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While some of the new requirements to enter theme parks as they reopen have been off-putting to clients, especially the provision that guests must wear face coverings, travel advisors agree that the safety measures are necessary to keep guests and employees safe during the coronavirus crisis.
And though many advisors’ clients have decided to postpone theme park trips until 2021, there are some die-hard fans champing at the bit to return.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is set to reopen its theme parks in a phased manner on July 11, starting with its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks. Hollywood Studios and Epcot will reopen July 15. Universal Orlando Resort was expected to open its parks June 5, and SeaWorld Orlando is set to reopen on June 11.
All the major parks will have new requirements for guests, including temperature checks and social-distancing rules. Face coverings will be mandatory for guests and employees.
“The Orlando theme parks have really thought through their operations with the safety and health of guests and cast as the highest priority,” said Beci Mahnken, president and CEO of MEI-Travel and Mouse Fan Travel in Issaquah, Wash. “I realize some of the rules may be controversial, but given there are still many unknowns and we don’t have a vaccine, steps to require face coverings and temperature checks are the necessary steps to restart operations and stay open.”
Many advisors are encouraging clients to wait to visit the parks until next year, when the experiences will likely be closer to what they were before the pandemic.
Disney, for instance, has for the time being eliminated parades, character meet-and-greets and fireworks displays.
“I’m trying to be as realistic and transparent as I can be with my clients, just because I don’t want to give anybody a false sense of what their vacation is going to look like,” said Michelle Allen, owner of Travel Magic in Basking Ridge, N.J.
Sue Pisaturo, president of Small World Vacations in Washington Township, N.J. (No. 54 on Travel Weekly’s 2019 Power List), had a similar outlook regarding measures such as face masks: Wait until the requirements are lifted if they are concerning.
While many clients are interested in 2021 theme park vacations, there are still some interested in visiting sooner rather than later. Allen estimated that about 30% of clients with travel plans this year still plan to go. They tend to be the “die-hard” fans, she said, who visit the parks several times a year.
Mahnken agreed. Frequent visitors want to return as soon as possible, while others want to wait until entry requirements have been relaxed and experiences offered are back to normal.
Meanwhile, travel advisors are looking forward to experiencing the new normal in parks. One of Pisaturo’s advisors plans to return to Disney in July, and all of Allen’s team members are anxiously awaiting their returns, though air travel still gives them pause, she said.
Similarly, clients who would have to fly to the parks are more hesitant than those who can drive, Pisaturo said.
Pisaturo also predicted a boom in another form of travel to the parks: recreational vehicles.
Disney operates a campground that can accommodate RVs and tents at its Fort Wilderness property. Fort Wilderness will open June 22 along with Disney Vacation Club resorts, and Pisaturo said she believes RV travel to the resort will be popular, as people can essentially bring their own hotel room and cook their own meals.
When the parks and hotels do reopen, the landscape will be different, but advisors agreed the changes are necessary.
“It’s hard to think about going there and not sitting down for a buffet with Winnie the Pooh and friends,” Allen said. “It’s very, very different, but I think it needs to be done.”
Source: travelweekly.com