***Official September 2020 Thread***

[Katie1174]

Not liking the new park hours for Sept. MK closing at 7. They have been slowly updating Park hours this afternoon.

Yep, not liking the new hours at all. For our mid Sept. trip we are down to MK closing at 7 every night, Epcot closing at 9 except the weekend where it is 10, HS closing at 8 every night and AK closing at 6!
My hubby says we are out for Sept. Reduced hours, no hoppers probably, reservation to get in, no fireworks, mask etc. and we are paying big big $$$$$
Hello nice Caribbean beach, goodbye Disney until next May, and we will see where we stand then, may have to move it to Sept 2021 if May is still crap next year.

 

[one_cat]

Not liking the new park hours for Sept. MK closing at 7. They have been slowly updating Park hours this afternoon.

They must be expecting very small crowds otherwise the social distancing would necessitate longer hours. We have dining reservations outside those “new” hours. I assume those will be cancelled automatically?

 

[Jroceagles]

They must be expecting very small crowds otherwise the social distancing would necessitate longer hours. We have dining reservations outside those “new” hours. I assume those will be cancelled automatically?

I'm curious what is going to happen with our dining reservations altogether....will we keep them?

 

[GBRforWDW]

I'm wondering if the hour spacing between park openings/closings is to provide more buses between resort/parks at the busiest times of the day.

 

[Dentam]

I'm still up in the air. I have a DVC rental booked at the Boardwalk for Labor Day week and can't do a cc chargeback if the resort is open, which it looks like it will be. I will wait and see how everything plays out and make a decision in August. I haven't purchased park tickets or airfare yet, so will do that last minute if I decide to go. If not, I will just lose the money I paid for the rental last October.

 

[Rusty2rules]

Okay, be forewarned, here comes cynical Mark. You've been warned. LOL

So, let's see, shorter hours. No fireworks, parades, character meet and greets. I have no idea how park hopping is going to work with the reservation system. Social distancing police. Masks. Limited transportation. Y'all saw where they dropped their prices, too, didn't you? No? Yeah, me neither.

I said it on another thread quite awhile ago. Sadly, this could be my last trip to Disney. But, irregardless of that fact, if I'm going to pay top Disney Dollars, I want the full experience. Fireworks are a big deal to me. There are a few character interactions that I really look forward to. I know some say they're not important to them. They are to me. And if this is going to be my last trip, I really want the full experience. Nope. I've already moved my reservation to next September. Right now I'm more glad that I did than when I initially made the decision.

I truly hope everyone here who keeps their reservations have a great trip. I really, really do. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody make their plans, reservations, and especially trip reports. But this year just isn't for me.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

Okay, be forewarned, here comes cynical Mark. You've been warned. LOL

So, let's see, shorter hours. No fireworks, parades, character meet and greets. I have no idea how park hopping is going to work with the reservation system. Social distancing police. Masks. Limited transportation. Y'all saw where they dropped their prices, too, didn't you? No? Yeah, me neither.

I said it on another thread quite awhile ago. Sadly, this could be my last trip to Disney. But, irregardless of that fact, if I'm going to pay top Disney Dollars, I want the full experience. And if this is going to be my last trip, I really want the full experience. Nope. I've already moved my reservation to next September. Right now I'm more glad that I did than when I initially made the decision.

I truly hope everyone here who keeps their reservations have a great trip. I really, really do. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody make their plans, reservations, and especially trip reports. But this year just isn't for me.

I totally get where you’re coming from and it’s so valid, as I’m sure many feel the same.

We intend to keep our Sept trip even with the shorter hours on the hope that crowds will be so
low (like Hurricane low) that we can still enjoy everything in a relaxed fashion. If July/Aug doesn’t shape up that way and it’s a living nightmare then that’s a different story.

Good luck to the guinea pigs, we are all relying on your trip reports from the front lines!

 

[terrylily]

.

 

[Rusty2rules]

I totally get what everyone is saying. We have our big trip planned September 11-20th at Animal Kingdom Lodge — we hooked on a bounceback last year so we have free dining. That meant we had to get park hoppers. So now I’m just wondering...will we get to park hop? Will the refund us the difference if we can’t anymore, or would that ruin the package. Are we going to lose any ADRs we made. Plus shortened hours?! It’s a lot for take in! I don’t want to pay full price for a half price experience. Hopefully by September things have balanced out more but only time will tell.

Wow! Even on a bounceback you have to get park hoppers? Wow, I didn't know that. You've got some really interesting questions/situations there. Like butterscothcollins said, let July and August be the guinea pigs and go from there.

 

[Elle :)]

We’re still holding on to our trip 8/28 - 9/10. I rented DVC points for our original May trip and the DVC owner kindly moved my trip to Sept back when it was looking bad for May. At this point, I don’t think cancelling is even an option (unless I’m willing to lose all that $$). So I’ll be there. Praying pools are open.

 

[peaceluv&mickeymouse]

I'm still up in the air. I have a DVC rental booked at the Boardwalk for Labor Day week and can't do a cc chargeback if the resort is open, which it looks like it will be. I will wait and see how everything plays out and make a decision in August. I haven't purchased park tickets or airfare yet, so will do that last minute if I decide to go. If not, I will just lose the money I paid for the rental last October.

I think you need to have tickets purchased to make park reservations, but I am not certain. That puts a spin on things too.

