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

[GoofGoof]

Nothing we can do but wait.

That being said, if you have a reservation, it will be honored someplace on property if POFQ is not open. I don’t think Disney will tell you to pony up an extra $500 if you want to take your trip as planned. I do think they are hoping that/counting on loads of folks with trips in the near future (we have one planned for September at POFQ) to cancel/reschedule.

Do we know they won’t try to charge people for an upgrade? I would assume if the same level room is available they would just move you, but if you are booked at POFQ and the only rooms available are at deluxe or DVC resorts they could still ask for more money. Has anyone had this happen where they were not changing dates but got charged more for a room upgrade? I assume you would still keep your priority for park reservations vs cancelling and rebooking on a different date.

 

[the_rich]

Do we know they won’t try to charge people for an upgrade? I would assume if the same level room is available they would just move you, but if you are booked at POFQ and the only rooms available are at deluxe or DVC resorts they could still ask for more money. Has anyone had this happen where they were not changing dates but got charged more for a room upgrade? I assume you would still keep your priority for park reservations vs cancelling and rebooking on a different date.

I had it happen to me last year at dl. I had booked paradise pier in June to guarantee a reservation for star wars land. They called me a week before my trip because they had overbooked the hotel. They upgraded me and many other people to the grand californian for free. It was a 2k dollar difference for my 4 night stay.

 

[mpostak]

I had it happen to me last year at dl. I had booked paradise pier in June to guarantee a reservation for star wars land. They called me a week before my trip because they had overbooked the hotel. They upgraded me and many other people to the grand californian for free. It was a 2k dollar difference for my 4 night stay.

Jackpot!

 

[GoofGoof]

I had it happen to me last year at dl. I had booked paradise pier in June to guarantee a reservation for star wars land. They called me a week before my trip because they had overbooked the hotel. They upgraded me and many other people to the grand californian for free. It was a 2k dollar difference for my 4 night stay.

Good score. We stayed at GCV last August and it’s an amazing place. Dare I say nicer than any of the WDW resorts???

I was thinking more on the current situation. If they don’t open a lot (or any) of the hotels in July will they just give upgrades to DVC resorts for free or will they ask people to pick another date? If someone paid the regular cash rate for a DVC room and then finds out someone booked at the All Stars got the same room for 1/4 the price that isn’t going to sit well either. It’s a tough situation.

 

[the_rich]

Good score. We stayed at GCV last August and it’s an amazing place. Dare I say nicer than any of the WDW resorts???

I was thinking more on the current situation. If they don’t open a lot (or any) of the hotels in July will they just give upgrades to DVC resorts for free or will they ask people to pick another date? If someone paid the regular cash rate for a DVC room and then finds out someone booked at the All Stars got the same room for 1/4 the price that isn’t going to sit well either. It’s a tough situation.

I think they'll upgrade them for free if they have the room.

 

[mpostak]

Much like initially some people who modified received free dining while then they got to a point where they said no more free dining for people displaced due to the shut down. Now those who were offered the free dining for having to move their dates now get a 35% rebooking discount whereas my family does not. In the end it is what it is. We are scheduled for CBR during our stay at the end of July. We were really looking forward to it as our first time at that resort. I am hoping that if it is not open and we are keeping our dates that disney would move us wherever they deem appropriate at no charge. But as I said, we are all circling in the air waiting for the info to be released in regards to rooms and the reservation system and such. Holding onto the Disney Magic at this point will come through.

 

[GoofGoof]

I think they'll upgrade them for free if they have the room.

They should, but if there’s not room for everyone how do they decide who gets the rooms? Date reservation was made? Closest in price to the original reservation? If I have a room booked at Poly that I reserved in March and you have a room at the All Stars that you booked last September and there’s only 1 Poly DVC studio room available who gets the room? Me, because it’s the same resort and only a small bump in price or you because you reserved a room first and your resort isn’t open? It’s a tough call.

If they charge for the upgraded room but offer an opt out where you can change the date to later in the year then anyone willing to pay more to get in right away can and those that don’t want to pay more can just wait until their original resort re-opens.

 

[mpostak]

They should, but if there’s not room for everyone how do they decide who gets the rooms? Date reservation was made? Closest in price to the original reservation? If I have a room booked at Poly that I reserved in March and you have a room at the All Stars that you booked last September and there’s only 1 Poly DVC studio room available who gets the room? Me, because it’s the same resort and only a small bump in price or you because you reserved a room first and your resort isn’t open? It’s a tough call.

If they charge for the upgraded room but offer an opt out where you can change the date to later in the year then anyone willing to pay more to get in right away can and those that don’t want to pay more can just wait until their original resort re-opens.

So in the end. will Disney go the route of 'Money talks' or the route of "first booked first served'. Legitimate justifications on their end for both options

 

[the_rich]

They should, but if there’s not room for everyone how do they decide who gets the rooms? Date reservation was made? Closest in price to the original reservation? If I have a room booked at Poly that I reserved in March and you have a room at the All Stars that you booked last September and there’s only 1 Poly DVC studio room available who gets the room? Me, because it’s the same resort and only a small bump in price or you because you reserved a room first and your resort isn’t open? It’s a tough call.

If they charge for the upgraded room but offer an opt out where you can change the date to later in the year then anyone willing to pay more to get in right away can and those that don’t want to pay more can just wait until their original resort re-opens.

I think they would go by booking date. When I got my upgrade, they said they were calling people in order from booking date.

