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

[yulilin3]

Fair point, although "how to control" difficult guests is always going to be an issue with everything they are planning after reopening--guests who refuse to social distance and bunch up behind someone else in line, guests who pull down their masks. I guess I just assumed they would tell guests no getting out of seats during the show and try to enforce the rules as best as possible like they will do with the other rules, recognizing nothing is foolproof.

Yeah it'll be hard all around. In the character dining arena is something that they can absolutely control by simply removing the option

 

[DisSurfer878]

Alright maybe someone can help me out.

we were supposed to go July 4 week. Obviously they are closed. We haven't received ANYTHING about our stay being cancelled

AND THEN THIS MORNING we get an email telling us we get a 35% credit on our reservation because they are removing the dining plan and they'll be "reaching out soon" about the new theme park reservation system. EXCUSE ME YOU ARE CLOSED FOR OUR TRIP DATES DISNEY.

so NOW I am worried they won't automatically cancel and refund my trip.
Almost all my dining disappeared this morning except California Grill, Ohana, Be Our Guest, and the Plaza. All fastpasses dropped off. My fireworks dessert party is still there too as is my Droid Build.

i didn't want to call because I'm sure those poor phone cms are so overwhelmed and it takes hours to get through... but we also want to make sure we are getting our money back and this morning's email left us very confused.

 

[MomOTwins]

Alright maybe someone can help me out.

we were supposed to go July 4 week. Obviously they are closed. We haven't received ANYTHING about our stay being cancelled

AND THEN THIS MORNING we get an email telling us we get a 35% credit on our reservation because they are removing the dining plan and they'll be "reaching out soon" about the new theme park reservation system. EXCUSE ME YOU ARE CLOSED FOR OUR TRIP DATES DISNEY.

so NOW I am worried they won't automatically cancel and refund my trip.
Almost all my dining disappeared this morning except California Grill, Ohana, Be Our Guest, and the Plaza. All fastpasses dropped off. My fireworks dessert party is still there too as is my Droid Build.

i didn't want to call because I'm sure those poor phone cms are so overwhelmed and it takes hours to get through... but we also want to make sure we are getting our money back and this morning's email left us very confused.

Question--are you an AP or DVC? If so, they might not automatically cancel because it sounds like they will be doing early access for those groups. Regardless, you can still cancel without penalty for a while so no rush; you can wait a few days for the phone lines to die down.

Otherwise, I would just assume the email was sent in error. Back in April, we got a cancellation notice for our Disney Cruise that took place last November. The accuracy of their mass email system leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Has anyone else with a resort stay in July 2020 not received an e mail from Disney?

 

[PPFlight75]

Has anyone else with a resort stay in July 2020 not received an e mail from Disney?

I haven’t. I have a July and August stay with no email.

 

[Stefne]

Alright maybe someone can help me out.

we were supposed to go July 4 week. Obviously they are closed. We haven't received ANYTHING about our stay being cancelled

AND THEN THIS MORNING we get an email telling us we get a 35% credit on our reservation because they are removing the dining plan and they'll be "reaching out soon" about the new theme park reservation system. EXCUSE ME YOU ARE CLOSED FOR OUR TRIP DATES DISNEY.

so NOW I am worried they won't automatically cancel and refund my trip.
Almost all my dining disappeared this morning except California Grill, Ohana, Be Our Guest, and the Plaza. All fastpasses dropped off. My fireworks dessert party is still there too as is my Droid Build.

i didn't want to call because I'm sure those poor phone cms are so overwhelmed and it takes hours to get through... but we also want to make sure we are getting our money back and this morning's email left us very confused.

We got the same email regarding our early July stay. I assume this email was likely just part of a blast that went to anyone booked with a dining plan. I am going to call sometime in the next couple of weeks once things hopefully settle down a little and see if we can apply the discount to our booked November trip. No loss in trying. Worst they can say is no.

 

[neenslovesdisney]

We have a room only stay booked Riviera July 2-5 with 2 ADRs at California Grill and Victoria and alberts. We are pass holders. No word on cancellations of either resort or dining yet.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We have a room only stay booked Riviera July 2-5 with 2 ADRs at California Grill and Victoria and alberts. We are pass holders. No word on cancellations of either resort or dining yet.

It is so frustrating!

 

[Jules123]

I received the email last night. We have a July 21-26 package at AKL booked with the free dining recovery. So if I figured it right, I would be getting around $875 off my package if they drop the dining and just take 35% off my room rate. With 4 people in our room, the free regular dining plan was a great deal. Now our trip is going to cost more to feed us all. Not worth it for a reduced experience at the parks. So sad but we are cancelling.

 

[neenslovesdisney]

It is so frustrating!

Yes it is!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We have a room only stay booked Riviera July 2-5 with 2 ADRs at California Grill and Victoria and alberts. We are pass holders. No word on cancellations of either resort or dining yet.

DVC properties are scheduled to reopen on June 22. If you don't intend on keeping the RIV reservation, you should call.

"Additionally, Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World will reopen to members and Guests and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen on June 22."

