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The Long-Standing Impact Of Coronavirus On Your Next Florida Holiday

Written by Ryan

28th January 2021

long standing impact of coronavirus on your next florida holiday

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2020 has been a year that most everyone will want to forget. Coronavirus has had a lasting impact on so many people and businesses and the big players in Florida are no different. This week we look at the long-standing impact of Coronovirus on your next Florida holiday. While there may be some sad news in the way of attraction delays and uncertainty on travel corridors there is good news to report as well.

Forced Hotel Closures

From attractions to entire hotels, your next visit to Florida’s theme parks won’t be without some enforced closures.

Disney World Hotel Closures & Opening Dates

The majority of hotels on Disney property are open with a small group of exceptions.

  • Disney All-Star Movies Resort scheduled to reopen March 22 2021
  • Disney Beach Club Resort scheduled to open from June 2021
  • Disney’s Wilderness Lodge scheduled to open 6th June 2021
  • Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Currently undergoing refurbishment until Summer 2021

Disney is constantly re-evaluating the situation. Visit this section of the Disney World website for up to date information before booking your hotel.

Universal Orlando Hotel Closures

It is much the same story over at Universal Orlando who has 5 hotels open out of a possible 8. The following three hotels are currently closed for the foreseeable future.

  • Loews Saphire Falls Resort
  • Universal’s Aventura Hotel
  • Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn & Suites

Unlike Disney, Universal has not given a specific date for when these hotels will re-open. An up-to-date list of changes can be found on the official Universal Orlando website.

Changes To Perks For On-resort Disney Guests

The perks for staying on the resort are what keeps many people coming back to Disney once they make that first step. Disney has quietly announced that 2 more fan favourite perks are being discontinued making your next Disney World trip that tiny bit less magical.

Extra Magic Hours Discontinued Permanently

Extra Magic Hours were allotted to a different theme park every day whereby all hotel resort guests would be able to get in a designated park an hour ahead or stay an hour later than the general public. This perk proved so popular that whichever park in question often saw a bottleneck of people attempting to get on their favourite attractions ahead of day guests.

Extra Magic Hours were suspended in March 2020 during the initial lockdown period. Disney has now officially confirmed that Extra Magic Hours have been permanently discontinued and won’t be returning:

We know how much guests enjoy extra park time, so coming later this year as part of our 50th-anniversary celebration, Disney Resort hotel guests and guests of other select hotels will be able to enjoy more fun with 30-minute early entry to ANY theme park, EVERY day. It’ll be a great way to get a jump start on your Disney day, no matter the day! As a reminder, the Extra Magic Hours benefit was suspended when Walt Disney World Resort reopened last summer, and as we continue to manage attendance with health and safety top of mind, Extra Magic Hours will not return. The new early theme park entry benefit helps us better spread visitation across all four theme parks while providing added flexibility by giving guests extra early park time on each day of their vacation and in the park of their choosing. Please note that guests need valid admission and a park reservation made via the Disney Park Pass system to enter a theme park.

Avery Maeher, Communications Manager for Disney World Resort via Disney Parks Blog

How Will Early Theme Park Entry Compare To Extra Magic Hours?

Disney fans are mostly scathing about this latest attack on the inflated price of staying on the resort. Instead of getting in an hour ahead into one particular park, Early Theme Park Entry will be for 30 minutes into any of the 4 main parks. Using Disney transport, to stand a realistic chance of being at your chosen park ready for rope drop you need to leave your hotel 2 or more hours ahead of park opening. With most parks opening at 9 am on average that would mean you would need to be in the bus queue to the park around 7 am.

When you factor in the early start you will need to leave to make it to the park gate for rope drop using Disney transport many people will see no benefit of this new ‘perk’ instead preferring to have an extra few minutes in bed. It will become a non-perk. It looks great on paper or screen to people that have never been but the reality of getting those extra 30 minutes will leave a bad taste in peoples minds.

