Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[theluckyrabbit]

"Christmas" is how I would explain it... APs aren't solely to blame...

Then don't blame them. Disney management is responsible for planning and managing crowd control. Are they perfect? No. Can they do a better job? Yes.

 

[midnight star]

Yes, basically ~ that was in effect last month. WDW tickets don’t have to be dated; there’s a Flexible add-on that keeps them valid for any date until they finally expire like all regular tickets.

Reassigning usually refers to moving to another Profile, fake or real.

Interesting. Sounds so complicated lol I’m mentally prepared for the worst when it comes to the potential reservation system. But will hope for the best! Disneyland has a high population of passholders so maybe that will help?

 

[Matthew D.]

Whoa, there Lucky Rabbit. There is some validity to Lumpys point. Everyone looks to AP blackout days in order to avoid those sizable crowds of locals.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Whoa, there a Lucky Rabbit. There is some validity to Lumpys point. Everyone looks to AP blackout days in order to avoid those sizable crowds of locals.

Yes, and we give that advice very often on this board. But we don't tell people to "blame the APs" generically for the crowd problems. People who visit DLR can check the blockout calendar, plan their visits, ask for free advice here, etc. Pointing fingers isn't helpful and doesn't help solve the problem.

 

[Matthew D.]

Yes, and we give that advice very often on this board. But we don't tell people to "blame the APs" generically for the crowd problems. People who visit DLR can check the blockout calendar, plan their visits, ask for free advice here, etc. Pointing fingers isn't helpful and doesn't help solve the problem.

I agree, lets all take a breather. Heated topic, without a doubt.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Get Away Today is nudging people with DLR stays to switch to WDW. Got an email today suggesting it as an option and talking about how easy it would be to switch tickets, etc.

For folks that are comfortable with that option, looks like it’s not hard to switch if you booked with them.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Then don't blame them. Disney management is responsible for planning and managing crowd control. Are they perfect? No. Can they do a better job? Yes.

Meh - not blaming, but I will be the first to say I don't understand the hysteria of always having to have an AP. Take us for example; we were going a minimum of 8 days a year to get decent value out of the pass. We weren't really enjoying it - just had to or the pass wouldn't "pay off". Now we go 1-2 days, spend a lot less per year and enjoy the few days we go a lot more. I think there are a lot of current AP holders that are in the same boat and will be happier not having an AP - this may be just that thing that gets them to stop renewing. If that's the case, we will all benefit once DL reopens, the AP's are sorted out and the crowds of people who "need to go" reduce their visits to only when they really want to go. It's not a new idea. Disney has been increasing the AP price for years to try and thin out the numbers - it just hasn't worked.

 

[JohnR5101]

Can you tell the "young partyers" and those who attend the "spiritual gathering" that they cannot attend DLR? Can you tell exactly who they are so that you can keep them out?

I thought about that after posting. And you are right. Its not that I was trying to identify a group by age or other characteristics. That type of behavior cuts across all ages and types of people. But I had just seen news reports that specifically pointed at those events and I was venting a little.
The good thing is that regardless of anyone's beliefs or personal objections to masks and such, Disney has the right and the ability to enforce those rules. And everyone has the right to choose whether to go to DL and abide by the rules or to stay away and misbehave in other places where rules are not enforced.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Interesting. Sounds so complicated lol I’m mentally prepared for the worst when it comes to the potential reservation system. But will hope for the best! Disneyland has a high population of passholders so maybe that will help?

I think DLR will operate with a better mix of guest reservations. When WDW continually has regular ticket-holder park Reservations available on a daily basis, adjusting to benefit more APs would make more guests happy.

Not everyone knows it only takes a couple of seconds to reassign regular tickets...but that’s where TPAS always excelled in providing MDX assistance.

 

[DLgal]

This whole situation is definitely going to eliminate a large number of passholders, likely because they will eventually expire (if they haven't already) and with so much fear of the virus, a large portion simply won't renew. Plus, I suspect Disney will put new pass sales on hold until they get to a number of passholders that they want to have.

I agree in general that there were too many APs. I have been saying for awhile that the lower tier ones needed to be eliminated (the 2 So Cal options). Crowds are really not bad at all on days those are blocked out.

I think when Disneyland finally reopens, we are going to see some drastic changes around ticketing. I expect them to completely eliminate some pass types (likely Sig+, Premiere, and the So Cal ones). I think the remaining ones will perhaps have a price adjustment to accommodate for the reservation system. Or, the entire AP system will go the way of the Flex pass. Perhaps the Flex pass was a test and it just happened to be that we now find ourselves in a situation where everyone must make a reservation.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I expect that Disney will have to find SOME way to "pay back" current AP holders of higher tier passes (Deluxe and up) since so much value has been lost. Perhaps a nice discount on renewal or larger discounts?

