Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Farro]

Also - question for about needing to wait for Asian parks to open first.

If for whatever reason our government eases restrictions, while Asian governments don't - why would Disney here need to wait on the Asian parks to open?

 

[jlas00]

There is no way .. companies .. or even individuals would be okay with this. We don't have a vaccine for every virus out there .. Companies AND people (especially in areas that are not affected) would be okay with getting back out there. People are CURRENTLY going to parks ... people ARE gathering together .. (just not hugging or touching like they used to). This Easter weekend we saw family. We didn't have a huge meal together, but we still hung out. Why? Because we aren't infected .. we haven't been anywhere in a month and our county has a handful of cases (most of which have recovered already). We CAN get together in groups .. within reason.

I mean .. just look at the places that ARE open right now . .they are more crowded NOW than they are normally (Home improvement, Wal-mart, grocery stores, etc.) . because there is nowhere else to go.

People will be willing to risk exposure .. if the virus hasn't impacted them PERSONALLY ..which for a vast, vast, vast majority of the country the virus itself hasn't impacted people . .just the strict government rules have.

Well said.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Temperature checks are another level of security theatre IMO. If they’re done they’re done and that’s that, and honestly I think they may be more useful in slowing the spread of the seasonal flu that rears it’s ugly head every year at WDW.

I do wonder what happens when someone fails though. They just get right back on (maybe crowded) Disney transport? They head back to their resort to hang out in crowded areas? They go to Disney Springs? They try again at a different park or make an attempt to bring down the fever?

 

[Farro]

Thinking along lines of some businesses having restrictions eased starting May-ish (which there now rumblings of this happening), perhaps construction would be one of them?
I can't see them going forward with projects not started, but maybe they will be able to finish/work on the ones already deep in progress.

Projects that already had the funds allocated.

Quoting myself.

Tokyo Disney is still doing construction during this, so hopefully if construction workers can start again here (before parks can open), WDW can get back to finishing the started projects!

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Also I get people are very upset about what this virus has done to their lives (we also lost a Disney trip, plenty of really hard changes in our day to day lives), but that doesn’t mean being realistic about what the next bit of our lives looks like is being negative.

I will take realism over blind “positivity” any day. Need I remind people there have always been those who swore Disney would never close at all stateside? That they were definitely opening April 1? That they had a pretty good chance of opening mid April? We all hope for this to just disappear overnight and the normal switch to be flipped, but accepting the reality of the situation doesn’t make one negative.

 

[OKWFan88]

If Disney did do the temperature checks and one shows they have a fever... I would assume Disney would refund whoever shows a fever since they wouldn't be allowed in the park?

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Our spring break trip was canceled and I'm hoping we get to take our make-up trip in August. I feel pretty good about the parks being open with a mostly normal experience by then, but it's really hard to guess at this point. One thing that keeps popping into my mind as I read through these boards about Disney not opening until there is a vaccine, not until 2021, etc. is that the whole point of the social distancing as we have heard many times is to "flatten the curve". In epidemiology, the purpose of flattening a curve is to spread the rate of infection out over a greater period of time. The area under the curve is the same, meaning the number of actual cases of infection is expected to be the same, just over a longer period of time so as to not overwhelm the hospitals. Then, hospital staff would hopefully not have to make the life and death decisions we have seen taking place in Italy, of deciding who gets a ventilator and who doesn't. So, they are still expecting the same number of individuals to ultimately get this virus. The goal was to just prevent this from happening in our hospitals. This virus is something that we will have to learn to live with, even when/if there is an effective vaccine. There will be those who will refuse to be vaccinated, as well as those who still get it due to the vaccine not being 100% effective. As sad as it is, people will still die from COVID-19, as they still die from the flu, and other respiratory viruses. I have seen young, healthy patients without any underlying medical conditions get the common cold and end up in respiratory failure and die. The idea of shutting everything down for an extended time (not just Disney) to me sounds ridiculous. And this is coming from someone who works in a large hospital with critical care patients. I have always been extra paranoid about my children touching things and washing their hands because I know what can happen to even the healthiest of kids. So yes, we need to take precautions, especially with those who are at highest risk (which should have been done pre-COVID-19 anyway), but life has to get back to some semblance of normal soon.

As I said, I'm optimistic about our August trip to Disney, but really don't know much about how long it takes to get the parks back open after closure. If it's canceled, then I will be sad, but hopefully Disneyland will be there next year (that's our current plan). And I'll spend August at the beach!

Thank you for this. My friend who has a friend in the hot zone in NY and I were discussing this same thing.