From a business point of view, the writing has been on the wall for this perk for a while but it’s still a shame to see Disney eroding the magic of staying on resort, especially considering the premium people pay. That’s what this latest cut comes down to, a business decision. Whether it is a smart business decision remains to be seen.

No More Magical Express

In the same blog post, Disney explains their reasons for the surprise announcement of the discontinuation of the popular Disney Magical Express service. From January 2022 you will have to make your own way to Disney World instead of letting Disney take the strain.

The popular Disney Magical Express airport shuttle will cease from January 2022 meaning you will now have to make your own way to Disney World. Promotional image © Disney Parks.

Disney Magical Express was a free perk for on resort guests to get whisked from the airport to their resort without the need to pick up luggage on the way. While the service was not without issues, such as multiple hours wait for luggage to arrive at your room door, it proved extremely popular with guests. It cut the need to hire a car which you must also now pay to park at a rate of $15-$25 per night depending on the resort. Magical Express will be operating for 2021 but now doesn’t include the luggage. You have to pick up and transfer luggage yourself for the remaining 12 months of the service.

From January 2022 you will have to find your own way to Disney World either by hiring a car or using a ride-sharing app. If you would like further details on getting around Orlando without using a car visit this section of the website. Usually getting around Orlando’s theme parks without a car is surprisingly easy if you plan ahead. Please be aware that currently, coronavirus has put a temporary halt to many public transport options. If you want to visit Orlando within the next few months you will be better off hiring a car.

This decision to remove Magical Express looks a little short-sighted because taking guests directly from the airport to your resort and offering free on resort transport is guaranteed to keep them in your resort for longer and spending more money. Disney says it is due to the changing needs and priorities of their customers. It could just be that the cost of running the service, which is operated by Mears transportation, outweighs the benefits for Disney.

Disney Minnie Van Service Also Gets Discontinued

The Minnie Van service was Disney’s answer to guests choosing ride-sharing apps instead of the complimentary transport options. It was introduced in 2017. For a flat fee, you could be whisked from one corner of Disney World to another without the need to tip the driver. Complaints of cost and reliability have ultimately led to the service demise with Disney confirming in October 2020 that the Minnie Van service has been retired with 200 employees terminated.

New Transport Option Coming For Disney

A new transport option is on the horizon; the train! Although it won’t be ready for 2022, train operator Brightline has announced an agreement with Disneyworld to construct a new station at Disney Springs that will connect Disney World with Orlando International Airport and South Florida.

Brightline is looking to aggressively expand its network in Florida after opening a connection between Downtown Miami and West Palm Beach in 2018. The 140-mile extension to connect Miami with Orlando International Airport is due to open sometime in 2022. Disney Springs is part of another expansion of that line, connecting the airport with Tampa although no official opening date has been announced for the Disney Springs location.

The new Brightline train service will mean you can get from Orlando Airport to West Palm Beach and further in around 2 hours making southern Florida accessible to a lot more visitors. Image © Brightline.

This is great news for people wanting to explore southern Florida during their Orlando trip. Up until now your only option was to hire a car and drive the 5 or so hours to Miami but the Brightline extension means you will be able travel from West Palm Beach to Orlando International in around 2 hours. Hopefully the line will see some tourism dollars being spread through the state instead of being focussed in and around Orlando.

Water Park Hours

It’s not been a good year for water park fans in Florida. Disney has kept both their water parks shut for the last 12 months. Volcano Bay, Universal’s uber-popular water park, has been shuttered since November with a re-opening date currently mooted in March, it’s first ever winter shutdown. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon remains closed indefinitely while Blizzard Beach is set to open again in late March if local conditions allow.

Historically you usually have a couple of choices of water parks to visit in the cooler winter months but with crowd numbers at record lows and with most international travel still banned, closing the water parks was a good decision. There are no plans to close them permanently, workers have been seen running the attractions to keep them in good order. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see water parks once again closed this coming 2021 winter season given that crowd levels are not predicted to recover until 2023 at the earliest.

