Sorry I made you feel the need to write this post, but I think you misunderstood what I meant.
When I said "excellent", I meant the firsthand reports we're getting almost real-time, was excellent...as in great to read (good or bad), fun to see updates, etc.
I misinterpreted your original post. My apologies. Rest assured that novel would have come out either way, though!
Thanks for your thorough reporting, always very helpful and balanced
@andyman8 . You are familiar with Disney being hot in the summer but do you think the mask makes it harder to stay open to close? We only stayed for 4 hours on Thursday, the heat with the mask was difficult. But we also had 3 backpacks and 3 25-35lb toddlers that we were lifting for diaper changes every hour too, plus keeping everyone drinking water and getting everyone snacks.
Even without a mask, staying open to close on a hot summer day would be hard. Throw in a mask and it's even more difficult. As cute as the Disney masks are, I'm not sure they're very Florida summer-friendly; anyone who is coming over the next few months should research which masks would work best in the heat. I guess staying-open-to-close also depends on your attitude/comfort level toward indoor spaces at the moment. If you're okay having lunch indoors, popping into HoP, or It's Tough to be a Bug, then that might make it more feasible. If it works with your family's needs, you might also consider a breathable drawstring bag instead of a backpack; I've found those to deplete less energy from me in the heat. Of course, there's also the Relaxation Stations. I didn't visit one, but I scoped them all out throughout the day. Of all of the spots, I found Tomorrowland Terrace (surprisingly enough) to consistently be the least busy. I still think MK is more manageable with the mask than DAK. I'd really strongly encourage anyone visiting DAK to either incorporate a pool break or just visit for a few hours. I was over the heat after only a few hours.
As I said, I'm not going to lie: I really don't think a full day is necessary right now, at least with MK and DAK. The situation with DHS and Rise remains to be seen, but if the VQ works anything like it did earlier this year, showing up early won't matter as much as having a phone with a strong signal. You'll have several opportunities throughout the day to join the VQ. I always find the heat is more tolerable for me when I'm well-rested, so I'd really advise later arrivals right now too. But I agree that the masks enhance already uncomfortable heat. While I firmly believe they're vitally important right now (and that Disney should be enforcing the rules), I long for the day when I can walk mask-free through MK and see everyone's smiles.
Secondly, since you know some CMs and staff at Disney, there were reports from some people here today who were at the parks and heard that capacity at MK was only 2000 people. Do you think that's true? And I know you said the spikes in cases here are probably going to keep capacities lower for a while, do you think Disney can weather it? When we were there on Thursday we did not go into a gift shop or deal with the QS lines (after hearing of difficulties at CM preview and we have 3 toddlers who aren't great at waiting), but I have bought thousands of dollars of merchandise from
ShopDisney online-I can only assume they are really leaning on this to help with lack of traffic inside the theme park gift shops?
Are we talking about capacity or attendance? I believe MK capacity hovers just below 90k during "normal" times. If they were capping attendance at 2,000 guests, they would be operating at roughly 2.5% of max capacity versus the average day being usually about 55%ish. I don't think they're doing that. My understanding is that they're capping attendance right now just below 20% of max capacity (that maximum includes all shows, restaurants, and shops that aren't open though). But their two open parks have yet to reach "capacity" for any day so far, which of course means fewer Guests are coming than Disney is allowing. I couldn't tell you what the exact attendance was for today; Disney keeps that info very close to the vest. Most CMs (though not all) are given attendance projections, but Disney doesn't even generally tell CMs how many guests actually visited their park that day. The most Disney will tell them is how many Guests visited their attraction during a particular hour sometimes, but I can't imagine they're even doing that right now since that's usually done to encourage efficiency.
In terms of the sustainability of this new model for the parks, it's about making a "positive contribution" (to quote Bob Chapek), not necessarily a profit. Given how early on we are in this reopening, it's anyone's guess if things are going as TWDC expected attendance-wise. Disney does have an interesting fail-safe though: APs. Currently, the next day an APholder can visit a WDW park is August 3 and congrats the decision of which park you're going to has been made for you: Epcot. If Disney doesn't open up more availability for APholders, that would indicate to me that they are at least somewhat comfortable with where they are at attendance-wise. If they did open up more availability, I can promise more reservations would be filled.
Mind you, Disney is certainly not "out of the woods" with the parks reopening. They are still climbing their way out of this, and I don't think they'll fully be on the other side until the second half of next year at the earliest. As has been discussed here, this is why the NBA is so important for Disney and WDW in particular.
It’s been mentioned a couple times today about indoor dining and Disney springs. Our experience was that the Disney owned restaurants did an excellent job of social distancing the tables. Ragland road which is not Disney owned left a lot to be desired when we were there and
@andyman8 reported a similar situation at the boathouse. They did a great job at d-lux burger, but it was not crowded when we were there in the afternoon, but they had it well organized. Unfortunately Disney probably can’t micromanage how the other tenants of DS run their businesses, which is why if you have concerns about crowds I’d stay away from DS, especially in the evening. I wouldn’t hesitate to eat at the resort restaurants or in the park.
I concur. Kona was great with social-distancing. The Boathouse was not so great. They said they were operating at 75% capacity, which still seems high to me. Now, to be fair, what *may* have happened is that some severe thunderstorms rolled in and rendered their outdoor tables unusable for the time being so they had to relocate any reservations that had been assigned outdoor tables back inside. But it did fit into a larger theme of DS being an uncomfortable experience. Regarding other DS restaurants, I think it will just come down to people experiencing these places and reporting back what happened. That also brings up an important caveat for all those making plans for outdoor dining. If you're traveling in the next few months, there is a chance that an afternoon/evening thunderstorm will roll through and nullify your request to eat outside, so as a precaution, a backup plan is a good idea if you don't wasn't to eat inside.
Finally, regarding Caryle's tweet. It's disappointing people can't comply with simple rules, but as they saying goes, "This is why we can't have nice things." I always try to be empathetic to the CMs (they're all doing an awesome job and Disney doesn't realize how lucky it is to have a workforce so dedicated), but the response from the Leader isn't acceptable. I do hold Leaders to a higher standard than most CMs, and while I do still try to give most the benefit of the doubt, I am more comfortable being critical, given the perks and benefits they enjoy that hourly CMs do not. As a Guest Experience Manager, your job is to lead by example first and foremost; that's why Disney calls you a leader. A snarky response like that does not demonstrate strong leadership in my opinion.
No problem!
