djsamuel

We went to MK this past Saturday, and EPCOT on Sunday.
The parks definitely were not as crowded as a normal October date, especially EPCOT with Food and Wine going on.
We didn't really have any issued social distancing.  You just have to watch where you're walking and try to anticipate where there will be a clear spot to get past people.
MK we walked around Adventure Land and Frontier Land and caught the Country Bear Show.
Most of the ride times we pretty high on the MDE wait time.  Not sure if that was where all the people were.
It was hot and we didn't feel like waiting on rides so we left to go back and enjoy the condo we rented.  Daughters and granddaughters stayed
No issues with the monorails, one family per seat, and there was a heavy grey vinyl cover above the seat backs making each compartment separate.
It was a pretty warm walk to and from the parking lot.  We were in Scar.
EPCOT wasn't overly crowded.  We walked on to Nemo, maybe 5 minutes from the entrance to getting on the ride.
The LAND boat ride took a little over 5 minutes to get on and that was basically walking the entire time.
Soarin was a 35 minute wait, the MDE said 50 minutes.
We walked as far as England then left.  It was hot and we didn't plan on getting much food or drinks.  My daughters and granddaughter were doing the Ratatouille Scavenger Hunt so they stayed.
That big event hall between Canada and England was open and they had maybe 4 or 5 food vendors in there along with a merchandise stand.
They weren't giving out the little guide books that listed the food vendors.  You're supposed to scan a QR code and download one.
 
Overall we felt safe and will be going back to the parks when we are camping for Halloween
 
 
In an interview with CNBC this evening, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that Disney has kept the capacity at their theme parks, specifically Walt Disney World, capped at 25% of total capacity. Chapek notes that the theme parks are operating on the premise of a 6′ physical distancing restriction, which amounts to a 25% capacity.
Of course, our experience on the ground has been that there are certainly more people in the Walt Disney World theme parks since they reopened in July, but that’s not necessarily the argument here. If capacity is 100,000 guests at Magic Kingdom, that means Chapek is saying that there are less than 25,000 guests in the theme park on any given day. This can be true.
In July, we may have seen less than 10,000 guests in Magic Kingdom on any given day, and while it would be fair to say that there were more than double the guests in the theme parks in October as there were in July, saying that the parks are not welcoming more than 25,000 guests can also be true.
Chapek says that capacity will not be increased until CDC guidelines allow. Disney is managing capacity via the Disney Park Pass reservation system.

Update..From YAHOO
DL chaos continues.
We absolutely reject the suggestion that reopening the Disneyland Resort is incompatible with a ‘health-first’ approach,” Disney Parks Chief Medical Officer Pamela Hymel said in a statement. “The fact is, that since March we have taken a robust science-based approach to responsibly reopening our parks and resorts across the globe.”
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/disneyland-reopening-chaos-drags-152420920.html

And absolutely STUPID....

Starting to sound like it's going to be "refurbish all (or at least a bunch) of the things" time for a while.  Makes sense to do it while crowds are low and before the 50th next year.

It's not just Disney either. 
I know first hand how other companies are using the current situation as an excuse to thin their ranks/cut services, in particular when it comes to higher paid employees. I totally get that when your business takes a big financial hit you need to make changes and get leaner to survive, but what I'm seeing myself is going beyond that to the point that the work/sales have rebounded considerably in the past couple of months, yet no staffing back up is taking place.  Instead the employees that are left are being expected to pick up the slack - sometimes by holes left by 2-3 other people that are now gone.  And not surprisingly it's the more senior (read: higher paid) employees being cut, and in some cases replaced by new hires with little to no experience.  But so goes the way of the corporate world these days...
Sadly I agree this is very true.

People aren't traveling. due to COVID, it has nothing to do with WDW prices.  DIS took a big financial hit because DL is still closed and DCL is shutdown as well.  

I’ll say it again… Instead of cutting entertainment, employees, etc.
cut the prices of their tickets. They’re giving us a subpar product and still charging the same price. 
 
