Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Shellbells]

We got back yesterday from a 7 night stay at CSR. We did all 4 parks, twice at HS and twice at AK.
We found the wait times to be pretty accurate with a few exceptions here and there. There are just so many lines. Lines to eat, lines to shop, lines for rides. It got tiresome.
The humidity was crazy and made the masks hard to deal with.
Mobile order works just like everyone says it does. If you wait until you are hungry and order you'll have a wait. If you order ahead of time and click "I'm here" when you get there, the wait isn't too bad.
Our last night was at MK and we always stop and get carmel apples and treats on the way out. They were sold out of all the apples and most of the other treats.
Mask compliance was pretty good and people social distanced well in lines.
With the lack of shows and the lines pouring out into the parks walkways they feel very crowded.
I wouldn't recommend going if this is a first time trip. We had lowered our expectations and while it was nice to get out of the house this was our least favorite trip. For us, I just don't think it's worth the cost right now.
We didn't love CSR so that didn't help either.
My DH is a big golfer and wants to go back in February. He loves the courses there and always has a great time while golfing. I'm the Disney lover and usually can't wait to start planning our next trip. I'd rather wait but we'll see.

 

[rteetz]

Distancing has been eliminated on Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid, at least today. Every car was being filled. They may as well take the distancing part off of the website as so many queues and attractions don’t keep people 6+ feet apart in every direction. We registered a formal complaint as we left. Too many people here too- very hard to distance while walking around for the most part.

They filled every car on Saturday too. On an omnimover you are separated though so it really doesn’t bother me much there. This is why you have plexiglass on other ride vehicles.

 

[LSUmiss]

I noticed that the Animation Experience was open. Has it been open the whole time?

Yes as far as I know.

 

[LSUmiss]

They filled every car on Saturday too. On an omnimover you are separated though so it really doesn’t bother me much there. This is why you have plexiglass on other ride vehicles.

Yes. I think it’s silly that they ever didn’t fill every car in those rides.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1326996710661390338

 

[Mit88]

Yes. I think it’s silly that they ever didn’t fill every car in those rides.

If you cough on the back of the persons clamshell in front of you, what is it going to do?

 

[Sarahslay]

Distancing has been eliminated on Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid, at least today. Every car was being filled. They may as well take the distancing part off of the website as so many queues and attractions don’t keep people 6+ feet apart in every direction. We registered a formal complaint as we left. Too many people here too- very hard to distance while walking around for the most part.

They do have the markers down and plexi glass berriers where need be, but it's up to the patrons to follow directions and stop on their marks. It's no more crowded right now than it has been, I think I've had atleast one friend down there every week since August, and after seeing their posts and talking with them about their experience I think it may be time to get your expectations in check. It is nearly impossible to always be at least 6 feet from every single person, but it's not like you're standing shoulder to shoulder with them either, just keep moving and if you need to find a quiet spot and take a break.

 

[Sarahslay]

If you cough on the back of the persons clamshell in front of you, what is it going to do?

turn it in to a doom buggy?

 

[only hope]

Plexiglass is not a replacement for distancing, whether in a queue or on an attraction. Omnimovers don’t have you six feet apart when the vehicle turns sideways. We went in August and September; MK was def more crowded today than our other two visits. Even when everyone stands on a marker that is six feet+ away from the next party , you’re still frequently within six feet because theres not enough space diagonally or you’re right next to someone with some plexiglass inbetween.

 

[LSUmiss]

Plexiglass is not a replacement for distancing, whether in a queue or on an attraction. Omnimovers don’t have you six feet apart when the vehicle turns sideways. We went in August and September; MK was def more crowded today than our other two visits. Even when everyone stands on a marker that is six feet+ away from the next party , you’re still frequently within six feet because theres not enough space diagonally or you’re right next to someone with some plexiglass inbetween.

So what should Disney do then? I think they’ve taken reasonable precautions & it’s up to individuals to decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with.

 

[only hope]

So what should Disney do then? I think they’ve taken reasonable precautions & it’s up to individuals to decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with.

They should keep people 6 feet + apart on rides and in queues, like their website claims they are doing. Universals queues are set up much better. Rarely are we within six feet of anyone in any direction there in queues.

 

[Mit88]

They should keep people 6 feet + apart on rides and in queues, like their website claims they are doing. Universals queues are set up much better. Rarely are we within six feet of anyone in any direction there in queues.

You mean like on Hagrids where in the last room theres not a single distancing marker in the entire room? Or how they were the first ones to allow riders sitting in consecutive rows (sans Plexiglass)?

 

[only hope]

I don’t do the major coasters so haven’t experienced that.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

They should keep people 6 feet + apart on rides and in queues, like their website claims they are doing. Universals queues are set up much better. Rarely are we within six feet of anyone in any direction there in queues.

