Travisma

25 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

here’s something official from Disney:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/specials/?int_cmp=AP_App_APMerchPush20200715&entryPoint=pushNotification

TCD

Wonder if LEGO is exempt, they don’t specifically say, but have a sentence Saying select specialty toys are exempt

2 hours ago, MicknMin...Holly said:

 

Again, this is being reported by a second/third party source, nothing official from Disney.

I've checked my emails and the spam folder, nothing.

I did see someones post on FB with a screenshot of a message they got mentioning the 30%, but they were a Platinum AP.

And we're blacked out for Silver until 8/6 so not a lot of time to get to the parks and shop.  Plus I'm sure there are tons of exemptions on what you can purchase.

Saw an article about Chris Hemsworth and his family camping in Australia.  He thanked this company based in Australia for supplying the camper they were using.  
 

https://www.lotuscaravans.com.au/caravans/trooper/
 

Tablet won’t let me copy the camping article itself.

Only good till part of August

6 minutes ago, PGHFiend said:

So I got a personal special specialty specifically mine email from Dis about my APs. Now, mine were to expire back in April,  and have since been updated to reflect August 9th. Now my email says August 11th they will add 1 month or I can get my money back. 

So, are the giving me the month because I had a month left when they closed or is everyone getting the month too? 

And the days from when they opened until August 11th are basically freebies to be a guinea pig?

Here's a screen cap;

http://imgur.com/a/8iUbmo0

 

Looks like all APs are getting an extra month added to their passes no charge, 13 for the price of 12 months after they do the closure extension.  I saw another post that they are making the AP discount 30 %.  Not sure on what...

1 hour ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

And the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is larger than both at over 130 acres. It has 17,000 animals of 962 species.

I may be slightly biased since I started going there back when I was about 6 years old, but I think it is the best zoo in the United States. 

Best zoo ever!

55 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

although I haven't looked, I bet their uptick is waaaaay below what Florida is currently experiencing.

Little over 1000 cases.  FL was over 15000 in one day

3 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Annnnd.... they're closing again.

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/07/13/breaking-news-hong-kong-disneyland-will-close-again-on-july-15/?fbclid=IwAR2gbTfsA7NOScrdM152jnOviiRMwD91y-MRmE27DkAM-nX4GTpIhdCotdo

Beat me by that much... and I couldn’t copy the link with my tablet!

Guess they are starting with the two priciest places?

The grand Disney reopening continues apace with the announcement Wednesday that the popular "character breakfast" event Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & Pals will be back on at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando.

There will be some changes to the character breakfast, as part of Disney's new social distancing guidelines, to attempt to ensure the health of guests and character actors.

For one thing, the buffet is gone. There's now "a prix-fixe menu with a choice of entrée." Masks and temperature checks are required as well. Goofy and his chums will appear at intervals during the event, but it's a good bet they'll stay at a distance, and they won't be signing autographs or posing for photos with the attendees.
 

The Good Morning Breakfast returns to the Ravello Restaurant on Saturday mornings from 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Reservations are mandatory.

As of this writing there will also be character dining at Topolino’s Terrace at Disney’s Riviera Resort and the Garden Grill in Epcot, according to Inside the Magic.

48 minutes ago, Robin said:

Thanks for the idea we have older teens.

They should like it.

If you have kids, don’t miss the science museum in OKC

46 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Yes, I think something like this is being contemplated for WDW. 

Initially, it didn’t make sense to me that they halted ticket sales and hotel reservations for 2020. The more I think about it, I think that the plan for 2020 will be to continue to limit park and hotel access, but to resume limited sales and jack up the prices like they do for the after hours events.  

Time will tell.

TCD

Getting a bigger bang for their bucks

39 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Since Rivers of Light was a nighttime show, the fact that the benches are made of dark faux rock was never an issue. But I attended a preview there where we were seated about an hour before sunset. Those benches were blazing hot- like burn your skin hot. That Rivers of Light stadium cannot be used for guest seating in these “feels like” 100 plus degrees days.

