Disney World Delays Bookings Another Month
Walt Disney World has likely pushed back the reopening of resort hotels for at least another month, with new reservations now only officially available for July 1, 2020 and later. In this post, we’ll share details about the changes, plus commentary on how to reconcile this with other recent announcements and progress towards reopening. (Updated May 9, 2020.)
As with Disneyland earlier this week and Walt Disney World a little over a month ago, hotel reservations have been pushed back for another month, with no new bookings or modifications possible for travel dates before July 1, 2020. While it wasn’t when we originally published this news, the “Temporary Closure & Operational Update” bulletin on Disneyworld.com has now been updated yet to reflect this new date.
Additionally, resort and vacation package cancellations will occur on a rolling basis (as has happened week by week for May) for June 2020 travel dates. For those looking to rebook for late Summer 2020, the Sun & Fun Room Discount offer is still available. However, Walt Disney World has ended the Free Dining Recovery Deal early…
For starters, there has already been speculation that this is happening because Walt Disney World already has enough bookings for June in a limited reopening scenario. This is possible, but we highly doubt it for a number of reasons.
First, as of yesterday afternoon, there was ample availability when we spot-checked various dates for resort bookings. For plenty of options to be available yesterday and nothing today suggests a repeat of what happened in late March with Walt Disney World cutting off new bookings for May.
Second, even assuming every single hotel room is booked with an average number of guests, that still only accounts for ~25% of Walt Disney World’s total capacity. (And as we noted above, there was plenty of availability as of yesterday, so every hotel was not booked. We’d personally be shocked if occupancy levels were above 50% for June.)
Much ado is made about Walt Disney World having too many on-site hotels and those causing overcrowding, but the reality is that the majority of theme park guests visiting Walt Disney World on any given day are from off-site. On a tangential note, the notion that Disney will be limiting the parks to hotel guests upon reopening is preposterous–even with locals and off-site guests, attendance is going to be low for a while. The travel industry is in for a long road to recovery.
With all of that said, the announcement that Walt Disney World is not accepting reservations until July 2020 might seem ostensibly difficult to square with yesterday’s announcement that Disney Springs Will Start Phased Opening on May 20, 2020. However, there are a few key differences. First and foremost is that Disney Springs is essentially a fancy mall and place to get dinner for a lot of Central Floridians (heresy among some reading this, I know) and can thrive without any out of state tourists.
Additionally, at this point the only venues that will be opening at Disney Springs are third party tenants. As we pointed out with the Disney Springs announcement, it’s possible that Walt Disney World is not ready to reopen its company-owned venues. Instead, it’s reopening Disney Springs to avoid contractual conflict with third party tenants.
Assuming the reopening of Disney Springs goes smoothly and Walt Disney World opts to open its own restaurants and shops, there’s also the fact that date for the first phase of the Disney Springs reopening is less than two weeks after the previous revised booking window that opened June 1, 2020.
Even under an accelerated timeline, it’s unlikely that Disney Springs will be fully operational by the beginning of June. It’s also unlikely that Walt Disney World will have gleaned everything they’d like to from modified operations at Disney Springs during that time. That amount of time is insufficient for testing and adjusting health protocol and other policies at Disney Springs such that they can be modified and deployed at dozens of hotels, plus busy theme parks.
Although Shanghai Disney Resort is obviously very different than Walt Disney World, it’s at least instructive. Shanghai’s Disneytown complex reopened on March 8—over two months before Shanghai Disneyland is resuming operations. For what it’s worth, Disneytown also reopened faster after its closure, welcoming guests after a little over one month of downtime.
Disney Springs will have been closed for roughly two months when it reopens. It’s impossible to say whether Walt Disney World will move on a faster or slower reopening trajectory, but the reality is that the Florida Project is a vastly more complex machine. It could take some time to gain momentum and get fully powered up.
With the exception of Disney Springs, Walt Disney World is also much more dependent upon tourists. As we previously remarked when the earliest booking date moved to June 1, Walt Disney World needs to keep accepting new bookings even for travel dates that are uncertain. (You can gloss over the next few paragraphs if you’ve been reading our Disney Closure & Reopening Updates, as we’ve said this same thing a time or six.)
Walt Disney World needs to accept hotel reservations now in order to meet minimum occupancy thresholds that are a necessary prerequisite for operating the hotels. Without a certain number of bookings, opening those resorts is not practicable. Since the average guest books a Walt Disney World vacation at least 5 months in advance, Disney needs a rolling slate of bookings.
