How Crowded Will Disney World Be After Reopening?
“How bad will crowds be when Walt Disney World’s parks reopen?” and “which months will be busiest when WDW reopens?” are two common reader questions right now. Many readers are understandably anxious about crowds when rebooking vacations, and we’ll attempt to answer here based on history and our expectations.
This is an ongoing series, coming in response to feedback and concerns raised in response to our When Will Walt Disney World Reopen? post. We’ve also tackled the question of Will Huge Discounts be Offered When WDW Reopens? and soon will address operational modifications. (We’ll also revisit the first question.)
A lot of this is speculative, dependent upon how the next couple of months play out and what the national mood is going forward. While we’re comfortable discussing generalized trends and possibilities, it would be incredibly premature to offer numerical crowd levels or an update to our 2020 Crowd Calendars for Walt Disney World. We’ll try to have one of those as soon as possible–if you want to be notified when that’s ready, sign up here for our FREE Disney newsletter here.
When it comes to Walt Disney World crowd predictions for the remainder of 2020 after the parks reopen (whenever that might happen), there are generally two schools of thought. The first is that most guests who have had their trips cancelled will rebook later in the year for the months that remain, meaning several months worth of crowds will be crammed into what’s left of the year. This would mean a significant spike in attendance.
The second is that crowds will be significantly lower across the board due to surging unemployment, plummeting consumer confidence, economic anxiety, travel trepidation, and more. If you’ve read any of our past posts related to the topic, you already know we fall firmly in the second camp.
We’ll cover both theories here, discussing what each means in terms of how busy Walt Disney World will be. However, there are a ton of variables that will be at play and we don’t have a crystal ball–if we did, we’d probably use it for something cooler, like finding out who wins the 2021 World POG Federation Championship…
Before we delve into this discussion, let’s set the economic backdrop. Although people might visit for the “Disney Bubble” they don’t book vacations while in one. Real world circumstances have a significant impact on travel numbers–look no further than the attendance lulls following 9/11 and the Great Recession for conclusive proof of that.
The latest weekly jobs report showed 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment, for a two-week total of roughly 10 million jobless claims. This number is a record by a colossal margin, and is likely still an underestimate given that many states and individuals reported troubles with processing and filing unemployment claims, respectively.
Moreover, some companies have done everything they can to keep people employed, but simply will not be able to do so the longer this goes on. Walt Disney World and other Central Florida theme park operators are good examples of this. The Walt Disney Company has announced it’ll furlough employees on April 19, and it’s likely Universal and other businesses will follow suit–adding to those numbers.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis district has estimated that the United States could see as many as 47 million people lose their jobs when all is said and done. That would put the nation’s unemployment rate at 32%, a figure higher than what was seen during the Great Depression. Other estimates project lower and larger numbers, but the one constant is that they’re all unprecedented highs.
While those numbers are eye-popping, they only tell the beginning of the entire story. Several questions remain unanswered. How rapidly will recovery occur? Have we simply hit “pause” on all economic activity? To what degree will there be lasting damage? Will the American consumer bounce right back? How quickly will those jobs return?
Unfortunately, I’m not an economist or financial expert who simply operates a Walt Disney World blog as a side hustle. Nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. (Although even that sounds delightful right about now!) However, I do watch a lot of CNBC and read a ton of financial news, and one thing is clear to me: no one really knows.
Well-credentialed experts each appear confident in their own personal economic projections, but they contradict one another. Suffice to say, there’s no clear consensus. Unlike the weather forecast (which itself isn’t a hallmark of reliability), these experts are working with even less complete information. So much of the story remains to be written.
Economists have offered up no shortage of predictions for the “shape” of the economic recovery. Initially, a rapid V-shape rebound was favored. Now, more believe it could be an L, W, or U-shape recovery. Some think we’re looking at a “Nike Swoosh” shape (here’s a decent overview of the possibilities). We haven’t yet to hear of any “Hidden Mickey” shape bounce-backs, but there’s still time.
We’ve already spent a lot of time fixating on the current and potential future state of the economy, but the reason for that is simple: it’s the best proxy we have right now for future crowd levels at Walt Disney World. This is all totally unprecedented, so traditional crowd prediction methodology are pretty much out the window.
Consumer confidence is a great barometer for generalized attendance trends, and it already showed a significant drop last month (and that only surveyed sentiment through the 18th–before the parks even closed). It’s safe to assume the consumer confidence numbers for April and May will see an even sharper drop, which is significant because this is the timeframe that average Americans would typically be booking travel for September through December.
