Cancel or not to Cancel

[jlf 7]

Hi guys we have reservations starting 3/7. Our second trip since December. Now my husband is not excited about going especially since the new rule eating at restaurants. Can Someone tell me how are the parks and restaurants since December? I am iffy about going   Thanks 

[PGHFiend 140]

I just posted almost the exact same thing in the members section 15 minutes ago, and we also have an upcoming trip.  I've been reading about the new rule, heard the pools are packed and having to wait in a line to access them, and several restaurants we like to go to are closed.  If I could gotten a reservation at Creekfire, I think I would cancel. But still up in the air. 

[jlf 7]

Our anniversary is on the 10 and we always go to the Luau Now that they r closed. It is so upsetting 

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

11 hours ago, jlf said:

Hi guys we have reservations starting 3/7. Our second trip since December. Now my husband is not excited about going especially since the new rule eating at restaurants. Can Someone tell me how are the parks and restaurants since December? I am iffy about going   Thanks 

We haven't been to the MK lately, but the other Parks were fine and not overly crowded. Our biggest complaint at MK was the stroller parking. Since the ques are much longer, all the strollers are parked in the middle just about every where you go.

The new mask rule is being emphasized, because as usual, it was being abused by people using the restaurants and seating areas for "MASK BREAKS", not eat or drinking just sitting. Thanks to a few IDIOTS the majority suffer.. 

It always did say "only while actively eating or drinking" so they are really just reinforcing it.

 

[Travisma 1,317]

I would say to anyone, if you are not local and a passholder a trip to DW now is a waste of time and $$$$$.

You are still paying a premium price for a less than stellar experience.

We are local (about an hour away) passholders. 

We don't really eat that much at the parks.

If we go now and there isn't a long wait we go on a ride since we've been on everything (except ROR and Smugglers Run) numerous times.

We try to go when it's not crowded.

But again we are local.

If this was a major, once in a couple year trip, I would save your $$$ and stay away.

[djsamuel 322]

My wife is retired from Disney, so as a result, her and I have passes.  We go in at least once a week and have enjoyed the parks.

That said, my wife frequently states that if she was a paying guest, she would be upset.  Even though we have the passes and only live a short distance away, we find the need for park reservations, the lack of restaurants and missing attractions frustrating, but at least we can come in for a few hours and enjoy ourselves.  Disney has done a great job dealing with the pandemic, and we do feel safe.  However, as they raised the capacity to 35%, they've obviously hit their limit in terms of social distancing.  The longer lines are getting really long.  For example, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train's line will stretch from the entrance, around the ride (in the direction of Dumbo) and ends across from the Little Mermaid ride.  Last Friday we were at Studios and the line for the Mickey and Minnie Railway was about an hour and weaved back in forth in front of the Chinese theater.  Remember, that 35% is a percentage of capacity; so the parks are not empty.  Add to that the fact there are fewer restaurants, and no character greetings, etc, and the crowd seems pretty normal.  Magic Kingdom a couple of weeks ago was similar to a typical day in August in terms of crowds; not packed but not what used to be off season.  

On the flip side, it is an opportunity to see things being run differently.  We do enjoy the Character Cavalcades instead of the parade.  It is much nicer to not wait for the parade.  The cavalcades are spontaneous and enjoyable.  I will also say that the cast members are excellent.  It is obvious that the ones who were retained were retained for a reason.  Most, but not all have seniority, and they all would have stood out for the quality of their service a year ago.  At the Fort, while I miss Trails End, I really enjoy having the dining area open for takeout from P&J's.  They've tried very hard there and it really shows.  

So, if you can come with limited expectations and want to take time to just relax at the Fort, then I think you won't be disappointed.  If you are looking for a full experience, then I agree with others; delay your trip for a year.  There is a LOT missing, and some frustrating polices as well.

