WDW COVID-19 Operational Changes- Reservation System-Rope Drop Procedures

[dmband]

They're supposedly doing some soft openings and we could've done those. I'm terribly sad about it, but not because I can't go.

Wait, what?
I just cancelled my flights last night because we were checking out 7/11 and the cut off to cancel is 5/31.
Now I have over 5k in tickets that I can’t use for at like two years but at least I was able to get the plane money back. Would have preferred to go though.
So irritated by Disney lack of plan announcements from the beginning till ongoing

 

[disny_luvr]

I hate to ask this, but what is the word on water parks? Through reading some threads it appears that they will remain closed, but on the MDE app it’s showing both parks opened on July 11th. Anything official from Disney?

 

[Sandiz08]

Yeah the whole soft opening thing, they should put out some info on that for those of us whose vacation falls in the middle of reopening dates.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Wait, what?
I just cancelled my flights last night because we were checking out 7/11 and the cut off to cancel is 5/31.
Now I have over 5k in tickets that I can’t use for at like two years but at least I was able to get the plane money back. Would have preferred to go though.
So irritated by Disney lack of plan announcements from the beginning till ongoing

They made a very brief/slight reference to soft openings in the presentation yesterday, no specifics.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I hate to ask this, but what is the word on water parks? Through reading some threads it appears that they will remain closed, but on the MDE app it’s showing both parks opened on July 11th. Anything official from Disney?

It has not appeared in any of Disney's public info, but on an internal CM FAQ it says the water parks will not be reopening until further notice.

 

[cakebaker]

What about water rides like splash and kali? If that's allowed, the risk from a spitting camel is so miniscule. I hope they tinker with some of these rules by July. It's getting kind of arbitrary even for a safety minded person like me. It's chlorinated water.

I have to question if some of these cuts aren’t more cost saving cuts under the guise of safety rather than real safety concerns. This from someone very much pro safety. There’s just no reason to close both water parks. I understand turning off things like misters, but things like Splash or Kali, seems to me if you employ social distancing on the ride, removing masks to ride those would be the answer. But as it stands, it looks like anything that has water as a feature, and guests may get any water on them, will be closed.

Just as an aside....If I were going, I’d toss the cloth masks in the trash. Disposables are lighter weight, cheap and you can toss and replace several times a day. I don’t get the fascination with cloth masks.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

FWIW

I was just able to modify one of my existing room-only resort reservations that I have after 7/11 online. I can't modify any reservation I have before that time.

Resort availability is limited to cash DVC and FW, everything else shows as unavailable.

 

[leeniewdw]

Yeah, the "Social Distancing Squad" or whatever he called it yesterday. It's going to be strange to have CMs telling us to stay apart. Usually they're ordering us to pack ourselves in as close as humanly possible. We may never hear the words, "Please move ALL the way down/forward/over and fill in ALL available space!" again.

We were there on March 12-13 when the announcement that WDW would be closing on the 15th. The entire trip it annoyed me when they sternly said "move all the way in/forward" given what was happening. Of course, I understood that CMs just have to do whatever the process is, but it seemed weird (little did I know how weird life would actually get).

We opted to ALWAYS hang back and lurk to the "back" of any gathering room because we wanted all the people in front of us, rather than breathing down our necks. That was also weird because you know which side of the room gets out first, etc. But it was nice to feel like we were opting for things that made us more comfortable, even if it cost us a few minutes in the queue.

 

[kdupre]

Right now they have 6k of my money, I can't do anything about it. It's kind of annoying.

 

[MrsInsG]

Just out of curiosity, can anyone whose fast pass window opened this morning (July 27th arrival) report what they encountered in MDE?

It's not accepting any FP reservations now (meaning today.) It seems like FP+ is on hold for now.

 

[Nick6300]

So what if your time is say 2 hours after park opening could be hardly worth going.

Staggered park entry with shorter hours would also just make it tougher in general. Imagine if your time was 11am to noon for a 6pm AK close. You'd have to either choose shows or attractions, but if your only day there, probably miss out on some attractions.

