Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[StormyCA]

Can you choose two days at a time? Coming from out of state wouldn't be much fun if you can only visit one day.

Again, this is based on WDW. You can make reservations for each valid day. I made 5 reservations one right after the other. We have 6 day tickets, I made park reservations for 5 of them. I'll make the 6th day when we decide which (other) park we want to go back to.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I saw this coming (as I'm sure most of us did) with the sightings of DLR CMs out and about doing things at the park. Disney is pushing the envelope, getting visual attention from guests who are hungry to return. They've been ready to open but have been playing ball with Newsome and being as cautious as possible to prevent blow back. I hadn't heard of any real sightings at the parks until around two weeks ago, coincidence?? In one of the statements from either the Theme Park conglomerate or Disney I read it is even stated that the shut down was "voluntary".

The initial shutdown was voluntary. The hold on reopening is not. Newsom has mentioned several times that the smaller amusement parks are going to be more difficult when it comes to the guidelines (can’t remember his exact wording).

I agree with a PP. I think the hold-up might be the smaller parks. My speculation is that the negotiation with the larger parks is a done deal, but the advocates for the smaller parks are still trying to get a better deal. The larger parks, like Disney, probably want the guidelines they agreed to released now as they are so they can reopen while Newsom continues to negotiate with the smaller parks.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Again, this is based on WDW. You can make reservations for each valid day. I made 5 reservations one right after the other. We have 6 day tickets, I made park reservations for 5 of them. I'll make the 6th day when we decide which (other) park we want to go back to.

With WDW as the guide, they have 3 separate "buckets" of reservations; Those staying on-property, advanced purchase tickets, and annual passes. General rule (always exceptions) If you are staying on property, it's a lock, pick your days, it will be available. Almost the same goes for advanced purchase tickets, but the sooner you get the reservation the better. AP's are limited.

 

[StormyCA]

With WDW as the guide, they have 3 separate "buckets" of reservations; Those staying on-property, advanced purchase tickets, and annual passes. General rule (always exceptions) If you are staying on property, it's a lock, pick your days, it will be available. Almost the same goes for advanced purchase tickets, but the sooner you get the reservation the better. AP's are limited.

That's what I understand, too. We're 'onsite' and not til next year so getting the ressies wasn't a problem.

I guess the AP bucket is limited because presumably APs are the most flexible category as far a picking dates. I have no problem with this. If I'm an AP and I can't go today, I can simply pick tomorrow or another date. Assuming of course that I'm a 'day drive' AP.

My understanding is that reservations are/may be added to the AP bucket (or I assume any bucket) closer to a calendar date if they're not all gone. I don't know if they're holding an inventory back or exactly when they think the 'right time' is to add to the bucket.

I think APs are also limited in the number &/or timeframe of ressies they can make, but I don't know what that limit is.

 

[amyg1975]

Disneyland cancelling reservations through Oct 3. New reservations cannot be made until Oct 16.

I have been dreading this day, because I knew it was coming. Time to cancel my flights and hotel (we had October 3-5th).

 

[Katie Count]

I have been dreading this day, because I knew it was coming. Time to cancel my flights and hotel (we had October 3-5th).

We have October 25 - 30 so I am holding out a little bit of hope, but not much. A lot can change and improve by then, but it could also go the other way.

We went to WDW at the end of July just after they opened and I couldn't get excited for it until we were on the plane. You just never know if something will be announced to derail your plans.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Can you choose two days at a time? Coming from out of state wouldn't be much fun if you can only visit one day.

Again, this is based on WDW. You can make reservations for each valid day. I made 5 reservations one right after the other. We have 6 day tickets, I made park reservations for 5 of them. I'll make the 6th day when we decide which (other) park we want to go back to.

For APs staying offsite you can only hold 3 reservations at a time. Once you use 1 you can book another. Onsite guests get the days they are staying (including check in and check out day). Ticketed guests get the number of days on their tickets.

At the beginning APs had complications if they had an on-site stay as well as planned to go before that. For example, they had an on-site stay in November so booked those dates. But wanted to visit beforehand (either living nearby or staying offsite) you couldn’t get the other 3 earlier dates since they were counting your other park passes towards that number. (A similar complication used to exist when making Fastpass plus reservations.) They fixed that about a week in so people could get their on-site days as well as the 3 extra days.

As people mentioned, they have adjusted the number of park passes available. On-site guests typically have the biggest allotment and had their pick of days. Individual ticketed people also had their pick. But APs had lots of issues where the days would all get grabbed up, so while they could have their 3 booked, once they used 1 and wanted to book another, would need to wait a while before there was availability. But they have made unannounced adjustments and replenished the AP allotment to make it easier to grab closer days. At first it appeared they just moved some of the passes from resort guests to APs, but more recently it’s looked like they’ve actually just increased the amount of number (there are various blogs who do these analyses).

Now as for Disneyland, they are far fewer on-site guests to accommodate. So my bet is those people will be guaranteed a park pass. Probably won’t need to reserve in advance and maybe they will even be allowed to park hop (pure speculation)? They probably will need to do separate allotments for APs or tickets due to the high number of APs. No idea what the limit will be on the number of reservations you can hold or how far in advance you can book. But it probably will be better than Tokyo’s system where APs still aren’t allowed to enter unless they win a monthly lottery or just buy an individual day ticket!

 

[midnight star]

We went to WDW at the end of July just after they opened and I couldn't get excited for it until we were on the plane. You just never know if something will be announced to derail your plans.

This is another dilemma I have with traveling to WDW, or anywhere. I put a tentative quote in for January, BUT I'm worried something will come up by then. Or change while I am in Florida, making it difficult to get back home..Gah!