Stated differently, Walt Disney World needs to accept reservations now in order to even have the potential possibility for the resorts to be up and running by July 1, 2020. If you have a reservation for July 4, 2020 or even mid or late July, don’t think this means that you’re now in the clear and the hotels will definitely be back up and running by then.
The updated date is not a signifier that the resorts will definitely reopen on July 1, 2020. To the contrary, all this should be viewed as is evidence that the hotels almost certainly will not be operational before July 1, 2020.
Now, this is not to say that the theme parks couldn’t open before then. Just as there is pent-up demand and a sufficient number of Central Floridians to sustain Disney Springs indefinitely, so too is there enough of a local audience to make reduced capacity theme parks viable…for at least a period of time.
While Walt Disney World is certainly no Disneyland in this regard, if the theme parks are going to have staggered openings anyway (which we believe is highly likely), this approach could make sense. It would be entirely plausible for Magic Kingdom to open one week, followed by Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios the next two weeks, and Epcot in the final week. All without any hotels.
The resort hotels could gradually begin operations after this, as bookings and occupancy levels dictate. With fewer out of state or international tourists initially, it’s also probable not all Walt Disney World hotels will need to reopen right away. For the reasons identified in Disney Vacation Club’s Point Pool Problem, properties with DVC villas will probably be the first to reopen, likely all at once (or close to it).
Otherwise, given the complexity of opening two dozen-plus hotels simultaneously, it’s easier for Walt Disney World to not reopen them all at once. Consolidating some of the Port Orleans bookings, moving guests from Coronado Springs to Caribbean Beach or Animal Kingdom Lodge, etc., are all options. Suffice to say, everything returning in phases seems likely.
In our Potential Plans for Phased Reopening of Walt Disney World, we discussed how the Governor’s Reopen Florida Task Force proposed plans for a gradual and careful reopening that entailed first reopening to Florida residents, then national visitors, followed by international guests.
While that’s the stated plan of the task force, our suspicion is that this is more a “de facto” course of action than a rule-driven one. Which is to say that practical realities of demand and travel (people will first be most comfortable traveling locally by car than by air, out-of-state quarantine rules might be in effect, etc.) may necessitate the approach.
In other words, we don’t expect Walt Disney World to be checking IDs at the gates. However, if hotels aren’t open and fewer flights are scheduled…the crowd will be disproportionately local.
This approach has benefits for Walt Disney World. It allows the parks to stagger attendance and more easily stay within capacity caps by letting pent-up demand among locals with cabin fever fizzle out before out of state tourists return. Locals and Annual Passholders are also going to be more forgiving of missing entertainment, allowing Disney to ramp that up as health and safety allow.
As we’ve said before several times, no one knows when the Walt Disney World theme parks and resorts will reopen. Not us, not analysts, not the governor, and not even Disney leadership. There are internal projections and goals, but the existence of timelines doesn’t mean they’ll be met. Everything is tentative at this point and predicated upon a range of externalities.
Previously, we viewed June as a realistic timeframe for beginning Walt Disney World’s reopening process. Setting aside Disney Springs, which will begin before then, we’re now starting to view June as the more optimistic month. July is probably the more reasonable month–and that’s just the start of the process, which will likely be drawn out over the course of several subsequent months. It’s still possible we’ll see Magic Kingdom and perhaps one other park open some point in June, but that’s not even an educated guess—it’s just a guess based upon what we think are relevant considerations.
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 hotels will reopen by July 1, 2020? When will you return to Walt Disney World after the parks reopen? Will you be back in the first week, first month, a specific month, sometime within 2020, sometime within 2021, or does it remain to be seen depending upon your personal circumstances, discounts, etc? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
Hi,
Thanks for posting this. It’s raised some interesting questions for us.
We’re due to go to Florida in late September from the UK.
Personally we love low crowds, but do you think social distancing will ramp up the queue times anyway?
Also, what are your thoughts on the water parks, do you think they will open?
We can potentially cancel the holiday if we choose but we’ve got our hearts set on going.
What would your thoughts be?
Thanks very much
Lizz
I originally had planned a May 11 trip which was cancelled by Disney. I rescheduled to June 1. This is a trip for my high school senior and with graduation and prom postponed and college starting in August, I really had no other time to schedule it. I haven’t been cancelled yet (although I did get an email saying the rest of my balance was due, lol) .. but j did get a survey from Disney pretty much asking what circumstances would make me not go. My answer was only if the parks were closed would j cancel. And they asked how much time would I need prior to my visit to make a decision to cancel. I said 2 days (we’re flying, but we travel light) So we’re scheduled to leave in three weeks. I didn’t expect it to work out then and i dont expect it now. Oh well, maybe next year. Tbh, the idea of wearing a mask in Florida summer heat sounds horrible.
