This is reduced capacity?

[PirateBrigade]

Recent reports are that California will continue a mask mandate (at least indoors) if anyone in the room is not vaccinated. It’s truly absurd. You could have ten people in a room, 9 vaccinated, but all have to wear masks because of the one. I was trying to be optimistic, but I think the absurd leadership of California is going to require more masking than I was hoping for during my late July trip.

I’ve heard rumors of strong recommendations (plus stricter guidelines for hospitals and infusion/dialysis centers) and that’s about it. Do you have links to these reports that would apply to theme parks?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Recent reports are that California will continue a mask mandate (at least indoors) if anyone in the room is not vaccinated. It’s truly absurd. You could have ten people in a room, 9 vaccinated, but all have to wear masks because of the one. I was trying to be optimistic, but I think the absurd leadership of California is going to require more masking than I was hoping for during my late July trip.

I doubt it, not with the recall election on the horizon. Our Governor has been doing a massive 180 on his former COVID policies and rhetoric.

 

[dina444444]

This is from OSHA, but it’s specifically related to employers.

https://www.latimes.com/california/...sider-ending-some-workplace-mask-requirements

 

[PirateBrigade]

This is from OSHA, but it’s specifically related to employers.

https://www.latimes.com/california/...sider-ending-some-workplace-mask-requirements

yeah, and this isn’t an entirely new concept, either—the idea that employees are subject to more stringent requirements is standard operating procedure for most places.

like, I’m subject to hand washing, PPE, and clothing restrictions in the hospital but my patients’ visitors can show up in booty shorts, flip-flops, and eat a churro.

 

[nlenguyen]

Will the parks have no capacity limits once June 15 rolls around?

 

[dina444444]

Will the parks have no capacity limits once June 15 rolls around?

That’s when the state limits go away but Disney won’t immediately go back to full capacity. It’s going to be a gradual return.

 

[coaches24]

Our first day we did really well I feel even though there were some bumps in the road.

In no certain order we were able to ride
POTC 2x
BTMRR 3 x
Indy
Space
PP
SW
TRR
Pinocchio
Roger Rabbit
MF
ROTR
HM

we had a few breaks in there for meals/ treats or just to rest as well. We left the park after our 2nd POTC ride which was about 8:15 or so when we left.

Wait times were pretty close for most things. SM was much faster than reported (said 55 min, we were on in 30). The others were a little faster (5 min or so in most cases) but close enough to say the posted time was accurate. PP was the only ride for us that took longer than was posted and that was only by about 5 min if that (said 15 when we got in line by Tinker bell area but took closer to 20).

The Indy virtual que was actually pretty good. Once we were called it took 10-15 min to get on the ride from the back of the line and we did wind through the JC queue but not to the upstairs part. They did open that part later I noticed. The only issue I had with the virtual queues was that for a little while it looked like both virtual ques were going to happen at the same time as our lunch mobile order times. But it worked out in the end.

Our indy queue was called right after we finished our lunch from Jolly Holliday and before our tropical hideaway dole whip time. And ROTR was called as we were finishing said dole whips.

Bumps were forgetting my bag with all my extras in it as we went to ROTR and it not being there when we got back. (good news is I got an email this morning saying they found my bag. Hoping it’s all there).
Nothing of value in it. Sunblock, cheap sunglasses, and my portable phone charger were the main things in it that we missed having the rest of the day. I almost put my car keys in the bag but luckily I gave them to DW who had a purse with her so we dodged a bullet there. Wallet and phone were in my pockets so I had the most important stuff still.

2. Indy breaking down first thing in the morning after we were in line. So we missed the chance to walk on pretty much anything we were excited about.

3. ROTR not running well till later in the day. BG 21 wasn’t called till 12:38.

4. Mobile order from gibson ice cream. We ordered any had a return window of less than an hour so we thought that was a good sign. This was the only issue we had with mobile ordering all day. And that was just that it took about 20-30 min from the time we checked in until we were called for the order. Lots of people standing around waiting in the same boat. Saw some frustration from a few people as they asked the CM at the door about the wait, but no nastiness from anyone.

The rest of our mobile ordering was very quick and easy. We ordered lunch and dole whip early in the morning to secure a good return time. We waited till the afternoon to decide on dinner (tried the ronto wraps) and that was easy.

 

[coaches24]

Day two complete. Another good day in the end.

Missed ROTR BG at 7 but was able to get 179 at noon. Got to ride closer to 7pm. I think it was. Ride had tech issues while we were on it (the first part of the ride not the actual ride vehicles you end on. ) So we were in the ship for several minutes longer than normal as they tried to get it working.