One thing you can expect if you want to visit a water park in Orlando in 2021 is longer wait times. For their short opening period in 2020 crowds were voluminous. Parks were regularly hitting capacity showing there is plenty of interest in them even in the middle of a pandemic. They are also one of the only places in Universal and Disney where face masks are not compulsory for a large part of your day.

Delayed Attractions

Even projects currently in the midst of construction are not safe from budget constraints! To help distribute money to operations where it’s been most needed multiple projects have been sealed for the next few months and opening dates have been pushed back.

Universal Orlando Delayed Attractions

Universal’s decision to cut costs has forced the indefinite delay of the recently announced third main gate, Epic Universe. Initially due to open in 2023, ground clearing for this new gate has been ongoing for over 2 years. Despite sinking a substantial amount of money into the Epic Universe project already, construction work has currently stopped.

The photo below illustrates both the size of Universals new park (approx 50% of this space) and how far we have to go until we actually get a theme park opening here.

Universal executives have committed to opening this new theme park, the first new theme park to open in Florida since Islands Of Adventure opened in 1998. With no clear timeline, if you were delaying a trip until this park was open you are now going to have a very long wait. If the park is to becom a reality we can reasonably expect it to be at least several years or more away.

Magic Kingdom Attraction Delays

Tron was to be 2021’s big E-Ticket attraction at the Magic Kingdom. Tron Lightcycle Power Run, to give it the full title, was initially due to open in time for the Disney World Resort’s 50th Anniversary starting 1st October 2021. The opening date has now been pushed back to 2022 at the earliest. Work has been ongoing on the exterior canopy which is nearing completion. All work in the massive show building has stopped to cut the already substantial budget for the new roller coaster. The building has been sealed and will likely remain quiet for the rest of this year.

EPCOT Attraction Delays

EPCOT’s ambitious re-imagining was announced a few months before the initial lockdown. While some aspects of the initial announcement remain other parts have been delayed or cancelled.

How do we know what Disney has cancelled? They are now actively editing past press releases to keep the information in them more current instead of leaving all the details online. When a project is delayed or cancelled it is usually removed or at the very least reworded.

Comparing the press release details it is almost certain that The Mary Poppins expansion in the UK Pavilion is now cancelled. The reimagining of Spaceship Earth has been delayed indefinitely or outright cancelled. It will remain open in its current format. It was initially scheduled to close last autumn for a lengthy 18 month to 2-year re-design.

Another project that has been ongoing for quite some time is Guardians Of The Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. This massive indoor world-first roller coaster is rising from the remnants of the Ellen’s Energy Adventure building.

Not so long ago Disney was sharing a first look at the coaster cars for this hotly anticipated attraction plus letting us take a tiny peek inside the showbuilding.

Work has been ongoing for over 2 years but word has been suspiciously quiet on this massive attraction as of late. This leads many to speculate that the opening has also been pushed back to 2022 at the earliest.

The PLAY! Pavilion was initially announced as opening in time for the 50th Anniversary celebrations in October 2021 but a recent edit of the initial press release now puts that in doubt.

The concept artwork for the new PLAY! Pavilion looks inviting but are we likely to see it by October or at all?

Any mention of the PLAY! Pavilion has been removed along with the artwork. Work has been happening to the roof of the former Horizons Pavilion, the new home of PLAY!. Another press release still lists the PLAY! Pavilion without an opening date. It could be that this attraction has at the very least been delayed beyond 2021 but may also be outright cancelled. Either way, we are still waiting on Disney to confirm the fate of the new pavilion.

It’s Not All Bad News At EPCOT

The new entrance to EPCOT has been officially unveiled with a brand new retro-inspired fountain paying homage to EPCOT’s past while looking towards its future.

Work on the demolition of the central Innoventions core of Future World is ongoing but there has been no word on the Moana Water Attraction that was to replace a large part of the Innoventions East building. Could no news be good news for this hotly anticipated addition? We will have to wait for Disney to make further announcements.

