Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[rteetz]

There was that, and also people on FB posting they got stuck outside on Test Track in the blazing sun. It's been...a day....at Disney

I think some forget that ride operational issues happen quite frequently. Music not working for a period and test track evacuating is not a bad day. A bad day would be guests getting hurt on an attraction.

 

[Farro]

Clearly they aren’t at 35-40K yet and who knows when they will be. They aren’t even filling up to the capacity they have set currently. Disney isn’t increasing that capacity much of at all right now because of that. If people were coming they wouldn’t have delayed hotel openings.

I also wonder if people are put off of booking because of which hotels are open and which are closed? Not much choice in the moderates or values.

Also I bet some people are assuming, correctly or not, that Disney will be offering resort discounts, so they are waiting to book.

I'm not talking of now, but later this year into next.

 

[LSUmiss]

I don't see how this is going to "bring back the customers"....people booking through to early next year are going to see these hours, the prices and say get lost!

That’s the thing. They’re cutting hours to save $ b/c demand is down, but stuff like this is only going to make demand worse. I know a few ppl on the fence about going later this yr & this will prob be the nail for them.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I disagree on this. Those of us who have gone long enough and have gone frequent enough know the numbers and knowing what attractions are closed and what attractions are open can do intelligent deduction of what 10K vs 30K means.

On top of that, again those of us who have been there an an average Disney summer day, who know what the average summer day is can make an educated guess what the numbers are, relative to each other. I've been to the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day so I know what max max max capacity is. I've also been on an average day, and knowing what the average attendance is, I can safely say 30K would be too much for me.




No that number may not mean much to the "average" guest. It may not mean much to a first-time or sporadic guest. But for the ones going right now, the die-hards, the lifers....they would be able to reasonably deduce what 15K people in the park looks like.

And yes, people in the park are spread out....but they won't be if they up the capacity number to 35-40K (And theoretically, they could, because no one knows the numbers so they could make capacity whatever number they want) ....and to do that without guests knowing about it.....I just don't think it's right, personally.

I have been going to WDW for 35+ years, been there countless times and WORKED there, and have NO idea what 15,000 or 30,000 or 45,000 people looks like in each of the parks

No idea how anyone could

It really doesn’t matter because there’s no way they will release this information anyway.

 

[CastAStone]

I’m not usually quote my own post to another thread guy, but I thought you all would find this interesting as well.

News(?)

Magic Kingdom finally hit a 2/10 crowd level yesterday on Touring Plans wait time based tracker
https://touringplans.com/blog/2020/08/09/theme-parks-see-busiest-post-reopening-day-on-saturday/Also of note, the Universal parks ran normal summer wait times yesterday, hitting a 9 wait-time-based crowd level for USF and a 7 for IOA.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I have been going to WDW for 35+ years, been there countless times and WORKED there, and have NO idea what 15,000 or 30,000 or 45,000 people looks like in the parks

No idea how anyone could

It really doesn’t matter because there’s no way they will release this information anyway.

When I did my CP my super scientific way of determining if it was going to be busy was craning my neck to see how full the parking lots were as my Transtar bus dropped me off at what was still MGM Studios. So same.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Clearly they aren’t at 35-40K yet and who knows when they will be. They aren’t even filling up to the capacity they have set currently. Disney isn’t increasing that capacity much of at all right now because of that. If people were coming they wouldn’t have delayed hotel openings.

We don't know WHAT capacity they have set currently. We think we do, but we really don't. And we also don't know if they have increased capacity since opening. I say yes....others disagree. That's fine.

Anyway....some photos I have seen look crowded. 35-40K is under average attendance. And some of the pictures I have seen (of walkways, etc) look below "average" but not by much. Now, I am fully aware that pictures don't tell the whole story. Some pics, the parks look like a ghost town, others, it looks nearly as crowded as a normal day.

 

[Dentam]

Don't look at the actual cases but look at the positivity rates instead.

I live in South Florida which is the hardest hit and the local leaders down here are very encouraged in what they have been seeing the last 10 days or so

So dont give up hope just yet on your trip.

I won't, thanks!

 

[Dentam]

No, they are getting better. Hope it continues.
View attachment 516969
http://ww11.doh.state.fl.us/comm/_partners/covid19_report_archive/state_reports_latest.pdf

I was referring to number of cases, but it's good to see that the percent positive is going down!

 

[anthony2k7]

I’m not usually quote my own post to another thread guy, but I thought you all would find this interesting as well.

But this is basically with all the levers fully open - I mean all blackouts are lifted currently arent they, except for the AP reservation issue. And its a Saturday in peak summer. From here attendance could well go down again with schools reopening, then hours reducing.

 

[skeeter31]

We don't know WHAT capacity they have set currently. We think we do, but we really don't. And we also don't know if they have increased capacity since opening. I say yes....others disagree. That's fine.

Anyway....some photos I have seen look crowded. 35-40K is under average attendance. And some of the pictures I have seen (of walkways, etc) look below "average" but not by much. Now, I am fully aware that pictures don't tell the whole story. Some pics, the parks look like a ghost town, others, it looks nearly as crowded as a normal day.

Why are you so hung up on what the number is? What does it really matter? Disney will NEVER release the capacity number they are using right now, so it’s a completely moot point. Plus, the number would mean absolutely nothing. Look at the pictures, and make a decision for yourself. It’s not going to matter if you have a number to go with the visual.

