CRT as Crowd Bellweather?

[TigerlilyAJ]

So, I am toying with the idea of an Oct 2020 trip because nothing makes you want to escape to some place fun like the fourth week of quarantine. My dates have not quite come yet at the 180-day mark for ADRs, but I have been practicing the past couple of days.
I still can't get a CRT reservation except the ridiculous $200 fireworks package.
So, in a pandemic, with massive job losses, there are enough people who are not only planning a WDW vacation for later this year but are willing and able to PRE-PAY hundreds of dollars for a meal six months away.
People and blogs musing on whether crowds will be way lower when the parks reopen...I think this could be a bellweather.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'd be careful reading too much into it. They might have decided to only load half (or whatever) for now. Nothing will be as it was before so you can't make assumptions based on how things used to be.

 

[scard192]

So, I am toying with the idea of an Oct 2020 trip because nothing makes you want to escape to some place fun like the fourth week of quarantine. My dates have not quite come yet at the 180-day mark for ADRs, but I have been practicing the past couple of days.
I still can't get a CRT reservation except the ridiculous $200 fireworks package.
So, in a pandemic, with massive job losses, there are enough people who are not only planning a WDW vacation for later this year but are willing and able to PRE-PAY hundreds of dollars for a meal six months away.
People and blogs musing on whether crowds will be way lower when the parks reopen...I think this could be a bellweather.

in the Fall MK usually closes 4 nights/week for the "parties". Everyone trying for a dinner ADR is going to have a lot fewer options.

 

[Ecomommy09]

It seems that everyone moved their trip to October.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Good points. But I still think it serves the argument that some made that hopes of small crowds due to financial concerns are not going to pan out because most of the people newly unemployed (but not all) were in jobs that never paid enough to go to WDW in the first place. As long as people are not afraid for health reasons, the parks will have plenty of people.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

It seems that everyone moved their trip to October.

Yeah, I wanted to go for a kid's birthday, but October was already popular. Add rescheduling people, and it feels like it could be insane. I'm also facing a deadline where one of my kids would still be a child for Dining Plan purposes. But that leaves me with the hell of summer Florida weather (if they even reopen for part of summer) or the hell of holiday time or pulling kids from real school after they spend a goodly chunk of 2020 homeschooling with Prof. Mom, whose accreditation is under review. Yikes.
I'm an AP holder, so I will get an extension that could reach through all of the first quarter of 2021. I'm not interested in another early January trip (too crowded in that first week, esp with locals who did not go back to school until a Tuesday rather than a Monday), but might have to consider February.

 

[Jess.stw]

So, I am toying with the idea of an Oct 2020 trip because nothing makes you want to escape to some place fun like the fourth week of quarantine. My dates have not quite come yet at the 180-day mark for ADRs, but I have been practicing the past couple of days.
I still can't get a CRT reservation except the ridiculous $200 fireworks package.
So, in a pandemic, with massive job losses, there are enough people who are not only planning a WDW vacation for later this year but are willing and able to PRE-PAY hundreds of dollars for a meal six months away.
People and blogs musing on whether crowds will be way lower when the parks reopen...I think this could be a bellweather.

dont forget that if you are on the dining plan you don’t have to prepay. We have a few CRT reservation for our September trip, will likely only keep one. We have a $200 package deposit and that’s it till 30 days out.