Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Krandor]

Anyone know yet what Disney will do for those of us cutoff mid-trip? We won’t be able to do two of our park days, but we already started using our tickets. I don’t feel like calling and waiting on hold for forever yet. ;-P

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/travel-information/
Unexpired tickets will get extended to Dec 15th and if you cannot attend by then you'll get credit for future tickets.

 

[Alsty9093]

We have a trip planned for July 5-11. We haven’t canceled yet. My thinking right now is if things are ok enough for Disney to reopen by then we should be fine to go. With that said how likely do you think it is they will reopen by then? I’m trying not to get my hopes but still plan like we are going.

 

[andyman8]

Reports already that several EPCOT entertainment groups are being informed by Disney that their contracts are “cancelled indefinitely.” Matsuriza from Japan just posted on their Facebook page that, essentially, their last performance will be tomorrow. Also hearing British Revolution has announced tomorrow will be their last performance. While still unclear, these appear to be lay-offs. At the very least, don’t expect them to be around when the parks reopen at first.

Also a friend of mine who works in Resorts told me tonight that by tomorrow night, average on-site hotel occupancy will be around 40% (and it will only go down from there). Makes you wonder how long the resorts will stay open.

 

[Brianstl]

To give you an idea how long the military thinks travel needs to be restricted, the Pentagon has banned all travel for troops, civilian personal and the families of both until May 11.

 

[TomicalJM]

We have a trip planned for July 5-11. We haven’t canceled yet. My thinking right now is if things are ok enough for Disney to reopen by then we should be fine to go. With that said how likely do you think it is they will reopen by then? I’m trying not to get my hopes but still plan like we are going.

There’s a pretty good chance for July to be ok, though nothing is guaranteed. The good news is you have plenty of time to assess the situation and plan accordingly. If things still look rough come Memorial Day timeframe- then look into postponing for a later date, but I wouldn’t stress about it right now, and definitely wouldn’t want to deal with the waits on the phone lines to change anything right now anyways. I rebooked my March trip for the beginning of August, so will evaluate things in June. If it is still iffy, I’m moving it to 2021 and just not dealing with this year anymore. Lol

 

[rteetz]

Reports already that several EPCOT entertainment groups are being informed by Disney that their contracts are “cancelled indefinitely.” Matsuriza from Japan just posted on their Facebook page that, essentially, their last performance will be tomorrow. Also hearing British Revolution has announced tomorrow will be their last performance. While still unclear, these appear to be lay-offs. At the very least, don’t expect them to be around when the parks reopen at first.

Also a friend of mine who works in Resorts told me tonight that by tomorrow night, average on-site hotel occupancy will be around 40% (and it will only go down from there). Makes you wonder how long the resorts will stay open.

 

[Thecouch]

I'm starting to wonder if epcot will be closed longer then the rest to finish the renovation work there quicker. I could see the other parks opening while epcot stays closed in a few months

 

[rteetz]

I'm starting to wonder if epcot will be closed longer then the rest to finish the renovation work there quicker. I could see the other parks opening while epcot stays closed in a few months

No, Disney will open all the parks when they are able. Disney isn’t going to keep a park closed longer than needed because that’s lost revenue.

 

[Thecouch]

Parks won't be full when they open but. Pushing people into 3 parks means they can be better staffed and longer hours.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I found this saying the college program has been ended early and other programs suspended
https://attractionsmagazine.com/disney-college-program-ending-early-coronavirus/
I am expecting to go in September not worrying about that though more concerned if the uk is going on lockdown like some of the European countries have.

 

[anthony2k7]

That is true which does lead to an interesting question which a week ago would have sounded crazy. If the expectation is that traffic will be lower when they reopen do they reopen all parks at the same time? Could maybe they start with MK and HS (as the two most popular parks right now) and leave AK and EP to open later? I wonder if that is even a possibility? Typically they need all 4 parks to spread out crowds but if crowds are going to be lower anyway...

I wonder if they would potentially leave some of the hotels shut much longer? Potentially bookings will be down for many months to come so may make sense to move guests into fewer hotels.