 

[DLgal]

As of today, OCs case numbers are accurate and reflect the backlog numbers having been added in.

That's bit of good news. Our numbers did not climb dramatically.

 

[disneychrista]

As of today, OCs case numbers are accurate and reflect the backlog numbers having been added in.

Now the State just needs to catch up. They are still showing 197 / 100k .

https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/

 

[Aurora0427]

This whole situation is definitely going to eliminate a large number of passholders, likely because they will eventually expire (if they haven't already) and with so much fear of the virus, a large portion simply won't renew. Plus, I suspect Disney will put new pass sales on hold until they get to a number of passholders that they want to have.

I agree in general that there were too many APs. I have been saying for awhile that the lower tier ones needed to be eliminated (the 2 So Cal options). Crowds are really not bad at all on days those are blocked out.

I think when Disneyland finally reopens, we are going to see some drastic changes around ticketing. I expect them to completely eliminate some pass types (likely Sig+, Premiere, and the So Cal ones). I think the remaining ones will perhaps have a price adjustment to accommodate for the reservation system. Or, the entire AP system will go the way of the Flex pass. Perhaps the Flex pass was a test and it just happened to be that we now find ourselves in a situation where everyone must make a reservation.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I expect that Disney will have to find SOME way to "pay back" current AP holders of higher tier passes (Deluxe and up) since so much value has been lost. Perhaps a nice discount on renewal or larger discounts?

Agree.... we have flex passes and avoided the days the lower tier passes were not blocked out like the plague. The only time we experienced horrible crowds was Columbus Day and October 2019. Omg. That was a horrible combination of AP holders and tourists on fall break galore.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Please, APs don't take this the wrong way, but the reason the crowds are so bad at DL is there are too many APs. We had them for a couple of years but it got to be a forced march to get to the parks enough to get real value out of it, and Disney kept raising AP prices to try and limit the sheer # of APs so they could provide a reasonable experience for week-long visitors. That backfired though because AP holders just kept buying them, seemingly regardless of the price. We gave up - we go maybe 1-2 days a year and actually spend more time in WDW, even though we live 20 minutes from DL. LSS - hate to say it, but if this all results in a lot fewer APs that would be a good thing.

To quote the judge from my cousin vinny:
That is a lucid, well thought out objection.

Overruled.

(You are 100% right, but the cat is out of the bag with APs)

 

[montreid]

I think DLR will operate with a better mix of guest reservations. When WDW continually has regular ticket-holder park Reservations available on a daily basis, adjusting to benefit more APs would make more guests happy.

Not everyone knows it only takes a couple of seconds to reassign regular tickets...but that’s where TPAS always excelled in providing MDX assistance.

WDW MDE is so much more robust and versatile than DL's ticketing app which can be exceedingly frustrating.

I can reassign multiple tickets and organize tickets in groups to use; and ask CM to assign priority in usage.. Nothing even close like that on DL's app.

I'm thinking the reservation system for DL will be more inline with Shanghai/Hong Kong - submit ticket # = valid > allows reservation day.

Like you referenced, and I was able to do with DVC reservation - book a day and then removed DVC and day reservation still kept without issue despite no DVC anymore.

 

[montreid]

Agree.... we have flex passes and avoided the days the lower tier passes were not blocked out like the plague. The only time we experienced horrible crowds was Columbus Day and October 2019. Omg. That was a horrible combination of AP holders and tourists on fall break galore.

Was there last year -- mayhem.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I'm thinking the reservation system for DL will be more inline with Shanghai/Hong Kong - submit ticket # = valid > allows reservation day.

Noooo, no one wants that because it’ll mean everyone needs a regular ticket and APs won’t be valid for entrance. TDLR also has the regular ticket-only for park reservations. SDL and TDLR have totally shut out APs who can’t/won’t purchase a regular ticket to book a park reservation.

 

[DLgal]

Now the State just needs to catch up. They are still showing 197 / 100k .

https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/

I've been watching this page. It's currently not broadcasting numbers while the system catches up.

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/COVID19CountyDataTable.aspx

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We have signature plus passes due to a Christmas stay last year. We were there a few days before and left on Christmas Day. I actually recall it being fairly manageable--nothing like Columbus Day (never again!) or WDW on Christmas, which we've also done once (and only once!). We also had WDW APs and opted to get a refund on those. I'm going to be very interested in how they handle DL passes. I'm not going to be happy with a similar scenario to WDW given the premium I paid for the pass, which also includes Maxpass. I've been a DL AP off and on for the past 20 years. I, too, think there are way to many APs, but as a PP said ... the cat is out of the bag on that one.

 

[disneychrista]

I've been watching this page. It's currently not broadcasting numbers while the system catches up.

Yes the data table isn't updating but the map has been updating. I have been checking my own county, as well as OC, and both the numbers have been changing - not necessarily to the correct numbers.