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

[yulilin3]

Good morning everyone
Please remain ON TOPIC. This thread is to discuss what are your plans with WALT DISNEY WORLD trips while this situation is unfolding.
What is WDW doing about it
This thread is NOT to discuss
How it spreads
Who is at risk
Telling other people to stay home or come to the parks
This a personal decision and no one should tell some else what to do
Educate yourself and understand the virus but this thread it's focused on how WDW is handling the situation and on your plans be it to cancel or not

 

[tinkerhon]

we Have been unable to find hand sanitizer to bring with us!!!

I set up email back in stock alerts with walmart, target and staples - staples got stock in fast, and doing free 1-2 day shipping -

 

[yulilin3]

Im going to MK tonight, haven't seen HEA in a while so I'll report back if I see any change in crowd or crowd behavior. Depending on time i leave i might swing by DHS first.
Tomorrow myself, and friends are still planning to go to universal Mardi gras concert, Luis Fonsi is performing and we've been excited about it since they announced he's coming,

 

[neoavatara]

we Have been unable to find hand sanitizer to bring with us!!!

Try Bed Bath and Beyond. My wife went there, they had a huge stock. YMMV.

 

[tinkerhon]

we Have been unable to find hand sanitizer to bring with us!!!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Durisan-...std-Colors-Up-to-24-hour-protection/465097850

 

[osufeth24]

Try Bed Bath and Beyond. My wife went there, they had a huge stock. YMMV.

Or bath and body works

 

[Bryant2108]

Supposed to be going down April 16th. Was dead set on going until this evening, now I’m not sure. My wife is starting to make arguments we should cancel. It’s tough because we have been looking forward to this for so long and aren’t sure if we can reschedule this calendar year.

Our balance on our package is due next week, so feeling like a decision must be made over the weekend.

Same situation here. April 18, we booked it as a room only package so the total is coming due soon. We are passholders but not planning on renewing after they expire June 5th. We won’t have another opportunity to travel before then, so we are in a difficult spot... plus, it’s turned from Disney Magic to Disney worry.

 

[jbish]

Anyway -- I found my "please please please" has turned into "are we doing the right thing" (we leave tomorrow).

Well...I think today’s events have officially been the nail in the coffin for anyone going in the near future....

Unfortunately, I think we're here, too. And I'm so beyond bummed.

Our Spring Break plans:

• Arrive Friday April 3rd, by plane
• Leave Thursday April 9th, by plane
• Staying DVC on points
• Going to two DAH events in addition to 3 park days - two planned for DHS to see SWGE and TSL (kids haven't been since the week before TSL opened in 2018)

Came home late yesterday and DH was like, "we're cancelling WDW." Wait - what??? But with the travel restrictions, NBA postponing the season, along with all of the other cancellations throughout our society, he just feels strongly that we need to do what we can do to "flatten the curve." That's what this is all about. Not adding to the exponential spread, even though we do not fit in the high risk demographics. This morning, at 5 am, our county (Loudoun County, Virginia) announced that they are closing schools through next Friday as they figure out plans on how to potentially move to remote learning. This is just insane.

So I will call Member Services when they open (and go to the MS DVC board) to see what our options are. *sigh..... I'm so bummed. Nothing is actually cancelled for us yet, but I need to get my ducks in order. So bummed.

 

[neoavatara]

Same. I actually feel like we can do the trip safely...but the number of uncertainties and headaches are making it...well, not pleasurable.

 

[Bryant2108]

Same. I actually feel like we can do the trip safely...but the number of uncertainties and headaches are making it...well, not pleasurable.

yep, exactly. Everything is set up so well for our trip, staying at our favorite spot.. poly, got great fastpasses (even have moved up ones that weren’t ideal, since people are canceling trips). But all these uncertainty and this black cloud.... it’s not fun this time around

 

[tinkerhon]

Or bath and body works

I managed to get the travel size 5 pack yesterday from bath and body online - I don't close out the screen and refresh every few hours - once they get stock, gone in minutes

 

[neoavatara]

I managed to get the travel size 5 pack yesterday from bath and body online - I don't close out the screen and refresh every few hours - once they get stock, gone in minutes

My wife found some there too...the girl at the counter said they had a huge stock.