TCD

That's to thin the herd and separate the week from the strong!

https://wdwnt.com/2020/07/shanghai-disneyland-removes-fastpass-service-now-only-offers-paid-line-jumping/

Not posting the entire article, too many pictures....

When Shanghai Disneyland reopened, the theme park was utilizing the Standby Pass system, the FastPass system, and Disney Premier Access. Disney Premier Access is a paid FastPass type reservation system (similar to the MaxPass system found at Disneyland.)

However, it seems Shanghai Disneyland has quietly removed the FastPass option from the park. Friend of the site @angeliquemagique on Instagram has given us permission to share her story and the screenshots below of her recent visit to the park where she documented the updated queue system in her stories.

Walking up the queue of Tron Lightcycle Power Run was when @angeliquemagique noticed that the FastPass option was gone, with just the Standby queue and Disney Premier Access options available.

Early June it was announced that the reopening of the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks would not be offering FastPass+, virtual queues, or single rider queue options for attractions. With these changes, do you think this system could be coming to Walt Disney World Resort? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts on the changes!

https://screenrant.com/avengers-disney-animated-characters-fan-art/

The Avengers Look Amazing As Disney Animated Characters

The Avengers are reimagined as Disney animated characters, including those from Frozen, in a fan art crossover by artist Samuel Chevé.

49 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

while on the phone yesterday with WDW‘s annual passholders help desk I found out that if you book a reservation at one of their good neighbor hotels.  
this will allow you to make park reservations just like you were staying at a WDW on site hotel.   
 

So even though you can’t make a resort reservation until 2021 you can make one at one of those hotels. Which in my humble opinion SMB since they will have more access to the parks then us AP holders  

That's because APs are chump change to Disney.

They like the big infusion of $$$ out of staters pay up front for an AP, and also the monthly income from the in staters with payment plans.

But it's the people that book all the the parties, dining events, stay on site, etc that they really love because of their deep pockets.

25 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Huh?

If guests are expected to maintain social distancing, how much bridge space will there be for viewing the character barges?

This sounds like a really dumb idea. 
 

TCD

And there is very limited clear shoreline places to stand except the Rivers of Light stadiums area.

UPDATE 07/05/20: Earlier this week, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation amended their June 26th emergency order now allowing bars that sell both alcohol and food to open at 50% capacity.

Locations that are not licensed to offer food service must continue to stay closed, however, those that do offer food can operate as restaurants following those guidelines, which currently limit indoor capacity to 50% of occupancy.

The change to the order allows businesses such as Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar, which briefly closed this week, to continue to operate.

Previous order stated that in order to stay open, the business must have 50% of their profits from food sales.

Now there is no %. 

I can see all the previously closed bars rushing out to Sams and Costco and purchasing the snack sized bags of chips and buckets of jerky to sell! 

https://insidethemagic.net/2020/07/disneys-animal-kingdom-social-distancing-ba1/

The photo below shows Vahle waving to performers on the Discovery Island Drummers float, but similar floats will be carrying Disney characters throughout the waters of Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Disney has shared online that the following entertainment will be available when Disney’s Animal Kingdom reopens:

• Character Cruises throughout the day, with Guest-favorite Disney friends appearing in boats around Discovery River—including the following:
  • Discovery River Character Cruise
  • Discovery Island Drummers
  • Donald’s Dino Boat Bash!
  • Mickey & Friends Flotilla

So according to this list above, we will be able to see characters throughout the park, but in new and exciting ways. You may not be able to hug Mickey Mouse or dance with Timon from The Lion King, but this could be the next best thing.