On social media, we’ve seen a lot of people worried that Walt Disney World crowds will be colossal in October. (That specific month has come up again and again.) This is based upon comments people have seen posted in Facebook groups, blog comments, and other Disney-centric social media. This fear has been exacerbated by long waits on the phone to book the Free Dining Summer Recovery Offer.
In its own way, this illustrates the problem with online echo chambers. If you’re surrounded by other diehard Disney fans on social media, of course you’re hearing from other people who are rebooking trips and eager to get back to the parks. You thus might assume that “everyone” is booking for the fall and it’s going to be packed.
We’d strongly caution against buying into this–it’s an extreme case of selection bias. High call volume is easy to explain away: there’s also a huge surge in cancellations and we don’t know what staffing numbers are like right now. This is all supported by the reality that only a minority of guests are even eligible for the promo.
Even assuming a number of best case scenarios about the speed and strength of our nation’s recovery from this–plus a lack of health concerns–it’s really difficult to see a massive spike by early fall. For one, September and October are “naturally” Florida’s off-season, a time when school is back in session, meaning less travel.
October has not been off-season the last several years, but that’s largely been due to a huge spike in conventions and other events. The year’s convention schedule has already been decimated, with many events already cancelled for fall. (We wouldn’t be surprised to see no youth events on the calendar for ESPN Wide World of Sports for the remainder of 2020.)
On average, Walt Disney World vacations are booked 5-6 months in advance. (Most people reading this almost certainly begin planning earlier. You’re reading a Disney blog–you’re not the average guest.) In order for those fall months to fill up, people would need to be booking trips right now.
With so much uncertainty in the air, it’s safe to say that this is not occurring on a widespread level. As this closure continues, the same will almost certainly hold true for November and December. At present, it’s difficult to envision the general public eagerly booking trips to a destination with a reputation for crowds and lines. There are simply too many unknowns and anxiety is high.
In our recent post about Walt Disney World Accepting Reservations for June 1, 2020 and Later, we posited that Disney had opened reservations for summer (and offered Free Dining Recovery Deal) to get more bookings and boost the occupancy numbers. Otherwise, it would not even be practicable to open the resorts this summer.
It’s absolutely true that Walt Disney World can work its “magic” to drive reservations. A general public Free Dining offer or even more aggressive discounts could help spike hotel occupancy to acceptable levels. Good deals can overcome a lot, including fears about congestion.
What’s largely out of Disney’s control is occupancy at off-site hotels. Walt Disney World is somewhat dependent upon Florida tourism, as a whole. While fans bemoan the construction of new on-site hotels and how they’ve exacerbated crowds, the reality is that most guests on any given day are still coming from off-site.
Even if Disney can somehow against all odds manage 90% on-site occupancy for the fall and winter, the actual crowd levels in the parks will be largely dependent upon what booking levels look like off-site. It’s safe to say that third party hotels will likewise offer deals to get back on their feet, but those don’t have the same impact of enticing people to visit Walt Disney World. Nevertheless, let’s say those hotels see a recovery and WDW offers a strong general public 4-day ticket deal to recover some off-site guests.
All of that is making a number of best case assumptions about consumer confidence, the economic recovery, and Walt Disney World’s ability to quickly and effectively deploy discounts to buoy resort occupancy.
If the average American has economic anxiety, unemployment remains above 10%, and/or consumer confidence does not rebound, fewer people will be booking trips. To us, the best case scenario looks like a 15% drop in domestic attendance–and that doesn’t even take into account international guests who may not even be able to travel to the United States.
Again, this is all the general public we’re discussing. Walt Disney World fans will no doubt disproportionately make sacrifices, jump on discounts, and do everything they can to return to their happy place. However, Disney fans are a (vocal) minority of all guests on any given day.
All of the above discussion reflects the second school of thought regarding Walt Disney World crowds after the parks reopen–the beliefs to which we subscribe. The other is that most guests who have had their Walt Disney World vacations cancelled will rebook later in the year for the months that remain.
The theory here is that Americans won’t sacrifice their 2020 vacations. If the parks are closed for ~2 months and reopen on June 1, those couple months worth of crowds will be redistributed for the remainder of the year. This is the best (or worst, depending upon your perspective) case scenario.