 

[osufeth24]

I get this feeling if they don't announce any sort of closure by this weekend, they won't be closing. It just seems this is the time to announce it if they're gonna do it.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I think a lot of us are probably in similar circumstances. Watching the news, monitoring professional resources, balancing plans already made vs cancelling, etc. No right or wrong answers for anything given the situation at hand.

DW leaves today for a girl's WDW weekend. Lifelong friends and they've had this "no kids" weekend circled for a long time. Not that it qualifies one with any expertise, but one is an ER nurse. They all independently "voted" and opted to keep the trip. They are excited, but with a bit of caution.

We're also scheduled for a cruise later in the spring - first time I've ever had a paid-in-full vacation to anywhere (what timing!). We have time/flexibility to continue to monitor and make a decision there.

Yesterday I made a 'backup plan' reservation at WDW for the cruise week for a Ft Wilderness cabin. We've always wanted to stay in one anyway and the lower cost helps offset the already sunk cost of the cruise, if we end up rescheduling. We are not in a "no travel" mindset right now and would like to make 'something' out of our spring break time depending on conditions.

Having APs and room only reservations allows for plenty of flexibility for us, fortunately.

We will continue to monitor developments and make any adjustments that make sense for our personal circumstances.

Personally, I have more anxiety about the economy in general and our leisure spending choices than I do about specifically traveling to WDW (or anywhere) right now. We take care of ourselves and all the hand washing/cleaning are things we do anyway. Hate to generalize, but people in a theme park (and crowds in general) can be kind of gross - we're very used to taking matters in our own hands and don't rely on Disney (or any other destination) to necessarily do that for us. We will make the best decisions for ourselves and the world in general when needed.

Just sharing our personal circumstances/thought processes at the moment.

 

[Lisa Pesce]

Hi, We have an upcoming trip 4/13-4/18 but I’m a bit concerned for the three grandparents coming with us. I need to buy tickets this week so we can start fast passing (staying off property so 30 day window). Can someone help me out on what kind of ticket options we have, if any, that would allow us to cancel? Is this even an option if we are off property? If not, can I change dates and what is the process for that.. do I need to have new dates to change it to or can we use them for next year? Our flights will have a change fee and we need to use within a year so that will be a loss.

Still uncertain what we will decide but I will need to buy tickets if we want to go so I can fastpass. Any advice and suggestions would be welcome!
TIA

Just in case people haven’t purchased park tickets yet and are wondering about UT policies.. here is their email response to my questions about refunding tickets.


“Currently the parks have not put any new/special procedures in place, so everything is still running by the normal rules of our contracts with them. For the Disney e-tickets, those unfortunately are non-refundable, as per our contracts with Disney. The dates though can be changed through the My Disney Experience. As long as it is at least the day before your selected start date, you would be able to make that change through the MDE. You would just go to the "Tickets and Memory Maker" section on your MDE account, and there will be a change ticket link. Through that, it will give you the ability to change the start date, add days, or add options, and then will just charge you the difference between what you have, and what you are wanting. And if for some reason the date is not changed before your currently chosen start date, the tickets can be used as trade-in value, when there at the parks.
For the mailed Disney tickets, they are eligible for a 95% refund, as long as they are returned to us, within 90 days from the purchase date. The tickets cannot have been used, altered (such as changing the start date on the My Disney Experience), and cannot have gone past their start date. If you would like to return the tickets, please contact us, and we can email you a return form, which would need to be printed out, signed and sent back with the tickets. Once they are received back in office, we would be able to process that 95% refund for you.
For any other parks, the return policies can vary, but are located in the ticket details on the website, when you click on the ticket name. “

 

[osufeth24]

I think a lot of us are probably in similar circumstances. Watching the news, monitoring professional resources, balancing plans already made vs cancelling, etc. No right or wrong answers for anything given the situation at hand.

