Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[AndrewC]

Could only read the headline, but HOLY COW, $700 million in cuts?! That’s three quarters of the cost that USA Today estimated for Galaxy’s Edge! Times are roughly

 

[DizMe]

Could only read the headline, but HOLY COW, $700 million in cuts?! That’s three quarters of the cost that USA Today estimated for Galaxy’s Edge! Times are roughly

I can only read the headline as well unless I copy the address and view it in incognito mode (someone posted that tip and I thank them very much for it!!). I assume the $700 million includes all Disney properties, but what exactly are "capital expenditures"?

 

[Steve43]

I can only read the headline as well unless I copy the address and view it in incognito mode (someone posted that tip and I thank them very much for it!!). I assume the $700 million includes all Disney properties, but what exactly are "capital expenditures"?

Thanks for sharing that great tip!

 

[dina444444]

VGC is reopening on 12/6 and only the villas.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/travel-information/

 

[DLgal]

I can only read the headline as well unless I copy the address and view it in incognito mode (someone posted that tip and I thank them very much for it!!). I assume the $700 million includes all Disney properties, but what exactly are "capital expenditures"?

Capital expenditures are the money that a company spends to buy, maintain, or improve its "fixed assets" (infrastructure). So, it's basically money spent to build new things and maintain existing properties.

 

[AZMermaid]

VGC is reopening on 12/6 and only the villas.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/travel-information/

Just got my email too! Yay!!!
We are booked Jan 8. I’ll have to see what’s actually open before deciding to go or not, but this is great news!

 

[DLgal]

VGC is reopening on 12/6 and only the villas.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/travel-information/

That's kinda a good news/bad news situation considering that the rest of the hotel will remain closed.

 

[dina444444]

That's kinda a good news/bad news situation considering that the rest of the hotel will remain closed.

Yeah, but dvc needed to do something for those that own points at VGC.

 

[DLgal]

Yeah, but dvc needed to do something for those that own points at VGC.

Oh, I completely understand that, but I mean, those rooms cost a lot of points and with no hotel amenities available, how do you justify using them?

I'm not suggesting they open the whole hotel, but they should at least have some dining options as well as the pool area open. It sounds like literally nothing else will be open besides the DVC wing of rooms.

 

[AZMermaid]

That's kinda a good news/bad news situation considering that the rest of the hotel will remain closed.

Yeah it’ll be interesting. It feels like it’ll be pretty bare bones with only a few hundred guests. I’m expecting basically only the rooms and them saying go eat in DTD, in which case, we will prob cancel our Jan stay. But maybe not. Decisions decisions!

 

[dina444444]

Oh, I completely understand that, but I mean, those rooms cost a lot of points and with no hotel amenities available, how do you justify using them?

I'm not suggesting they open the whole hotel, but they should at least have some dining options as well as the pool area open. It sounds like literally nothing else will be open besides the DVC wing of rooms.

That’s what’s happening over at WDW with Jambo at AKV.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Will have to decide whether we keep our January reservation, too. I can still bank the points so not sure it will be worth it with no hotel amenities and the parks closed.

 

[Chause]

It will be interesting to see how point charts look in the future if this drags on much longer. They can only kick it down the road so long before the glut of points will catch up. When we purchased points, the what if scenario that was in the back of our mind was “what if the park closed?”. We quickly rejected that, thinking they were too big to fail, never considering a pandemic. Local folks might be able to still find value in the pool and DTD, but for families like myself who have to travel 1,200 miles the value is not there. I’m curious to see if they change their temporary cancellation policies for reservations that will still be good once the resort opens up. I just cancelled a Christmas reservation last week out of fear that if they opened in limited fashion they would not extend the relaxed cancellation policy. Yes, opening the resort is a way for them to allow owners to use their points. But if given the option (without penalty), I’d bet most still just keep cancelling.

 

[KPeterso]

Oh, I completely understand that, but I mean, those rooms cost a lot of points and with no hotel amenities available, how do you justify using them?

I'm not suggesting they open the whole hotel, but they should at least have some dining options as well as the pool area open. It sounds like literally nothing else will be open besides the DVC wing of rooms.

I have a VGC reservation on 1/14-1/15 and am so relieved (and kind of excited too) by this news. These are banked points that I would lose 1/31 anyway. A night away from home to use them sounds heavenly! These points are actually AKV, but I am not getting to WDW until early March and probably could not get them extended anyway (and that reservation is on my other membership so doubt I could have used anyway). I have had 6 VGC reservations cancelled and definitely need this right now.

 

[audrey2580]

I was just reading Biden's plan for Covid. I thought this quote was interesting. Similiar to California's plan, but since it will be from the CDC I wonder how it could play into opening of theme parks:

• Social distancing is not a light switch. It is a dial. President-elect Biden will direct the CDC to provide specific evidence-based guidance for how to turn the dial up or down relative to the level of risk and degree of viral spread in a community, including when to open or close certain businesses, bars, restaurants, and other spaces; when to open or close schools, and what steps they need to take to make classrooms and facilities safe; appropriate restrictions on size of gatherings; when to issue stay-at-home restrictions.

link: https://buildbackbetter.com/priorities/covid-19/

 

[Lesley Wake]

Oh, I completely understand that, but I mean, those rooms cost a lot of points and with no hotel amenities available, how do you justify using them?

