Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Tjddis]

This is one of the things I’m most interested in seeing from an operational perspective. I’ve thought and thought about it and I can’t come up with an easy, viable potential solution. I’m sure they have a plan but I’m curious what it is!

I’m not so confident they have a plan.
just like last week, when they blamed the whole park reservation snafu on “user error” if there are problems with things like rope drop or stampedes they will just say it was on us to act better
Just look at how they installed virtual queues for ROTR. People were showing up what, at 5am? They don’t try that hard these days to make experiences easy or positive

 

[DGsAtBLT]

On the subject of wait times. Has anyone run a touring plans customized plan? According to them, in the one iteration I have tried, arriving at MMRR at 10:03 will yield an 83 minute wait (you would have to be pretty far back in rope drop line for that?), ROTR never drops below 154 minutes, nearly everything else, except Star Tours, is about an hour.

The theme of our Disney reservation planning this summer is “I guess we‘ll see!”

What could they even be basing it on at this point? We don’t know definitively how many people will be there, how capacity limits actually effect the attractions in practice, how cleaning slows lines, etc.

 

[Amy11401]

With capacity limits in stores and restaurants, you won’t be allowed to crowd in if it rains. Rain or no rain, they won’t let you in.

I totally understand this but if it actually storms with lightning then they get into a different safety hazard. Curious how they handle it.

 

[rteetz]

Jock Lindsey’s has reopened today it appears.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Hah, could you imagine the secret codes that people would try to use online to work around that? And the anger hurled towards someone who posted and invalidated everything?

Definitely entertaining for those of us watching from the sidelines.

Ooooooh, even better...the whole ride gets shut down.

On the subject of wait times. Has anyone run a touring plans customized plan? According to them, in the one iteration I have tried, arriving at MMRR at 10:03 will yield an 83 minute wait (you would have to be pretty far back in rope drop line for that?), ROTR never drops below 154 minutes, nearly everything else, except Star Tours, is about an hour.

The theme of our Disney reservation planning this summer is “I guess we‘ll see!”

Oooooooh I'll go check that out, and be back with the report. Very interesting.

 

[jen7233]

With capacity limits in stores and restaurants, you won’t be allowed to crowd in if it rains. Rain or no rain, they won’t let you in.

I'm sure they'll be looking at repositioning staff in various places maybe they didn't monitor in the past, to control crowd level in certain areas.

 

[Anthony Vito]

Take a day off from this thread for the 4th and it takes me all morning to catch back up!

Lovely to see some of the resort photos and confirmation of transportation openings.

We’re in vacation prep mode here and I will say I was grateful that we were easily able to find hand sanitizer, masks and cleaning products to take to the beach next week. Also spoke to a nurse friend who said that having weeks of PPE on hand, along with some treatment protocols in place of “flying blind”, has significantly increased the morale level of staff on her covid ward compared to weeks ago. All good news regardless of where you stand on the stay home/risk taking debate.

We stopped to grab lunch out a restaurant for the first time since February and realized we feel much more comfortable dining outside. Need to do some reservation swapping I think for Disney in August... Spice Road Table here we come .

Spice Road Table is a favorite of ours too. The problem is the kids' menu (we've only done it on adult-only trips). Starting to re-think though for our one Epcot day, that might be the way to go.

We've discovered we feel much more comfortable with outdoor dining as well and are rethinking some of our dining reservations. Our trip begins July 14th. I will probably be switching some of these reservations today and investigating what locations offer patio dining. On the plus side, this will probably get me to try some restaurants I wouldn't have tried before!

I'm starting to think along these lines as well. Rose & Crown was one we were going to try this time, so we made ADRs. I think they have outdoor seating, but I'm wondering is that considered part of the Dining Room (can make reservations) or Pub (can't). Hmmm . . .

 

[Mit88]

What could they even be basing it on at this point? We don’t know definitively how many people will be there, how capacity limits actually effect the attractions in practice, how cleaning slows lines, etc.