20 hours ago, DinDavie said:

This is an important thread to follow.  I've had a reservation at the fort in August for over a year and I have not been cancelled.  My wife was able to get reservations at DW and HS while we were there but it involved many hours on hold.  Now we are thinking about cancelling because the first report we heard from the fort stated the pool was over crowded and Florida has not yet gotten the virus under control.  We could be happy with just driving the cart around and hanging at the fort if the pool was doable.  If there are people who have first hand experience at the fort it would be nice to hear from you.  We don't have to go to the parks but staying outside in August is not a vacation.  Masks can be adjusted to let more air in when no one is paying attention but sitting in your own campsite should be good enough for social distancing guidelines but if it is not I would like to know before I go.

Early reports right after re-opening said that the Fort was a ghost town.  Loops entirely empty or lightly booked.  Pools empty, same with the shops and restaurants.

But, reports from the weekend starting Friday the 3rd said that the pools and decks were so crowded that they reached the new capacity guidelines and were turning people away early in the day. 

If a storm comes thru, they have to stay closed until they clean all of the chairs/tables etc, because they didn't know what ones were in use before the storm hit. 

The new normal guidelines are you turn the backs down when leaving or lean the chairs into the tables so they know to clean those.

Stores and restaurants were packed and are on new early closing hours.  Also they were told they had to wear masks while looping in carts.

The people posting said that the only feature that has stayed pre-covid is the site rates.  Everything else has been cut back.

https://www.businessinsider.com/travelers-are-spending-millions-on-luxury-rvs-this-year-2020-7

6 minutes ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

true but I am looking at a 2 day drive each way, cost of a rental camper, cost of a rental cart, and not being able to go to DS or resort hop since I havent found a mask that lets me breathe for more than 5-7 minutes with out my asthma kicking off badly. And that is trying to wear a mask up here while it was still May never mind in the Florida heat of July. We just couldnt find enough value in the trip at this time. I have another new masking coming (in about 4 weeks) but it is a very different design and I am hoping it will be the one that lets me go out again. While there are provisions for people with medical needs in CT to not wear one, in my area the chances of a physical, verbal, or Facebook attack for going out with out one are too high for me. I havent left the house except to go to ACE Hardware where they know me and have my back if needed for more than 2 months now. 

I can see that different people have differing ways of doing things.

Being local with a pass, it's not a big deal not going to the parks at all or just a little when we camp.

Last couple times we went to the Fort, we hung out a lot more than our adult kids who went resort hopping and hitting parks.

It's hard getting up from a comfortable chair in a shady spot, with a cooler full of adult beverages nearby,  to go running around a crowded park in 90 degree heat!

But people coming from out of town on a once every few years trip, I can see them wanting to do as much as possible in the time they have at WDW.

Good luck in a search for a viable mask solution.

I've seen posts that Disney is not allowing bandannas or gaiters as masks.

11 minutes ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

I dont think they actually limited the capacity of the Fort. I think a lot of people cancelled and summer is a slower period on top of it. I know we cancelled our week mid July as I still havent found a mask that works for me and we dont have a ticket for Silvia yet. So as much as we love the Fort sitting at the campsite for a week in July just wasnt appealing. 

I have not heard of anyone who had a reservation during the time period the Fort was going to be open who was cancelled by Disney. 

See, we're just the opposite (but yes local).

We've gone for the 4th of July week on two different trips and never went to the parks (Silver blackout dates),

Found it relaxing just hanging out, resort hopping (now blocked), and going to DS and off site shopping.  

Not going to the parks, lets you feel like you're getting your $$ worth out of your site! 

4 minutes ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

I really doubt we will see 2020 open back up before August 1 and if and when it does I think it will be limited. 

I do not have anything from Disney saying this. This is just me personal opinion. 

I know they are taking baby steps and trying to limit exposure, but the Fort is a different animal than the rest of their resorts.

They could've tried 50% capacity and seen what happened.

From the FB posts, I guess a lot of people must've either cancelled themselves or been cancelled by Disney since everyone is reporting it's like a ghost town.

It's a shame they didn't allow new limited bookings at the Fort, especially for the 4th weekend.

Lots of posts that most loops are closed, empty or very few campers.

We would've made the long trek from Tampa just so we could've posted to you all what's happening.