If Disney can simply spread the crowds that would’ve materialized during the closure over the rest of the year that could mean a 10-25% daily increase in crowds, depending upon how long the closure lasts. This is theoretically possible if you ignore real world reality, we guess. It’s also theoretically possible that Walt Disney World will begin accepting Monopoly money and we’ll each be named Princess or Prince of Magic Kingdom for the day.
However, we will concede that we don’t know how this will end up playing out. This is totally unprecedented in a number of ways, and it seems like every single day has included a new and usually unpleasant surprise. It’s virtually impossible to predict how the nation will look and feel several weeks from now, let alone several months.
We feel our thinking represents a sober view of how the general public’s current attitude towards booking vacations and the variables that will impact that in the coming months. While it’s likely Central Florida locals eager to get out of the house will pack the parks (to the degree that’s even possible) in the first few weeks after reopening, we’d expect that to be a temporary surge. After that, our preliminary expectation (read: total shot in the dark guess) is that you can take normal crowd calendars and drop those numbers by about 50%. Take October’s numbers and drop them even further than that. This doesn’t even take into account crowd control measures and operational modifications Walt Disney World might make, but that’s another topic for another day…
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think Walt Disney World’s crowds will rise or fall once the parks reopen? Are you anticipating colossal crowds this fall and holiday season, or the lowest levels since the Great Recession or 9/11? Will you immediately book a trip, or wait until the economy recovers? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I have been wondering all these questions myself. I have 2 trips planned this year – June 11th and October 29th. While I am not entirely too concerned about my October trip, I’m puzzled as to what to do about my June trip. We have decided to wait to see how things play out by the end of May to make that decision as we have all of our flights booked as well. Because my trip is more than 60 days out I do not want to overwhelm cast members who are helping those more immediately affected.
I also believe there will be a drop in crowd levels as many are faced with so much financial uncertainty at this time.
I have also been looking into some research about buying into DVC after this is over as investments like that don’t seem like they would be high on too many peoples priority list. I had been toying around with the idea of buying in prior to this. Have you seen any information on price drops or deals regarding these things?
“Have you seen any information on price drops or deals regarding these things?”
My guess is that DVC resale prices will be negatively impacted to a significant degree, but it’ll take a while (several months at least) for that to be fully felt.
https://www.ccn.com/apple-hostile-disney-takeover-as-employees-hit-unemployment-lines/
Thoughts?
This has been a “rumor” for years and has gained momentum more recently, especially as Apple is flush with cash and has stumbled with its streaming service.
Now, it makes even more sense with Disney vulnerable thanks to the parks shutdown, ESPN not having sports to air, and the studios not being able to release anything. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything will actually happen–just that it’s not an unreasonable notion.
I see families opting out of fall travel because they don’t want to take kids out of school after missing up to three months of this current school year.
I fall into this category. I usually have no problem taking my kids out for one week a school year, but won’t next year since they will have so much to catch up on.
On a scale of 1 to 10 as being a hard-core Disney fan, I’m probably a 7 in visiting either Disneyland/Disneyworld once every couple year. I can’t see putting myself/family in possible harms way in going to any theme parks this year.
Not until they have a vaccine months later would I feel safe to be in a crowded area after being in shelter at home and practicing social distancing these past few weeks here in California.
Perhaps your next article can be what might Disney parks look like after they re-open?
Will there be social distancing for 6 feet waiting in all the lines? Will people feel safe to touch the metal bars of rides that hundreds of people may have contaminated it before them or playing the the spinning wheel of the tea cup? How many boxes of disinfectant wipes will you bring to the parks to wipe things down (assuming you can even buy some by then)?
Will the US Disney parks force all guests to wear face masks like the restriction in Shanghai Disneyland (per the web site info on April 6)? Will there be character greeting (probably not) or fireworks where people will likely congregate in tight spaces?
So even if the park opens this summer, it will not likely be the exact same Disney experiences as it was couple months ago. This is not even mentioning the risk of people that have to share in flying on plane for hours to get to Disney parks if they are not within driving distances.
Maybe for some Disney die-hards, any form of Disney park opening is good enough for them. For me, weighing the risks and the reduced benefits, I will pass on going in 2020.