Started at SM today at DD request and we’re about 20th or so in line. They walked us through the que (takes longer to walk the que than the ride itself) then we got right on the ride.
Went across to HM but noticed pirates was just opening as we were passing it so we walked right onto that.
HM hasn’t opened yet at 9am after we were off pirates so we were about to go to splash but I saw the CMs at HM start heading to position so we jumped in the short line and got on that after a short 10 min wait. We asked to skip the stretch room as DD really wanted to see that way but they weren’t allowing that first thing in the morning. We did get to use that entrance right before park closing tonight so DD was happy.

Here are a few tidbits.
Finding water (to refill a water bottle) is harder than expected. The one go to place that I have found is in Star Wars land at the end of the market area. There is a water bottle refill station there along with the drinking fountains. Used that each time we went to that area.

Seating can also be hard to find but there were a couple of not to noticeable areas not too far from popular eating spots that seemed to often have tables open and less people. One was the walkway between matterhorn and the submarines. It was lots of shade and lots of places to sit with a few open tables as well. Only a few people back there when we went through there this afternoon. All the tables near the open food places in tomorrow land were taken unless you got lucky.
The other is around the corner from ronto wraps. A couple of open booths and tables back there as it’s easy to miss. All the tables in the open were taken but if you noticed the entrance to this area tucked away you had a nice spot.

Posted ride wait times are pretty close usually. Space has been consistently better than posted for us. By a good margin. Pirates varies. It was pretty accurate on day one. Today it went faster when we rode in the evening (posted was 40 but CM said it was only 15. He was much closer than the posted time). BTMRR, and SM were our go to rides when everything looked long because those lines have consistently gone faster for us. We rode both 3x today. POTC was also 3x for us. MF has also been fast for us but we don’t spend a lot of time back in that area so we don’t try to ride that mulpitiple times.

If you want to ride indy more than once than absolutely hit it first thing at gate opening if it’s running. The line forms quick before they start using the virtual que. The good thing about the VQ is that when your group does get called the wait is very quick. It was about 10-15 minutes for us both days so far.
And when they switch back to normal lines the wait times shoot up real quick so unless you are right there when they open it up, it’s not worth rushing over there.

Just an observation. Autopia has a short wait for much of the day. But when SM starts getting a real long wait time the wait time for autopia will soon go up as SM times shrink. Not sure if it’s just people going to autopia after riding SM or deciding to head to the shorter line instead of waiting for the long SM line. Just found that interesting as I watched wait times on the app the last couple days.
And apparently Autopia is a lot more popular the last couple hours the park is open. The longest wait times I saw for that were at the end of the day.

 

[PirateBrigade]

Day two complete. Another good day in the end.

Missed ROTR BG at 7 but was able to get 179 at noon. Got to ride closer to 7pm. I think it was. Ride had tech issues while we were on it (the first part of the ride not the actual ride vehicles you end on. ) So we were in the ship for several minutes longer than normal as they tried to get it working.

Started at SM today at DD request and we’re about 20th or so in line. They walked us through the que (takes longer to walk the que than the ride itself) then we got right on the ride.
Went across to HM but noticed pirates was just opening as we were passing it so we walked right onto that.
HM hasn’t opened yet at 9am after we were off pirates so we were about to go to splash but I saw the CMs at HM start heading to position so we jumped in the short line and got on that after a short 10 min wait. We asked to skip the stretch room as DD really wanted to see that way but they weren’t allowing that first thing in the morning. We did get to use that entrance right before park closing tonight so DD was happy.

Here are a few tidbits.
Finding water (to refill a water bottle) is harder than expected. The one go to place that I have found is in Star Wars land at the end of the market area. There is a water bottle refill station there along with the drinking fountains. Used that each time we went to that area.

Seating can also be hard to find but there were a couple of not to noticeable areas not too far from popular eating spots that seemed to often have tables open and less people. One was the walkway between matterhorn and the submarines. It was lots of shade and lots of places to sit with a few open tables as well. Only a few people back there when we went through there this afternoon. All the tables near the open food places in tomorrow land were taken unless you got lucky.
The other is around the corner from ronto wraps. A couple of open booths and tables back there as it’s easy to miss. All the tables in the open were taken but if you noticed the entrance to this area tucked away you had a nice spot.

Posted ride wait times are pretty close usually. Space has been consistently better than posted for us. By a good margin. Pirates varies. It was pretty accurate on day one. Today it went faster when we rode in the evening (posted was 40 but CM said it was only 15. He was much closer than the posted time). BTMRR, and SM were our go to rides when everything looked long because those lines have consistently gone faster for us. We rode both 3x today. POTC was also 3x for us. MF has also been fast for us but we don’t spend a lot of time back in that area so we don’t try to ride that mulpitiple times.

If you want to ride indy more than once than absolutely hit it first thing at gate opening if it’s running. The line forms quick before they start using the virtual que. The good thing about the VQ is that when your group does get called the wait is very quick. It was about 10-15 minutes for us both days so far.
And when they switch back to normal lines the wait times shoot up real quick so unless you are right there when they open it up, it’s not worth rushing over there.

