Disneyland Reopening Speculation Superthread

[midnight star]

To be clear, I do NOT want to start a ‘mask or no mask’ debate here (I am so over hearing about that fight) but I’m curious how they will navigate eating/drinking with masks if that is a requirement. A lot of folks said they won’t go if masks are a thing but I would so I’ve been wondering the specifics..

Churros are our power walk food!

Has anyone heard what other places might have done with this? Like remove them for eating and put them back on? Designated areas maybe? Wonder what Shanghai will do...

I'm assuming if we are eating at a restaurant, it won't be required. Maybe if you have food or drink in your hands it won't matter either? lol

 

[midnight star]

Over in the rumors and news thread, apparently WDW has followed suit and is now only allowing reservations after July 1.

This whole situation is a soap opera with a new story each day lol

 

[SoCalDisneyFan2708]

What’s the equitable solution to those who have existing Premiere, Deluxe, and SoCal passes? If I paid $500 for a so cal pass intending to go on weekdays (for example) and now you throw in “reservations required” I’m going to be a bit mad.

the fine print says admission not guaranteed, but historically DLR compensated for changes (or outright closures like this). That’s my $64,000 question.

I was thinking that each level of pass would get better reservation making privileges. So Signature would get first dibs, then Deluxe and finally SoCal. Flex is a reservation only pass anyway so people with those passes are used to the process already. Also keep the current block out calendar. If Disneyland were to reopen this summer, all passes except Signature are blocked out until August 17th with the Flex pass requiring a reservation for any day during that period. This could give Disney a perfect time to play around with their version of a reservation entry only with most of it's AP holders blocked out.

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

Maybe if you have food or drink in your hands it won't matter either?

lol I can just envision everyone carrying around arm fulls or Dole Whips and Turkey legs, "nope sorry cant wear my mask since I have food"

 

[DesertScorpion]

To be clear, I do NOT want to start a ‘mask or no mask’ debate here (I am so over hearing about that fight) but I’m curious how they will navigate eating/drinking with masks if that is a requirement. A lot of folks said they won’t go if masks are a thing but I would so I’ve been wondering the specifics..

Churros are our power walk food!

Has anyone heard what other places might have done with this? Like remove them for eating and put them back on? Designated areas maybe? Wonder what Shanghai will do...

If you are have food I have to imagine they won’t be hounding you about the mask...but I’m wondering if this means that they would in fact only have designated “eating spots” or perhaps no food beyond certain areas, etc.

I’ve also been wondering how strict they will be with the mask requirements on kids. We all know that masks are not recommended for children 2 and younger but what about those that are older but still not quite old enough to where they will actually be able to keep it on for a full day at Disney. Will they be asking people to leave? Will the just be giving gentle reminders to put the mask on? It will be very interesting to see how they handle the masks/children situation.

 

[wingednike]

Since we're speculating, I'll go whole hog.

As long as there is not a huge uptick in hospitalized cases, I think DTD will be open by Memorial Day. Newsom is very cautious and the news soundbites from him are doom and gloom, but in his actual updates he makes it clear what is needed to open safely and seems willing to speed up the timeline if conditions are met.

Just because I like Knott's model...APs that were not refunded will not be good for this year, but will be good for however many days they calculate from Jan to Dec 2021.

Wishful thinking...Haunted Mansion stays regular through at least October with a changeover in November.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Good job, everyone! Thank you, @littlea905, for taking the plunge and starting this thread! It's good to see this discussion moving along with everyone keeping the posts respectful and courteous. Way to go, DISers!

 

[mentos]

I live in Irvine and there are plenty of restaurants outside those three areas you mentioned. Anaheim packing house is not convenient at all. We hardly go to either Spectrum or Fashion Island to eat. We eat at places elsewhere in the city.

Exactly why I feel DtD will not be financially successful in reopening without hotel guests and park visitors.

But it’ll be great for fans who want to go...fewer strollers to dodge!

 

[mentos]

They might do something like reservations open to AP holders first and then whats left go to non AP holders. California is very different to WDW, so they can't just limit to those with hotel reservations

I agree the AP dynamics are unique to DLR. But that doesn’t solve the equitability issue, with potentially only 10,000 spots available to non-DLR hotel guests, passholders might howl.

I see no way out of this other than a) adding graded reservations as stated above for all pass levels and b) offering people the option to cancel and get pro-rated refunds/payments cancelled.