This is here. And it will stay here. Stay at home measures/shelter in place/quarantine/closing businesses/canceling events was all to simply SLOW the spread and not eliminate the threat.

It's like when you were a kid and your parents gave you the choice of getting a spanking and getting it over with or being grounded for a week.

 

[Krandor]

Also I get people are very upset about what this virus has done to their lives (we also lost a Disney trip, plenty of really hard changes in our day to day lives), but that doesn’t mean being realistic about what the next bit of our lives looks like is being negative.

I will take realism over blind “positivity” any day. Need I remind people there have always been those who swore Disney would never close at all stateside? That they were definitely opening April 1? That they had a pretty good chance of opening mid April? We all hope for this to just disappear overnight and the normal switch to be flipped, but accepting the reality of the situation doesn’t make one negative.

Like everybody here, I have no way to know for sure but my opinion is we'll start seeing some things open in may like resstaurants and maybe some store but with new procedures like limits on how many people can be inside possibly things like no bar seating and then slowly more things will open like nonessential stores and the like assuming the curse stays flattened. Large gatherings like sports, theaters, and theme parks will be the very last things to open and I have no idea what that timetable looks like but I think June/July is the earliest we're looking at and that is only if we can start opening other things up without spiking cases.

 

[Farro]

Here's just some basic maintenance stuff that's still happening while parks are closed. It doesn't mean anything, but it's still a little pick me up. And yes I'm linking to a food blog for news -
And hey, you can still golf!

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...niRHTBulAAqFdCmfBJEabXmvUXtBVbXYnn1eOG5_r4xCw

 

[mshanson3121]

If Disney did do the temperature checks and one shows they have a fever... I would assume Disney would refund whoever shows a fever since they wouldn't be allowed in the park?

I'm not sure. I was thinking this morning that perhaps the temp check will just be part of it. Maybe they register a temp and then they get tested for Covid. If they show as negative, they can enter the parks after test results come back negative? In which case they may not have to refund. But that assumes we're talking people who are there for awhile and can come back another day. And it still doesn't factor in the inconvenience that person faces for the hassle they went through planning ADRs, FP+ etc... for nothing.

I wouldn't be surprised if moving forward, the fine print of Disney tickets includes something about being excluded from park entry if you do not pass a temperature check and Disney is not responsible for refunds etc... Something to exempt them from the potential onslaught of customer service complaints. Who knows?

 

[jlwhitney]

Thank you for this. My friend who has a friend in the hot zone in NY and I were discussing this same thing.

This is here. And it will stay here. Stay at home measures/shelter in place/quarantine/closing businesses/canceling events was all to simply SLOW the spread and not eliminate the threat.

It's like when you were a kid and your parents gave you the choice of getting a spanking and getting it over with or being grounded for a week.

I think this concept is confusing people. Asian countries as a whole have been trying to aim for zero, but it really isn't possible and probably never will be. Eradication is rare. The goal here has never been zero but to have some control over the virus.

 

[Lewisc]

DIS member aren't your typical Disney vacationer. Years ago I read the typical Disney family will have one or two vacations in their lifetime. I suspect the number today is higher. I suspect some (many?) members of DIS visit Disney more times in a year (or two) then the typical family will take in their lifetime.

I think posters are greatly over-estimating the number of guests who will rush to Disney. Current resort bookings are irrelevant. Cancellation penalties are lenient. Some of the guests booked more as a placeholder.

Some (many) potential guests will have financial issues.

Some won't be able to get time off from work. Months of elective surgery will be rescheduled. Those healthcare workers won't be getting vacations. Many people won't get time off once they get back to works. Just one example.

Assume, after WDW opens, people considered at high risk are advised to avoid crowded areas like Disney. I understand some people will listen and others won't. How many families visiting include a grandparent over age 60? 10% of the population has diabetes. My observation suggests a fair number of guests would come under the obesity risk factor. I don't know what % of the guests have moderate asthma.

Now add people who aren't high risk but won't travel out of fear.



DVC members, at risk of losing their points, will probably fill DVC resorts. That suggests all of the Disney Deluxe resorts, maybe excluding YC, will open first. I wouldn't be surprised if one or more value and moderate resorts are closed for months.

For the most part resort guests are looking to visit theme parks. I think the resorts might open days, not weeks, before at least one theme park.

 

[Brianstl]

I would expect that we may see the 15 minute COVID test become mandatory before you are allowed to do things like board a plane or come onto Disney property.

