Disney World Wedding During Coronavirus Pandemic - Part 3
Misc 15-Mar-2020
Welcome to the Mickey From The UK Disney World Wedding Series, where we share some of the details and experiences planning our Disney World wedding from the UK. We walk through some key aspects of why we are doing it, and answer reader questions as we go along our journey. Keep in mind Disney change their policies, prices and packages regularly, our experience described here is correct at the time of our booking from 2018 to 2020.
Disclaimer: This article was written on March 15th. We are not experts in any of these fields and all information provided is perspective based on any sources provided. For the most up to date information on the coronavirus (Covid-19) please visit the UK government or the NHS websites.
While this wasn't the original plan for part 3 of this series, it seems like a good time to talk about possible disruptions caused by the current Coronavirus pandemic.
As the Coronavirus situation escalates and Disney close their parks until the end of March (don't hold your breath they're going to be reopening April 1st), many people are heartbroken over their upcoming Disney trips being cancelled. Coupled with Trump's decision to ban UK and European flights to the USA, Disney and Tour operators are overwhelmed with guests trying to cancel or rearrange trips. While our trip and wedding is not until September, I did reach out to our Disney wedding team, which along with the whole travel industry, are being bombarded with customers questions.
As you can imagine, they're addressing each wedding date in event order and working with couples individually to find a suitable resolution. While nobody really knows how this Coronavirus pandemic will turn out, it's unlikely travel is going to open up until we're past the peak (which governments want to extend for good reason), otherwise the elderly and vulnerable that will need hospital care can get it. While currently Disney is set on reopening on April 1st, as far as the wedding team is concerned, weddings starting from that date are currently due to take place.
As with all destination weddings, there are many moving parts. Not only do we have the wedding side of things - which the majority is through Disney, aside from photographer, videographer and officiant - so having one point of contact for the supply of our wedding is a boon, but we also have the travel aspect. Not only do we have our travel to consider, but also the travel of our guests. All our guests have put down deposits with various airlines and packages, so depending on how all this works out, it could be quite the reshuffle.
There are many different situations that could cause issues. What if Disney is closed but flights are back on? What if the flight ban is still in place but Disney reopens? Luckily, we did get wedding insurance before most vendors stopped selling it altogether when this virus got worse, so financially we'll be mostly fine, we'll just take it month by month to see what the governments do to combat and deal with the virus, along with what Disney end up doing. The plus to this is Disney will want to open as soon as possible, and not a second afterwards.
Although I'm personally not particularly worried at this stage, and even looking at government models where flattening the curve could not see a dip until summer, our health and reducing the spread is more important. Remember, you can help to flatten the curse and help the burden on the NHS over the coming months by washing your hands, get out of the habit of touching your face, and not having any unnecessary personal contact.
All Disneyland Paris packages bookings made by 2nd April 2023 will receive a FREE crossing with P&O Ferries when you arrive between 1st April and 30th September 2023.
Benefits of Coming by C... Read more >
The 30th anniversary continues... and the magic is shining brighter than ever! It's time to dream bigger, laugh louder and smile wider as the 30th Anniversary continues until the 30th September, ... Read more >
Mickey From The UK flew to the Walt Disney Company corporate headquarters in Burbank, California yesterday because Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Parks Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D'Am... Read more >
Disney Cruise Line this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary with its "Silver Anniversary at Sea" celebrations. Today, Disney has released the signature song for the celebrations. Read more >
12,500 Disney Cast Members voted on a new contract offered by Disney after negotiations with the union, and 97% agreed to approve it. The deal includes a minimum of $17/hour for new and existing ... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has unexpectedly paused all sales of their annual pass, sort of like what they've been doing at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort. Disney have said they are suspending sale... Read more >
The Walt Disney Company is sadly letting 7,000 employees go by the summer. The WSJ reports that this will include the entire "metaverse" division. It'll also include scrapping the teams Bob Chape... Read more >
Disneyland Paris (division of The Walt Disney Company) has reported a record $2.6 Billion revenue for 2022 (via Forbes). Disneyland Paris revealed it made a $51 million (€47 million) operating... Read more >
Disney PhotoPass has announced a new "Video Memories" feature built into the My Disney Experience app. It takes your PhotoPass photos and creates videos for you to share. Video Memories is availa... Read more >
Disney has announced that on May 14th, 2023, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at EPCOT will resume serving breakfast and lunch. The princess meet & greet restaurant reopened for dinner at the end of 2... Read more >