Thank you Harry Lee. As I read Tom’s analysis I thought there’s one omission that would influence our decision to travel anywhere, but especially to a destination where social distancing would be impossible to enforce. We just returned from Costco, where they have done everything possible to protect their customer’s health. Standing in line with at least one cart between us and the next person. No one allowed in the store without a mask and gloves. Allowing only so many customers in the store at one time. Once inside, most customer respected the rules. However, there were those racing through the aisles and pushing their way ahead of us. There’s nothing Costco can do to control customer behavior. We’ve been to Disney parks. The majority of guests are mobile phone obsessed and pay little attention to anyone around them. The more crowded the worse people’s manners are. There will be those who disagree. My reply would be their opinion is not influenced by the reality that exists inside a crowded Disney park. Disney parks cannot provide a safe environment until there is virus testing of ALL Americans and a vaccine available. When Disney requires proof from their guests that they are virus free or immune, we won’t put our lives on the line for Mickey.
Following up on earlier post.. that we don’t yet have any idea on the level at which Disney World will be operating, even when it does re-open.. Disney is cancelling the fall College internship program, which is huge. Those interns typically arrive May-June, and work through the rest of 2020.
https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disney-company/news/06apr2020-walt-disney-world-fall-college-program-cancelled-along-with-cultural-representative-program.htm?fbclid=IwAR367f_J4fohkMf-pT6Gs2C3-xzjN2sVR0ozyZ84vfxKDzsPrEFCytzBL7M
They have also sent home all the Epcot “cultural representatives” to their home countries.
What this suggests — Disney World will not be operating at 100% for a LONG time. Even if they open in June, they will not be at full staffing. And rumors persist that Epcot wouldn’t even open with the rest of the park. (Though considering how much dining capacity Epcot has, how can you offer free dining yet keep Epcot closed?!??)
I think that everyone who is getting screwed out of DVC points will rush to get a vacation in before they lose their points. They still need to address what will happen to those who had to cancel and lost banked points as well as those who couldn’t use their points and they expired. Will be very interesting for us DVC people for the next year. Disney really needs to take care of those who invested into their pre-paid vacations through DVC. They made millions on that alone.
i’m thinking the way disney needs to handle this first is cancel all fast passes till they know exactly when they are opening its crazy to see that all fast passes are already booked until end of the year. I feel that when disney opens it should be open to all first responders and esstional people from florida for the first month who had to work thru all this not knowing if they would catch this deadly desease . There are many of us who were there to help the sick and ship essential products so you wouldn’t have to go out. Give us all a chance to relax and forget the people we may have known that we lost, And disney needs to give us decent low prices on hotels if we want to spend a few days there. Please disney think of the foridian passholders and the people that were there in florida that need a break and give us all some pixie dust. I realize disney will need the money what 1 extra month to help us floridians and passholders relax would be the best pixie dust you could give, Everyone have a magicial day and stay safe.
If everyone is treated as “special”, how will the truly “special” stand out?
We had a trip cancelled and we rescheduled with a free dining plan. We aren’t on the front lines but are like everyone else, by that I mean affected by the virus. Nobody should receive special treatment because they are working in their chosen field.
Another thing to consider is how widely available overseas flights might be as a result. There could be a significant reduction in overseas visitors
Indeed. Very good point. Summer is also the time for overseas visitors to visit Florida /WDW. This time, the uncertainty is huge: travel bans are in place all over the globe (specially in Europe); intercontinental flights to the US from the EU banned until 4/30, and could be extended; the aviation sector is in trouble with a number of airlines having to face bankrupcy, public bailouts and so on – so, even if the skies are open, I fear that a lot of airlines will have to reduce their flight programmes for the entire summer and fall.
Also,even if the pandemic enters a “under control” situation, I believe that a number os restrictions will still aply (border restrictions, quarantines for travelers…). For instance, the UK Foreign Office has just advised “against all non-essential global travels indefinitely”. Austria is now planing the life a gradual relief of measures starting mid -April, but the Prime Minister has already warned citizens that “this summer, you’ll have to spend your summer holidays in Austria”, meaning that borders will remain closed. I can see this happening all over Europe.
I have myself a “first ever trip” to WDW planned for mid-august and I can tell you that a cancellation of the entire trip is – unfortunately – very likely to happen.
We have trip from New Zealand booked in December. Our Prime Minister has already alluded to the border remaining closed until a vaccine is available, so I am not confident our trip will be possible- assuming the airline doesn’t go bankrupt as well!
Thank you so much for continuing to write your posts. Even sobering ones like this that do not sugar coat the economic realities we all will likely face once this is all over is a much-needed mental health break from reality right now. And your line “We haven’t yet to hear of any “Hidden Mickey” shape bounce-backs, but there’s still time” made me actually bark out a laugh.
