Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[princesscinderella]

If only the Disney Florida parks could embrace Italian siesta hours. Close from 2-5 during the hottest part of the day and typically when the afternoon rains come. Then open back up for evening hours with the second shift workers. I know it’s impossible but a girl can dream.

 

[Marionnette]

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.

Yup! It’s a Catch-22. They may not want crowd sizes of 9/10 but they only just hit a 2/10 in the MK today. Many of them were CMs and local AP holders. IOW, very little “new” money coming in from packages or tickets sales.

Disney needs to find that new sweet spot that will bring in ticket-purchasing visitors. Offering less and charging the same amount as before isn’t going to cut it. In fact, it is only going to serve to sour more tourists on the idea of traveling there for now. Why pay $78/day for a 7-day base ticket now when 6-10 months from now you can (hopefully) get longer park hours, parades and fireworks for the same price? Not too many people are up against a deadline where they have just got to go to Disney now or it will be never. Maybe some DVC owners with points that will otherwise expire. Or a military family with a loved one being deployed. But most don’t feel any urgency to go now, so unless Disney provides a carrot I don’t see any upticks in attendance for a long while.

 

[Dentam]

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?

I understand what you're saying and do agree that especially during these times, it would be nice to have a guarantee that the crowd levels when we arrive are going to be something we feel comfortable with. I'm just planning to stalk the boards and watch my favorite vloggers to get a feel for what to expect when we arrive... definitely wish we could have a better way to do it. I was feeling pretty good about things until the reports about this weekend came out.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

This is the sort of post that has me scratching my head when it comes to “absolute opinions.”

Disney World has been opened Fido. I think that counters your post’s logic completely. MK can be open from 9 am to 6 pm, but not from 6 pm to midnight for a paid event? You can only social distance from 9 to 6, right?

I think the better question is, can they create enough value from a modified Christmas Party experience to reach the demand to make a profit? That’s where the challenge is.

You misunderstood my post. Disney World is unsafe from 9-6 just like it would be unsafe from 6 - midnight. That is why there is no demand right now. It’s a very very small subset of the general population that is crazy enough to go to a theme park in a COVID hotspot right now.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

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?

But what is "average" attendance? How do you know it's 60k? Is that for a random Wednesday in September, for Christmas Day, for spring break...? Also, any "average" you're quoting would also be when things aren't closed (including people eaters like Indy, BatB). If 60k is, in fact, a correct figure (but again, for what dates?), how do you accurately compare current figures when so much is closed?
I agree that statements about things being "dead" or "like a normal Saturday" are highly subjective. We don't know what the person saying those things has experienced in the past in terms of crowds.
I think wait times are a good metric. If you're consistently seeing wait times significantly less than what they normally are (and know almost everyone is having to go through the standby lines), then I think that's a decent indication that crowds are low. And you can make your own judgment call about how comfortable you are - you may or may not be comfortable waiting in queues (enclosed spaces) with others for 10, 20, 30 mins.

 

[rteetz]

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.

Like I said. They aren’t “selling out” their current capacity so why would they increase? I wouldn’t doubt that they have some but it doesn’t make much sense to continue such.

Numbers really depend on the park too. 35K at Animal Kingdom is a lot different than 35K at Epcot. Even right now each park has different capacities and that’s why you see DHS as the one that gets the closest to filling up their allotment each day.

 

[SierraT]

Do we really think NBA will be there next year, Spring?

This is all so exhausting. Planning this trip, which is normally fun, just sucks lately.

I can't get excited knowing that I may get a call telling me we can't stay at Gran Destino because NBA will be there, again.
We won't switch to a moderate because I don't like outdoor corridors - won't change my mind.
It's not in the budget this time to book a deluxe.

Ugh. I thought next year would be okay. And we will have to wait until only a couple months before trip to find out. The resort we stay in is the SINGLE most important factor in deciding if we would go or not.

But I'm not panicking. Yet.

NBA and MLB ratings are in the tank right now and NFL is probably to follow, a lot of people just don’t care about professional sports right now. Truthfully, I wouldn’t worry about it and personally think things will be back to normal by then.

 

[rteetz]

You misunderstood my post. Disney World is unsafe from 9-6 just like it would be unsafe from 6 - midnight. That is why there is no demand right now. It’s a very very small subset of the general population that is crazy enough to go to a theme park in a COVID hotspot right now.

The grocery store is unsafe too. No place in this country is 100% safe. Non-essential activities are still not recommended but people also need jobs and companies need money. The entire city of Orlando is based on tourism.