We go next week, and have been to only HS and both UOR and SW previously since reopening. I found queue setup to be pretty uniform across all 3 brands. They’re trying their darndest but people (guests) can fall into their old theme park habits pretty easily. A stern look over the mask or a polite “excuse me” go a long way.
I’m truly sorry you felt uncomfortable; it can make a trip feel pretty crummy. But maybe a theme park right now wasn’t the ideal place to be if you could potentially feel that way if your local Cracker Barrel was approaching its legally allowed capacity.

 

[Mit88]

So then you’re generalizing based on half an experience.

 

[andyman8]

Distancing has been eliminated on Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid, at least today. Every car was being filled. They may as well take the distancing part off of the website as so many queues and attractions don’t keep people 6+ feet apart in every direction. We registered a formal complaint as we left. Too many people here too- very hard to distance while walking around for the most part.

They filled every car on Saturday too. On an omnimover you are separated though so it really doesn’t bother me much there. This is why you have plexiglass on other ride vehicles.

Yes. I think it’s silly that they ever didn’t fill every car in those rides.

So what should Disney do then? I think they’ve taken reasonable precautions & it’s up to individuals to decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with.

Well, I hope everyone can agree here that any sort of spread tied back to a major Florida theme park would be extraordinarily bad news for the parks, and with the current caseloads across the United States, the risk for that is greater now than before. So I hope Disney and all other operators are taking every precaution to keep that from happening. As always, Safety comes before Efficiency.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

Well, I hope everyone can agree here that any sort of spread tied back to a major Florida theme park would be extraordinarily bad news for the parks, and with the current caseloads across the United States, the risk for that is greater now than before. So I hope Disney and all other operators are taking every precaution to keep that from happening. As always, Safety comes before Efficiency.

100%. I’d be horrified to get on any boat ride at full capacity, even with dividers. I’m not totally sure how I feel about Rise, quite honest. But the omnimovers like Nemo, HM, and LM? I really don’t see the issue there. Maybe you’re briefly staring at someone as the vehicles turn, and I’m not sure how far apart they are. But the overall experience can’t be much more than bumping into the distanced bubble of the same shopper a couple times at Kohl’s trying to find the right pair of jeans.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We go next week, and have been to only HS and both UOR and SW previously since reopening. I found queue setup to be pretty uniform across all 3 brands. They’re trying their darndest but people (guests) can fall into their old theme park habits pretty easily. A stern look over the mask or a polite “excuse me” go a long way.
I’m truly sorry you felt uncomfortable; it can make a trip feel pretty crummy. But maybe a theme park right now wasn’t the ideal place to be if you could potentially feel that way if your local Cracker Barrel was approaching its legally allowed capacity.

We haven't been to the other parks, but we've been to WDW twice since reopening (and going again in 9 days). I think they've done a good job trying to distance people as far as markers and plexiglass go, but at some point the responsibility does fall on guests. I'm not sure what experiences the previous poster had, but we were also just at all 4 parks a few days ago, and thought that ride queue were well distanced. For the most part, guests stood at the markers. The system did seem to break down a bit on switchbacks where guests didn't pay attention to there not being any markers in some areas (to better distance guests in lines); and sometimes parties (usually 4+ people together) would take up enough space that if we stood on the next marker we would be much less than 6 feet away. But it was easy to hang back, and no one ever told us to move up all the way. We also found that if we adhered to the actual placement of markers on switchbacks, other guests noticed and did the same.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Heads up to those traveling Thanksgiving weekend - Chapek just said so far they have been averaging ~77% of the reduced occupancy but are "close to capacity" for Thanksgiving week

https://twitter.com/x/status/1327005032189894658

 

[sullivan.kscott]

We haven't been to the other parks, but we've been to WDW twice since reopening (and going again in 9 days). I think they've done a good job trying to distance people as far as markers and plexiglass go, but at some point the responsibility does fall on guests. I'm not sure what experiences the previous poster had, but we were also just at all 4 parks a few days ago, and thought that ride queue were well distanced. For the most part, guests stood at the markers. The system did seem to break down a bit on switchbacks where guests didn't pay attention to there not being any markers in some areas (to better distance guests in lines); and sometimes parties (usually 4+ people together) would take up enough space that if we stood on the next marker we would be much less than 6 feet away. But it was easy to hang back, and no one ever told us to move up all the way. We also found that if we adhered to the actual placement of markers on switchbacks, other guests noticed and did the same.

We did the same thing a couple times. Almost obnoxiously telling our boys to look for the next line/marker. It’s amazing to see people who mean well then “fall in line.”
We touch down at MCO 11/21, so our dates line up! Look for that ONE family with matching shirts and I’ll buy you a distanced drink of choice! Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!