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

Like perhaps many, our summer plans have wobbled all over the place on a daily basis it seems. So many overlapping things between the resorts, park reservations, kid’s camps/sports that may/may not happen and we don’t know until the last minute, whether my office is open or not, etc, etc. Not to mention the virus itself, arguably the biggest unknown. For me personally, it’s been all over the place in terms of plans, how I feel, what’s the best thing to do. The only glue being flexible cancellation policies.

But yes, I got cold feet on the Uni plans once WDW started to roll out their reopening and dates became more clear.
Things have felt hour to hour at times here too, thank goodness for threads like this to help us along in those times. And give us heart attacks at other times :)
 


Seemed sort of like an After Hours event today to me at MK. Pretty low crowds on the whole.

One thing I had trouble with - CMs on rides like 7DMT, BTMR, speedway, etc that tell you what row to go to before boarding. Those are pretty noisy situations and you forget how much you use reading their lips, hearing their voice, and hand gestures to easily figure out what they are saying. With the masks and shield muffling the voice, I found I needed to pay extra attention to make sure I heard instructions correctly. Not that big a deal, just something new. And with them spacing rows, you kind of want to get it right!

Not many carts or food/beverage places open, which was brutal as it is quite warm here today, some of the hottest conditions I think I’ve experienced at WDW. Had to search a few times for places to get bottled water. Assuming just a preview staffing thing.

I should have bought stock in plexiglass companies, Disney has been very busy installing barriers in all sorts of places/queues.

Not going to lie, for me it’s a bit hard to “relax” when you’re always thinking masks, spacing, hand washing, virus, etc somewhere in the back of your mind, but on the whole it was a great experience and I feel content/safe with our decision to attend.

Walkway from CR/BLT was open and temp checks/security was a breeze. Love how the permanent security stations are coming together for the walkway and bus folks, it looks great.

Seems like all of this stuff is well covered on the Internet, but happy to answer any questions.
That is one thing mask wearing is pointing out - people are realizing how much they rely on lipreading. It's unmasking hearing loss that people didn't realize they had. I have been seeing more patients telling me that when I see them.

Glad you had a good time. Hopefully as you said, there will be more beverage locations when the park officially opens
 
To add, the first round they bring you:

- Meat selection (salami, etc) and cheeses
- Lox with toppings
- Assorted bread/muffins
- Mini yogurt cups
- Assorted fruit (mainly mellons)

The second round was:
- Sausage, bacon, ham and egg platter
- Mickey waffle, pancake, French toast platter
- Hash browns/cheesy potato
- Tater tots

It’s all you can eat, ask for more of anything and they’ll bring it right away.

No characters as expected, not even that static Chef Mickey statue/plate pic you usually take when you walk in.

CMs were amazing and seemed very happy to be back.

Vibe was different with no characters and it being empty, but DS said it was the best meal all week, so there’s that.

Price for two adults: Total $53.25 including tax. I’m assuming that’s less than the normal price?
 


One question I have that I hope we can find out. I know they are encouraging cashless payment, but will they take cash. For instance, if I use a gift card for dining, I typically leave tip in cash so I have true balance of gift card for the next time I want to use it. Or if I buy an ice cream or popcorn refill, I typically use cash for a small payment like that. And then sometimes I have enough cash to pay for things outright. So will they take cash or will it be refused?
 
Drove over to Fantasia Gardens for an after dinner round of mini golf just now. Closed at 4pm for a private event according to the signs. While I don’t know for sure, it looked like some MLS teams were enjoying Disney’s finest putt putt. Bubble life. 🤣

My DS14 is a huge NBA fan and follows everything on all the social media sites for his favorite teams/players. He's been especially attentive with all the Disney stuff since he also loves Disney. He said that apparently the players are getting after hours time in the parks. A few of the players have posted about it.
 
To add, the first round they bring you:

- Meat selection (salami, etc) and cheeses
- Lox with toppings
- Assorted bread/muffins
- Mini yogurt cups
- Assorted fruit (mainly mellons)

The second round was:
- Sausage, bacon, ham and egg platter
- Mickey waffle, pancake, French toast platter
- Hash browns/cheesy potato
- Tater tots

It’s all you can eat, ask for more of anything and they’ll bring it right away.

No characters as expected, not even that static Chef Mickey statue/plate pic you usually take when you walk in.

CMs were amazing and seemed very happy to be back.

Vibe was different with no characters and it being empty, but DS said it was the best meal all week, so there’s that.

Price for two adults: Total $53.25 including tax. I’m assuming that’s less than the normal price?

Exactly what I wanted to know, thank you so much! I saw the $25 price yesterday and wondered what they were giving you for such a cheap price (for Disney).
 
Exactly what I wanted to know, thank you so much! I saw the $25 price yesterday and wondered what they were giving you for such a cheap price (for Disney).

I’ve been trying to look it up, what is the normal price anyway?
 
One question I have that I hope we can find out. I know they are encouraging cashless payment, but will they take cash. For instance, if I use a gift card for dining, I typically leave tip in cash so I have true balance of gift card for the next time I want to use it. Or if I buy an ice cream or popcorn refill, I typically use cash for a small payment like that. And then sometimes I have enough cash to pay for things outright. So will they take cash or will it be refused?

There are places that will take cash. I know the cs restaurants have 1 register designated for cash payments. I don’t know about carts.
 
Now that we have seen the attractions operating, has anyone calculated the ride capacities under these conditions?

I figure most attractions where they simply are skipping rows should be fairly straightforward. But what about something like Jungle Cruise? From a video I saw from yesterday, it looks like it must be operating around 20% of capacity (?).

What are the least affected and most affected attractions?
 
According to Touring Plans the regular prices were:

Breakfast: Adult $52, Child $31 ◆ Lunch: Adult $52, Child $31 ◆ Dinner: Adult $63, Child $37.

No characters = Cheaper price

Are they offering the Disney Dinning Plan at a discounted price as well?
 
To add, the first round they bring you:

- Meat selection (salami, etc) and cheeses
- Lox with toppings
- Assorted bread/muffins
- Mini yogurt cups
- Assorted fruit (mainly mellons)

The second round was:
- Sausage, bacon, ham and egg platter
- Mickey waffle, pancake, French toast platter
- Hash browns/cheesy potato
- Tater tots

It’s all you can eat, ask for more of anything and they’ll bring it right away.

No characters as expected, not even that static Chef Mickey statue/plate pic you usually take when you walk in.

CMs were amazing and seemed very happy to be back.

Vibe was different with no characters and it being empty, but DS said it was the best meal all week, so there’s that.

Price for two adults: Total $53.25 including tax. I’m assuming that’s less than the normal price?

Thanks for the report. To be honest, I hope they keep this style even when characters return. We much prefer the family style breakfasts to the buffets.
 

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