I think hotel guests absolutely would get automatic priority a la SWGE, so it wouldn’t be an AP vs on-site guest issue as someone else mentioned.

 

[tsumgirl]

I agree the AP dynamics are unique to DLR. But that doesn’t solve the equitability issue, with potentially only 10,000 spots available to non-DLR hotel guests, passholders might howl.

I see no way out of this other than a) adding graded reservations as stated above for all pass levels and b) offering people the option to cancel and get pro-rated refunds/payments cancelled.

I think hotel guests absolutely would get automatic priority a la SWGE, so it wouldn’t be an AP vs on-site guest issue as someone else mentioned.

Can someone refresh my memory on this? Were hotel guests given priority access to SWGE every day of their stay or only one day of their stay?

I was just thinking that IF priority was only given to hotel guests for one day, it would help spread out the entrance availability a bit more. However, it could be difficult to track that sort of thing, I suppose. My memory of the SWGE reservation period is foggy.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Can someone refresh my memory on this? Were hotel guests given priority access to SWGE every day of their stay or only one day of their stay?

I was just thinking that IF priority was only given to hotel guests for one day, it would help spread out the entrance availability a bit more. However, it could be difficult to track that sort of thing, I suppose. My memory of the SWGE reservation period is foggy.

Hotel guests received ONE SWGE entry ticket. It did not matter if you stayed 2 days or 6 days, all onsite guests got one entry ticket. Some of the tickets were for arrival day, some were for departure day. It was completely randomly assigned. People were able to change their SWGE entry ticket depending on availability.

Also regarding SWGE, it was limited to one type of entry ticket per day. Some people stayed onsite, got their hotel SWGE entry ticket for a morning entry and then did the off site ticket for SWGE in the evening. The two entry ticket systems were not linked.

And people also did SWGE off site ticket for multiple days in a row, again the system was not linked, it was just capped at one ticket per day.

And also I think people also did multiple entry on the same day by having different people in their party get off site tickets for different times in the day. eg party of 4, mom, dad, 2 teenagers. Mom would get SWGE tickets for the morning for the family, then dad would get SWGE tickets for the evening for the family.

 

[tsumgirl]

Hotel guests received ONE SWGE entry ticket. It did not matter if you stayed 2 days or 6 days, all onsite guests got one entry ticket. Some of the tickets were for arrival day, some were for departure day. It was completely randomly assigned. People were able to change their SWGE entry ticket depending on availability.

Also regarding SWGE, it was limited to one type of entry ticket per day. Some people stayed onsite, got their hotel SWGE entry ticket for a morning entry and then did the off site ticket for SWGE in the evening. The two entry ticket systems were not linked.

And people also did SWGE off site ticket for multiple days in a row, again the system was not linked, it was just capped at one ticket per day.

And also I think people also did multiple entry on the same day by having different people in their party get off site tickets for different times in the day. eg party of 4, mom, dad, 2 teenagers. Mom would get SWGE tickets for the morning for the family, then dad would get SWGE tickets for the evening for the family.

Thanks for the detailed response! I have 2 upcoming trips where I may be solo or with my mom. If they followed a similar type of reservation system, it sounds like larger parties have better chances of scoring reservations. Maybe I'll look into visiting Knotts also, just in case they do a reservation system. I can't remember the last time I went there, so it'll be a good backup plan for a day or so.

 

[littlea905]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Dapper Days announcement about the cancellation letter for their June event?

I suppose it seemed unlikely for a park opening in June any way, at least one that they can count on for a gathering-type event?

 

[BadPinkTink]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Dapper Days announcement about the cancellation letter for their June event?

I suppose it seemed unlikely for a park opening in June any way, at least one that they can count on for a gathering-type event?

I'm still hopeful for a June opening but I'm not surprised at the Dapper Day cancellation. It makes sense that this would be cancelled as in the first few weeks after opening Disney will want to limit capacity as much as possible and to discourage any sort of group gatherings.

Just because the gates are open does not mean that everything is fully operational. Disney will want the breathing space of very low crowds in June to test and perfect the new policies and procedures. Having something like Dapper Day would not be practical, as by its very nature it attracts crowds

 

[cruisehopeful]

Does anyone think DTD would open some of the stores for take out? Like what Knotts is doing with their chicken and jam? I also know Starbucks is opening many of their stores, so I wonder if those locations would open as well?

