Coronavirus

[flyingcat2003]

We are planning a trip to Aulani in October (we can book in March). Me and my husband both have immune deficiencies and tend to get sick quicker than others when we travel (that doesn't stop us we just take precautions). We will be coming from Atlanta and enduring a 10 hr flight. With all of the international travels visiting Hawaii, are you concerned about the coronavirus?

 

[Amw1064]

We are going in March and also have the long flight from Atlanta. I am concerned about the coronavirus but still plan on going.

 

[corgi_monster]

So far, there are no cases of coronavirus here on Oahu. To my knowledge all direct flights from China to Honolulu have been suspended as of Monday. There are a lot of international travelers in Hawaii, but there have never been many Chinese visitors at Aulani. Chinese tourism to Hawaii in general has dramatically decreased in the past couple of years.

The Asians you see at Aulani are predominantly Japanese and Asian-Americans. And before anyone asks "How do you know?" - I'm Japanese and can easily differentiate written/spoken Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

To put things in perspective, Orange County has confirmed cases of coronavirus - would you cancel an October trip to Disneyland?

As an Oahu resident, my opinion is that people here are aware but generally not concerned. I can't tell you how many bad Corona beer/coronavirus memes I've seen on FB lol

 

[dreamit]

We are going in March and also have the long flight from Atlanta. I am concerned about the coronavirus but still plan on going.

We’re also going in March and are concerned, but not changing our plans. I think my main concern is the flight because it’s so long and so easy to pick up germs on a plane. I always wipe everything down with disinfectant wipes, but am now seriously considering purchasing masks to wear on the flight.

 

[Asnell]

We are planning a trip to Aulani in October (we can book in March). Me and my husband both have immune deficiencies and tend to get sick quicker than others when we travel (that doesn't stop us we just take precautions). We will be coming from Atlanta and enduring a 10 hr flight. With all of the international travels visiting Hawaii, are you concerned about the coronavirus?

These are the sorts of situations where I think it makes sense to purchase Travel Insurance. Just read the language carefully to see if a situation like "we've decided it's not medically advisable to travel" is covered.

 

[cgattis]

So far, there are no cases of coronavirus here on Oahu. To my knowledge all direct flights from China to Honolulu have been suspended as of Monday. There are a lot of international travelers in Hawaii, but there have never been many Chinese visitors at Aulani. Chinese tourism to Hawaii in general has dramatically decreased in the past couple of years.

The Asians you see at Aulani are predominantly Japanese and Asian-Americans. And before anyone asks "How do you know?" - I'm Japanese and can easily differentiate written/spoken Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

To put things in perspective, Orange County has confirmed cases of coronavirus - would you cancel an October trip to Disneyland?

As an Oahu resident, my opinion is that people here are aware but generally not concerned. I can't tell you how many bad Corona beer/coronavirus memes I've seen on FB lol

So I just saw yesterday (I been working long hours the last two weeks and hardly seeing any news) about the 68 folks on the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. I didn’t catch their entire itinerary, but one of the Americans who has tested positive was at Tokyo Disney. IDK if they visited China also or if they think she’d been infected in Japan? That’s scary to me—Tokyo is so densely populated (as you know) that obviously it could spread quickly there too. Of course I think the Japanese are keenly aware of that and generally do a great job containing things (just look at how the control GMOs coming in). Have you heard anything about it? I’ve only visited Japan once but loved the place and the people. Daughter wants Tokyo Disney as her eventual graduation present and I totally plan to make that happen!

 

[flyingcat2003]

So far, there are no cases of coronavirus here on Oahu. To my knowledge all direct flights from China to Honolulu have been suspended as of Monday. There are a lot of international travelers in Hawaii, but there have never been many Chinese visitors at Aulani. Chinese tourism to Hawaii in general has dramatically decreased in the past couple of years.

The Asians you see at Aulani are predominantly Japanese and Asian-Americans. And before anyone asks "How do you know?" - I'm Japanese and can easily differentiate written/spoken Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

To put things in perspective, Orange County has confirmed cases of coronavirus - would you cancel an October trip to Disneyland?

As an Oahu resident, my opinion is that people here are aware but generally not concerned. I can't tell you how many bad Corona beer/coronavirus memes I've seen on FB lol

 

[flyingcat2003]

I heard last night on the news that they expect the virus to die down when warmer weather comes. This makes me feel better. And yes, I would cancel a trip to WDW in Orlando or Disneyland in CA if the virus continued to spread.