 

[Lumpy1106]

I haven’t. I have a July and August stay with no email.

No e-mail for me - first week of August -BUT- not worried. The e-mail people have been getting tells me all I need to know. I have reservations with valid, date specific tickets. They will be reaching out when they have the new reservation system in place. They will give me a shot at ADR's before the system is opened up to everyone else. I can easily see why they wouldn't contact me now other than to send me the same message. After all, what are they supposed to do? Write my ADR down on a napkin to transfer to the system when it is ready? I can wait - I have faith they'll figure it out. No doubt if you are stressing, it is nothing compared to their IT people who are currently sweating it out with a July 11 deadline looming.

 

[mbuckles]

Has anyone else with a resort stay in July 2020 not received an e mail from Disney?

We are scheduled to arrive at GF on 6/29 with 7/7 depart. We are AP and received AP email (early this morning) but nothing regarding room only reservation. All FP zapped. All ADR and BBB still showing in MDE as of this hour. It is only a matter of time until they disappear. I highly doubt much, if any of the later of our scheduled dates would overlap with a possible AP Preview but we are standing still until they declare their intentions (which is getting increasingly more challenging by the hour).

 

[brewhome]

I honestly think this is best. How to control an excited child (or an adult) from running over to the characters that are on the same level? I can see characters at the train station, castle stage and even some sort of fast "parade like" ride on the omnibus, buut not at the same level.

I have fond memories of a double decker bus full of characters in EPCOT at the entrance to the World Showcase circa 1990. I would love that again!

 

[constanze]

We got the email last night---our stay is the July 19th-26th--

 

[vinotinto]

I received the email last night. We have a July 21-26 package at AKL booked with the free dining recovery. So if I figured it right, I would be getting around $875 off my package if they drop the dining and just take 35% off my room rate. With 4 people in our room, the free regular dining plan was a great deal. Now our trip is going to cost more to feed us all. Not worth it for a reduced experience at the parks. So sad but we are cancelling.

Yeah, for a family of 4 at a deluxe hotel, the Free DDP had a value of $313/night (provided, of course that you would use all the credits). You would need to have a rack room rate of over $900 to make the 35% a better value than the DDP at a deluxe hotel (or fewer Disney adults).

For a family of 4 at a Mod or Value, the Free QSDP had a value of $220/night (provided, of course, that you would use all the credits). You would need a rack rate room of over $600 to make the 35% a better value than the QSDP at a value or mod (or fewer Disney adults). And, yes, there are very few rooms at a mod that would be over $600 (I think only the suites at CSR).

If their goal is to get people to cancel so that they can stay within the capacity limits that they are aiming to have, this is certainly providing incentives to cancel. It's not only that it's not as good of a deal anymore. If you read the restaurant board, a lot of people get value out of not having to worry about paying for their meals once they are onsite, even when the DDP may not be the "best" deal. Some people would rather pre-pay for the dining plan and even if they only break even, they find "psychological value" because once they arrive onsite, they are not looking a the prices of the entrees and the adult beverages.

I think a lot of the free DDP people would have been OK with limited hours and limited experiences, as long as they could still look forward to some nice meals. But, the uncertainty about TS dining, elimination of character dining, elimination of the dining plans, and cancellation of free dining will get a lot of the guests that would have cared less about the limited operational/hours hours to consider canceling. It's like Disney is trying to get a lot of people to cancel from all different angles possible.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Checked MDE again....I thought my 3rd party DS ADRs would not be cut. Paddlefish for Nov. 5 is now gone. Art Smiths for Nov.3 is still there.

 

[cakebaker]

We have a room only stay booked Riviera July 2-5 with 2 ADRs at California Grill and Victoria and alberts. We are pass holders. No word on cancellations of either resort or dining yet.

DVC opens for members and guests in June, so your resort won't get cancelled.

 

[tinkerhon]

Alright maybe someone can help me out.

we were supposed to go July 4 week. Obviously they are closed. We haven't received ANYTHING about our stay being cancelled

AND THEN THIS MORNING we get an email telling us we get a 35% credit on our reservation because they are removing the dining plan and they'll be "reaching out soon" about the new theme park reservation system. EXCUSE ME YOU ARE CLOSED FOR OUR TRIP DATES DISNEY.

so NOW I am worried they won't automatically cancel and refund my trip.
Almost all my dining disappeared this morning except California Grill, Ohana, Be Our Guest, and the Plaza. All fastpasses dropped off. My fireworks dessert party is still there too as is my Droid Build.

i didn't want to call because I'm sure those poor phone cms are so overwhelmed and it takes hours to get through... but we also want to make sure we are getting our money back and this morning's email left us very confused.

I called this number 407-566-4985 - option 4, and was on hold for around 30-40 mins - wasn't that bad, and full refund for my park tickets

 

[neenslovesdisney]

DVC properties are scheduled to reopen on June 22. If you don't intend on keeping the RIV reservation, you should call.

"Additionally, Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World will reopen to members and Guests and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen on June 22."

We intend on keeping the reservation even though it's unlikely there will be a soft opening of the parks for pass holders during our dates.