Backstage, EPCOT’s new nighttime spectacular HarmonioUS has been ongoing despite fireworks shows currently on enforced hiatus from all Disney parks. The new show now isn’t expected to debut until much later in 2021. Testing of the show’s massive barges has been happening during regular opening hours on the World Showcase Lagoon. When finished the barges will treat daytime guests to a fountain show as well as the much-vaunted new fireworks laden nighttime spectacular.

2 of the 5 HarmonioUS barges are now in place on World Showcase Lagoon.

Space 220, the new sit down restaurant that offers jaw-dropping views of Earth from 220 miles up in space is complete. There is no official word from Disney about an opening date aside from 2021. They could be keeping this back for the 50th Anniversary in October or until there is a significant uptake in crowds.

Work on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France Pavilion is complete! The construction walls have been taken down and guests are now allowed into a small segment of the expanded France Pavilion. The attraction remains closed for now but it is ready to go whenever Disney execs feel the time is right.

With construction walls coming down part of the expanded France Pavilion has been opened to the public.

Disney’s competitors are looking at opening some of their new attractions this spring. Could this force Disney’s hand to open Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure sooner rather than later?

Entertainment Returning To The Parks!

A recent update to Animal Kingdom’s park map removed all reference to popular shows Festival Of The Lion King and Finding Nemo. Disney has now announced that entertainment will be returning to their parks this summer starting with a modified showing of Festival Of The Lion King. You can expect long queues for the shows to seeing as the capacity of each will be reduced in line with social distancing regulations. It’s not just audiences that have to socially distance. The cast and backstage crew also need to be distanced so some scenes will have to be cut or altered.

Festival Of The Lion King will return in Summer 2021, nearly 18 months on from its last pre coronavirus show. Image © Disney Parks

There has been no word yet from Universal, Seaworld, Legoland or Busch Gardens about their entertainment offerings returning. Disney is usually a good gauge for other parks who will now look to bring back modified versions of their own shows.

Park Hopping Has Returned to Disney!

From 2 pm now guests are allowed to visit another park subject to capacity limits. The timings are likely to change as the situation and legislation changes so you need to visit the park hours section of their website or the app which will be updated accordingly. There are some restrictions on the second park visit if it is to Hollywood Studios where you are not being allowed to queue (virtually) for Rise Of The Resistance due to its popularity and the continued lack of Disney Fastpass+.

Along with park hopping, Disney has re-introduced park to park transportation albeit it on a more limited schedule. The monorail, however, is still out of action between EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom.

This brings Disney more in line with Universal Orlando who never imposed a one park limit on visitors. We could see that parks fill up quicker now seeing as your second park doesn’t need to be booked in the Parks Reservation System beforehand.

Could Short Term Changes Be Here To Stay?

The introduction of a park reservation system for Disney to control the number of guests on any given day has gone largely without issue. With Disney knowing how may people are going to be visiting will allow them to resource better for the expected crowds.

The system is currently active for 2021 bookings but it, or at least a modified version of it, could here to stay. Park Hopper is a great benefit but it causes Disney headaches for staffing when they don’t know who will be visiting what park. The current reservation system adds little friction to your trip. Disney meanwhile has the benefit of clear data on how many staff will be needed based on the reservations.

If you visit Disney World in 2021 don’t forget that you also need to have a Park Pass reservation as well as your actual park ticket. Don’t be at all surprised if this system or a revised version of it will be with us from 2022 onwards.

Are We Going To See The Sunsetting Of The Current Fastpass+ System?

The current Fastpass+ system in use at Disney World hasn’t been adapted at other parks which have evolved their own systems. While Fastpass+ does bring benefits it also creates a lot of headaches. Disney has reportedly been looking at adapting Fastpass+ for some time. The pandemic could give them the resolve to completely overhaul Fastpass+ into a system that is fairer on everyone.