 

[Sydney2977]

Last year’s September thread went pretty dark at the point a couple pretty major hurricanes looked like they may threaten September vacations. We went in September and had a great time. This year the concerns are Disney opening date, masks and crowd size. I think it’s ok to discuss concerns. Planning for a Disney vacation isn’t always happy happy joy joy.

No talks of the "H" word allowed! JK! We just weathered (see what I did there?) the first storm of the season yesterday as Bertha came through the Charleston area. Thankfully we just had lots of rain, I am praying that with the pandemic still so impactful that the storm season is light so as not to disrupt people's lives further.

Back to the main topic- who's as excited as me that we actually have confirmation we will get to go to WDW in Sept?!?!?!?! Even if there are limitations, I am just excited to be going with DH and celebrating my 1st retirement! No matter what we will have fun and just be happy to be together there, even if the magic is a little different than normal, it will still be magical!

 

[Junior8]

Not liking the new park hours for Sept. MK closing at 7. They have been slowly updating Park hours this afternoon.

Just another nail in the coffin for me.

 

[Sydney2977]

Oh, on the topic of why they are waiting to open, DS1's GF, who is a CM, told me two things yesterday. One- they are changing the reservation systems, so they are giving themselves time to get all the kinks worked out, but she has no details on how everything will work. Two- Disney was taking surveys and based on how much attendance they expected the planned their opening. They wouldn't want to open and schedule CM's etc. to run things for a limited amount of guests. The revenue has to be more than the operating costs in simple terms.

 

[Dentam]

I think you need to have tickets purchased to make park reservations, but I am not certain. That puts a spin on things too.

Hmm, wonder if they'll still be doing that in September? I don't know, I'm leaning toward not going and just losing the money on the rental. I don't want to pay hundreds more for park tickets, airfare, and boarding my pup just to go have a diminished experience - especially if park entry and park hopping might not even be available each day of my trip.

 

[momtwoboys]

We are very excited to go back, just hubby and I. First trip no kids! We go yearly since 1997 and are fine with the limited experiences! Just want to get away be in WDW and relax. Some early park touring, nice meals out and relaxing at the resort. Sounds perfect! and we are already booked for our annual spring in wdw too, April 2021 is booked. Countdown is on 119 days here we come!!!!

 

[momtwoboys]

No talks of the "H" word allowed! JK! We just weathered (see what I did there?) the first storm of the season yesterday as Bertha came through the Charleston area. Thankfully we just had lots of rain, I am praying that with the pandemic still so impactful that the storm season is light so as not to disrupt people's lives further.

Back to the main topic- who's as excited as me that we actually have confirmation we will get to go to WDW in Sept?!?!?!?! Even if there are limitations, I am just excited to be going with DH and celebrating my 1st retirement! No matter what we will have fun and just be happy to be together there, even if the magic is a little different than normal, it will still be magical!

Enjoy!! We feel the exact same way!!!

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

I don't know what we will do. This is such an emotional rollercoaster right now. I am fine with the reservation system, a little down on the no parades and fireworks but we saw that coming so no big surprise, masks....ugh don't get me started but also knew it was possible it is the shorter hours that really have me down. We are the type that is at the parks an hour or more before opening and stays until closing. I just can't imagine Epcot not opening until 11:00 and MK closing at 7:00. We had so many extras booked for this trip - dessert parties, MNSSHP, dining package for Epcot Forever, and was hoping for a couple of After Hours. Those things are things we love that won't be happening. So now we sit and just wait and hopefully get some more information and then see how it actually goes when they open. I was really hoping for them to open in June so there was more time to observe before September. Now there are only 8 weeks so not sure we will learn much before we have to make a decision.

So on park hours - do you think they will expand them any by September? You can tell they did it so they can probably make the transportation system work better so I am guessing they probably won't change much.

 

[CastAStone]

I don't know what we will do. This is such an emotional rollercoaster right now. I am fine with the reservation system, a little down on the no parades and fireworks but we saw that coming so no big surprise, masks....ugh don't get me started but also knew it was possible it is the shorter hours that really have me down. We are the type that is at the parks an hour or more before opening and stays until closing. I just can't imagine Epcot not opening until 11:00 and MK closing at 7:00. We had so many extras booked for this trip - dessert parties, MNSSHP, dining package for Epcot Forever, and was hoping for a couple of After Hours. Those things are things we love that won't be happening. So now we sit and just wait and hopefully get some more information and then see how it actually goes when they open. I was really hoping for them to open in June so there was more time to observe before September. Now there are only 8 weeks so not sure we will learn much before we have to make a decision.

So on park hours - do you think they will expand them any by September? You can tell they did it so they can probably make the transportation system work better so I am guessing they probably won't change much.

I think the park hours are more related to the capacity reduction. Most guests are in the parks for about 10 hours a day so if they make them all the same 10 hours it’s cheaper to staff, which is critical with the reduced attendance.

So the only way I see it changing prior to vaccine/treatment is if the 6’ social distancing guideline changes. It’s 1 meter in much of the world so maybe it will?

 

[peaceluv&mickeymouse]

Hmm, wonder if they'll still be doing that in September? I don't know, I'm leaning toward not going and just losing the money on the rental. I don't want to pay hundreds more for park tickets, airfare, and boarding my pup just to go have a diminished experience - especially if park entry and park hopping might not even be available each day of my trip.

I know, it’s a bit stressful not knowing. We are going, we rented too. I am ok with park hours, masks, etc, but I would hope we can get in the parks each day. Otherwise what is the point. Resort guests should be able to get in.