 

[rteetz]

NBA and MLB ratings are in the tank right now and NFL is probably to follow, a lot of people just don’t care about professional sports right now. Truthfully, I wouldn’t worry about it and personally think things will be back to normal by then.

I’m consuming as much sports as possible right now.

 

[Jrb1979]

NBA and MLB ratings are in the tank right now and NFL is probably to follow, a lot of people just don’t care about professional sports right now. Truthfully, I wouldn’t worry about it and personally think things will be back to normal by then.

All reports I have seen is ratings are up over last year. People are starved for live sports

https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/mlb-season-returns-to-strong-ratings/

 

[MrsBooch]

You misunderstood my post. Disney World is unsafe from 9-6 just like it would be unsafe from 6 - midnight. That is why there is no demand right now. It’s a very very small subset of the general population that is crazy enough to go to a theme park in a COVID hotspot right now.

so what is your point.
That everyone going out is crazy? Or just people who go to a theme park?
If the theme park wasn’t in a hotspot would it be less crazy to go during COVID or should no theme parks be open right now?

just trying to clarify your judgement passing.

 

[SierraT]

All reports I have seen is ratings are up over last year. People are starved for live sports

https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/mlb-season-returns-to-strong-ratings/

NBA is down as is the MLB. I will not post statistics because it will be deleted.

 

[anthony2k7]

The grocery store is unsafe too. No place in this country is 100% safe. Non-essential activities are still not recommended but people also need jobs and companies need money. The entire city of Orlando is based on tourism.

I'm not really understanding your point with that???

 

[Mit88]

I’m consuming as much sports as possible right now.

Ive watched more (non Yankee) regular season baseball games than I’ve ever watched before. Ive caught a majority of prime time NBA games. Haven’t watched an NHL game since the Rangers were knocked out, but once the next round starts, I’m back in for the Avalanche

 

[SierraT]

The grocery store is unsafe too. No place in this country is 100% safe. Non-essential activities are still not recommended but people also need jobs and companies need money. The entire city of Orlando is based on tourism.

We can’t walk around in a bubble, life is a risk and nothing is guaranteed including the breaths we take. I will not post statistics but life is a risk.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

The grocery store is unsafe too. No place in this country is 100% safe. Non-essential activities are still not recommended but people also need jobs and companies need money. The entire city of Orlando is based on tourism.

I mean, we can’t discuss politics so I’ll leave it at that, but there are ways to not open a theme park in the middle of a pandemic while simultaneously not allowing the people in places like Orlando to starve. You can look at basically every other first world nation on the planet for examples of how that was done. Also, a huge part of the danger of disney world right now is in the travellling to Disney World part of it. But I mean, don’t take my word for it, look at the attendance levels. People are not traveling to Florida right now for good reason.

 

[Mit88]

The grocery store is unsafe too. No place in this country is 100% safe. Non-essential activities are still not recommended but people also need jobs and companies need money. The entire city of Orlando is based on tourism.

Even grocery shopping isnt necessarily essential. Ive seen people walk out with 1 or 2 items, thats not essential shopping, thats making an excuse to leave the house. Getting grocery’s for 1 night of dinner at a time isnt essential shopping. People are comfort shopping again. I see parents with kids in Target going through the toy aisle. Is that essential?

So either accept that people are trying to get their lives back to as normal as they can, or stop nitpicking and judging what people are doing.

This wasn’t directed at you, just a general statement that people complaining about the dangers of life right now as if we dont already know need to get over themselves

 

[SaintsManiac]

I mean, we can’t discuss politics so I’ll leave it at that, but there are ways to not open a theme park in the middle of a pandemic while simultaneously not allowing the people in places like Orlando to starve. You can look at basically every other first world nation on the planet for examples of how that was done. Also, a huge part of the danger of disney world right now is in the travellling to Disney World part of it. But I mean, don’t take my word for it, look at the attendance levels. People are not traveling to Florida right now for good reason.

And yet the parks are open...

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

And yet the parks are open...

Well we were discussing how the parks are doing terribly attendance-wise and are cutting hours. I was suggesting a reason why that is.

 

[anthony2k7]

We can’t walk around in a bubble, life is a risk and nothing is guaranteed including the breaths we take. I will not post statistics but life is a risk.

And its up to each individual surely as to how much risk they choose to take each day.

If people dont feel safe going to theme parks you can't just say that Florida's tourist industry depends on them and try to guilt them into doing something they don't feel safe doing. 72% of Americans do not feel safe going. Florida needs to accept that and implement whatever consequences they need to implement.