I wonder if Disney would stick to open on June 1st. That is because I already bought Disney tickets for June 2nd. They better not disappoint me!
This is a very clear sign that a June 1 opening is not going to happen. To Disney’s credit, they have said repeatedly that just because they were accepting reservations on June 1 did not mean they would be open June 1–and to the contrary, they are closed “indefinitely” until an opening date is announced. But I hear you, it is very frustrating not knowing when the opening date will be.
Tom or Scout,
What will happen if you have reservations for the beginning of July and final payment is due at the beginning of June but the parks will not be fully open. Will you still get a full refund if you decide to change your reservation? Shouldn’t they be contacting people on that now? Your thought?
I received the same survey on May 8th that others have referenced. It referenced a September visit but interestingly I am set to check in on August 30th. I wonder how much the answers will impact Disney’s operating decisions. I am thinking they might use the data for smaller decisions like which specific attractions etc to limit if they have to make certain choices.
Hi Brittany,
I was wondering in what format you received the survey, as our trip is scheduled at the same time yours appears to be and I have not seen a survey at this point. Did you get an email or letter? Thanks!
@Patty The survey I received was sent as an email from Disney Destinations Research to the email address associated with my Disney account. The subject of the email was “Survey about your upcoming Walt Disney World visit.”
Hi Tom,
Thank u for your great articles. I wonder your opinion on best bet for booking….I know there is no crystal ball. We were planning to go to WDW first week of December this year. I am thinking I am Going to postpone the trip because I am concerned it will not be back to normal the way that my children and us experience it in the past and we are from the north so it is a major trip for us. That being said I’m wondering if it would be best to book for say February or April vacations or hold off entire year till next December? Wondering if everyone will be waiting and the crowds later in 2021 will be extreme.
It depends.
I’m personally salivating at the idea of this November and December. However, I highly value low crowds and my belief that they’ll be significantly depressed throughout the remainder of this year outweighs any potential entertainment cuts. If I placed a greater value on entertainment, I’d probably wait until late 2021. (I don’t see a significant difference between December 2020 and April 2021 in that regard.)
I agree with that there was plenty of availability yesterday, but if they do plan to open up June 1st its not that all the hotels have reached max occupancy. Its that they have reached whatever number they wanted to hit, regardless of what hotels people are staying in.
I have a June 1st reservation and a September trip booked. Im remaining optimistic about June.
Yes! I’ll cheers to your optimism! Here’s to June!
We have a June 1 booking too! We have rebooked three times since March. I really hope we get to go. My son has Autism and would benefit from the smaller crowd anyway.
Christopher Ryan
Please keep us posted on whether your June trip is canceled by Disney.
I’m curious to know what your plans are Tom? Whenever they open will you be going to the parks? Will you go to Disney Springs May 20th or that week? Or will you take a wait and see approach? Love your blog.
We’ll be taking a wait and see approach with all of it.
I suspect Disney Springs will be bonkers on day one, but pretty relaxed a week or so later. There will be hundreds of bloggers, vloggers, and other diehard locals there May 20, so it’s not like there will be any shortage of coverage. We’d rather err on the side of caution for (at least) a little longer, seeing how things play out and then assessing from there.
Just spoke with a WDW rep not having heard any of these updates except the July 1st date change. We were arriving June 27th and we already had the free meal plan promotion we acquired through a January promotion. Called to move our reservation to July 1st, they said no problem thanks for sticking with us. I say we already have the free meal plan, rep said no hounforrunately you lose that, if you still want it you have to $1600 more. I say why is it being taken away he said it is not the correct promo dates anymore. I said what about the offer of free plans for April and May customers. Are June customers going to be offered the same compensation, he said no. As a 20 plus year loyal customer returning at least every other year, that was a total slap in the face, June customers are not as important enough to receive the same offer as customers from April and May. Abosolutly idiot business practice. If this turns out this way WDW has taken $1600 promotion from a loyal customer that will in turn cost them $100000 in business from our family over the next decade.And I am sure this won’t be the only loyal customer they lose o er this stupid policy
I feel your pain. We too are scheduled for June 27 through July 6th. I wanted to add one day to the end of the stay but that would mean having to leave the resort room we’re in for another and it would raise the price which I totally understand but we wouldn’t get the free dining for the extra day.