No one knows what the capacity is at any of the parks. They’re usually pretty reliable pre-COVID but it was much easier to configure data when you had an idea of how many people were in, and allowed in to each park. I’m not sure I’d trust TP until the parks are open and we see how many people are in each park. Given that DHS is at capacity at least for the first month, it’ll probably be easier to get the data from there much quicker than the other 3 parks.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I hope you have a good day at Hersheypark. I am curious about how things are being handled because a few people came on this thread after Hersheypark's first day and commented on seeing many photos of people not social distancing and not wearing masks. I would love to see your take on how it looks now.

So definitely a lot of people with masks down on their chins while walking, etc. Also in line while walking people aren't being good about social distancing (they have all the spots on the ground for when lines are still but people are just walking up on your back when line is moving). So far pretty easy in open spaces to social distance though so other than those "walking in line" situations I feel ok

Other area not as good is near the water park stuff (that is within the park) so even in like locker areas people aren't as good

Also periodic announcements about guidelines over loudspeakers

 

[DisMommyTX]

We visited Margaritaville H2O water park in Kissimmee yesterday. Unfortunately, they cancelled the July 4th fireworks about a week earlier without telling anyone who had previously purchased tickets. It was packed around noon, but extended afternoon thunderstorms dropped the attendance to under 300 total, which is when we arrived! Only staff wore masks, and guests for arrival only, but the only time we got within 6 ft of anyone was on the stairs of one ride line. They had frequent reminder announcements, signs, and markers, and most people were very respectful of distancing.

I was impressed by how they handled the lounge chairs. They had signs up that all chairs laying flat had been cleaned and were available for use. Claim a chair by raising the back and leaving a towel or other belongings nearby, and they encourage you to use the same chair throughout the day. They also had them grouped for various sized family units, with each grouping several feet apart, and asked you not to move them around. Not perfect but a reasonable approach that worked very well with lower crowds. It gave me hope that others will have a similar approach. I definitely felt safer than I have at the grocery store!

 

[one_cat]

I don’t understand why Disney only allows ADRs and park reservations on a browser. It pretty much makes the app unusable. Do they expect to have everyone using the web site on their phone browsers in the parks?

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

I look forward to complaining about Karen holding her iPad Over her head to video HEA. Then I will feel like things are back normal.

Or when they come by and sell the balloons the size of Delaware at the parade line, and every parent around YOU feels compelled to buy one. LOL!

 

[BrianR]

I'm very curious how long lines will extend given the 6ft distance, and the walk space. Not to mention one crack of thunder and a downpour. Clustering in stores to avoid the rain. Another time at MK Under the Sea in line, everyone behind smashed in together to get out of the downpour while in the end part of the line to push forward to the inside part. Another time, we and many others all went into Pecos Bill, wall to wall people to get out of the thunderstorm. Very curious how it all goes!

We had a large group of 12 get caught out at AK in a Tornado Warning. That park doesn't have enough cover in a normal situation, let alone that, especially in the back half of the park. Definitely have spare mask(s) in a ziploc or other waterproof bag to make the switch after the storms pass by.

I don’t understand why Disney only allows ADRs and park reservations on a browser. It pretty much makes the app unusable. Do they expect to have everyone using the web site on their phone browsers in the parks?

The general consensus is there will be an app update in the store sometime in the near future. Quicker to get the browser updates published then publish the app updates. Timing is probably the only few hour window where you don't have wifi, because Disney IT .

 

[mmackeymouse]

On the subject of wait times. Has anyone run a touring plans customized plan? According to them, in the one iteration I have tried, arriving at MMRR at 10:03 will yield an 83 minute wait (you would have to be pretty far back in rope drop line for that?), ROTR never drops below 154 minutes, nearly everything else, except Star Tours, is about an hour.

The theme of our Disney reservation planning this summer is “I guess we‘ll see!”

Here's my TP:

For Epcot, the biggies come in at Frozen (33 mins), Soarin (26 mins), Test Track (36 mins), RAT (78 mins).

Animal Kingdom: FoP (50 mins), Safari (15 mins)

MK, Day 1: Peter Pan's Flight (39 mins), Big Thunder (17 mins), Pirates (11 mins)

DHS: This is a rough one, as nearly every attraction has long waits: Runaway Railway (84 minutes), MFSR (55 minutes), ROTR (99 minutes), SDD (44 minutes), Aliens (26 minutes), Midway Mania (19 minutes), Tower of Terror (20 minutes) The last half isn't really so bad.....but man....those first ones are rough.