Dining reservations used to open a full 6 months before you visit. Can you imagine trying to figure out where you want to eat 6 months in advance in a park you’ve never visited? A lot of people didn’t and are then disappointed to find all the popular restaurant choices are fully booked for their stay.

Dining reservations returned to Disney World last summer when they re-opened but with a maximum 60-day window, the same time span that is in use at Disneyland in California. Disney doesn’t look to be in a rush to return to the old booking window so this could be one modification that is here to stay.

Disneyland introduced Maxpass reservations in 2017. This Fastpass+ alternative only allows the booking of select attractions on the day once you are in the resort. Maxpass works much the same way as Fastpass+ does. It is most convenient to use your smartphone to book or amend attractions, times and people. Having used the Maxpass system myself a couple of times since it was introduced I found it, on the whole, a lot more relaxing than Disneyworld’s Fastpass+ where I could book my attractions 2 months out.

Could Disney’s chargeable Maxpass reservation system be ported from California to Florida as a simpler alternative to Fastpass+?

The idea of booking your ride reservations up to 2 months from your visit date was revolutionary when it was introduced. The reality of the current system though calls for in-depth knowledge of your plans months from your visit. A depth that many people, particularly first-time visitors, are unwilling or unable to commit to.

I am the first to admit that the current Fastpass+ system raises as many issues as it solves and is in need of a simpler design but could an East Coast version of Maxpass be it? I for one would welcome this change should it happen.

Many people love the idea of knowing what you are going to be doing months in advance but the current system, in my view, is too complicated for first-time visitors. Disney could and should be doing more to make it fairer for everyone, not just people that know how to play the system. It won’t mean that your Disney holiday can be done without any planning but it should relieve a lot of the stress new time visitors get trying to figure everything out.

Rising From The Ashes Of 2020

There are some tempting new arrivals on the horizon! Velocicoaster, Orlando’s tallest and fastest roller coaster is undergoing testing. This week the test dummies have been replaced by real people. Before you go rushing for a non-existent flight ticket to Florida, Universal are photographing these riders for future publicity shots. The official opening looks to still be on track for late spring with an announcement coming very soon.

Seaworld’s new roller coaster, Icebreaker is complete and testing should resume shortly. Seaworld’s website still lists a Spring 2021 opening. If that holds true Icebreaker could be the first of a crop of new attractions to open post-pandemic to bring much cheer to an otherwise challenging last 12 months.

Over at Busch Gardens Iron Gwazi, a record-setting wood/steel coaster hybrid is still in it’s testing phase. The 206ft, 76mph, 91-degree drop monster should be thrilling riders sometime this spring. If you can’t wait to ride the world’s tallest and steepest hybrid coaster check out the official POV video released by Busch Gardens.

So When Is A Good Time To Go To Florida?

That really is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? With the UK government constantly moving the goalposts and new restrictions now in place for travel from the UK to USA. At this point in time, even a summer 2021 Florida trip seems unlikely for us pandemic withered Brits.

You also have to ask yourself if you want the full Disney experience with fireworks and character meet and greets? Then there is the whole pesky facemask thing. Even though we in the UK are not currently needing to wear face masks outside, it is still mandatory for all visitors to theme parks in Florida to wear masks with these restrictions being tightly enforced.

Personally, a visit to Disney is not complete without the fireworks at the end of the day but when are they likely to be returning? The answer is most likely not until much later this year or 2022 at the earliest.

With new travel restrictions in place indefinitely between the USA and UK it will be a few more months until we get to see this final approach into Orlando International.

If you need your Disney fix or you want to catch up with The Simpsons at Universal by all means book a trip sooner rather than later when restrictions are eased. Just don’t expect your trip to be everything you had hoped or expected it would be.

If like me, you are waiting for things to return to normal then I am afraid that won’t be until well into 2022 or later. But your patience will be rewarded with a slew of new attractions and experiences allowing you to escape even for just a moment. After the last 12 months, I am sure that is something we could all do with.

 

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