 

[GoofGoof]

So in the end. will Disney go the route of 'Money talks' or the route of "first booked first served'. Legitimate justifications on their end for both options

I think they would go by booking date. When I got my upgrade, they said they were calling people in order from booking date.

I think booking date is more “fair”. Its a mess to organize either way. Anyone wondering why it’s taking so long for Disney to communicate what’s going on can look at that small example and see why it’s hard. It would be easier if they just opened all the resorts at once, but that’s not cost effective if each one is under 50% capacity. The beauty and benefit of size really comes back to bite Disney in this circumstance.

 

[mpostak]

I think they would go by booking date. When I got my upgrade, they said they were calling people in order from booking date.

Then we get our scenario...Book in October for June 3-June 11, Moved it to May to July 27 - August 4. But when modify it becomes a rebooking so would that mean my booking date is in May and not the October 2019. Am sure many different scenarios!

 

[GoofGoof]

Then we get our scenario...Book in October for June 3-June 11, Moved it to May to July 27 - August 4. But when modify it becomes a rebooking so would that mean my booking date is in May and not the October 2019. Am sure many different scenarios!

Exactly. It’s a real “goat rodeo“. Some people had to cancel multiple times from March to April to June to July now. I would assume the reservation system has a history of that, but there may not be a way to systematically track that using automation so it may be a manual process. Disney reservation rep is not a job I‘d want right now.

 

[mickeymiss]

We booked in April thinking we were being smart waiting and will probably get bumped out entirely if it goes by booking date. I agree that those who booked first should get priority but I assumed there would be room for all. Naive me.
This is a real endurance test lol. Will we or won’t we?
I wanted those who were booked for before 7/11 to get rescheduled when they wanted but hoped it wouldn’t be at the expense of other booked people. Still a little salty that Disney kept allowing people to book right up until 5/27 when they planned to cap capacity. It makes me wonder how overbooked they are. I wish they’d just open all of the resorts. It could employ people and spread out guests. Again, naive.

 

[GoofGoof]

We booked in April thinking we were being smart waiting and will probably get bumped out entirely if it goes by booking date. I agree that those who booked first should get priority but I assumed there would be room for all. Naive me.
This is a real endurance test lol. Will we or won’t we?
I wanted those who were booked for before 7/11 to get rescheduled when they wanted but hoped it wouldn’t be at the expense of other booked people. Still a little salty that Disney kept allowing people to book right up until 5/27 when they planned to cap capacity. It makes me wonder how overbooked they are. I wish they’d just open all of the resorts. It could employ people and spread out guests. Again, naive.

I think it depends on when you want to go. As time goes on demand will drop and more resorts may open. There will probably only be an issue for a few weeks after opening. By mid-August when southern schools go back the demand will drop way off. They still don‘t know how many people are going to cancel or reschedule too. It could turn out there are enough rooms for everyone and nobody gets bumped.

 

[Piebald]

Went to Universal today.

The masks are really not that bad even in this heat. Definitely invest in a better mask though, those disposable surgical masks are terrible in the heat.

It was slow. Not as insanely slow as its appeared to be during the week but longest waits were like 40 min. You could walk onto others.

Assuming things dont deteriorate with covid (we will see as things seem to be picking up) I've personally decided the masks are not a terrible deterrent as people think. Of course some will definitely struggle with masks on but it really wasnt that bad and it was nasty hot today. I was there for like 7-8 hours.

If Disney follows a similar pattern I imagine it wont be crowded and probably busier on weekends vs week days. I wonder how Disney opening up opens up the crowds though as I imagine most of the attendance is all locals or people making a short drive to the parks.


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[Gravydeen]

Went to Universal today.

The masks are really not that bad even in this heat. Definitely invest in a better mask though, those disposable surgical masks are terrible in the heat.

It was slow. Not as insanely slow as its appeared to be during the week but longest waits were like 40 min. You could walk onto others.

Assuming things dont deteriorate with covid (we will see as things seem to be picking up) I've personally decided the masks are not a terrible deterrent as people think. Of course some will definitely struggle with masks on but it really wasnt that bad and it was nasty hot today. I was there for like 7-8 hours.

If Disney follows a similar pattern I imagine it wont be crowded and probably busier on weekends vs week days. I wonder how Disney opening up opens up the crowds though as I imagine most of the attendance is all locals or people making a short drive to the parks.


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Does anyone have a suggestions for the best kind of mask for comfort in the heat?

 

[wagamama]

Does anyone have a suggestions for the best kind of mask for comfort in the heat?

Heard great things about the Under Armour mask, but it’s back ordered until August so depends on how soon you’ll need it.

 

[AugieMorosco]

Heard great things about the Under Armour mask, but it’s back ordered until August so depends on how soon you’ll need it.

I've ordered a bunch from Etsy. The ones I found most comfortable for being in the Houston heat and humidity were from a seller named PeaceThreads. Very light and comfy. They have some cool Marvel and Disney designs.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Does anyone have a suggestions for the best kind of mask for comfort in the heat?

A local company for us - Homage - has the best cloth masks I've found. Light and comfortable. The straps behind the ears are cotton, not just elastic, which makes a huge difference.

www.homage.com

 

[DisneyOutsider]

So what do we think it says about the state of WDW's new reservation system that we're less than a month out now and still don't have any details whatsoever?

I'm losing confidence by the day that the distribution of park reservations will be anything else than than a giant train-wreck. There's so many details and variables that they have to work out... I'm not sure that they have the time to make it all work considering their IT track record.