It's very early in the game, obviously, and none of us know what Disney's plans are for the various "memberships" that will be offered. Disney probably doesn't even know yet. There's been a lot of buzz about all (or at least many) of the new membership levels requiring advanced reservations, though. Indeed, there's been talk of that since DW implemented it last July. Certainly I hope that's not true. As many of you know, I'd nearly always go to DL on Sundays. However, often during the week I'd treat myself to a Wednesday or Friday visit on the spur of the moment. Losing that spontaneity would make me sad and certainly some of the Disney magic would wither in the process.
Something else that occurs to me is that perhaps Disney is interested in doing away with people that visit the park daily or almost daily. I'm thinking specifically of people like Peter Tu, A.K.A. The Clapper Guy. He's recognized by both CMs and guests, as many readers here know. I'm from Chicago and from 1960 - 1990, there was a guy much like Peter who'd attend virtually all of the White Sox's home games. He'd come dressed as a clown, soon became widely known as Andy the Clown and was locally famous much in the same way that Peter is at DL. People took pics with him and he was hailed and greeted all day long. However, when the old ball park was torn down and the new one was opened in 1991, Sox management made it clear to Andy that he was not welcome back as ATC. He could attend games out of costume but they stripped him of his local celebrity and thereby his raison d'être. He only attended a few games after that. Many people felt that was petty, mean and was done largely because Andy didn't work for the Sox and therefore couldn't be controlled by the organization. I wonder if there's some feeling at Disney that they dislike people such as Peter or Adam the Woo and they'd like to eliminate them simply so they don't steal any part of the Disney spotlight. Making reservations a permanent requirement would likely accomplish that, intentionally or otherwise. I may be completely off the mark but this isn't an unlikely scenario. Maybe it's been something they've wanted to do for awhile and now have the opportunity to clean house and blame it on COVID.
I feel a bit sad and cynical tonight in light of the AP news. It takes less to get me down these days and I imagine many of you have felt similarly since the pandemic began. I loved my Disney Sunday routine and don't want to lose it. Indeed, the reopening of Disneyland has been a source of hope for me, as it has been for others, I suspect. The idea of them messing with something that brought me so much joy makes me unhappy.