 

[jlwhitney]

Like everybody here, I have no way to know for sure but my opinion is we'll start seeing some things open in may like resstaurants and maybe some store but with new procedures like limits on how many people can be inside possibly things like no bar seating and then slowly more things will open like nonessential stores and the like assuming the curse stays flattened. Large gatherings like sports, theaters, and theme parks will be the very last things to open and I have no idea what that timetable looks like but I think June/July is the earliest we're looking at and that is only if we can start opening other things up without spiking cases.

Also what do people def as large gatherings? I NFL game that packs in thousands is totally different then a kids soccer game, or a local dance recital, and so on.

I do see things coming back in stages, but it has to be logical. Kids need summer camps so parents can work, day cares need to open for same reasons.

 

[rojen]

Epidemiologists have been tracing the disease all over the world. They're exceptionally good at it. Some huge percent (90%?) of South Korea's cases came from a single carrier going to church and it spreading from there.

If you're the Walt Disney Company, how many deaths are you willing to be let traced back to a family trip to WDW? Cause that will 100% happen. They know it.

I'm super bummed about it. I average 3 trips a year to WDW. I'm hoping we get lucky with an instant read test within the next 12 months. I think that's about as optimistic as is reasonable.

 

[lilypgirl]

Epidemiologists have been tracing the disease all over the world. They're exceptionally good at it. Some huge percent (90%?) of South Korea's cases came from a single carrier going to church and it spreading from there.

If you're the Walt Disney Company, how many deaths are you willing to be let traced back to a family trip to WDW? Cause that will 100% happen. They know it.

I'm super bummed about it. I average 3 trips a year to WDW. I'm hoping we get lucky with an instant read test within the next 12 months. I think that's about as optimistic as is reasonable.

How may deaths have currently been traced back to WDW? I know of the one and that man visited many places while in Orlando so it’s hard to say actually where he got it .

 

[rojen]

How may deaths have currently been traced back to WDW? I know of the one and that man visited many places while in Orlando so it’s hard to say actually where he got it .

I was referring to the future, if they open it back up. Our testing wasn't robust enough in March to really trace things. But it's getting there now.

 

[xuxa777]

Epidemiologists have been tracing the disease all over the world. They're exceptionally good at it. Some huge percent (90%?) of South Korea's cases came from a single carrier going to church and it spreading from there.

If you're the Walt Disney Company, how many deaths are you willing to be let traced back to a family trip to WDW? Cause that will 100% happen. They know it.

I'm super bummed about it. I average 3 trips a year to WDW. I'm hoping we get lucky with an instant read test within the next 12 months. I think that's about as optimistic as is reasonable.

My opinion is if it is that contagious in an amusement park setting, we should already have seen evidence of a spread in the parks, we know there was a symptomatic contagious person in the parks in early March. Maybe they already have traced it back to the parks, who knows. Again my opinion and yes I could be completely wrong.

 

[Farro]

I would expect that we may see the 15 minute COVID test become mandatory before you are allowed to do things like board a plane or come onto Disney property.

The problem is the logistics. They simply don't have enough tests to do that. Be it government red-tape holding it up, accuracy issues, etc. - that's just not a viable option yet.
I think airlines(open, but bookings way down), Disney and everything may open with a strong show of testing (be it actual tests, taking temps, etc.) but then it will fall by the wayside rather quickly.

 

[TropicalDIS]

There is no way .. companies .. or even individuals would be okay with this. We don't have a vaccine for every virus out there .. Companies AND people (especially in areas that are not affected) would be okay with getting back out there. People are CURRENTLY going to parks ... people ARE gathering together .. (just not hugging or touching like they used to). This Easter weekend we saw family. We didn't have a huge meal together, but we still hung out. Why? Because we aren't infected .. we haven't been anywhere in a month and our county has a handful of cases (most of which have recovered already). We CAN get together in groups .. within reason.

I mean .. just look at the places that ARE open right now . .they are more crowded NOW than they are normally (Home improvement, Wal-mart, grocery stores, etc.) . because there is nowhere else to go.

People will be willing to risk exposure .. if the virus hasn't impacted them PERSONALLY ..which for a vast, vast, vast majority of the country the virus itself hasn't impacted people . .just the strict government rules have.

Some people are going to parks, some are getting together. Some people also took spring break trips and came back with Covid-19.

I did not see my family this Easter weekend and haven’t seen them in quite a while. Not something I’m willing to risk.

The “strict government rules” are in place for a reason. If the vast majority of the country hasn’t been impacted by the virus, then that means the rules are working.

Things will start to reopen, I believe in mid May-early June. Still saying Disney July 1st. I’d hope people will still be smart, social distance, and be mindful of where they go, what they touch, and who they come in contact with. When things reopen, the virus isn’t magically going to disappear. It will still be out there and the potential for it to impact you personally will remain.