As far as the masks go, I have a couple of things.  My biggest frustration are the guests.  You see several who do their best to get away with not wearing one, or at least pulling them down when they think nobody is looking.  When we were in line for Rise of the Resistance on Friday, we watched people walk up to cast members with the mask down at their chin and the cast members said nothing.  We watched other cast members try very hard to enforce the rules.  Watching it is very frustrating.  It is a private business and some people get borderline abusive with cast members.  As far as the new mask policy at the restaurants, we ate at the Brown Derby Friday and nothing was different.  There were no new signs, and once seated, we took our masks off. All of the tables in the restaurants are separated by plenty of distance and we are comfortable.  

 

[jlf 7]

15 hours ago, djsamuel said:

My wife is retired from Disney, so as a result, her and I have passes.  We go in at least once a week and have enjoyed the parks.

That said, my wife frequently states that if she was a paying guest, she would be upset.  Even though we have the passes and only live a short distance away, we find the need for park reservations, the lack of restaurants and missing attractions frustrating, but at least we can come in for a few hours and enjoy ourselves.  Disney has done a great job dealing with the pandemic, and we do feel safe.  However, as they raised the capacity to 35%, they've obviously hit their limit in terms of social distancing.  The longer lines are getting really long.  For example, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train's line will stretch from the entrance, around the ride (in the direction of Dumbo) and ends across from the Little Mermaid ride.  Last Friday we were at Studios and the line for the Mickey and Minnie Railway was about an hour and weaved back in forth in front of the Chinese theater.  Remember, that 35% is a percentage of capacity; so the parks are not empty.  Add to that the fact there are fewer restaurants, and no character greetings, etc, and the crowd seems pretty normal.  Magic Kingdom a couple of weeks ago was similar to a typical day in August in terms of crowds; not packed but not what used to be off season.  

On the flip side, it is an opportunity to see things being run differently.  We do enjoy the Character Cavalcades instead of the parade.  It is much nicer to not wait for the parade.  The cavalcades are spontaneous and enjoyable.  I will also say that the cast members are excellent.  It is obvious that the ones who were retained were retained for a reason.  Most, but not all have seniority, and they all would have stood out for the quality of their service a year ago.  At the Fort, while I miss Trails End, I really enjoy having the dining area open for takeout from P&J's.  They've tried very hard there and it really shows.  

So, if you can come with limited expectations and want to take time to just relax at the Fort, then I think you won't be disappointed.  If you are looking for a full experience, then I agree with others; delay your trip for a year.  There is a LOT missing, and some frustrating polices as well.

As far as the masks go, I have a couple of things.  My biggest frustration are the guests.  You see several who do their best to get away with not wearing one, or at least pulling them down when they think nobody is looking.  When we were in line for Rise of the Resistance on Friday, we watched people walk up to cast members with the mask down at their chin and the cast members said nothing.  We watched other cast members try very hard to enforce the rules.  Watching it is very frustrating.  It is a private business and some people get borderline abusive with cast members.  As far as the new mask policy at the restaurants, we ate at the Brown Derby Friday and nothing was different.  There were no new signs, and once seated, we took our masks off. All of the tables in the restaurants are separated by plenty of distance and we are comfortable.  

 

 

thank you so much. I totally agree with everything you just said. We too are passholders have been for 20 years. The only way I was able to renew my tickets was to pay for a year upfront times two. That was in December and we went to two parks. So I cancel now, I would have paid almost 1,000 for 2 people to go for two days. We know what to expect so we are going just to get out of Miami for a bit. Thanks again 

[jlf 7]

On 3/1/2021 at 8:22 AM, Grumpy and Grandma said:

We haven't been to the MK lately, but the other Parks were fine and not overly crowded. Our biggest complaint at MK was the stroller parking. Since the ques are much longer, all the strollers are parked in the middle just about every where you go.

The new mask rule is being emphasized, because as usual, it was being abused by people using the restaurants and seating areas for "MASK BREAKS", not eat or drinking just sitting. Thanks to a few IDIOTS the majority suffer.. 