 

[New Mouse]

While yes, I’m sure they planned for every outcome possible, when you’re talking to investors, and there hasn’t been a major spike in CF at that time, you’re not going to tell your investors during an ugly Q2 report that you think theres demand to return to the parks when they open, but not to get your hopes up just in case Orlando sees a spike. You can plan for the possibility, but when they announced the reopening of the parks I’m sure their minds didnt go to “I have a feeling Florida is going to see a spike 2.5 weeks after we make our announcement that we’re reopening the parks”

Then they live on a different planet and probably arent qualified to be in upper management.

 

[New Mouse]

Yeah Disney saying oh we have 15,000 people in the park doesn’t really do much. People in a park are so spread out that it wouldn’t matter much to provide that number. They only did in Shanghai due to the government creating the number.

Ditto with 15k being spread over an entire day.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I have been going to WDW for 35+ years, been there countless times and WORKED there, and have NO idea what 15,000 or 30,000 or 45,000 people looks like in each of the parks

No idea how anyone could

It really doesn’t matter because there’s no way they will release this information anyway.

Agree. I've never worked there, but we're out of state APs, go pretty frequently (for ref, we just got back last week and currently have six more separate onsite stays (separate trips) booked through April 2021). I have no clue what capacity is at each park, what average daily numbers are (what attendance at each park looks like for low times, higher periods like spring break, when parks reach capacity like on Christmas, etc). You'd need all those numbers for context to accurately assess crowd levels at whatever lowered capacity they're at. It's not enough to simply say the current capacity is X number a day for each park. But like you said, they won't release those numbers so it's moot.

Additionally, even if they did release all the attendance numbers and capacities, you'd need to do your own analysis. What's the point, when we can instead use info we all actually have access to - such as ride wait times and pictures - to determine comfort levels and if it's worth going right now? That's what we did. I consistently saw low wait times for rides whenever I pulled up MDE, I saw plenty of pics (on blogs and social media), and we decided we could comfortably social distance in the parks, so we went. And we're glad we did.

 

[CastAStone]

But this is basically with all the levers fully open - I mean all blackouts are lifted currently arent they, except for the AP reservation issue. And its a Saturday in peak summer. From here attendance could well go down again with schools reopening, then hours reducing.

I have no idea what you are referring to; I was not interjecting into any existing conversations, just sharing a blog post I found.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Why are you so hung up on what the number is? What does it really matter? Disney will NEVER release the capacity number they are using right now, so it’s a completely moot point. Plus, the number would mean absolutely nothing. Look at the pictures, and make a decision for yourself. It’s not going to matter if you have a number to go with the visual.

Again....pictures lie. There have been pictures out that very from empty to wall-to-wall people. Same with reports....some people say it has been dead empty; others say it feels like a normal Saturday. (yesterday). So, how do we know what to believe? How do we know if someone didn't use a creative angle to make it look busier/emptier than it really is?

I just don't think it's that difficult. We know that 60K is average attendance. So 15K is 25%. 30K is 50% (of average attendance) I think people can make an educated guess on what 25% vs 50% is....meaning the feel of it in the park, wait times, etc.

 

[skeeter31]

Again....pictures lie. There have been pictures out that very from empty to wall-to-wall people. Same with reports....some people say it has been dead empty; others say it feels like a normal Saturday. (yesterday). So, how do we know what to believe? How do we know if someone didn't use a creative angle to make it look busier/emptier than it really is?

I just don't think it's that difficult. We know that 60K is average attendance. So 15K is 25%. 30K is 50% (of average attendance) I think people can make an educated guess on what 25% vs 50% is....meaning the feel of it in the park, wait times, etc.

But do we know what average attendance is? Has Disney ever offically announced that (other than the year end theme park attendance reports)? I don’t think Disney would want to make it public how many guests they have on a daily basis from a competitive standpoint. They would never want UO to be able to advertise that they either allow less guests in, or they had more guests on a certain day than Disney, thus alluding that they’re the more popular park.

 

[Amy11401]

I am still planning to book for the 50th if/when they let us. Not sure where to stay yet, but if we cancel May that opens up the options to stay deluxe. We were just going to stay at Pop, but I might spring for Contemporary just to be able to walk to the MK on October 1st.

If we have to cancel October 2021 then I am booking March 2022 (Mardi Gras week) and upgrading our tickets to APs to make up for this insanity.

I also wonder if people are put off of booking because of which hotels are open and which are closed? Not much choice in the moderates or values.

Also I bet some people are assuming, correctly or not, that Disney will be offering resort discounts, so they are waiting to book.

I'm not talking of now, but later this year into next.

We are most likely going to book for July 2021 at CBR. We haven't been toWDW since October 2018. We haven't pulled the trigger yet but probably will book before the end of this month. I figure if they do end up doing discounts hopefully we can change our reservation. If things don't get better with the virus and what is being offered at Disney than we will push our trip back to most likely summer 2022. I wonder if they are going to raise prices alot by then.

 

[Mit88]

Then they live on a different planet and probably arent qualified to be in upper management.

Fauci said Florida would hit Italy type numbers in April. He didnt say that in April, he said in March that Florida would be Italy #2 IN April. The face of this entire thing has been wrong in predictions. So we’re supposed to expect a bunch of businessmen to predict that Florida was going to be in a spike 3 weeks after Disney announced they were reopening?

 

[mmackeymouse]

Also, I understand that everyone is annoyed with me, but here's the thing...I work in numbers. Numbers are what I trust. Pictures and wait times, I don't trust.

I don't feel like we are especially, or overly, careful when it comes to going out in public during Covid. We are careful, and in most cases, more careful than those around us. We just aren't sitting at home, afraid to leave the home, either.

So, we do feel safe to travel to Disney. But, to a point. And right now, we are sort of put into a position of flying blind into it. We just have to go by what the general public is putting out there, rather than it coming straight from the horse's mouth. Does that make sense?