Still would have the free dining for the rest of the time, 6/27 to 7/6. I’m surprised you wouldn’t be able to keep the free dining for that part of the stay which you originally booked.
Does not seem fair. I thought about why the April May customers were given free dining as compensation. They were booked well before they were cancelled by these unforeseen events. Most people booking June after the pandemic was established know the risks and they are probably worried about folks purposely booking June in hopes it is cancelled and they can reschedule with free dining. I have heard that some folks booking June early on like us (FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY) might still be given free dining. BUT we have to wait and see. I think you just have to hang in there till a decision is made by Disnet as to when, how and where they will open. If we are not cancelled then we have our own decision to make. Do we still want to go under whatever those circumstances are? I wouldn’t get too upset yet. And I wouldn’t take he word of just one employee so far out. They’re good people but they aren’t always up to date on all the little nuances offered.
One interesting question is what they’re going to do about refunds to annual pass holders. I purchased 4 annual passes in the middle of February and have requested a refund for the days they are closed. If they open up in July, but only partially, will I be partially refunded for those days? In any case, it looks like I’ll be getting a pretty big check from Disney when this ends. I’d like to go when they reopen, but I have a wife and two young children, and it might be best to wait and see how things go.
Shanghai Disneyland is not “starting the clock” for days its park is reopened but only via reservations (even though APs can register).
That leads me to believe Walt Disney World will likewise be liberal in how it restarts the clock and issues refunds. Ultimately, it’s in their best interests to keep locals and APs happy–they’re going to be dependent upon the dedicated fanbase for the next couple of years while travel recovers.
Hi I am due to visit Disney Orlando and my visit is from 2nd of June for 2 weeks there are 3adults and 2kids and we are coming from england with virgin they won’t give us notice if we are able to go until 72hours before our flight will it be open on these dates as this is a long way to travel if the parks are not open
They will almost certainly not be open, imo. That’s less than a month away. The last thing Disney wants is to make headlines for being the center of a breakout. Yes, they are losing tons of money, but the Disney brand is worth more than a summer of visitors.
Our family of 12 have reservations for October 19th. Need your educated guess on us making it.
I’d personally be fairly optimistic about October, but I wouldn’t want to be buying 12 non-refundable airline tickets right now. I actually wouldn’t be too pumped about buying refundable tickets until I see how the airlines are doing longer term. Are you flying or driving?
If I were Disney I certainly wouldn’t be telegraphing my intentions (which they aren’t). The entire East Coast is only about a 24 hour drive away – thinking that wave one could only be Orlando (or even Florida) locals is kidding ourselves. If you announce even a phased reopening a month in advance you give folks a full month to prep and plan – announce each phase a few days ahead seems much more manageable. With kids out of school the rush to Orlando could be very real – while Disney controls their hotels (I am not convinced that they won’t use this control relative to the parks but we’ll see) even tickets aren’t exact date specific so although there is no doubt Disney can control actual entry into the parks they could have a real mess if there are decent sized crowds disappointed by the restrictions. Going to be a very tricky balancing act through the reopening…
For at least the first couple of weeks, I’d expect advance registration being necessary for entry–like what’s being used at Shanghai Disneyland.
I’d agree that shorter notice would be better for limiting attendance, but the reality is that regardless of what Disney releases via official channels, they have tens of thousands of Cast Members to call back and schedule, likely two weeks in advance. Those Cast Members talk.
So, if my planned vacation is July 8 through 15th, I should actually reconsider? We are flying in from Minnesota.
I would absolutely reconsider. That’s only a month away. Disney Springs won’t even begin the first phase of opening until May 20, not enough time for Disney World to get useful information from that or other big openings. DW is not going to be one of the first to open, imo. Too much potential to hurt the brand.
Tom-do you know if the survey is being sent to Passholders or non-Passholders or a random sample? I’m asking because I’m trying to glean which type of guests they are interested in for the purposes of reopening In June.
In our experience over the years, there’s little rhyme or reason to who gets selected for WDW surveys. The only ones targeted are soliciting feedback on specific experiences (hotel stays, parties, etc.) and this isn’t that.
Thank you for your prompt reply! I really appreciate you & all you do.
We had a trip planned for our son’s high school graduation June 20- July3. Rescheduled for Nov 14-27. Hoping and praying things will be better and smoother running by then. Thanks for your updates. Stay safe and be well.
