Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Mit88]

I can only see them delaying the opening cause the demand isn't there yet. With the money the NBA is probably paying Disney to host them it brings in money without calling a lot of CMs back. I only say that cause of how everyone says there is lots of availability.

And as soon as Disney announces their opening date, those rooms would be booked quicker than the time it would take to remove a mask. There is no evidence that theres no demand yet. We dont know what it will be when they give out their date, but chances are, if Disney is open, people will go. More than likely, enough people to fill up their desired capacity

 

[Jrb1979]

If Disney were to close off all parks for the private use of NBA players, it would probably offset the deal they made with the NBA, and then some. Not sure if you guys know, its not free to run a theme park. And I seriously doubt they’d be charging NBA players admission prices, which is irrelevant because even if they did, it wouldnt come close to what it would cost to turn the rides on, turn the lights and water on, pay and have maintenance and CMs, etc. Then you would have to house the CMs and other workers in isolation along with the NBA players in order to ensure they dont go home, go to the grocery store, contract the virus, bring it on to Disney property and an NBA player gets sick. That also would cost a ton of money. All of that money just to let NBA players have free reign of the parks and whatever resorts they want to stay at....yeah, seems logical.



As for these millionaires being “stuck” in a hotel for 3+ months with all these lovely amenities theyd have with their families with them. Ask anyone in the military if they enjoy not making millions of dollars while being away from their families for months, or even years. They love what they do, but I’m sure they’d also love to be able to be in the “terrible” situation that NBA players are in having to be stuck with their families at a beautiful resort with great food, pools, and other amenities.



You know how Disney would make the most money, and the most logical option would be? Open the theme parks and non NBA used resorts to the public AND collect money from the NBA AND collect money from TV marketing.

Yes that would make the most money if it was that easy. Going by some on here there is lots availability for July. Which possibly not enough demand for limited capacity.

 

[Jrb1979]

And as soon as Disney announces their opening date, those rooms would be booked quicker than the time it would take to remove a mask. There is no evidence that theres no demand yet. We dont know what it will be when they give out their date, but chances are, if Disney is open, people will go. More than likely, enough people to fill up their desired capacity

It could also be the opposite too. Outside of these boards I'm not sure how much demand there is for people to travel right now. Especially paying Disney prices and not getting a full Disney experience.

 

[bb32]

I’m assuming CL stands for Club Lounge or Club Level.

Most clubs are self serviced with 2/3 attendants. However as of now self service probably won’t happen anytime soon and you can’t have people sharing utensils or lingering over open food. So what do you do? Carry only prepackaged granola bars, packaged pastries, juice boxes. Well now your food costs go up. Does Disney make less money or pass this along to guests for a higher admission? Wouldn’t count on Disney opting to make less so price goes up. Higher admission equals more complaints because now instead of lox and bagels people are eating packaged Nature Valley bars.

Or do you keep food the same but have more attendants to serve guests plates style? Now labor costs skyrocket. Lounges typically operate at a loss anyway so it wouldn’t be worth it unless admission prices went up. Plated meals take longer than buffet style so now you’ve decreased your pax count and thus the amount of CLs you can sell.

These are just a few of the MANY variables in play all over the resort. Long answer short if Disney can find a way to generate a profit while maintaining appropriate safety standards it’ll be open. If they can’t it’s easier to keep it closed.

 

[Mit88]

Yes that would make the most money if it was that easy. Going by some on here there is lots availability for July. Which possibly not enough demand for limited capacity.

My gym is closed, theres no one waiting in line outside to use their facility. That doesnt mean theres no demand for people to go to the gym, it means that theres no point in going to line up at the gym while its closed.

The amount of availability at Disney resorts is because people aren’t booking until they know theyre going to be open

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

If they bring their families with them I can see why would. It would be a good way to do a soft opening. Once the regular season is over then open it to everyone.

And they will shop.

Those are very good points. I could see Disney doing a soft opening with them.

 

[Sarahslay]

I don’t know about YC, but CL rooms are bookable at all the resorts again starting Sept 1 and I did see bookable CL rooms at the Poly for NYE but I didn’t check other resorts.
Edited to add: CL is bookable at all resorts except CR after Sept 1. CR is completely unavailable in all room categories until late Sept for some reason.

There is almost full CL room availability at CR the week of Christmas, I actually have a CR CL room booked so ran over there once someone said something about NYE being booked up. There is still plenty of availability (and I'm reminded how happy I am to have a BB offer for our room because OMG the price!)

 

[cakebaker]

Random dates in October still pull up CL at BC...

Everything opens up in October. CL and CSR. Tells you that the lack of availability isn’t that they’re doing away with it, at least permanently.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

So the day after that August 31st rumour was floated rooms are unavailable to be booked until that date? I know people are unable to modify, but I’m getting an error even booking on their site. Is it resort wide?

Hmmm.

 

[Jrb1979]

Wait. You’re telling me it actually costs money to open theme parks?!? No. No way. This is the most outrageous claim that’s been made yet.

It could also be why they are taking their time to open. Which could be why they are getting the NBA. It makes them money without having to open the parks.

 

[Sarahslay]

So the day after that August 31st rumour was floated rooms are unavailable to be booked until that date? I know people are unable to modify, but I’m getting an error even booking on their site. Is it resort wide?

Hmmm.

I think they're having IT issues, I have super fast internet and the site is slooooooow right now. Will love to see exactly what the IT team is getting their fingers on this time *sarcasm*

 

[RWinNOLA]

And they will shop.

I have absolutely no inside information but there is NOT A CHANCE that WDW would delay opening until the NBA season is over. Especially when other major attractions in the Orlando area are opening.

