Tri-Circle-D

2 hours ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

I believe the Magic has as well according to our friend on the Fantasy they are bringing supplies as well as getting some relax time on shore.  

True. Twin #1 FaceTimed a friend on the Dream last night. Each crew member has his or her own cabin, many are in regular guest cabins. There are a bunch of crew members whose contracts have expired, and they have been allowed to remain on board as guests with no work duties (and no pay). The crew’s meals are being served in Cabana’s, and a bar is open every night. They are still playing movies on the Funnel Vision and in the theaters. 

DCL crew are doing better than the land based castmembers.

TCD
 

I’ve seen some rumors floating around that WDW could be reopening in late April or at least sometime in May. 

Nope. 

Up to this week, they were still housing about 1000 international CM’s from Italy, France, and the UK, which I took as a sign that they were hoping to reopen sooner rather than later. That changed this week, and they all got noticed they were canned and would need to vacate the premises by next week. 

Also this week, they officially canceled all College Program arrivals for May. Not postponed. Canceled. Those kids were told that they will not be working at WDW unless they reapply for a future date. 

This means they really can’t reopen in May, because they won’t have a workforce in place. It also means that if they do open in June, it would have to be in a very limited capacity because they simply can’t staff all of the parks and resorts. 

And, without the DCP kids, that will be a problem all summer  

TCD

43 minutes ago, AC in A2......Aaron said:

I was just going to post the same article Mo.  i wonder what will become of Reflections?

I think there’s a double whammy at play here. First, Disney is going to have to dig itself out of a huge hole. They will probably need to stop funding construction projects for a while. Second, all the potential DVC buyers will have their own financial holes. Even if Disney can finish the project, will there be any buyers?

The shame of it all is that this happened after they fenced off and leveled half the Settlement. The damage is already done. 

TCD

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Little play on words....  I know Easter isn't big over there.

 

Actually Easter is HUGE at the Tokyo Parks. They do way more there than at the US parks. The TCD twins were in Tokyo last year at this time and were floored by the decorations and Easter parade. 

TCD

4 minutes ago, dblr....Rennie said:

This is so true and I commend her and all the guest relation cast members who do this every day and still do it with a smile, I could never do this and would probably be fired the first day ( if not the first hour ) listening to people stretch the truth to gain freebies or upgrades 

Same with me. 

The sad thing is that Disney goes above and beyond with customer service, but it’s never enough for some people. 

TCD

I have no problem believing it’s true. 

As many of you know TCD Twin #1 worked her way up to being a Magic Kingdom Guest Relations Castmember about two years ago, which she thought was a dream job. 

Unfortunately, the job has not been a dream because of a large number of guests who are unreasonable and rude. It surprises even a cynical person like me to hear what people try and pull at the guest relations windows. It is unpleasant and time consuming to deal with this type of guest, and there are a lot of them who will head to another park and find another guest relations CM to try to convince them to give them a different answer. 

I agree that it’s going to be even worse when the parks finally reopen. People suck. 

TCD

1 hour ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

There are already reports that some of the non-Disney restaurants may close for good over this - specifically all the Landry run restaurants.  They've supposedly already let all their staff go worldwide with no pay whatsoever. Currently at Disney they run Rainforest, T-Rex and Yak and Yeti.

Wow. 

If all the Landry restaurants close, that’s going to be a lot of lost rent for Disney. 

In less than a week, enough damage has been done that it isn’t hard to imagine that it will take years for Disney and other businesses to recover.

With no end in sight for the closures, we can only expect more smaller businesses to fold. If too many fold, what happens to Disney Springs as a viable shopping center?

We are truly living through a history changing event. 

TCD

I don't think we will see phased openings of the parks- but I do think we could see very limited operating hours and no EMH’s for resort guests, with a lot of hard ticket after hours events. 

TCD

I’ll pile on and agree. I never liked how primitive and cheap this new style looks. 

TCD

3 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

I'm betting late May or June before they open back up since the CDC recommended 8 weeks of no large gatherings.  

I’m afraid you’re right. 

I cannot fathom how individuals and businesses that depend on the thousands of WDW guests as customers will survive this. 

I even wonder how crippled Disney will be- all of their parks are now closed, and could be for a couple more months.  There’s no amount of cutting that can make up for that lost revenue.

TCD

3 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

I really feel for some of these kids. Some are probably hundreds of miles from home, I'm guessing some without cars, and they or their parents may not have the means to just pickup and get home. And the international kids. It's going to be a nightmare to get them home.

 

It’s terrible for all of the kids.  Disney is about to lose a ton of money, and moves like this are going to keep on coming. 

Whenever the parks finally reopen, it’s going to be a long time before things return to “normal.”

TCD

35 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

The post I saw on Facebook said college program participants will return on April 20th. Not sure if it was correct or not. 

