WDW Should Not Open in July. Discuss.

[roomthreeseventeen]

Florida is also refusing to report their hospital numbers.

 

[Searc]

I think they had more cases in a week than Louisiana has had the whole time. I know their population is higher, but dang.

They had twice as many cases in a week as my state (WI) has had the entire time. Our current case count for the state is around 31,000.

 

[Andrea464]

I'm conflicted. When the decision came it seemed like things were improving. With the numbers now, it doesn't seem wise but if anyone is going to get it right I feel like it'd be WDW. I told someone I think I'd feel safer there than at our local Wal-mart. If I could snap my fingers and my masked self just showed up at my resort that'd be awesome. Travel concerns me- I think I'd feel safe at WDW, but what about the airport or gas station?

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm conflicted. When the decision came it seemed like things were improving. With the numbers now, it doesn't seem wise but if anyone is going to get it right I feel like it'd be WDW. I told someone I think I'd feel safer there than at our local Wal-mart. If I could snap my fingers and my masked self just showed up at my resort that'd be awesome. Travel concerns me- I think I'd feel safe at WDW, but what about the airport or gas station?

A valid concern. I was so nervous using bathrooms at rest stops when we took a trip to the beach. I stayed at a family owned condo, so didn’t have to worry about a hotel.
My biggest issue right now is public bathrooms. I know you don’t hang out in there long, but they’ve always triggered my germaphobe side.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

If you're staying at a resort, you need to make sure to air out the room when you get there. Here's why

 

[Heather07438]

I'm conflicted. When the decision came it seemed like things were improving. With the numbers now, it doesn't seem wise but if anyone is going to get it right I feel like it'd be WDW. I told someone I think I'd feel safer there than at our local Wal-mart. If I could snap my fingers and my masked self just showed up at my resort that'd be awesome. Travel concerns me- I think I'd feel safe at WDW, but what about the airport or gas station?

I have confidence in WDW.
But the more saturated areas are with infection, the higher the risk to encounter infected people. WDW's policy is most effective when case rates are kept down.

One of the most challenging aspects of this virus is it quickly overwhelms when let run its natural course. Relatively easy adjustments can be made to keep transmission down but too many people refuse to bother. It's easier to resume life while rates are low & steady, much more complicated when heavy saturation has already set in.

 

[ORD2KOA]

I think they had more cases in a week than Louisiana has had the whole time. I know their population is higher, but dang.

They're saying on the news here that 20% are testing positive. I think we've got 200,000 cases right now, and what's interesting to me is the age group of the ones who are sick:

 

[Searc]

They're saying on the news here that 20% are testing positive. I think we've got 200,000 cases right now, and what's interesting to me is the age group of the ones who are sick:
View attachment 506674

24% of our state's current cases are ages 20-29.

 

[Colleen27]

The difference now vs 1940s thru 2000 is today's visible platform social media platforms like FB and Twitter grant them to scream fake news unchallenged and spread the lies virally. Vetted professional journalists used to stop or counteract them...but our 4th estate is disappearing.

And even those that remain have to meet targets for pageviews and shares and other audience metrics. The whole "newspaper" concept is de-aggregated so rather than the people who bought the paper for the sports section boosting the circulation for the news department and vice versa, all of the content has to stand alone. So even responsible reporting is run with click-bait headlines and data is presented in the most shocking (and therefore share-worthy) ways. That's a big part of the reason for the emphasis on case numbers and case number trends; if that's your lens, going from 10 cases to 20 is a crisis (even if the state previously went from 200 cases to 10). The numbers that are less subject to swings in testing rates and shocking surges from targeted testing get talked about too, but 3-4 paragraphs in to the story that most people tune out after just seeing the headline.

The whole news ecosystem right now has the effect of muddying the lines between truth and misinformation and making low-information content the most visible. Not by design, mostly, but because that's where the economics of an industry in crisis have led.

 

[stephk1981]

We are in the Tampa area and now have to wear masks, however just about 10 days ago we were in Publix wearing masks with almost 60 percent of everyone else NOT wearing anything. The beaches have been a huge growing source of the covid surge in my opinion ( here at least) and I have seen way more people than should be allowed into restaurants ( no way that amount are able to social distance.) We are going to WDW in August, it is safer there with mandated mask enforcement than what it has been here.....

 

[ORD2KOA]

Florida is also refusing to report their hospital numbers.

That stuff you can find here:
Florida's Community Coronavirus Dashboard

They're suppressing the information, but not every person who works for the state of FL believes in withholding vital information.

 

[hertamaniac]

I think one of the most challenging aspects of conveying the importance of our economy in central Florida is understanding the effects on locals. It is one thing to read about the statistics, but as others have posted when you see/live it day-in-and-day-out is when the reality sets in. Tourism is so centric to the economy that I have tried to strike a balance of risks to open the theme parks.

