WOW . . .
It’s hard to process what happened yesterday. Everything moved so fast. In late January, Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland closed due to Coronavirus concern. They were followed in February by Tokyo Disneyland. Yesterday, the remaining Disney theme parks and Disney Cruise Line announced their closures as well.
While many of us could see the prospect of an eventual park closing in the USA, the speed with which it all happened was stunning.
Here’s what we know so far:
Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood will Close March 14th
Although there have been no reported cases of Coronavirus at Disneyland, after a directive from the Governor for large events to be canceled, a decision was made to close Disneyland and California Adventure.
BREAKING NEWS – Disneyland Closing March 14 Due to National Crisis
Disneyland hotels will remain open through the 16th to give current guests a chance to make travel arrangements. Downtown Disney will remain open.
Disney is refunding or extending park tickets. Guests at hotels are being refunded or rebooked.
Annual Pass Update – You will be billed as normal, but additional days will be added to your expiration date equal to the number of days Disneyland remains closed.
Universal Studios followed later in the day with its own closure announcement. Both resorts will remain closed through at least the end of the month.
And in a reassuring move, both Disney and Universal are paying their workers during the shutdown.
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort Closure Starts March 16th
Disney World had been flirting with Coronavirus this week. Six Walt Disney World firefighters were potentially exposed to the virus and are in self-quarantine for 14 days.
Pressure on the resort stepped up when Donald Trump declared a travel ban for Europeans traveling to the United States. Unfortunately, Europeans make up a sizable chunk of Disney World visitors.
Then, as in California, the Governor of Florida proclaimed that all large events and gatherings should be canceled.
So it was no surprise when Walt Disney World announced later in the day yesterday that they would be closing on Monday the 16th of March. Like Disneyland, the Disney World Resort will remain closed through at least the end of the month and Disney Springs will remain open.
BREAKING NEWS – Walt Disney World AND Disneyland Paris Closing
Guests will be assisted with hotel and ticket refunds and rebookings. Passholders will be granted an extension on the expiration date of their annual passes.
Along with the Disney World announcement came the news that Disneyland Paris and the Disney Cruise Line would also be shutting down temporarily.
Universal Orlando Resort will close under similar circumstances to Walt Disney World and employees of both resorts will be paid.
What is still unknown
With all the Disney and Universal Parks now shuttered, we await word from SeaWorld, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Six Flag (see below for updates). Legoland will continue to operate for the time being.
But how long will these closures really last? Shanghai Disneyland has been closed for nearly two months, and Tokyo Disneyland has already extended its closure. So, is it realistic to think that the two and a half week closures for the US parks would be enough time, even as infection rates in this country are still in their infancy?
What about hotels, restaurants, and smaller venues in California and Florida. These establishments depend on Disney tourists for their survival. While most will likely survive two and a half weeks of hardship, can they last much longer if the parks don’t reopen or the crowds don’t return? We know many operators who are already on the ropes just from the fall-off in attendance these past two weeks as the health concerns began to spread.
Disney World intends to continue operating hotels, assuming there are enough visitors to populate them. Would you make a trip to Disney World if the parks weren’t open?
What’s it going to take to get guests back into the parks once they reopen? It might be quite some time before infections are truly diminished. Will people be ready to hop back on planes and pay top dollar for theme park vacations right away? That’s a scary unknown for park operators.
Will all of this loss of revenue result in construction projects being canceled or delayed? If so, which ones? But we’ve got some advice for the parks: Grow through your adversity. You’ll need something exciting and new to get guests back into the parks. Don’t get scared and cut back on vision, you’ll regret it later.
Knott’s Berry Farm
UPDATE: Knott’s to join other Socal parks, closing on March 14. Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel will remain open.
Six Flags Magic Mountain
UPDATE: LA’s Six Flags has suspended operation until at least the end of the month. They did so suddenly and without prior notice. As with other parks in the area, they report that they had no reported cases of COVID-19, but are closing out of an abundance of caution.