DW leaves today for a girl's WDW weekend. Lifelong friends and they've had this "no kids" weekend circled for a long time. Not that it qualifies one with any expertise, but one is an ER nurse. They all independently "voted" and opted to keep the trip. They are excited, but with a bit of caution.

We're also scheduled for a cruise later in the spring - first time I've ever had a paid-in-full vacation to anywhere (what timing!). We have time/flexibility to continue to monitor and make a decision there.

Yesterday I made a 'backup plan' reservation at WDW for the cruise week for a Ft Wilderness cabin. We've always wanted to stay in one anyway and the lower cost helps offset the already sunk cost of the cruise, if we end up rescheduling. We are not in a "no travel" mindset right now and would like to make 'something' out of our spring break time depending on conditions.

Having APs and room only reservations allows for plenty of flexibility for us, fortunately.

We will continue to monitor developments and make any adjustments that make sense for our personal circumstances.

Personally, I have more anxiety about the economy in general and our leisure spending choices than I do about specifically traveling to WDW (or anywhere) right now. We take care of ourselves and all the hand washing/cleaning are things we do anyway. Hate to generalize, but people in a theme park (and crowds in general) can be kind of gross - we're very used to taking matters in our own hands and don't rely on Disney (or any other destination) to necessarily do that for us.

Just sharing our personal circumstances/thought processes at the moment.

this is true. Did you see the video that went viral of the little girl just licking a window up and down on main st? This is the exact reason why they may have to close. People are gross, and not everyone is gonna prep like many on here to keep clean and help not spread.

 

[Spridell]

A suggestion to those who live driving distance to Orlando. (I consider NY to Orlando close enough to drive)

I am a born and raised New Yorker who now lives in Florida. I made the drive to Florida from NY at least 100 times.

Think about that option if you can. YES its a long drive but it is not as bad as people think it is. Having a car on property during these times can be a real advantage.

This is just an option for those people who can do it so they dont have to cancel their entire trip.

 

[Leigh L]

This morning, at 5 am, our county (Loudoun County, Virginia) announced that they are closing schools through next Friday as they figure out plans on how to potentially move to remote learning. This is just insane.

So I will call Member Services when they open (and go to the MS DVC board) to see what our options are. *sigh..... I'm so bummed. Nothing is actually cancelled for us yet, but I need to get my ducks in order. So bummed.

I hope you have some good options where if you have to cancel, it can be refundable or rescheduled.

Offtopic: I hadn't heard about Loudoun! I wonder if Fairfax (hi neighbor!) isn't far behind? Been receiving 2-3 emails a day from FCPS about COVID19 and 2 days ago they announced a closure for Monday to prep. I wonder if this will be extended?
DH told me this morning the Metro is making some sort of announcement today.

 

[e_yerger]

Same situation here. April 18, we booked it as a room only package so the total is coming due soon. We are passholders but not planning on renewing after they expire June 5th. We won’t have another opportunity to travel before then, so we are in a difficult spot... plus, it’s turned from Disney Magic to Disney worry.

My AP expires May 16th, and this is scheduled to be my last trip with my friend who is also an AP. If Disney decides to close the parks, I feel that they would have to extend APs for whatever time the park is close? This means we may be able to re-schedule our trip for June. But this is a big if.

 

[HokieRaven5]

A suggestion to those who live driving distance to Orlando. (I consider NY to Orlando close enough to drive)

I am a born and raised New Yorker who now lives in Florida. I made the drive to Florida from NY at least 100 times.

Think about that option if you can. YES its a long drive but it is not as bad as people think it is. Having a car on property during these times can be a real advantage.

This is just an option for those people who can do it so they dont have to cancel their entire trip.

Had that discussion with my family, DW, parents, and sister's family all said no more on not wanting to have the kids in cars for 13 hours on and off, so if flights start to get widespread cancellations or reschedules then my plans are made for me. Granted I'd much rather fly than drive just because the flying would be the safest part of my transportation (obviously viral spread not included).

We have a rental car booked and have actually gotten reduced rates with all of the cancellations currently.

We have the fortune of most of our trip being refundable minus the tickets for 3 of our members (which at least they aren't tied to specific dates thanks to how my employer gets tickets) .