 

[MrsInsG]

Right now they have 6k of my money, I can't do anything about it. It's kind of annoying.

Cancel the trip. Your money will be returned in a few days (as long as it takes your credit card to refund you.) If you paid with gift cards, you'll get the money back on Disney gift cards. If you paid cash via a debit card, it'll take about 10 days to clear. If you bought tickets separate from a package, you'll have to keep those and use them at another time.

 

[Anna H]

I have to question if some of these cuts aren’t more cost saving cuts under the guise of safety rather than real safety concerns. This from someone very much pro safety. There’s just no reason to close both water parks. I understand turning off things like misters, but things like Splash or Kali, seems to me if you employ social distancing on the ride, removing masks to ride those would be the answer. But as it stands, it looks like anything that has water as a feature, and guests may get any water on them, will be closed.

Just as an aside....If I were going, I’d toss the cloth masks in the trash. Disposables are lighter weight, cheap and you can toss and replace several times a day. I don’t get the fascination with cloth masks.

So it has been confirmed that splash mountain will be closed? Oooh okay, that's a dealbreaker for me. I got some serious pondering to do. I assumed "water feature" meant splash pads and things that draw crowds like the kali river squirters. Little things that people could live without but not popular water rides. I get it to a point because you could get drenched on these rides but pools won 't be open then either by that logic. It's the summer in Orlando. Throw people a bone. It's chlorinated water. Anything that lands on your face will not drip everywhere and dries quickly. our whole bodies will likely disinfect themselves within minutes when we get back outside lol.

My husband was given a box of surgical masks by his work. I really wanted to wear something less aggressive looking but they probably work better than cloth ones anyway. Plus the trendy cute ones are backordered.

 

[Nick6300]

Uhhh no. Look all around them...all other water parks are opening...all reports have shown that chlorine kills the virus. The other parks are just doing more cleaning etc.

It's all about the money and unfortunately for a company as big as Disney...they don't need every dime...so they choose to want a payoff that's bigger for them and if they can't get it, then it's not worth it to them.

I agree that money seems to be a big determinant in a lot of the restrictions, wrapped up in a for your protection bow. How does chlorine in the water prevent you from contracting when someone sneezes/coughs on your face in the wave pool, lazy river raft, or in line for a slide?

 

[ilanakan]

Any news regarding the NBA and Disney World coming to some kind of agreement for the end of the season? Could this have had an effect on the decision to open the parks mid-July?

 

[wilkydelts]

There has been nothing reported about rides being closed like Splash Mountain

 

[Nick6300]

Yeah, the "Social Distancing Squad" or whatever he called it yesterday. It's going to be strange to have CMs telling us to stay apart. Usually they're ordering us to pack ourselves in as close as humanly possible. We may never hear the words, "Please move ALL the way down/forward/over and fill in ALL available space!" again.

Yes - think of rides like Haunted Mansion, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Tower, where they always try to cram you in. It'll be different.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

It has not appeared in any of Disney's public info, but on an internal CM FAQ it says the water parks will not be reopening until further notice.

That makes sense to me. I can't imagine that the water parks are huge money makers for Disney like the parks--people probably aren't spending the same amount of money on food, souvenirs, etc.

 

[Nick6300]

I think with these new policies and reduced hours Disney is hoping enough people cancel reservations on their own.

I was ok with most of the limitations, until I found out about the reduced hrs. I was thinking the same thing, that it would save money and weed out some guests.

 

[cakebaker]

FWIW

I was just able to modify one of my existing room-only resort reservations that I have after 7/11 online. I can't modify any reservation I have before that time.

Resort availability is limited to cash DVC and FW, everything else shows as unavailable.

I have 2 of my reservations that I haven’t yet cancelled. They were just in case ones, 1 just 2 nights, at the YC, checking out on the 11th the other was 2 nites at the Riviera ending 7/8. Can’t do anything with the Riviera, but I can apparently modify the YC. It shows lots of resorts as available, but only DVC or FW have any actual availability when you click thru. It would even let me book a DVC in June. Weird.