SeaWorld – All Parks
All SeaWorld and Busch parks will close on Monday the 16th of March through at least the end of the month. As you can see in their announcement below, they will, of course, continue to have staff on-site to care for the animals.
Legoland, CA
Legoland has decided to close down starting March 14 through March 31, 2020. This closure also pushes the opening of the Legoland Movie World land to May.
Adventures by Disney Suspending Operations
“In an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our Guests and Guides, Adventures by Disney has decided to suspend new departures through the end of March, excluding the Australia adventure, departing March 15 that will continue as scheduled.”
A Note From Our Travel Partner – Get Away Today
For over 30 years, our customers’ safety and well-being has been our #1 priority. We have been working closely with our contacts in Southern California and our other vacation destinations during this time of precaution.
We have emailed all guests who currently have travel booked through May 21, 2020, to help address and relieve any concerns.
We LOVE the Disneyland Resort and helping families make vacation memories. We are devastated by these closures and are hopeful that our guests will reschedule instead of cancel completely. Our top priority at this time is to help guests who are currently traveling or are traveling within 72 hours. We are contacting anyone traveling within that time period in case they can’t get through our phones. Outside of that travel window, our next priority is anyone traveling from March 14-31, 2020.
We are heavily encouraging anyone who is concerned about immediate travel to reschedule. We will be waiving all reschedule fees for those who are traveling now through March 31, 2020. Here are some benefits for rescheduling vs. canceling your vacations:
- You’ve got 2019 Disneyland Resort LOW Prices Locked-in! Don’t cancel and then have to pay more later!
- Important dates to help in rescheduling:
- Travel before May 21st to use the Kids Spring Savings or local SoCal offers
- July 18th and after- Avengers Campus Opens
- Halloween Time- mid-September through October 31st, 2020
- The Holidays- mid-November through January 6th, 2021
- Important dates to help in rescheduling:
For guests who are scheduled within the cancellation period, we are once again, encouraging reschedules with no change fees. Guests can use their total vacation amount towards travel anytime into 2021. If you are unsure of your dates, we can keep your full amount paid on file for future travel. We will begin booking 2021 vacations as soon as they are available.
As always, we are committed to helping our guests make new magical memories. We want to show the Disneyland Resort and our Anaheim area partners how much we love and support them. When the time is right, please come back and help us make our favorite vacation destinations vibrant again.
We truly appreciate your support and realize that this is an unsettling time and want you to know that our office is fully staffed and we are helping people reschedule and make future vacation plans. We are grateful for our guests who keep us in business. Please let us know how we can assist you:
And most importantly, stay safe. We’ll be here when you need us!
Let’s Hear From You!
Now that you’ve had a day to let the gravity of the situation soak in, what are your thoughts? Is this an opportunity for the parks to get a bit of maintenance done (Rise of the Resistance we are looking at you) while the guests are away? If people truly stay home, could we get those infection rates to flatline and begin decreasing so we can get on with our lives? And (off-topic) what’s up with everyone hoarding toilet paper and bottled water? I’m down to my last roll!
We wanted to end today with some personal words to all of you and our friends in the industry. First, we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and that you’ll be around to share years worth of obsessing about all things theme park with us. But at the end of the day, your health and wellbeing, and that of those around you, is more important than anything else. Be smart and look out for those around you in need.
And to all of our partners in the industry, the hotel operators, restaurant managers, front line CMs who keep everything running, the PR Reps who invite us to all the new openings, and to the park management whose lives have been thrown into chaos . . . we are thinking of you. It might seem like we pick on you at times. And it’s true that we have crazy standards. But we value you and your hard work. Take this time to prepare yourselves for the hard work of winning back your customers. Even when the pandemic ends, the struggle of getting the parks reopened and guests back in them will be an epic challenge. You can do it. We are counting on your creativity and spirit to win the day.
Thank you for hanging in there with us for the past few days, folks. We are going to shift our focus for the next couple of weeks, but we think you’ll still enjoy checking in daily!