The NBA has 30 teams. Each team has a max of 17 active players. So make it 25 with coaches. That’s 750 players and coaches. Allow spouses and family and you’re probably around 2000 (many are unmarried and no kids). Throw in referees and NBA league officials and maybe you’re up to 2500 people.

No way would WDW shut down the parks and all other resorts for months to accommodate about 2500 people. Doesn’t matter how much money they spend, no way would it overcome the expense of operating the parks for so few people.

My guess is they are looking at the NBA as an additional potential revenue stream to offset lower revenue from reduced park capacities when they do open to the public.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Those are very good points. I could see Disney doing a soft opening with them.

Oh for heavens sake Disney is not using NBA player’s families as test subjects for their park operations. It would destroy the point of quarantining the NBA, the object is to limit outside exposure. I suspect amongst Disney staff at the resort there will be Children’s Activities staff for them. What a choice for those CMs- stir crazy NBA kids or Mask Brigade?...

 

[DGsAtBLT]

It could also be why they are taking their time to open. Which could be why they are getting the NBA. It makes them money without having to open the parks.

This is what I figured would be the only reason the NBA causes a delay in opening the parks (and I’m not sure that it actually does). It allows them to bring in revenue while possibly staying closed until a date they’re more comfortable with. It being less revenue than opening the resorts and parks may not be an issue. I don’t know. I don’t pretend to be a fly on the wall when decisions are made, cool as it would be. I also agree with posters in the dedicated NBA thread who have pointed out it may be a PR issue to the relative few who want to go to WDW immediately, but would be a huge win for NBA fans.

I still think most likely scenario is NBA delaying the announcement but not the opening, but hey speculating is half the fun.

 

[Owlpost23]

It's obvious that you see Universal as some sort of cut rate park, but dismissing it as a "locals park" is pretty insulting. Plenty of people come from all over America and overseas and happily spend a week or more there, never setting foot in Disney. Is it really that hard to just enjoy what you like without putting down what others like?

Agree completely.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Agree completely.

Disneyland is considered a locals park, and many Disney fans think Disneyland is superior to Magic Kingdom. All it means is it has a relatively large amount of local guests vs tourists. It does not mean it’s a regional park not worthy of traveling to.

This one has stumped me as to why it keeps coming up and bothering people. It’s like someone called it Six Flags or something

 

[Sarahslay]

I’m assuming CL stands for Club Lounge or Club Level.

Most clubs are self serviced with 2/3 attendants. However as of now self service probably won’t happen anytime soon and you can’t have people sharing utensils or lingering over open food. So what do you do? Carry only prepackaged granola bars, packaged pastries, juice boxes. Well now your food costs go up. Does Disney make less money or pass this along to guests for a higher admission? Wouldn’t count on Disney opting to make less so price goes up. Higher admission equals more complaints because now instead of lox and bagels people are eating packaged Nature Valley bars.

Or do you keep food the same but have more attendants to serve guests plates style? Now labor costs skyrocket. Lounges typically operate at a loss anyway so it wouldn’t be worth it unless admission prices went up. Plated meals take longer than buffet style so now you’ve decreased your pax count and thus the amount of CLs you can sell.

These are just a few of the MANY variables in play all over the resort. Long answer short if Disney can find a way to generate a profit while maintaining appropriate safety standards it’ll be open. If they can’t it’s easier to keep it closed.

By "admission" do you mean the higher room rate Disney charges people who stay in club level rooms? I also don't think pre-packaged food would up their cost, some of them actually do serve some amazing food for 3 meals and dessert, plus alcohol and other beverages throughout the day. It's not just lox and bagels, I've had pork belly, scallops, what my daughters believe is the best mac n' cheese in the world, and a fresh waffle bar (and that was just on my January trip to BWI CL, and that's not even all the food I had). Their cost in many of the CL, although they aren't all created equal in offerings, is still pretty high so replacing a lot of this food with granola bar and other snack packets isn't going to affect that price point at all. If anything people would be screaming they aren't getting what they paid for. I can see how it would be near impossible to impose restrictions with their services though, and I would understand if they stopped offering it in the time being to cut down on the headache it would bring.

 

[RWinNOLA]

Oh for heavens sake Disney is not using NBA player’s families as test subjects for their park operations. It would destroy the point of quarantining the NBA, the object is to limit outside exposure. I suspect amongst Disney staff at the resort there will be Children’s Activities staff for them. What a choice for those CMs- stir crazy NBA kids or Mask Brigade?...

I’m with you. Some of the ideas being thrown around on here just make no sense.

I get that people are frustrated and growing tired of waiting for some actual news from Disney but of the things being thrown out there are nonsense.

Disney will have their cake and eat it to.

They will get the NBA in and isolate them to their resort and WWOS while throwing in a bunch of extracurricular stuff for entertainment. This will create a huge revenue stream mostly from ESPN broadcasting games.
They will also open the parks when they feel they are ready and this decision will be independent of whatever happens with the NBA.

 

[Jrb1979]

I’m with you. Some of the ideas being thrown around on here just make no sense.

I get that people are frustrated and growing tired of waiting for some actual news from Disney but of the things being thrown out there are nonsense.

Disney will have their cake and eat it to.

They will get the NBA in and isolate them to their resort and WWOS while throwing in a bunch of extracurricular stuff for entertainment. This will create a huge revenue stream mostly from ESPN broadcasting games.
They will also open the parks when they feel they are ready and this decision will be independent of whatever happens with the NBA.

What I do believe is now that the NBA is all but confirmed to play at Disney they won't feel they need to open the parks as quick. They can maybe wait til things get better in regards to the virus

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

[

What I do believe is now that the NBA is all but confirmed to play at Disney they won't feel they need to open the parks as quick. They can maybe wait til things get better in regards to the virus

Nothing better than giving the millionaires some money to make while leaving all the cast members home trying to make ends meet and alienating your park base. I highly doubt they would do that