There isn't a day/night that goes by where our local news doesn't reference a/the theme parks and the ancillary effects. So while part of me welcomes all guests to visit and partake in our parks, there is another part that says now is not the time. Then that begs the question in my mind, if not now...when? What is the trigger mechanism where I would feel personally safe to visit our theme parks? I haven't been able to answer that question, so for now, it's a no-go for us even though we could drive over everyday as an AP.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I think one of the most challenging aspects of conveying the importance of our economy in central Florida is understanding the effects on locals. It is one thing to read about the statistics, but as others have posted when you see/live it day-in-and-day-out is when the reality sets in. Tourism is so centric to the economy that I have tried to strike a balance of risks to open the theme parks.

There isn't a day/night that goes by where our local news doesn't reference a/the theme parks and the ancillary effects. So while part of me welcomes all guests to visit and partake in our parks, there is another part that says now is not the time. Then that begs the question in my mind, if not now...when? What is the trigger mechanism where I would feel personally safe to visit our theme parks? I haven't been able to answer that question, so for now, it's a no-go for us even though we could drive over everyday as an AP.

New York relies on tourists. We are closed.

 

[ORD2KOA]

New York relies on tourists. We are closed.

And so is Hawaii.

 

[Brett Wyman]

If you're staying at a resort, you need to make sure to air out the room when you get there. Here's why

I 100% agree you should air the room out. Thats the first thing we did when we traveled last month. I had my wife keep the kids out of the room for a good thirty minutes and I went in with an N95 mask on. But that article isn't really specific to COVID. It hasn't been proven yet just how long COVID lingers in the air. The studies are all over the place. BUT YES, assume the worst and air it out anyway.

 

[Colleen27]

New York relies on tourists. We are closed.

Tourism is one industry of many for New York. What else does Florida have? Agriculture, which doesn't create many jobs for locals, and service industries like medical care, construction, etc. that will also be impacted when the snowbirds don't come back and the year-round residents are sinking. According to a quick Google, tourism supports about 3/4 of a million New York jobs and $8.2 billion in state and local tax revenue. By comparison, Florida tourism supports 1.5 million jobs and $25 billion in tax revenue. That's a big difference, considering the states have a fairly comparable population size.

Probably only Hawaii is harder hit as a share of total economic activity, and they're barreling toward an economic cliff as well with a quarter of a million jobs (in a state with only 1.4 million residents) and 2 billion in tax revenue (of total estimated state & local govt. spending of $14 billion) suddenly gone.

 

[Christine]

I think one of the most challenging aspects of conveying the importance of our economy in central Florida is understanding the effects on locals. It is one thing to read about the statistics, but as others have posted when you see/live it day-in-and-day-out is when the reality sets in. Tourism is so centric to the economy that I have tried to strike a balance of risks to open the theme parks.

There isn't a day/night that goes by where our local news doesn't reference a/the theme parks and the ancillary effects. So while part of me welcomes all guests to visit and partake in our parks, there is another part that says now is not the time. Then that begs the question in my mind, if not now...when? What is the trigger mechanism where I would feel personally safe to visit our theme parks? I haven't been able to answer that question, so for now, it's a no-go for us even though we could drive over everyday as an AP.

With tourism so critical to Florida, they needed to be strict everywhere else in the state in order to keep infection rates down. Florida needed to be fully on board with a sensible, strict reopening. Mandatory masking, strict limits on indoor occupancy so that the predominantly outdoor amenities there, like theme parks, could function. This yee-ha, cowboy, cavalier attitude has literally tanked the economy there.

 

[maryj11]

If you're staying at a resort, you need to make sure to air out the room when you get there. Here's why

So maybe table service meals are a bad idea also. I will remember to open the windows and door for awhile. I wonder if we should refuse housekeeping?

 

[choirfarm]

Tourism is one industry of many for New York. What else does Florida have? Agriculture, which doesn't create many jobs for locals, and service industries like medical care, construction, etc. that will also be impacted when the snowbirds don't come back and the year-round residents are sinking. According to a quick Google, tourism supports about 3/4 of a million New York jobs and $8.2 billion in state and local tax revenue. By comparison, Florida tourism supports 1.5 million jobs and $25 billion in tax revenue. That's a big difference, considering the states have a fairly comparable population size.

Probably only Hawaii is harder hit as a share of total economic activity, and they're barreling toward an economic cliff as well with a quarter of a million jobs (in a state with only 1.4 million residents) and 2 billion in tax revenue (of total estimated state & local govt. spending of $14 billion) suddenly gone.

Yes, tourism states will have to figure out new jobs. Broadway isn't opening. Just like for our town, the oil jobs are not coming back. Like industrialization in the 1800's where tons of people could no longer live on small farms, the economy will have to adjust. It will be awful and painful, but Broadway opening up would cause it to spread so quickly among the cast. My daughter needs to find a different profession. Even if you open, the virus will get them. So open up, but it won't save those jobs, only kill more people.

 

[TomServo27]

I think Disney has good protocols in place for opening the parks. It will probably be pretty safe. But the optics of opening the park right are terrible.