Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Eric Smith]

Ummm all the resort amenities that are still closed. Arcades, marinas, fishing, boat rentals, bike rentals, restaurants, spas, etc etc etc

None of those are going to eat up the amount of people that want to go to the pool. Also, most of those are extra cost.

 

[Farro]

But why do we have to "be done"? This topic is directly about Disney's Covid response, so it's on-topic to this thread, and no one that I noticed has made any bigoted comments or personal insults, so what's wrong giving opinions?

Be done with me. I'm done. Continue talking amongst yourselves, I'll disengage.

 

[J-Dog]

Ummm all the resort amenities that are still closed. Arcades, marinas, fishing, boat rentals, bike rentals, restaurants, spas, etc etc etc

Yes! Not to mention the other restaurants and resorts that aren't open. The is nothing in any CDC guidelines that say that some restaurants can open and some can't - that's purely Disney's decision and has nothing to do with Covid.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

You didn't know that pool capacity was limited before you went?

I think everyone knows that but since we haven't seen any of the pools hit that capacity until now it's catching people by surprise that's all. And just gauging the reactions on the DIS FB group (each pool post has like hundreds of comments and growing with people considering canceling their trips because of it) a lot of folks are caught off guard. Everyone's entitled to their own feelings on the matter... especially when choosing to spend thousands of dollars to stay on-site.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Hi everyone thank you for the reports. Any idea when the pool waits are occurring? Mid-day? Morning? We’re doing a resort only stay Mother’s Day weekend and will be at wilderness lodge (copper creek) Saturday and Sunday for pool days so I’m wondering if we’ll have to go early as there’s only one feature pool. My kids love slides

 

[J-Dog]

You didn't know that pool capacity was limited before you went?

If I wasn't on these boards, then I would have had absolutely no idea. Except for this thread, I wouldn't even know where to look to find any pre-trip information about resort pools having 3-hour wait times. Is something like that posted on MDE?

And obviously there are lots of other parkgoers that never look at the Dis, who would have no clue about this...

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

None of those are going to eat up the amount of people that want to go to the pool. Also, most of those are extra cost.

And? Your statement makes zero sense to me. The more activities they have available, the more places there are for people to go. It will absolutely help the pool situation. I’m not sure why you would be against opening more things up?

 

[HokieRaven5]

Yes, but as TikiTkiFan just said, it's getting to the point that Disney needs to be doing something about it. If things keep going as they are going, the "Covid" excuse isn't going to work for much longer.

Would $798M in losses over the last earning period be a better excuse for not increasing operating/cleaning costs at the current moment as a company? (that's just the domestic parks operations)

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Here's hoping this is just a spring break fluke and won't be a daily occurrence this summer! Spring break usually happens within a few week timeframe for many folks- summer at least is spread over a few months. And more resorts are opening soon which can only help.

 

[J-Dog]

Would $798M in losses over the last earning period be a better excuse for not increasing operating/cleaning costs at the current moment as a company? (that's just the domestic parks operations)

So, in your opinion, Disney's bottom line trumps the satisfaction of the people who provide the money for that bottom line. Isn't that the very definition of corporate greed?

My company lost a bunch of money too from the lockdowns, but one of our top goals in returning to "normal" was to make sure the clients don't receive worse customer service. Can Disney say that?

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Hi everyone thank you for the reports. Any idea when the pool waits are occurring? Mid-day? Morning? We’re doing a resort only stay Mother’s Day weekend and will be at wilderness lodge (copper creek) Saturday and Sunday for pool days so I’m wondering if we’ll have to go early as there’s only one feature pool. My kids love slides

I'm guessing midday so arriving right when the pool opens might be a safe bet?

I did see someone report that when they arrived for check in around 2PM the pools at Pop were at capacity and their room wasn't ready until 7PM so they were pretty upset they couldn't at least swim at the pool until their room was ready (yikes....) so that gives you an idea of time. Saw another report that said at 8PM they just let everyone in which indicated to me it was at capacity most of the day.

So if I were you, I'd just get there right when the pool opens and settle in.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Ummm all the resort amenities that are still closed. Arcades, marinas, fishing, boat rentals, bike rentals, restaurants, spas, etc etc etc

Eh, I really don’t think those would make a hugely significant impact on the number of people who want to be at the pool during spring break on an 88 degree day. The pools are always jammed during spring break even when all that stuff is running at full capacity.

 

[tink2424]

Eh, I really don’t think those would make a hugely significant impact on the number of people who want to be at the pool during spring break on an 88 degree day. The pools are always jammed during spring break even when all that stuff is running at full capacity.

I see what your saying but you don't know that for sure. It couldn't hurt for Disney to do something - have CMs organize kids on the lawn somewhere for games or such while waiting or anything else. Disney was KNOWN for its customer service and your telling me that they couldn't come up with something to keep people safe & provide entertainment?

Disney is just floating by on its reputation and has been for years now. I think most of us are now finally coming to the conclusion that they don't really care about guests. They care about money. The funny thing is that by caring about guests and putting their satisfaction first they will get more money. But they will drive people away with all this nonsense. They are doing this to themselves.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Maybe people would feel better if they just closed the pools altogether until they can raise capacity

 

[RamblingRabbit]

Maybe people would feel better if they just closed the pools altogether until they can raise capacity

Maybe people will complain no matter what and it's just noise

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

What are they able to open? An arcade can maybe hold 10 people at one time right now.

Maybe someone mentioned earlier and I missed it, but is it just feature pools where people are experiencing wait times? Or are the other pools also affected?
If it's just the feature pools, they could figure out activities and things to draw people to the other pools. (Show a movie(/sing-along) at the pool, music, etc. There are creative people who could figure things out.) Granted, it would involve more CMs and probably other expenditures, so not sure they'd want to do that. But it *could* be done.
My kids also always enjoy the lawn activities at the Poly. Are there places they could hold similar things at the other resorts? (Put down tape to mark distancing, put on some music, have hula hoop competitions etc.)

 

[J-Dog]

Maybe people will complain no matter what and it's just noise

Or, maybe Disney could actually care when people are upset?

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Maybe someone mentioned earlier and I missed it, but is it just feature pools where people are experiencing wait times? Or are the other pools also affected?

I think it was quiet pools too but those at least had much less of a wait?

 

[abs1978]

The pool situation is a really bad look. It looks like Disney was caught by surprise which, how? They know how many rooms they have booked.

I do agree that with the distancing requirements that getting in everyone is tough. There has to be a better system than waiting 2 or 3 hours though. Many resorts have implemented a sign up system and that is probably what Disney needs to do as well. Disney also needs to communicate this a whole heck of a lot better.

I'm going to keep an eye out on the situation but for my family we are all in agreement that if pool capacity is still an issue come June we are canceling our summer trip. Pools are that important to us.

 

[Eric Smith]

Yes! Not to mention the other restaurants and resorts that aren't open. The is nothing in any CDC guidelines that say that some restaurants can open and some can't - that's purely Disney's decision and has nothing to do with Covid.

Disney isn't going to open a bunch of resorts so that they can sit less than half full for the one month Spring Break stretch and then go back to 25% or lower after that. Disney has a few resorts scheduled to reopen, but we won't see it all happen at once. If the CDC relaxes their guidelines and case numbers drop farther, Disney will open more resorts.