If Disneyworld follows Disney Shanghai’s example and requires park reservations when it reopens, will those who purchase discounted park tickets be placed at a disadvantage? I’m wondering if it’s better to pay more by buying park tickets direct from Disney for convenience and peace of mind given the uncertainty of how they will prioritize who gains park entry.
I had a trip planned for the last few days of May and the first week of June. I received an email from Disney that my travel dates for May were affected by the closure. I called Disney last night to modify and check in June 1st instead and extend my trip on the back end. After being placed on hold for about 20 minutes, I was told all resorts were completely booked and they would need to reschedule my trip for July. This didn’t make sense to make since I already had a reservation but then I noticed all the June Villians After Hours were cancelled. After asking a few questions, I got the impression that they could not say that Disney would not reopen in June but I was highly pointed in that direction. I rebooked for the 1st of July and thought it was interesting that several special ticketed events that I wanted could only be booked by phone and not online as usual. I hope I can go in July since this would give Disney Springs about 6 weeks to be open before the parks/hotels but I am fully trusting that Disney is making decisions that are best for their guests as much as this fan really wants to go!
“I was told all resorts were completely booked and they would need to reschedule my trip for July. This didn’t make sense to make since I already had a reservation but then I noticed all the June Villians After Hours were cancelled. After asking a few questions, I got the impression that they could not say that Disney would not reopen in June but I was highly pointed in that direction.”
Yep. It’s disappointing that Walt Disney World isn’t being fully transparent with this, but that’s exactly what’s going on here…
They have to be vague. Think about it. If Disney came out tomorrow and said, ” We are going to open June 1st with limited capacity based on our limited booking of resorts and only allowing ap holders as well into the parks.” They would get so much flack. People would freak out on them. They need to wait as long as possible to announce it, so that as the temperatures rise and the humidity climbs fewer people will want to stay holed up inside. That contingent of people will be severely depleted by Late May. You Floridians know what I mean about heat and humidity in Late May!
We are local passholders and plan to visit the parks and Disney Springs as soon as they reopen!
Jamie, please come back and report!
We have reservations in mid-June and were planning to go even if the parks were not open (assuming the resort was). My hopes for June are dwindling and I am now just hoping our August trip stays intact. Our kids still want to go, even if the parks aren’t open and even if they have to wear masks! I think we all need just a little bit of magic, sooner rather than later!
I think it’s going to be tough to just open it to Florida residents. I do t know for sure but it’s my opinion that the locals aren’t going there and spending the money like the out of state tourists. Locals are going there to see parades and fireworks. They aren’t making the dining reservations at the popular restaurants which are $$$$. If there’s no parades or fireworks how many locals are going there on a daily basis?
You’re right about per day guest spending being lower among locals and Annual Passholders as a general rule.
However, Walt Disney World has to start somewhere and gain momentum while scaling up operations. One way or another, they’re going to operate at a loss for the first few months everything is open.
I’d contend that there’s enough pent-up demand among locals and diehard Disney fans willing to drive from nearby states to sustain operations for the first few months once things reopen. Not enough to keep the parks at reduced capacity, but enough. Again, gotta start somewhere.
I’m a local and stay about a week or so every other month and spend a fair amount of money.. I think it would be an excellent idea to open to Florida residents before the hordes of people from other places arrive.. jmho
Great article. We have reservations for 5-9 Jun and we have not been informed of a cancellation. Expecting it any day now.
Tom,
In your article, you state “ Walt Disney World has ended the Free Dining Recovery Deal early…”. Does that mean if a July 5-9 reservation that included Free Dining has to be canceled due to Disney World not being open, I won’t be able to get Free Dining when I reschedule my trip?
As of right now, that’s correct.
It’s entirely possible a second wave of 2020 Free Dining will be released, and you’d potentially be eligible for that at a future date.
That really isn’t the right thing to do. Especially since the people who were canceled before the June cancellations are getting it and the people who did book for the promotion should still get the free dining. A lot of people need free dining in able to afford to go to being their families. How do you tell your young kids or
grandchildren you’re not going to Disney now because you don’t have a couple of grand extra for dining. Plus add the extra expense now of rescheduling your flights.
Free dining has not been agreed for the future. I have a booking for August, if I change it to next yr which I’m looking to do, I will book without the free dining but if they decide to bring it back for next yr at some point, it will be added to my booking for free of I can pay £3k for it! It’s a huge benefit to loose though.