I do think that will happen soon and especially the places that are not Disney owned. I think the difficult part will be if they say you can get take out, but you have to leave and can't eat it there. Imagine walking back to the parking lot with hot food or an ice cream before you'd be able to eat it.

I've been getting takeout here in San Diego and while I will continue to do it, because I want those businesses still around when this over, it's never been what I'd consider the same as eating right after it's served. Everything either cools down by the time I get it home, or in one case, they put really hot food in a styrofoam container and the food melted through the bottom of the container in the 5 minute drive home.

Has anyone heard what other places might have done with this? Like remove them for eating and put them back on? Designated areas maybe? Wonder what Shanghai will do...

The Shanghai opening video made it look like you wear your mask all day except when eating and they showed eating sitting at a table. I always carry water and a snack and I while I've always needed those in lines, I suppose if they get rid of lines and only have return times, the lines won't have long waits and maybe I won't need a drink and a snack.

It's really hard to find a place to sit for a quick snack, though. I understand that they will limit the number of guests per day, but I won't believe I can find a nice place to sit until I see it. Especially since they will have social distancing between all the tables and places to sit. I almost feel like I'd go there just for a table service meal and then I'd walk around for a while and not do any rides - after watching the reopening procedure video for Shanghai. It just didn't look that fun to me, but I am a very impatient person in general.

 

[tenneycjt]

Is anyone here have underlying medical conditions, how safe do u think the parks would be even with all the measures. I have diabetes, my mom has lung disease and is on oxygen. We are heartbroken because we try to go twice a year, we were there the week they closed, and we have a trip planned in nov, I just dont know how safe it will be even if they open. We just disneyland and they make it so easy with those with disabilities. I am so bummed.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Is anyone here have underlying medical conditions, how safe do u think the parks would be even with all the measures. I have diabetes, my mom has lung disease and is on oxygen. We are heartbroken because we try to go twice a year, we were there the week they closed, and we have a trip planned in nov, I just dont know how safe it will be even if they open. We just disneyland and they make it so easy with those with disabilities. I am so bummed.

Thats the hard decision that you and families like you may need to make is that Disney Parks are no longer possible. I see a huge shift in the types of people who will be going to Disney parks in the next year at least.

It could be an organic way to limit capacity in the next year, as people and families like you self cancel.

In all honesty I just can't see how a Disney Parks vacation and people like you, all those who have health conditions, all the special needs kids and adults, all the Make A Wish families etc etc could possible be a reality right now.

The Disney experience will be totally changed and everyone really needs to take a good hard look at what it will be and to realistically and logically manage expectations.

Just like in the last few years we have seen huge numbers say they have been priced out, the reality is now another section of people will self cancel due to health reasons The practicalities of a Disney Parks vacation is now very different to what it was before Covid 19

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Is anyone here have underlying medical conditions, how safe do u think the parks would be even with all the measures. I have diabetes, my mom has lung disease and is on oxygen. We are heartbroken because we try to go twice a year, we were there the week they closed, and we have a trip planned in nov, I just dont know how safe it will be even if they open. We just disneyland and they make it so easy with those with disabilities. I am so bummed.

I’m a cancer survivor and immune compromised so I’m going through the same debate with myself. But honestly, if Disney does follow through with the procedures they’ve suggested I think (for me, personally) I’ll be comfortable going. If everyone has to wear masks that helps protect people like us and it sounds like it’d be enforced more than what I tend to see at the grocery store (people wear the mask to get in and take them off right away) so who knows.

Maybe I’m being too idealistic but I have faith that Disney is going to handle this well. Sure, many folks will grumble and complain but there’s many people that will come regardless of what restrictions are in place. The nice thing about a business is they can be as strict as they want with these preventative measures and I have a feeling Disneyland will be very strict at first.

But it really is a personal decision, it’s a risk regardless. I’m more nervous about flying than anything.

 

[MonocularVision]

If everyone has to wear masks that helps protect people like us and it sounds like it’d be enforced more than what I tend to see at the grocery store (people wear the mask to get in and take them off right away) so who knows..

Disneyland has generally been terrible at enforcing rules inside the park (security is a different story). I realize the situation is very different but I wonder if DL really has the appetite to enforce strict rules inside their park.

 

[littlea905]

I wonder how long after reopening we’d see Snow White’s, the Haunted Mansion ready to go since their refurbishment was paused. Avengers Campus probably needs another 3 to 4 months?