 

[Katie Count]

This is another dilemma I have with traveling to WDW, or anywhere. I put a tentative quote in for January, BUT I'm worried something will come up by then. Or change while I am in Florida, making it difficult to get back home..Gah!

This doesn't really worry me except for Newsom closing the parks while we are en route to DL. I am curious to see if things have to close back down what kind of notice will be given for that. Will it be an announcement at 8:00 pm that starting the next day that the parks have to close because the county has to move back a tier on the color system?

 

[CO2CA]

I'm not sure if this was already posted or not, but here is the reservation availability calendar for WDW. It was interesting to look at, while it might not be the exact same as Disneyland will use, it is probably the same system.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ort,passholder,tickets&defaultSegment=tickets

 

[CO2CA]

This doesn't really worry me except for Newsom closing the parks while we are en route to DL. I am curious to see if things have to close back down what kind of notice will be given for that. Will it be an announcement at 8:00 pm that starting the next day that the parks have to close because the county has to move back a tier on the color system?

That would be awful! I can't remember exactly when DL first closed, but I think they gave a couple days warning that the parks would be closing then the hotels closed a few days after that. So, if that happened (knock on wood!!), I think we would have at least a few days of notice.

 

[VandVsmama]

Can you choose two days at a time? Coming from out of state wouldn't be much fun if you can only visit one day.

On the WDW park reservation system, you select one day at a time. But before you select, you can view the park availability based on what type of guest you are. For example, if you want to see park reservation availability for an AP holder, you click on a AP button and then it shows you what parks are available on various dates over the month. If you're a WDW on site guest, then you click on that option. If you're neither of those 2, there's a 3rd option to select and it shows you what's available.

 

[Lumpy1106]

This doesn't really worry me except for Newsom closing the parks while we are en route to DL. I am curious to see if things have to close back down what kind of notice will be given for that. Will it be an announcement at 8:00 pm that starting the next day that the parks have to close because the county has to move back a tier on the color system?

The rule as of today is that you get moved back a tier if you fail to meet criteria for 2 weeks. That puts San Diego County on notice - they did not meet red criteria this week. No idea what that means for the theme parks since they haven't been allowed to reopen anyway. Of course, the rules could change...again. Florida get made the butt of a lot of jokes, but you have to appreciate the steadfast support the theme parks have been given there since the start.

 

[nursemelis374]

Anyone else see in the official opening thread the post about Gay Days Anaheim being postponed after a lengthy discussion with Disney? They said they would announce new dates soon and hinted at a holiday event.

I took this to mean they were given some hint that at least they would be open at Christmas!

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'm not sure if this was already posted or not, but here is the reservation availability calendar for WDW. It was interesting to look at, while it might not be the exact same as Disneyland will use, it is probably the same system.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ort,passholder,tickets&defaultSegment=tickets

A little OT, but what is going on the second week of October? It looks busier than Thanksgiving week

 

[amyg1975]

Columbus Day- many people have that day off. It is a super busy weekend. Also many schools have an October break.

 

[CO2CA]

That weekend is also always super busy at Disneyland. We went that week and said never again will we go at that time because of the huge crush of people. Kind of funny to think about that now. I can't imagine being stuck shoulder-to-shoulder with so many people, unmasked, at the bottleneck entrance of Adventureland now.

 

[disneychrista]

That would be awful! I can't remember exactly when DL first closed, but I think they gave a couple days warning that the parks would be closing then the hotels closed a few days after that. So, if that happened (knock on wood!!), I think we would have at least a few days of notice.

These are things I’d guess will be part of the guidance. My advice is keep an eye on the numbers. If they are heading in the direction of a possible reclosure I’d think about canceling. If not go and enjoy.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This doesn't really worry me except for Newsom closing the parks while we are en route to DL. I am curious to see if things have to close back down what kind of notice will be given for that. Will it be an announcement at 8:00 pm that starting the next day that the parks have to close because the county has to move back a tier on the color system?

If a county meets more restrictive tier metrics for two weeks in a row it gets kicked back so start watching a couple weeks out. Public officials can “step in” at anytime if needed though.

Fwiw though Newsom has said theme parks will operate under an entirely different system.

 

[StormyCA]

On the WDW park reservation system, you select one day at a time. But before you select, you can view the park availability based on what type of guest you are. For example, if you want to see park reservation availability for an AP holder, you click on a AP button and then it shows you what parks are available on various dates over the month. If you're a WDW on site guest, then you click on that option. If you're neither of those 2, there's a 3rd option to select and it shows you what's available.

I think they may be asking if you can hold multiple days reservations at the same time. To reiterate , yes you can. If you have a multi-day ticket you can get park ressies for all the days. You just have to go through the procedures one right after the other.

Again this is WDW so I was using MDE. We have 6-day (1 park per day) tickets. I made the ressie for day 1, it then gave me the option 'make another reservation' and took me back through the loop. I 'looped' a total of 5 times for 5 park reservations. I'll make day 6 later since DH and I can't decide whether or not we want to revisit Pandora or Galaxy's Edge lol. Actually I'm hoping by the time we go reservations will be a thing of the past.

There is also the ability to change your reservation if you want to change parks or cancel a day and choose a different day altogether.

I think the main thing to remember, and WDW stresses this all over the website, is that there is NO guarantee of a park reservation simply because you've bought a ticket. It says "Having a ticket is not a guarantee of admission. You must have both a ticket AND a valid park reservation". That's why it's super important to check availability before you buy unless you're really flexible in your travel plans.