It will bring more people to the parks and those people will spend money on meals and merchandise

That's odd.  We were at the Fort the week before Labor Day as well.  It was our 40th stay there over the last 7 years (I was curious and had to count).  We've requested a site for all but our first stay.  In those 39 times when we requested a site, we only received a text message once.  I wish we would get it more often.  This trip we did not get a text as usual and went up to the registration lane.  When we got there the cast member told us that we got one of our requested sites.  Sometimes we get it and sometimes we don't but it has always been noted. 

It was odd indeed. But all worked out in the end. We arrive early and have always received a text while still on I-4 just before the DW exit. So there is definitely some inconsistency between your reservations and ours concerning text messaging. I truly do feel sorry for the Cast Members during these unusual times. Change is the new norm and adaptability is a virtue. Fortunately I feel we’ve both enjoyed DW and The Fort in its glory days and can only imagine what the new norm is going to be. Would like to see them go to site selection upon reservation but I’m sure they have their reasons for not doing that. Interesting times. Enjoy camping during the upcoming holiday season! Any day at The Fort is a good day 😄

Yes, I used the fax request at the end of August and they had it on our record at check in.

Nice report.  Sounds like you had a great time.

I liked your hat in the first picture. I'm glad you had a nice time. The parks do look sad to me being so empty.

First time for me.  We were really glad to hear it at check in and told the cast member that.  She agreed.

He got a trespass warning also, so he's banned from Disney property at the moment.

One of the area loops for Port Orleans - Dixie Landings is pretty similar as well, as well as some of the Frontierland tracks if you are looking for more.

I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but the mask rules at Disney are clear with regard to eating, drinking, and walking around. 
TCD

I feel like I'll be showing these photos to people years from now talking about the 2020 pandemic as a point in history! 😀

Thanks for the feedback.  It was a very nice stay.  Getting into the other resorts was easy, we just told them we were staying on property and offered to have them scan the magic bands which they declined.  

I feel like I'll be showing these photos to people years from now talking about the 2020 pandemic as a point in history! 😀

A couple of weeks ago, we saw that our passes that my wife has from her retirement from Disney were finally unblocked for both of us to enter the parks.  So we were able to grab a nice reservation at Fort Wilderness and finally get back.  It was a great trip and I'll try to add some pictures here to give some info on what everything is like.  First I should say that the parks weren't bad the first weekend, and EMPTY the week prior to Labor Day weekend.  Our park passes were blocked again starting the Friday of Labor Day weekend, which was fine because it got pretty crowded.
 

 
We checked in near noon on Friday August 28th.  There was certainly no problem getting a site! The campground was really quiet and many loops were closed.  It was very peaceful.  
 


 
P&J's was open and that was the only food option.  However, they opened up the dining area of Trails End and you could sit inside and eat and/or drink.  It was actually very nice.
After setting up the camper we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  It was a little strange taking a selfie in front of a castle wearing face masks.

 
The Magic Kingdom was empty every day we were there (Friday, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday).


 
Disney did a good job with the social distancing and making sure people wore masks.  There were very few people not following the rules.  The wait times were great.  We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 9 times total and our longest wait was about 30 minutes; most were about 10 - 15.  The Haunted Mansion line is great without the stretching room.  The line moves quickly and I had the chance to look around and see details inside I never saw before.  Longest wait there was about 10 minutes.  We rode Peter Pan several times since the wait there averaged about 10 minutes as well.  Each time we went, we would stay about 3 hours and be able to get on MANY rides.  The Plexiglas dividers were great, much better than the chains.  At least kids couldn't occupy their time swinging the chains around and hitting everybody around them.Then we would head back to the campground and relax.
 
On Saturday, we headed to Animal Kingdom.  It was not crowded, but it was not set up for COVID as well as Magic Kingdom.  The lines weren't as conducive to distancing nor were there as many Plexiglas dividers up.  The crowds were down as well, and we waited about 10 minutes for Flight of Passage and less for the River ride as well as the Safari.