Just speaking anecdotally, we recently rebooked our May 2020 to August (free dining “discount” didn’t work out being a savings for us, but we figured we should move anyway just because seems unlikely the parks will be running in May and we wanted to start planning with new dates).
I was stunned at the availability I was seeing, in both resorts and dining. Even though reservations opened for our dates months ago, we could still book Cinderella’s Royal Table at normal meal times every day of the week if we wanted to. And we had our choice of resorts and room categories. That might change, but right now, August is looking quiet on the booking front.
” A reputation for crowds and lines”. AHHHhh, yes. They have systematically taken a wonderful place and calculated how to squeeze EVERY single dollar out it, with no regard to how the crowding has grossly deteriorated the guest experience over the years. They have done this mostly by exceeding what should be comfortable attendance levels and made the place look like Manhattan at lunch time. Building ever more hotels, despoiling views with “timeshares” and now guests needing RESERVATIONS even to ride the rides, it has become a sad experience. I have always loved this place. I am heartbroken by what it has become. The crowding problem could be solved by cutting hotel occupancy, not allowing non-Disney hotel residents admittance, or not allowing more than a defined number of attendees per park per day. However, I am rather sure they will never do that.
I feel the same way. We’ve been going to WDW Christmas week for 26 years since our kids were Infants. Oh how great it used to be, even Christmas wasn’t bad. In the last 10 years everyone travels at Christmastime and a WDW kills you on accommodations and ticket pricing.
Last year we didn’t go there at Christmas. We wanted to see if we could even stand Christmas at home. We went in early October for a fraction of the cost of going at Christmas and it was a wonderful trip. So no more Christmases at WDW.
Now Disney is chinking out every dime from its visitors. There used to be so many perks to staying in property but they are vanishing. If you visit 3-4!times in your life, you deal with it but if you visit every year, it’s time to evaluate. I am sure Disney will jack up prices to recoup their losses.
“Chinking”, seriously?
Hi Tom and Sarah, first I would like to thank you for the news letters I have been receiving for the past couple of years. I know predicting what Disney is going to do once the parks to reopen is just your opinion and I respect that. My son and his girlfriend had their vacation to WDW cancelled, they were to check in on March 16th, so now they are looking at other dates. My wife and I purchased the Canadian discount tickets early in the year for a December 2nd start date. JetBlue just came out with their flight schedule for later in the year and great prices, we fly out of Buffalo, NY being only 30 minutes away. Now my big question for you and I know it’s just your opinion. If we booked out hotel now and Disney did offer discounts later would we be eligible to receive the discount or would be locked in. Also if the free dining for the general public is offered , the same would we be eligible. Being on layoff at the moment, being an employee of General Motors here in Canada I even have more time to read some of your back issues of the blog and they are most enjoyable along with the photos, keep the news coming. Steve
You can always retroactively apply discounts to an existing reservation so long as you meet the eligibility requirements and there’s availability for your room type. Failing that, you can modify so that you fall within the parameters.
That’s not just my opinion–it’s Walt Disney World’s longstanding policy! 🙂
Thanks Tom, we will have to keep our eyes open and of course you will know before me and I will be notified by your newsletter
Unless a vaccine is in hand by fall, the virus will re-emerge thru the fall into winter and more travel anxiety will prevail. If the vaccine finally arrives by this time next year, I’d predict a fall 2021 is when things get back to Disney normal. Of course the locals, vloggers and risk takers will return as soon as the all clear is given!
Our vacation is september 23 until October 8. I’m confident disney will be up and running/limping by that time.
There’s just too many unknowns to really quantify an answer that may not look foolish as new information becomes known, but since we’re engaging in conjecture here’s my take:
Social distancing is eased in June and Disney uses the opportunity to do much needed repair in empty parks, but the parks remain closed to the public until July 1. The parks are closed again in mid-September and do not re-open until February of 2021 due to a virus spike. At this point, until development and widespread distribution of a vaccine, park crowds are down 60-70% on average from projected pre-pandemic numbers.
My take with a slightly rosier attitude: parks re-open July 1 and remain open, seeing on average a 25-30% drop in attendance until a vaccine is developed and disseminated.
A wild prediction: Disney looks to opening a Central/South American based park as travel from Central/South America to the States is noticeably lowered post-pandemic to the extent that opening a park in that region is more economically viable an option to capturing those customers funds than enticing them to travel to North America.