I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying DLP left Sequoia lodge shut for a year after 9/11

 

[Thecouch]

I wonder if they would potentially leave some of the hotels shut much longer? Potentially bookings will be down for many months to come so may make sense to move guests into fewer hotels.


I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying DLP left Sequoia lodge shut for a year after 9/11

Would be probably easy to shut a all star resort you would think. Besides theming they are almost the same. Music is half way through a reno so closing that while they finish would be a good idea. When it's done you could switch it to sports closing for renovation. Juts put everyone in 2 all star resorts at a time

 

[MichelinMan]

Yes, unfortunately the timeframe for the closure will be months, not weeks.

If we all work together to flatten the curve we could hopefully minimize the carnage.

If the curve is flattened, that will push out the date for the peak - so could actually end up with the parks being closed for longer.

I'm not expecting the parks to be open until June at the earliest.

 

[MichelinMan]

We have a trip planned for July 5-11. We haven’t canceled yet. My thinking right now is if things are ok enough for Disney to reopen by then we should be fine to go. With that said how likely do you think it is they will reopen by then? I’m trying not to get my hopes but still plan like we are going.

We are due to go roughly same date. I would put the odds around 50% - we are being told 10-14 weeks before the peak occurs in the UK here - if the States are a couple of weeks behind us, and follows a similar curve, then that would make it around 12-16 weeks from now, which is sometime in June for the peak.

Of course, if every country across the world has similar pandemics, and large numbers of people are affected, would travel bans actually make any difference? I can't see businesses surviving if countries are locked down for months at a time.

I think the only thing that will shorten this massively is finding a vaccine quickly.

 

[NJlauren]

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask but do we think Disney will try to work on some projects/construction/maintenance during this shut down?

 

[Jacq7414]

We have a trip planned for July 5-11. We haven’t canceled yet. My thinking right now is if things are ok enough for Disney to reopen by then we should be fine to go. With that said how likely do you think it is they will reopen by then? I’m trying not to get my hopes but still plan like we are going.

We have a trip planned for July 7-13. I’m just hoping it’s open then. If it is we plan to go.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Reports already that several EPCOT entertainment groups are being informed by Disney that their contracts are “cancelled indefinitely.” Matsuriza from Japan just posted on their Facebook page that, essentially, their last performance will be tomorrow. Also hearing British Revolution has announced tomorrow will be their last performance. While still unclear, these appear to be lay-offs. At the very least, don’t expect them to be around when the parks reopen at first.

Also a friend of mine who works in Resorts told me tonight that by tomorrow night, average on-site hotel occupancy will be around 40% (and it will only go down from there). Makes you wonder how long the resorts will stay open.

I think they’re only keeping them open to let the last of the guests leave over the next week while they decide their next steps. If they implement an extended closure it would make sense to announce resort closures at that time.

 

[Mumof4mice]

If the curve is flattened, that will push out the date for the peak - so could actually end up with the parks being closed for longer.

I'm not expecting the parks to be open until June at the earliest.

Even June is optimistic. Australia is a little behind the US in case numbers. We're projecting the peak around July. I can't see how the parks can open at full capacity if case numbers and deaths are still on the rise/high.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Reports already that several EPCOT entertainment groups are being informed by Disney that their contracts are “cancelled indefinitely.” Matsuriza from Japan just posted on their Facebook page that, essentially, their last performance will be tomorrow. Also hearing British Revolution has announced tomorrow will be their last performance. While still unclear, these appear to be lay-offs. At the very least, don’t expect them to be around when the parks reopen at first.

Also a friend of mine who works in Resorts told me tonight that by tomorrow night, average on-site hotel occupancy will be around 40% (and it will only go down from there). Makes you wonder how long the resorts will stay open.

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[mshanson3121]

So....what can we deduce from this? That when Epcot reopens, the entertainment is going to be gone while Disney tries to recuperate? Or, is this just a formality only for the shut down and they'll all be rehired when the parks open up?