That is not correct. These programs only last for a semester. They aren’t going to send these kids home for a month and then have them move back in only to leave the next month. They’re getting paid until the end of March, but their contracts of employment are all being terminated effective this week. 

TCD

17 minutes ago, jlf said:

When reflections is completed, will DVC guests have access to the Ft?

Of course they will. The new resort is going to extend all along the former Fort beach, and the main buildings are spitting distance from Pioneer Hall. 

I don’t think they will be able to drive into the Fort, though.

TCD

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

The British Revolution band and the Japanese drummers last performances are today. They were informed yesterday that their gigs are done.  The drummers have been performing for 25 years!  This is crazy.  Not sure if it’s because of the virus or just managements decisions to get rid of live performances.

I haven’t seen anyone mention that WDW is immediately terminating all of the current College Program castmembers and all international exchange castmembers and having them vacate Disney housing this week. 

That is about 8000+ CM’s, all of whom work in the front lines of attractions, retail, recreation, custodial and more.

The Parks cannot operate at normal capacity without these CM’s, and the next batch isn’t scheduled to arrive until mid-May. 

These moves by Disney suggest that the shutdown is going to go well beyond April 1. And when the parks finally do open, expect reduced operating hours and little entertainment. 

TCD 

Aw, come on. Wouldn’t you love to be the next guest in this campsite?

TCD

2 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I like the sign.  They could have gone with something over-the-top and super Disney-fied, but to me this fits perfectly.

I’m grateful they didn’t rebrand it as the Reflections Lakeside Disney Resort Equestrian Center.

TCD 

It looks like they’re down to the finish items on the new barn:

I don’t hate the new sign:

TCD

1 hour ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Tried to book a FP at the 60 day mark and they were all gone.  So was smugglers run, toy story mania, slinky, and alien saucers.
 

I really wish they would get rid of all FPs!

Wow. I didn’t know it was that bad. I wish they would move to a system like they have at Disneyland where all FP’s are up for grabs once guests enter the parks. This 60 day business allows guests to game the system,  and then the park experience is ruined for everyone. 

TCD

8 hours ago, Beckers said:

Watched a video of it on line, kinda of underwhelmed. It looks cheaply done. Hopefully I’m wrong.

The TCD twins rode it last week for the cast preview. They both liked it quite a bit. It’s a lot more than a standard dark ride, and there are some surprises they are able to pull off because the ride vehicles are trackless. It’s a solid addition to DHS. 

TCD

Just FYI I checked the bike racks at the Campfire area on the morning of Saturday, February 29, and there were no bikes in any of the racks.   

Out of curiosity was the blue a sky blue?  Did the bike have fenders and a white seat?  I saw a bike like that parked at the front of a site on the 1400 loop, and it made me wonder. 

TCD

They are not breaking any records building the gem washing station, but the slab is done and the base for the little water tower was in place as of 2/29/20:

Here’s how things look at Pioneer Hall- better get used to the cranes:

Here’s a peek around the fence at what used to be Clementine’s Beach:

I’m sure the DVC resort will be beautiful. But it’s going to dominate the Settlement. 

TCD

13 hours ago, AC in A2......Aaron said:

Thanks for the update TCD.  We will be there shortly and i think it is helpful to see the changes ahead of time.  I dont think i will like how this all ends up but trying to keep an open mind i guess.

Yes, definitely keep an open mind. 

But I still want to hear what you think when you’re trying to enjoy a cold one on Crockett’s porch. 

TCD

56 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Now that the parties start in August, I'd imagine they'll have to have MK decorated at least.

Absolutely. That has been the case every year as the start dates have moved earlier and earlier. 

For what it’s worth, there are no fall or Halloween decorations in the other parks. 

TCD

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

The only reason we went last year was so I could see the new castle show with Jack Skellington.  And we never did get to do the Jack and Sally meet and greet because it was over an hour wait.  And we went to one of the earliest dates!

I won't be going back again anytime soon.

I would like to try the Christmas party, but I've read so many negative reviews about overcrowding that it may not happen.

The Christmas parties might be worse in terms of crowding because there are fewer of them. Both of these events have always been overpriced, but were “worth it” because of low crowds. Now they are both overcrowded and absolutely not worth it.

Just a couple more things ruined by the blind greed of current management.

And if you think this is bad, just wait until you see the crap that moron Chapek will pull. 

TCD

48 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Unfortunately, this is true.  When they allow sooo many people into these parties, even if the price was "decent" it's a huge, huge disappointment.  In some way, Disney is fantastic with their level of service, but when it comes to crowd control... they have really fallen short over the past few years.

I don’t think they’ve fallen short as much as they’ve been overtaken by greed and consciously make no effort at crowd control. 

TCD