 
Sunday we went to Epcot and it was more crowded.  However, we walked onto Soarin and were able also walk onto Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  One of the strangest factors at Epcot was the absence of the International Program cast members.  Walking into Japan and seeing mainly American workers just felt strange.

(Above:  Sunday at Epcot)
We ate lunch at the quick service restaurant in Japan.  Both of us got the Beef and Chicken Teriyaki.  It was delicious.

 
We returned to Epcot on Thursday.  It was MUCH emptier, really a pleasure to walk around:



 
The pictures above were taken around 1PM.
We quickly walked onto The Seas and Imagination while heading to lunch at the UK.  When we got there we walked through the store a bit.  There we met a nice young woman from Scotland who lives in the US, so she fit the UK well as did another young woman from London.  When we went to check in, the hostess was from Bulgaria, and was VERY nice as well.  We requested a window seat and she got us a great one with an amazing view.


 
She even came into the restaurant after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table.  We started the meal with the soup of the day; Tomato Bisque (delicious):

 
Then my wife got the Bangers and Mash and I got the Sheppard's Pie:


 
Both were outstanding, as was the server who was an Asian American who obviously worked a high end restaurant at Disney because he was so friendly, professional and great at his job.  
 
After the meal we took the Skyliner over to Caribbean Beach.  First, let me say that the Skyliner was pleasantly cool even the temperature was around 90 and it was humid and sunny.  
We got a good view of the construction in France for Ratatouille:


 
 On Friday, since we were blocked out of the parks, we went to Disney Springs.  Nothing much new there to report, but the crowds weren't bad.  From there we took the bus to the Grand Floridian.  It was eerie seeing it so empty:

 
The band is not playing and they moved the piano up onto the band stand:

 
On Saturday, we took the bus from the campground to the Wilderness Lodge.  The bus now rides along the road between the Fort and the Lodge.  From there we could see that the walking trail no longer exists.  It has been completely torn up and they were installing water pipes.  However, there were new concrete spillways in place which indicates the intent to restore the trail.  I'm sure that won't happen for quite a while though.
Like the Grand, Wilderness Lodge was pretty empty, although it was a bit more crowded for Labor Day weekend:

 
The next day we checked out and headed home.  It was a great trip; a nice combination of going to the parks and relaxing at the Campground.  Disney did a great job both at the Fort and the parks.  While I am looking forward to things getting back to normal, there were some changes I really enjoyed and makes me glad we booked our stay.
 
 
 
 

A couple of weeks ago, we saw that our passes that my wife has from her retirement from Disney were finally unblocked for both of us to enter the parks.  So we were able to grab a nice reservation at Fort Wilderness and finally get back.  It was a great trip and I'll try to add some pictures here to give some info on what everything is like.  First I should say that the parks weren't bad the first weekend, and EMPTY the week prior to Labor Day weekend.  Our park passes were blocked again starting the Friday of Labor Day weekend, which was fine because it got pretty crowded.
 

 
We checked in near noon on Friday August 28th.  There was certainly no problem getting a site! The campground was really quiet and many loops were closed.  It was very peaceful.  
 


 
P&J's was open and that was the only food option.  However, they opened up the dining area of Trails End and you could sit inside and eat and/or drink.  It was actually very nice.
After setting up the camper we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  It was a little strange taking a selfie in front of a castle wearing face masks.

 
The Magic Kingdom was empty every day we were there (Friday, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday).


 
Disney did a good job with the social distancing and making sure people wore masks.  There were very few people not following the rules.  The wait times were great.  We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 9 times total and our longest wait was about 30 minutes; most were about 10 - 15.  The Haunted Mansion line is great without the stretching room.  The line moves quickly and I had the chance to look around and see details inside I never saw before.  Longest wait there was about 10 minutes.  We rode Peter Pan several times since the wait there averaged about 10 minutes as well.  Each time we went, we would stay about 3 hours and be able to get on MANY rides.  The Plexiglas dividers were great, much better than the chains.  At least kids couldn't occupy their time swinging the chains around and hitting everybody around them.Then we would head back to the campground and relax.
 