I'm not suggesting they open the whole hotel, but they should at least have some dining options as well as the pool area open. It sounds like literally nothing else will be open besides the DVC wing of rooms.

I think the OC Register article says some limited amenities ("Most dining, activities and services will be modified with limited capacity due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols during the initial reopening of the DVC villas."). So I would expect pool would be open. Maybe dining (but possibly limited to guests only due to limited capacity)? At AKV Jambo, the pool is open and pool bar is open on the weekends. You can also go into the lobby or outdoor animal viewing areas. But shops, other dining is all closed and/or dark (but they also have Kidani next door).
https://www.ocregister.com/2020/11/...tion-club-villas-in-time-for-winter-holidays/

 

[montreid]

Same - booked AUL for dec to use up 2020 points.
Still have Jan+Feb booked and hoping for expansion DCA/DL food festival since no reopening in the future need to draw in some foot traffic. to reopen the main hotels and revenue.

Otherwise - looking at Summer/Fall 50th WDW trips.

 

[DLgal]

I was just reading Biden's plan for Covid. I thought this quote was interesting. Similiar to California's plan, but since it will be from the CDC I wonder how it could play into opening of theme parks:

• Social distancing is not a light switch. It is a dial. President-elect Biden will direct the CDC to provide specific evidence-based guidance for how to turn the dial up or down relative to the level of risk and degree of viral spread in a community, including when to open or close certain businesses, bars, restaurants, and other spaces; when to open or close schools, and what steps they need to take to make classrooms and facilities safe; appropriate restrictions on size of gatherings; when to issue stay-at-home restrictions.

link: https://buildbackbetter.com/priorities/covid-19/

CDC guidance is just that, regardless of who asks them to implement it. States are still free to completely ignore it unless it is somehow turned into a federal law.

California has been more strict than CDC guidance this whole time. I don't expect anything to change until a vaccine is widely available.

 

[VandVsmama]

I called Disneyland ticketing again today to request a refund. Gave the CM my ticket order #. She looked up the expiration date of the tickets and they've been changed from instead of expiring on 1/12/2021, now the tickets expire on 1/29/2022!

I swear, when I called a little over a week ago, the expiration dates were still January of 2021.

The CM told me that back in JUNE (yes, JUNE!), Disneyland changed the expiration date of all tickets to 2022 for tickets that are 2 days or longer in length.

So that's good news. Now I'm not going to bother to request a refund (which will take 2-3 months according to what the CM told me...she was clearly more knowledgeable than the 2 previous CMs I spoke with...or the script of what they're allowed to say has now changed from a week ago). I'll just hang onto the tickets and we'll go for a short trip next fall around the holidays instead.

I never got an email about any of this. Disneyland didn't announce it. They **did** announce that they were extending the expiration dates of the special So Cal resident multi-day tickets, but there was no announcement about regular multi-day tickets.

I kind of wonder if somebody changed the expiration of MY tickets since I called a couple of times and emailed my complaints?

 

[KPeterso]

VGC is reopening on 12/6 and only the villas.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/travel-information/

Copy of the email that I received from DVC this morning. Not sure if needed for the Reopening Threads...

​

Dear DVC Member, We have more great news to share with you from Disney Vacation Club. Today we’re excited to announce that The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will reopen beginning December 6. This is yet another positive step forward – and our Cast couldn’t be happier to welcome you back home! Just as we have done at Disney vacation destinations around the world, we are responsibly and thoughtfully implementing new health and safety measures as we re-open. Our gradual approach considers the guidance of government and local health authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as that of the U.S. Travel Association and Disney’s team of health and safety professionals. This deliberate approach emphasizes a combination of measures such as: Phased Reopening: During this initial phase, only the Disney Vacation Club Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will be open. The rest of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will remain closed. Health & Wellness: A range of health and safety measures, such as physical distancing, face coverings and increased hand sanitizer stations have been implemented throughout the property. Cleaning & Disinfecting: We’ve updated our procedures for cleaning and disinfecting, with a special emphasis on common areas such as lobbies, elevators and restrooms. And, before your arrival, every room will receive increased cleaning. Cast Member Training & Workplace Safety: Safety starts with our Cast, and we’ve adopted a number of new policies and practices for Cast Members at work, with health screenings, new training, and workplace safety procedure. During the initial reopening period, most dining, amenities, activities and services will be modified, limited in capacity or unavailable based on physical distancing and health guidelines. In addition, some areas and offerings will remain temporarily closed or unavailable. While Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park currently remain closed, Downtown Disney District has begun a phased reopening and offers a variety of shopping and dining experiences, including the expansion onto Buena Vista Street beginning November 19. Members with upcoming reservations will receive additional information on what to expect at The Villas during their stay soon. We encourage you to use the Disney Vacation Club website for general information or the Member Online Booking Tool to book or modify a Disney Vacation Club Resort reservation. Details about reopening plans and temporary adjustments to Disney Vacation Club policies are available on the Disney Vacation Club website. While the new Disney experience may seem a little different, a magical and memorable visit awaits you and your family at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. We look forward to welcoming you back home very soon! Sincerely, Disney Vacation Club