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

[HokieRaven5]

FWIW, we're booked at the Swan for our December trip and I got the "reservation system" email from Disney. That being said, the wording of the email states "because you have valid Theme Park admission, you will have access to the Theme Park reservation system before new tickets are sold to other Guests.", which means that the priority access to park reservation appears to be tied to having park tickets and not just a resort reservation, so I don't think getting a room reservation (Disney resort or otherwise) will get you priority access to the park reservation system unless you already had park tickets.

Okay, wasn't sure if those folks were getting the emails too as it's not officially owned by Disney. That's good for those with existing reservations to those resorts getting those emails as well!

Just something that popped up with someone saying they were able to book the swan/dolphin while the other resorts are currently not allowing bookings at all.

Doesn't have an impact on me as I have a resort reservation with tickets already in place (moved from an April trip to August).

 

[Kimrlav]

Hello Everyone,
I do not know where to post this question or if anyone has any information on the theme park reservation system for AP holders with a resort reservation. Will AP holders with resort rooms be able to make theme park reservations for the duration of their stay dates and not be blocked?

I am really on the fence about this upcoming September trip -- but with the 35% discount it is so tempting, even with reduced/changed experiences.

 

[DisneyEagle]

I have seen a lot of discussion around those folks who chose the free dining plan getting a 35% discount, but is there any information out there on those who opted for the room rate discount? My parents were booked at POR in May, and when they rebooked for early August, they chose the room discount, which was 15% at POR.

I imagine most people chose free dining, so this other side is not as popular a discussion topic, but curious if anyone has heard or seen anything concrete if they are going to give those who chose the room discount an equal 35% discount.

 

[Mome Rath]

Thanks for all your answers, I'm going to hang on for awhile longer and see if we get any more info.

 

[yulilin3]

Hello Everyone,
I do not know where to post this question or if anyone has any information on the theme park reservation system for AP holders with a resort reservation. Will AP holders with resort rooms be able to make theme park reservations for the duration of their stay dates and not be blocked?

I am really on the fence about this upcoming September trip -- but with the 35% discount it is so tempting, even with reduced/changed experiences.

Details on the park reservation system has not been released.All that has been reported by Disney is that people with existing hotel reservations and tickets will have first dibbs on the reservation system.

I have seen a lot of discussion around those folks who chose the free dining plan getting a 35% discount, but is there any information out there on those who opted for the room rate discount? My parents were booked at POR in May, and when they rebooked for early August, they chose the room discount, which was 15% at POR.

I imagine most people chose free dining, so this other side is not as popular a discussion topic, but curious if anyone has heard or seen anything concrete if they are going to give those who chose the room discount an equal 35% discount.

the 35% discount is because Disney took away the dining plan, as I understand it, I have never booked a dining plan room before, you pay rack rate for the room and get the dining plan as a way to offset cost to eating. Once Disney took away the dining plan the gave the guest the 35% off, so they don't end up paying rack rate
Nothing in discount has been announced or reported by anyone as far as I know

 

[Orion Nebula]

Details on the park reservation system has not been released.All that has been reported by Disney is that people with existing hotel reservations and tickets will have first dibbs on the reservation system.

Are there ANY details on what that means yet? It seems like if your booked already that you can't re-book past the end of Sept. So I assume most will have to keep their current reservations in order to get the 35%. I have been confused on this "priority" booking situation. Although maybe no one knows yet.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'm wondering if Disney is going to offer any cancellation leniency due to circumstances beyond our control?

A friend has a reservation for August with a paid-in-full date early in July, before the parks even open.

One of the challenges still standing in our way is that the border is currently closed. If they continue to extend that closure we may not know what the status will be by our paid-in-full date.

I know nobody has any true answer to this but just throwing it out there as I'm sure others are facing similar questions.

 

[yulilin3]

Are there ANY details on what that means yet? It seems like if your booked already that you can't re-book past the end of Sept. So I assume most will have to keep their current reservations in order to get the 35%. I have been confused on this "priority" booking situation. Although maybe no one knows yet.

no one knows yet
Post one of this thread has the most up to date info that Disney has released

 

[smallworldnh]

A coworker who is an AP holder just called to speak to a CM about her situation. She was informed by this person that even if you stay at one of their resorts, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a reservation to get into the parks!! She wasn't sure if she heard this correctly so she questioned him carefully about this and he repeated that there is no guarantee. If that's true, that is unbelievable and completely unacceptable and a real deal breaker for sure. Why would anyone pay that kind of money just to stay at their resorts without being able to get into the parks? Has anyone else heard of this??

 

[yulilin3]

A coworker who is an AP holder just called to speak to a CM about her situation. She was informed by this person that even if you stay at one of their resorts, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a reservation to get into the parks!! She wasn't sure if she heard this correctly so she questioned him carefully about this and he repeated that there is no guarantee. If that's true, that is unbelievable and completely unacceptable and a real deal breaker for sure. Why would anyone pay that kind of money just to stay at their resorts without being able to get into the parks? Has anyone else heard of this??

merged you to the existing thread.
WDW never guarantees entry anywhere, even if you have tickets, furthermore they have updated their terms and conditions to add that they can change or cancel anything you buy from them
I believe this particular CM might've been having a bad day, although it's true that Disney will not guarantee entry to anyone they have said that people with existing park tickets and a reservation will be able to book first into the reservation system for the parks

 

[sara_s]

A coworker who is an AP holder just called to speak to a CM about her situation. She was informed by this person that even if you stay at one of their resorts, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a reservation to get into the parks!! She wasn't sure if she heard this correctly so she questioned him carefully about this and he repeated that there is no guarantee. If that's true, that is unbelievable and completely unacceptable and a real deal breaker for sure. Why would anyone pay that kind of money just to stay at their resorts without being able to get into the parks? Has anyone else heard of this??