It always did say "only while actively eating or drinking" so they are really just reinforcing it.

 

You always have the “entitled” ones. We decided to go. Will be there on Sunday. 

[jlf 7]

On 3/1/2021 at 8:54 AM, Travisma said:

I would say to anyone, if you are not local and a passholder a trip to DW now is a waste of time and $$$$$.

You are still paying a premium price for a less than stellar experience.

We are local (about an hour away) passholders. 

We don't really eat that much at the parks.

If we go now and there isn't a long wait we go on a ride since we've been on everything (except ROR and Smugglers Run) numerous times.

We try to go when it's not crowded.

But again we are local.

If this was a major, once in a couple year trip, I would save your $$$ and stay away.

We live in Miami and are passholders. I agree if we live out of state, I would wait till next year. Thanks for the advice 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

13 hours ago, jlf said:

I agree if we live out of state, I would wait till next year.

We're in NH and right now are booked for a few weeks in November. Really hoping things are a lot more "normal" by then.  As much as we love hanging out at the Fort, it's too far for us to go and too much for us to spend if so many things in the parks are still weird/closed.

We had hoped to be there for the 50th, and it's our 25th anniversary to boot, but if things aren't more open by then we may shorten our time at WDW and maybe head to the coast or Keys for the rest.

[djsamuel 322]

19 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

We're in NH and right now are booked for a few weeks in November. Really hoping things are a lot more "normal" by then.  As much as we love hanging out at the Fort, it's too far for us to go and too much for us to spend if so many things in the parks are still weird/closed.

We had hoped to be there for the 50th, and it's our 25th anniversary to boot, but if things aren't more open by then we may shorten our time at WDW and maybe head to the coast or Keys for the rest.

Remember, the 50th anniversary celebration will be going into 2023, so you have all of 2022 available.  Things BETTER be back to normal by then. 😄

[Travisma 1,317]

4 minutes ago, djsamuel said:

Remember, the 50th anniversary celebration will be going into 2023, so you have all of 2022 available.  Things BETTER be back to normal by then. 😄

But if you're a real Disnerd, you will have to be there 10/1/2021!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

On 3/4/2021 at 7:15 AM, djsamuel said:

Remember, the 50th anniversary celebration will be going into 2023, so you have all of 2022 available.  Things BETTER be back to normal by then. 😄

I know... but it's also our 25th anniversary and we ended up having to cancel our 20th trip, so we were really hoping to make this a two-fer.  

But hey, if we do end up putting it off a little longer, I'm going to have enough Chase Rewards points racked up to pay for a whole lotta Dole Whips!! 

On 3/4/2021 at 7:21 AM, Travisma said:

But if you're a real Disnerd, you will have to be there 10/1/2021!

In a normal year I would have driven down just for the day.  

(see: once drove 40 hours to be there for 24)

[keith_h 420]

We have started talking about trying to get down to WDW on 2022 though whether it would be in February or the gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving is yet to be decided. It would be for our 40th wedding anniversary so we really want things fully opened and running smoothly. 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

16 hours ago, keith_h said:

the gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving

This is one of our favorite (and more frequent) times to go.  

[ftwildernessrick 10]

Well, all I can say was that our Christmas/New Years trip was anything  but stellar.

Starting with they would not sell me my annual pass, since I had let it lapse. So I had to buy a multi day pass to get me through the 31st then a separate 2 day pass for January 1 & 2. They combined price for our group of 4 was only around $300 short of what an annual pass cost.

I had reservations for 30 nights from June 24 to July 24. I have called and written every person I could find, but to no avail, no new annual passes period, but they would sell me 3 10day passes $$$$$$$$. Are you kidding 🤬. I canceled our summer trip.

Some food places were ok, most were horrible. Crystal Palace had opened prior to our arrival and I was able to get ressies for it. I knew it was going to a plated meal. Most of us got the fried chicken, thinking it would be a safe choice - WRONG.  In a word, YUK. I would have literally been better off going and eating fried chicken at a gas station.