Just an observation. Autopia has a short wait for much of the day. But when SM starts getting a real long wait time the wait time for autopia will soon go up as SM times shrink. Not sure if it’s just people going to autopia after riding SM or deciding to head to the shorter line instead of waiting for the long SM line. Just found that interesting as I watched wait times on the app the last couple days.
And apparently Autopia is a lot more popular the last couple hours the park is open. The longest wait times I saw for that were at the end of the day.

great report! glad you got some queue pixie dust today.

 

[downinit]

I doubt it, not with the recall election on the horizon. Our Governor has been doing a massive 180 on his former COVID policies and rhetoric.

Pretty sure the 'massive 180' has more to do with the fact that the state has administered 37M vaccine doses and the daily cases have plunged from 45k to 1500 since January. I doubt he is losing too much sleep over the sham recall BS, especially when he is currently polling with 57% in his favor.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Ariel's ride is 60 minutes! Holiday weekend craziness!

Holy cow!!! I've been to Disneyland 20 times, (most of those trips over the summer) and every time Ariel ride has been a walk on except maybe once when there was a 10 minute wait.

 

[Malcon10t]

I had a great weekend at DLR this past weekend. Among the fun, I got to have a great conversation and learn info. The park is currently running at about 33%. There are no plans at this time to increase capacity at the park on June 15. I was trying to get a feel on when other towers might open at DLH, but it isn't known at this time. I also wanted to know about Steakhouse 55, but at this time, staff has not been recalled yet.

That said, I love being able to order food from DTD and have it delivered to the Grand!!

 

[edhmom]

I had a great weekend at DLR this past weekend. Among the fun, I got to have a great conversation and learn info. The park is currently running at about 33%. There are no plans at this time to increase capacity at the park on June 15. I was trying to get a feel on when other towers might open at DLH, but it isn't known at this time. I also wanted to know about Steakhouse 55, but at this time, staff has not been recalled yet.

That said, I love being able to order food from DTD and have it delivered to the Grand!!

In your conversations, do you know if they are planning on increasing ride capacity, ride time (ROTR) or opening more dining locations on June 15?

 

[Malcon10t]

In your conversations, do you know if they are planning on increasing ride capacity, ride time (ROTR) or opening more dining locations on June 15?

Nothing was said about that, however, we noticed on Saturday and Sunday that more food locations had walk up. Such as Tropical Hideaway was walk up only on Sunday. Plaza, Flo's, Jolly Holiday, French Market all had walk up available during the afternoon on Sunday. I do think they will increase dining. I hope they will increase ride capacity. I will hint around and see if I can find anything out.

 

[edhmom]

Nothing was said about that, however, we noticed on Saturday and Sunday that more food locations had walk up. Such as Tropical Hideaway was walk up only on Sunday. Plaza, Flo's, Jolly Holiday, French Market all had walk up available during the afternoon on Sunday. I do think they will increase dining. I hope they will increase ride capacity. I will hint around and see if I can find anything out.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Evita_W]

The problem is the attractions are operating on reduced capacity, the queue lines have to be all outdoors and you have Avengers Campus having just opened, which in theory adds more capacity to the park, but thanks to boarding groups it really doesn't, but allows them to let more people in.

 

[clarrkkent79]

The problem is the attractions are operating on reduced capacity, the queue lines have to be all outdoors and you have Avengers Campus having just opened, which in theory adds more capacity to the park, but thanks to boarding groups it really doesn't, but allows them to let more people in.

Nail on the the head there. While I haven't been to Disneyland/WDW during the pandemic (except for the Dining event), I did venture over to Cedar Point last summer. One thing I learned is that ride wait times are NOT positively affected by reduced park capacity, which makes sense.

If a given park attendance is 50% capacity, but the rides are also at 50% capacity (as was the case in Cedar Point) then as the crowd nears attendance capacity your wait time will feel like it would if attendance was at 100% in pre pandemic times.

Even at 33% attendance cap and 50% ride cap, the wait times will effectively mirror a park operating at 66% capacity. That's under ideal conditions...aka...no ride closures. I don't know what ride caps are, but if they are less than 50% then the waits get worse of course.

 

[nicole88s]

That said, I love being able to order food from DTD and have it delivered to the Grand!!

That sounds nice! Is it basically all DTD restaurants? Do you just meet the delivery person in the lobby?

 

[Malcon10t]

That sounds nice! Is it basically all DTD restaurants? Do you just meet the delivery person in the lobby?

It was LaBrea, Naples, Tortilla Jo's, Uva, Jazz Kitchen, Earl, Ballast Point, and Black Tap (there may be more, but those are the ones I remember.). They send you a text when the delivery person is on their way and you meet them at the guest relations desk. I know they plan to use it for PPH and DLH. We had LaBrea on Sunday night, I ordered as we left Hollywood Land, and they were in the lobby about 15 mins later!