That's the sense I'm getting, and it's a big worry for me.

 

[20yBWDW]

I understand your reaction to a degree, but try to think of it differently. The social distancing precautions limit park capacity. They typically have more people staying on-site than they can accommodate in the parks with social distancing in place. They are attempting to mitigate that problem with a theme park reservation system so we know before we arrive whether or not we will be able to enter, and can cancel if we do not have guaranteed admission. It is far from ideal, but in the circumstances, it is as good as it gets.

 

[DisneyEagle]

the 35% discount is because Disney took away the dining plan, as I understand it, I have never booked a dining plan room before, you pay rack rate for the room and get the dining plan as a way to offset cost to eating. Once Disney took away the dining plan the gave the guest the 35% off, so they don't end up paying rack rate
Nothing in discount has been announced or reported by anyone as far as I know

Thanks for the response, and it makes sense why Disney gave the 35% off rack rate for those who got the free dining plan option cancelled. What I was attempting to get at is that there now seem to be two groups of people who rebooked their cancelled trips: Group A, who chose the free dining plan when they rebooked and are now getting 35% off the room rack rate, and Group B, who chose the 15% discount off the room rack rate (for POR at least) when they rebooked. Both groups are now paying for their own food, so it appears Group A is getting a better deal than Group B if everything holds to current form.

I have been planning to call Disney for my parents to ask this question, but to be honest you all seem to have better information that what the CM's are currently providing over the phone

 

[yulilin3]

Thanks for the response, and it makes sense why Disney gave the 35% off rack rate for those who got the free dining plan option cancelled. What I was attempting to get at is that there now seem to be two groups of people who rebooked their cancelled trips: Group A, who chose the free dining plan when they rebooked and are now getting 35% off the room rack rate, and Group B, who chose the 15% discount off the room rack rate (for POR at least) when they rebooked. Both groups are now paying for their own food, so it appears Group A is getting a better deal than Group B if everything holds to current form.

I have been planning to call Disney for my parents to ask this question, but to be honest you all seem to have better information that what the CM's are currently providing over the phone

We have the exact same info as phone cm. Everyone is still in the wait and see portion unfortunately

 

[thedarksyde]

Has anyone gotten their money back or cancellation or anything about the Cirque Du Soleil show Drawn To Life? I have tried to cancel many times, before the big shut off of cancellations, and they kept saying that it was not them it was another group. I still technically have not passed my date for the tickets, but it is June 14th, so it is not opening, and I don't know how to get anyone to cancel these tickets and give me a refund. They keep saying that they send an email to the group that handles it but then I hear nothing.

 

[Katrina Y]

Thanks for the response, and it makes sense why Disney gave the 35% off rack rate for those who got the free dining plan option cancelled. What I was attempting to get at is that there now seem to be two groups of people who rebooked their cancelled trips: Group A, who chose the free dining plan when they rebooked and are now getting 35% off the room rack rate, and Group B, who chose the 15% discount off the room rack rate (for POR at least) when they rebooked. Both groups are now paying for their own food, so it appears Group A is getting a better deal than Group B if everything holds to current form.

I have been planning to call Disney for my parents to ask this question, but to be honest you all seem to have better information that what the CM's are currently providing over the phone

I had to paid an extra $1300 to qualify for the free dining. At the time, I questioned the value of it, but my kids really wanted it. Now with the 35% discount, I am about right back where I was before free dining. I figure I am saving about $20ish a night compared to my original discount.

 

[puffkin]

All of the Unions (7 in total) of Cm have made Disney agree that until all F/T, P/T CM get back to work no additional CP or Seasonal work will be allowed. So, no, I don't think CP will be coming back this year, of course that could change, with my example above, if they recall all ft and pt CM and they still need people they might call CP back but in the attractions zoom Union conference yesterday they told the pt that Disney said they will recall most of them, so not all.
Gun to my head I would say CP are not coming back this year, and yes Disney should let them know, the recall will be completed by the end of June so I'm sure they will have an answer then

What about the lifeguards? I had always thought most of them were from a CP program?

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I had to paid an extra $1300 to qualify for the free dining. At the time, I questioned the value of it, but my kids really wanted it. Now with the 35% discount, I am about right back where I was before free dining. I figure I am saving about $20ish a night compared to my original discount.

We had free dining for our July stay. Because we are 5 adults who would have purchased the dining plan anyway we saved about $400 a day. With the 35% off the room we'd save about $175 a day. So that's about $1,350 more for a one-week stay. We had already canceled our trip more than a month ago due to the uncertainty, but I would not have been happy paying $1,350 more for a trip with masks, limited hours (during the day in the middle of summer), no shows/characters, etc.

 

[scrappinginontario]

A coworker who is an AP holder just called to speak to a CM about her situation. She was informed by this person that even if you stay at one of their resorts, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a reservation to get into the parks!! She wasn't sure if she heard this correctly so she questioned him carefully about this and he repeated that there is no guarantee. If that's true, that is unbelievable and completely unacceptable and a real deal breaker for sure. Why would anyone pay that kind of money just to stay at their resorts without being able to get into the parks? Has anyone else heard of this??

None of us knows at this time when the reservation system will be offered. If it's before someone's paid-in-full date they will have a good idea before finalizing their reservations if they will be able to enter the parks.

f the reservation system is not available until after a guest's paid-in-full date then it is a known risk they are taking to pay knowing they may not be able to enter the parks some/all days. All Disney information clearly states that entry into a park is not guaranteed.

 

[yulilin3]

What about the lifeguards? I had always thought most of them were from a CP program?

A couple of things
The water parks are not set to open with the parks, so there are a lot of ft and pt cm trained for third
CP had positions in all aspects of the property, but were never the majority in any of them