Most all the restaurants were not good and the online ordering was not good. For instance, they did not have an option for a burger without cheese. You selected the cheese burger, then cut the cheese, but it did not cut the price. Then you had to play 20 questions with a hostess to be able to go to the register and order a plain hamburger at the lower price.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

19 minutes ago, ftwildernessrick said:

 I have called and written every person I could find, but to no avail, no new annual passes period, but they would sell me 3 10day passes $$$$$$$$.

That's weird I have had several clients show had them lapse last year who were able to call ticketing and get them re-instated. I wonder why they are giving you a hard time. Sorry to hear it no matter what. 

[PghBob 31]

We spent February at the Fort and we also have annual passes.  We lowered our expectations, and our experiences turned out to be what we expected.  We only went to the parks a couple times each week, preferring to enjoy the Fort and the warm weather.  Fort was not crowded while there. 

Our restaurant visits where pretty much what others have reported.  Bitterly disappointed in the pizza now offered at P & J's.  It seems like the recipe has changed over the last couple of years.  We felt like it was nothing more than a large toasted cheese on bread concoction.  Besides, pizza should not fold we you pick it up and try to eat it.  Scratch this menu option for us.

Now, we are admitted snow birds, seeking warmth and sunshine.  But, aside from that, we would generally agree that you don't get your money's worth by coming to WDW now.  If looking for a once in a while WDW trip, wait if you can.  We have reservations for the Fall, and would to go to the MK for Oct. 1, but they are not currently allowing any more park reservations for that date.  We will go to the Fort anyway.

[mmfancipher 31]

It might be better to go next year but our family situation requires us to go this year.  Last Family Vacation with all the family.  Last child graduating from high school and the rest are starting to scatter.  Can't wait until next year because we don't know where a couple of them will be by then.  Thanks @katman1356...Jason!  You are the man!!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:55 PM, Katman1356...Jason said:

That's weird I have had several clients show had them lapse last year who were able to call ticketing and get them re-instated. I wonder why they are giving you a hard time. Sorry to hear it no matter what. 

If you call WDW and ask them about reinstating your AP. They will submit a request to do so. Someone from the AP department will call you within 30 days.  
 

that’s what we did.  And we now have our APs again.  I mainly did it because who knows when they’ll start selling them again.   

[disneylitch......Debbie 61]

On 3/4/2021 at 7:21 AM, Travisma said:

But if you're a real Disnerd, you will have to be there 10/1/2021!

The only problem with that is you can't get Magic Kingdom reservations for October 1.  I know because we are supposed to be going and can't get reservations for that day.  I hate having to get park reservations.

[Travisma 1,317]

14 hours ago, disneylitch......Debbie said:

The only problem with that is you can't get Magic Kingdom reservations for October 1.  I know because we are supposed to be going and can't get reservations for that day.  I hate having to get park reservations.

They opened up more slots 2 or 3 weeks ago.

I went to get them, and we couldn't because our AP's will be "expired" by then, and it's too early to renew them.

So we lost out on getting reservations.

I wasn't going to purchase tickets or book an overpriced Disney hotel.

[disneylitch......Debbie 61]

On 4/13/2021 at 7:15 AM, Travisma said:

They opened up more slots 2 or 3 weeks ago.

I went to get them, and we couldn't because our AP's will be "expired" by then, and it's too early to renew them.

So we lost out on getting reservations.

I wasn't going to purchase tickets or book an overpriced Disney hotel.

We have Fort reservations the last week of September and the first week in October.  The grandkids really want to go, but don't want to go if they still have to wear a mask.  So, we will just wait and see.  I don't want to wear a mask all day if it's really hot and we all know that time of year it can be really hot.  I don't want to be forced to purchase tickets months or even more than a year ahead of time.  If you have to cancel, you are out alot of money.