Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Krandor]

Did your refund come after the start of what would have been your stay? Or after they announced it would be closed during that time?

My stay was mid-April. I cancelled my trip once they cancelled the race weekend which was still during the "closed will March 31" phase. I had the refund of my deposit before my stay would have been. I think it was about a week for that. So I cancelled before they were officially closed that day but after my reason for going (Stat Wars Half Marathon) was officially cancelled.

 

[skeeter31]

Those lists are showing shows like fotlk & Nemo. Do we really think those will be open? Were they showing no times before & have been updated?

I’m thinking just like with all things Disney IT, the rides and shows being shown currently won’t be the official list when the parks are opened. It’s a nice guide for right now, but I would give them about a month before we really start to question what’s going to be open and when. There are still dining reservations in peoples MDE accounts right now and they’re working on rolling out new operating systems and procedures. Listing the operating times for rides over a month from now is probably pretty low on their priority list.

 

[A2DisneyMom]

It would have to be moving guests. They can’t kick the DVC owners out so they couldn’t use the Riviera as a hotel for the NBA.

I tend to agree. Looks like it might be the first resort to have the “60 day clause” executed.

 

[SaintsManiac]

They aren’t and this is the only statement Disney has made about it to this


Needless to say I have heard nothing from them about a refund to this point for my family’s dining plans.

Ahhh gotcha. That stinks.

 

[cakebaker]

It is bookable on the DVC side for July 11-16 so it’s not totally shut down.

I thought I had read that somewhere, but yes, I'm talking about cash DVC. I have no clue why it was unavailable, I've had reservations there for months and have been watching that particular resort and always found availability.

 

[Krandor]

I’m thinking just like with all things Disney IT, the rides and shows being shown currently won’t be the official list when the parks are opened. It’s a nice guide for right now, but I would give them about a month before we really start to question what’s going to be open and when. There are still dining reservations in peoples MDE accounts right now and they’re working on rolling out new operating systems and procedures. Listing the operating times for rides over a month from now is probably pretty low on their priority list.

And the big thing - they still don't know exactly how many CMs they are going to have when they open.

 

[RWinNOLA]

Availability for that time frame has been gone ever since the announcement. I was able to modify for quite some time after the announceMent and Riviera was the only DVC unavailable then.

Not true. We are booked July 14-18 (2 BR) and as recently as this morning, July 20-24 was available.

Was looking at changing because we would prefer to be at Riviera when both Epcot and HS are open. We are also booked at Polynesian for 7-18 and 7-19 so was just looking to reverse order of reservations based on opening dates.

 

[A2DisneyMom]

I tend to agree. Looks like it might be the first resort to have the “60 day clause” executed.

Correcting myself, lol, as I realize that Aug 13 is farther than 60 days in the future. So, then, how is Disney doing this? With literally every room type available on July 13 (and zero rooms thereafter), I have a hard time believing the 30% has somehow been fully booked. Glitch?

 

[Marthasor]

I'm just curious - I believe one of the moderators had noted that FT CM's were going to be called back soon and then PT CM's (please forgive me if I'm confusing the information) and they are being asked if they would like to come back. Until WDW knows who is coming back, they won't really know how to staff parks and resorts - is that a correct assessment? And if that's the case - will they even know what resorts they CAN open prior to those CMs committing to returning? I guess I'm just confused as to when they will actually know if they can open beyond the DVC resorts and, if they don't have space for all of the guests beyond what they can open based on staffing - then what? Will they actually start cancelling on people?

 

[Krandor]

I'm just curious - I believe one of the moderators had noted that FT CM's were going to be called back soon and then PT CM's (please forgive me if I'm confusing the information) and they are being asked if they would like to come back. Until WDW knows who is coming back, they won't really know how to staff parks and resorts - is that a correct assessment? And if that's the case - will they even know what resorts they CAN open prior to those CMs committing to returning? I guess I'm just confused as to when they will actually know if they can open beyond the DVC resorts and, if they don't have space for all of the guests beyond what they can open based on staffing - then what? Will they actually start cancelling on people?

Correct. They don't know yet how many CMs they will have. They likely have an estimate but can't have any exact number yet so yeah what attractions, resorts, stores, etc. are open may change based on that.

 

[Marthasor]

Correct. They don't know yet how many CMs they will have. They likely have an estimate but can't have any exact number yet so yeah what attractions, resorts, stores, etc. are open may change based on that.

Ok, thank you so much for clarifying. I'm so nervous resorts will be overcrowded if they are short-staffed and then they try to accommodate everyone by moving them all to the DVC resorts (although they are all lovely!). I guess only time will tell and I thank in advance anyone who is going toward the beginning of the opening and will be reporting back!

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Correcting myself, lol, as I realize that Aug 13 is farther than 60 days in the future. So, then, how is Disney doing this? With literally every room type available on July 13 (and zero rooms thereafter), I have a hard time believing the 30% has somehow been fully booked. Glitch?

Attempting to explain this in the simplest way possible ...

They are currently selling Riviera DVC contracts. There is only a certain percentage of the resort that is declared for members to date. As they sell more Riviera contracts, more availability will be declared to members.

In the meantime, a large percentage of the resort is available for cash bookings because they haven’t sold all the DVC contracts yet.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

https://insidethemagic.net/2020/06/spaceship-earth-reportedly-reopen-ba1/


Edit: I don't know if this was already posted, but IT NEEDED TO BE POSTED AGAIN!

 

[aroundtheriverbend]

I tend to agree. Looks like it might be the first resort to have the “60 day clause” executed.

Same thing happening with AKV Jambo it looks like. Although that has been strangely unavailable since the announcement last week. I suppose it’s possible that by having Kidani open it covers the bases with AKV DVC availability if demand isn’t greater than Kidani supply....but that’s complete speculation on my part.

 

[Sandisw]

They can give some kind of statement and some kind of timeline. This is a decision they decided to make with other people’s money. They owe those people the courtesy of a timeline for when they believe they will initialize the refund process.

What did they say when you contacted them?

 

[Brianstl]

What did they say when you contacted them?

They told me they would be contacting me in the future. It was almost word for word what is posted on the posted in the Disney park blog, it might have been word for word.

 

[SaintsManiac]

https://insidethemagic.net/2020/06/spaceship-earth-reportedly-reopen-ba1/


Edit: I don't know if this was already posted, but IT NEEDED TO BE POSTED AGAIN!

Now I am worried it will be closed NEXT May.

 

[coralietg]

I called this afternoon on my drive home from work. This morning, my package changed from the recovery free dining to "Wds5th HearAcc - VisAlrm Notif 2Q CPD", but I didn't get any new invoice. I called them because I paid for everything with eGift cards, and I should've been due a refund. I was told that they would be able to send me a new eGift card that I should get in 7-10 days. I'm torn between being sick of obsessively checking, and terrified to NOT check in case I miss important information about park reservations

 

[Sandisw]

They told me they would be contacting me in the future. It was almost word for word what is posted on the posted in the Disney park blog, it might have been word for word.

Well, let’s hope it processes to your CC before you expect it too!

 

[Marthasor]

They told me they would be contacting me in the future. It was almost word for word what is posted on the posted in the Disney park blog, it might have been word for word.

Oh no. That is disconcerting. I would imagine seeing so many guests getting e-mails with dining packages dropped and price adjustments adds to the frustration. I hope you get word soon.