On Saturday, we headed to Animal Kingdom.  It was not crowded, but it was not set up for COVID as well as Magic Kingdom.  The lines weren't as conducive to distancing nor were there as many Plexiglas dividers up.  The crowds were down as well, and we waited about 10 minutes for Flight of Passage and less for the River ride as well as the Safari.

 
Sunday we went to Epcot and it was more crowded.  However, we walked onto Soarin and were able also walk onto Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  One of the strangest factors at Epcot was the absence of the International Program cast members.  Walking into Japan and seeing mainly American workers just felt strange.

(Above:  Sunday at Epcot)
We ate lunch at the quick service restaurant in Japan.  Both of us got the Beef and Chicken Teriyaki.  It was delicious.

 
We returned to Epcot on Thursday.  It was MUCH emptier, really a pleasure to walk around:



 
The pictures above were taken around 1PM.
We quickly walked onto The Seas and Imagination while heading to lunch at the UK.  When we got there we walked through the store a bit.  There we met a nice young woman from Scotland who lives in the US, so she fit the UK well as did another young woman from London.  When we went to check in, the hostess was from Bulgaria, and was VERY nice as well.  We requested a window seat and she got us a great one with an amazing view.


 
She even came into the restaurant after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table.  We started the meal with the soup of the day; Tomato Bisque (delicious):

 
Then my wife got the Bangers and Mash and I got the Sheppard's Pie:


 
Both were outstanding, as was the server who was an Asian American who obviously worked a high end restaurant at Disney because he was so friendly, professional and great at his job.  
 
After the meal we took the Skyliner over to Caribbean Beach.  First, let me say that the Skyliner was pleasantly cool even the temperature was around 90 and it was humid and sunny.  
We got a good view of the construction in France for Ratatouille:


 
 On Friday, since we were blocked out of the parks, we went to Disney Springs.  Nothing much new there to report, but the crowds weren't bad.  From there we took the bus to the Grand Floridian.  It was eerie seeing it so empty:

 
The band is not playing and they moved the piano up onto the band stand:

 
On Saturday, we took the bus from the campground to the Wilderness Lodge.  The bus now rides along the road between the Fort and the Lodge.  From there we could see that the walking trail no longer exists.  It has been completely torn up and they were installing water pipes.  However, there were new concrete spillways in place which indicates the intent to restore the trail.  I'm sure that won't happen for quite a while though.
Like the Grand, Wilderness Lodge was pretty empty, although it was a bit more crowded for Labor Day weekend:

 
The next day we checked out and headed home.  It was a great trip; a nice combination of going to the parks and relaxing at the Campground.  Disney did a great job both at the Fort and the parks.  While I am looking forward to things getting back to normal, there were some changes I really enjoyed and makes me glad we booked our stay.
 
 
 
 

Excellent job!  I hope it isn’t long before things get close to being normal, and you can look back at what a unique trip you had. 
TCD

Thank you for sharing your trip.  I am staying close to home and only out for very limited trips, food, meds, doctors.  So your sharing means a lot.  Thanks again.

A couple of weeks ago, we saw that our passes that my wife has from her retirement from Disney were finally unblocked for both of us to enter the parks.  So we were able to grab a nice reservation at Fort Wilderness and finally get back.  It was a great trip and I'll try to add some pictures here to give some info on what everything is like.  First I should say that the parks weren't bad the first weekend, and EMPTY the week prior to Labor Day weekend.  Our park passes were blocked again starting the Friday of Labor Day weekend, which was fine because it got pretty crowded.
 

 
We checked in near noon on Friday August 28th.  There was certainly no problem getting a site! The campground was really quiet and many loops were closed.  It was very peaceful.  
 