MK, Day 2: 7dMT (34 mins), Pooh (14 mins), Space Mountain (16 mins), Astro Orbiter (16 mins)


I know these numbers could be wildly, wildly off. But.....IF this is what we are looking at, I would be pretty happy with it. Studios is rough, but....we'll see.

 

[Tjddis]

Here was my random, never gonna happen but it's still fun to dream, thought.

Every day, there should be a secret, random, obscure attraction (Like...not Tower of Terror) that if you do, you get a front of the line pass to ROTR. Personally, I would say Walt: One Man's Dream as a requirement to get on ROTR.....you MUST go through and appreciate Walt's life and the history of WDW in order to get on ROTR at all.....but I also don't want One Man's Dream to be bombarded.

The catch is...if the secret attraction is leaked online, the Front of the Line passes are invalidated for the whole day.

I'm talking things like MuppetVision 3D, One Man's Dream, Alien Swirling Saucers, Racing Academy. That way...the people who are spreading the crowds get the benefit over those who rush the crowd at ropedrop.

Cool idea. The last few years though it feels like they are less creative in terms of doing things like this and more interested in introducing paid experiences. Maybe it’s our fault? Stuff that used to be random and “magical” (think characterpalooza) gets researched, analyzed and documented like a para military operation and disseminated online. So maybe Disney is like “the heck with it, we can’t surprise em so just do the paid stuff”...shame though. Although I am an Uber planner some of my fondest memories are things I was not expecting that just happened...

 

[nkosiek]

The Plaza would be a great place for Disney to take advantage of smaller crowds and set up some outdoor dining. They could easily close off the walkway in front of the restaurant and set up outdoor seating. It would still be a lovely view of the castle and be a nice experience.

Actually, they probably couldn't with the bathroom next to it and rumors of the Tomorrowland Terrace being one of those zones for mask removal.

 

[coolbrook]

I'm starting to think along these lines as well. Rose & Crown was one we were going to try this time, so we made ADRs. I think they have outdoor seating, but I'm wondering is that considered part of the Dining Room (can make reservations) or Pub (can't). Hmmm . . .
[/QUOTE]
Its part of the dining room. We've eaten there.

 

[Tjddis]

Actually, they probably couldn't with the bathroom next to it and rumors of the Tomorrowland Terrace being one of those zones for mask removal.

Isn’t there a seating area acros the way from the plaza? We’ve grabbed hot dogs from Casey’s and sat. there They could remove some tables for distancing and serve there, no?

 

[Yooperroo]

View attachment 506554

Another update from the same poster at WDWmagic. It certainly doesn't feel like a magical place to be at all right now.

Seems way more magical than working.

Could we decide to not eat there and would we be charged the $35 fee?

Modify your reservation to a date and time that is over 24 hours out, and then cancel it?

 

[Janet McDonald]

Here's my TP:

For Epcot, the biggies come in at Frozen (33 mins), Soarin (26 mins), Test Track (36 mins), RAT (78 mins).

Animal Kingdom: FoP (50 mins), Safari (15 mins)

MK, Day 1: Peter Pan's Flight (39 mins), Big Thunder (17 mins), Pirates (11 mins)

DHS: This is a rough one, as nearly every attraction has long waits: Runaway Railway (84 minutes), MFSR (55 minutes), ROTR (99 minutes), SDD (44 minutes), Aliens (26 minutes), Midway Mania (19 minutes), Tower of Terror (20 minutes) The last half isn't really so bad.....but man....those first ones are rough.

MK, Day 2: 7dMT (34 mins), Pooh (14 mins), Space Mountain (16 mins), Astro Orbiter (16 mins)


I know these numbers could be wildly, wildly off. But.....IF this is what we are looking at, I would be pretty happy with it. Studios is rough, but....we'll see.

I’m with you. IF this is accurate I can work with this. We have two days at HS so break up the longest wait rides into the two days. Rope drop one, end of the night get in line for the other on both days. This manageable. But of course will wait to see results for the actual days they first open. We arrive on the 15th so we have the advantage of reading the experience of others to see how we actually will tour.