm not going to freak out about any of the changes. This situation is unprecedented and if some of the decisions end up making the trip not worth it, we will do the logical thing and cancel.

There is still too many unknowns about what this will look like when we are due in August, but the idea of no Fastpass+ is a positive in my view, and the chance of being in the parks with lowered capacity is also a huge plus.

As long as we are able to enjoy some of the restaurants that we had booked, it could be a nice, relaxing trip.
 

Gravydeen

Active Member
I’ve still got nothing at all from them. Not one word of communication. Not for June. Not for July. And my resort reservations and fastpasses for June and July are still in the system- and my dining reservations are still there for July.
Same here. We have a package starting July 10th. I was not sure how that might be handled. Would they cancel our entire trip or just force us to arrive one day later. Everything is still showing on MDE. Is the fact that I have not received an email a bad sign?
 

LuvtheGoof

DVC Guru
Premium Member
An interesting tool available for DVC members is the availability tool. While I don’t check it daily I do look at it every week and the month to month availability within the 7 month window is getting more and more frequent. Even for busy DVC time in September, and October. So there is movement there.
Not sure what you are seeing, but when I check for late September, and look for even a 5 day stay, the only place at all is SSR, and even that is only for a 1 bedroom. October is extremely full as well.
 

RaveOnEd

Well-Known Member
Got word from the person helping us at Mickey Travels, and she said that our dining plan and reservations will be cancelled, but we'll be getting a 35% discount on the resort booking (we booked for May, had to move to August and had the free dining plan incentive at that point, which is now cancelled).

But we'll be getting the opportunity to make other dining reservations 60 days out, and we'll be able to make park reservations. So far, we're still going to go. It's WDW, our favorite place, and it's always been an escape from reality for a while (and we need it more than ever now!)
 

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
Just curious, for when is your reservation? and what kind of tickets do you have? I booked my stay and tickets separately (but both directly from Disney UK), and they both are in MDE. Any other people received an e-mail?
I received this email at 3:30am and I'm an AP with no other reservations currently booked.
 

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