 
P&J's was open and that was the only food option.  However, they opened up the dining area of Trails End and you could sit inside and eat and/or drink.  It was actually very nice.
After setting up the camper we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  It was a little strange taking a selfie in front of a castle wearing face masks.

 
The Magic Kingdom was empty every day we were there (Friday, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday).


 
Disney did a good job with the social distancing and making sure people wore masks.  There were very few people not following the rules.  The wait times were great.  We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 9 times total and our longest wait was about 30 minutes; most were about 10 - 15.  The Haunted Mansion line is great without the stretching room.  The line moves quickly and I had the chance to look around and see details inside I never saw before.  Longest wait there was about 10 minutes.  We rode Peter Pan several times since the wait there averaged about 10 minutes as well.  Each time we went, we would stay about 3 hours and be able to get on MANY rides.  The Plexiglas dividers were great, much better than the chains.  At least kids couldn't occupy their time swinging the chains around and hitting everybody around them.Then we would head back to the campground and relax.
 
On Saturday, we headed to Animal Kingdom.  It was not crowded, but it was not set up for COVID as well as Magic Kingdom.  The lines weren't as conducive to distancing nor were there as many Plexiglas dividers up.  The crowds were down as well, and we waited about 10 minutes for Flight of Passage and less for the River ride as well as the Safari.

 
Sunday we went to Epcot and it was more crowded.  However, we walked onto Soarin and were able also walk onto Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  One of the strangest factors at Epcot was the absence of the International Program cast members.  Walking into Japan and seeing mainly American workers just felt strange.

(Above:  Sunday at Epcot)
We ate lunch at the quick service restaurant in Japan.  Both of us got the Beef and Chicken Teriyaki.  It was delicious.

 
We returned to Epcot on Thursday.  It was MUCH emptier, really a pleasure to walk around:



 
The pictures above were taken around 1PM.
We quickly walked onto The Seas and Imagination while heading to lunch at the UK.  When we got there we walked through the store a bit.  There we met a nice young woman from Scotland who lives in the US, so she fit the UK well as did another young woman from London.  When we went to check in, the hostess was from Bulgaria, and was VERY nice as well.  We requested a window seat and she got us a great one with an amazing view.


 
She even came into the restaurant after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table.  We started the meal with the soup of the day; Tomato Bisque (delicious):

 
Then my wife got the Bangers and Mash and I got the Sheppard's Pie:


 
Both were outstanding, as was the server who was an Asian American who obviously worked a high end restaurant at Disney because he was so friendly, professional and great at his job.  
 
After the meal we took the Skyliner over to Caribbean Beach.  First, let me say that the Skyliner was pleasantly cool even the temperature was around 90 and it was humid and sunny.  
We got a good view of the construction in France for Ratatouille:


 
 On Friday, since we were blocked out of the parks, we went to Disney Springs.  Nothing much new there to report, but the crowds weren't bad.  From there we took the bus to the Grand Floridian.  It was eerie seeing it so empty:

 
The band is not playing and they moved the piano up onto the band stand:

 
On Saturday, we took the bus from the campground to the Wilderness Lodge.  The bus now rides along the road between the Fort and the Lodge.  From there we could see that the walking trail no longer exists.  It has been completely torn up and they were installing water pipes.  However, there were new concrete spillways in place which indicates the intent to restore the trail.  I'm sure that won't happen for quite a while though.
Like the Grand, Wilderness Lodge was pretty empty, although it was a bit more crowded for Labor Day weekend:

 
The next day we checked out and headed home.  It was a great trip; a nice combination of going to the parks and relaxing at the Campground.  Disney did a great job both at the Fort and the parks.  While I am looking forward to things getting back to normal, there were some changes I really enjoyed and makes me glad we booked our stay.
 
 
 
 

That all does sound great.  I think right now it's a matter of people going with the expectation that it IS going to be different and some things will be missing, but that they can still make it a terrific trip. 
For sure!!