One major point I do not see is that, again those people who have been furloughed and not just Disney CM’s but other industries as well, people have used their vacation time during the initial weeks of their closures. Which would mean that they will not have the time to take a full blown vacation. Also most parents are going to be hesitant to take their kids out of school for a trip.
I’m seeing the parks having a down slide of guests that will be able to go despite what is happening in the world right now. I am staff on a major re-enactment event held every year for 2 weeks, we draw in nearly 12,000 people every year from around the globe. Right now I see that as being cancelled, Loving in primitive camping situation including very tight fits will definitely help a resurgence of this virus.
So people need to use their heads and be safe and do what your governors are telling you to do. Stay home, stay safe so that this virus can lessen down and not have a chance at a full blown 2nd outbreak in the fall.
This is a really good point! My employer hasn’t furloughed or laid anyone off yet, but we have had a mandatory 25% vacation time usage put into effect.
Well discussed Tom. It is so hard discussing the unknown, but I am hoping an early December booking will find low crowds, most open, good weather, some deals, and Disney taking my Monopoly money! However, trip insurance might be added this one time for any reason to cancel! I will keep looking for your studious predictions.
I think one factor that you didn’t mention in your analysis — but which will have a big effect on the outcome — is what the “end” looks like when the parks reopen. This is also something nobody knows.
Will the “end” include seroconversion tests, so that people can readily identify whether or not they’re still part of the disease-vulnerable population and can move around with more confidence if they know they are not?
Will the “end” include some ameliorative that blunts the impact of the disease so that contagion numbers and spread are not affected but the percentage who need supportive care in hospitals drops to something manageable?
There are other outcomes, but even just comparing these two shows that economic factors will not be all that is in play. In the former case, even those who can afford to go may still not feel safe to ride on airplanes, and may feel that it’s better to schedule their vacation that year for a less crowded venue. WDW may be open, but social distancing of some kind will still be in play and will be a factor tending to drive down attendance. In the latter case, it’s more likely that people will lose their fear of getting COVID, and economics will be the major factor in decision-making.
Great points all around.
It’ll be interesting to see if the United States uses systems similar to those in Asia. A few weeks ago, I would’ve guessed that they’re too draconian, but now…who knows.
I think that a lot of people will be afraid to fly and travel anywhere there are large crowds. I have a July trip with free dining I’m going to cancel. Three CDC is saying this might become a seasonal virus.
“I think that a lot of people will be afraid to fly and travel anywhere there are large crowds.”
Agreed.
If I had to bet on which destinations will see increased tourist numbers, my pick would be state and national parks within driving distance of major metro areas. People will want to get outside–and spread out–but won’t want to be in huge crowds. This type of vacation is also more practical from an economic perspective.
I agree. I have a planned four-day vacation with my 12 year old grandson in mid August. A few weeks ago, I bought a package that can be used anytime within two years. So if I can’t take him on vacation with me in August, I can do it next August or even a year & a half/two years from now on a school break.. Not WDW, where I would LOVE to take my grandson, but in his home state of Missouri. So I can drive to Missouri and pick him up, and go on our mini vacation – just three hours from his home. So we won’t experience the magic of Disney (on this year’s vacation), but it will be fairly inexpensive and the MOST important part is spending time with my grandson.
Maybe, but a lot of folks (including us, for example) got sick, got better, and are hoping we have antibodies now that would protect us from reinfection. Based on that, we are less worried about crowds and travel once later this summer (though increasingly it seems like nobody really knows anything). I expect a lot of others (e.g., pretty much the entire population of New York state) will be in a similar position a few months from now.
I have my vacation booked from may 24 2020 until may 30 is it possible disney could reopen by then or should i just reschedule.
reschedule, unfortunately
The models seem to indicate that Florida will peak in mid-April and be down to zero by June.
https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disney-company/news/06apr2020-latest-covid-19-models-move-the-peak-impacts-in-florida-to-mid-april-as-disney-continues-to-look-towards-reopening.htm
That’s one particular model and it was just massively, massively revised over the weekend. So expect it to continue to change dramatically in the coming days/weeks,
(Because in spite of all the brightest minds in the world working on this for the past couple months, we still don’t know all that much . And any model is trying to predict the future based on lagging, often faulty, data.)
I just scheduled fast passes for the first 2 weeks of June and some rides are completely out and some were almost out. That was at 8 a.m. this past Friday, April 3.
We are scheduled sept 6 to 11. Open by then?