 

[2Gma]

We have plans to visit Hawaii this March. We are also concerned about the virus, more so with the long flights and travel through 3 international airports. We did purchase travel insurance but of course the policy doesn't cover epidemics. We're having trouble deciding what is best for our family as we certainty don't want to risk our children's lives. Realistically this virus will spread and with all the the Spring Break travel coming up someone is bound to pick it up traveling and bring it back to your own community anyways so might as well go and enjoy vacation and crossing fingers that no one catches it and if so hopefully its the mild version.

 

[Beer Me]

It keeps being said every time corona is brought up but the flu has been bad and is much more concerning. Millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands dead. Even then it shouldn’t stop most people from traveling.

The new corona virus is something to keep an eye on but mainly get a flu shot, wash your hands and don’t touch your face as all of us should be doing anyway.

 

[RedStars]

To be frank, I'd be more concerned about the flu than the coronavirus.

My mom is immunocompromised so I understand what traveling can mean to other people like her. The flimsy masks don't really do much; they're better at preventing spread of germs but not great at preventing having germs spread to you. The best you can do is wash your hands, carry disinfecting wipes (planes are gross), and avoid touching your face.

We purchased travel insurance (like always). But we're otherwise healthy people so I'm not concerned for ourselves.

 

[corgi_monster]

So I just saw yesterday (I been working long hours the last two weeks and hardly seeing any news) about the 68 folks on the Diamond Princess Cruise ship. I didn’t catch their entire itinerary, but one of the Americans who has tested positive was at Tokyo Disney. IDK if they visited China also or if they think she’d been infected in Japan? That’s scary to me—Tokyo is so densely populated (as you know) that obviously it could spread quickly there too. Of course I think the Japanese are keenly aware of that and generally do a great job containing things (just look at how the control GMOs coming in). Have you heard anything about it? I’ve only visited Japan once but loved the place and the people. Daughter wants Tokyo Disney as her eventual graduation present and I totally plan to make that happen!

There are multiple ships being quarantined, but the one that seems to be making headlines is the one anchored outside of Yokohama. There are 6 Hawaii residents on that ship. The initial reports and Princess's website state patient zero was a man who had been to Hong Kong. https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html

There is a Japanese cruise ship outside Hawaii that will not be disembarking even though there is no reason to believe anyone on the ship has been infected with coronavirus.

I don't know what the general feeling is in Japan, but personally, I wouldn't cancel a trip. I would, however, avoid some areas of Osaka and Kyoto that are usually overrun with Chinese tourists, such as Namba, Kiyomizu dera, etc. As others mentioned, the flu is a much bigger threat to Americans than coronavirus.

As a side note, IF you were to get sick in Japan, the healthcare system there is great - just don't expect much privacy.

And yes, I would cancel a trip to WDW in Orlando or Disneyland in CA if the virus continued to spread.

I have a 1yo and a 3yo so I can understand your concern. It's impossible to predict how much, where, and when it will spread - so why not just proceed with your existing plans? You can always cancel. We're visiting WDW in January 2021 and will not be altering our plans unless there's a huge outbreak/pandemic right before our trip. But we will be purchasing travel insurance!

As others have mentioned, I would be much more concerned about travelling through airports and the flu. People returning from China are being funneled through 7 US airports, Atlanta and Honolulu being 2 of the 7.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are planning a trip to Aulani in October (we can book in March). Me and my husband both have immune deficiencies and tend to get sick quicker than others when we travel (that doesn't stop us we just take precautions). We will be coming from Atlanta and enduring a 10 hr flight. With all of the international travels visiting Hawaii, are you concerned about the coronavirus?

We are both reasonably healthy 70+ years old and travel regularly. We don't intend to let the current pandemic stop us.

In your case, keeping in mind that your trip is still many months away, I wouldn't make a decision to cancel right now. The current (and perhaps the next) health scare should be well past by October.

 

[purpliequeen]

We just got back from Aulani. Parents are senior citizens and had a non-stop, 11 hr 30 min flight from Boston to Honolulu. Husband and I endured ~6 hr Denver to Honolulu. Both are long flights. I was most nervous about the germs (not necessarily Coronavirus - remember, the flu alone kills more every yr) on the flights rather than at the resorts. We ended up being just fine. We did see a fair amt of ppl with masks - which did add to the doom & gloom atmosphere, but remember unless you get a certain "grade" of mask - the most common paper mask does little to prevent you from getting sick. It's moreso keeping your germs (if you personally are sick) from spreading to others. My husband is a materials science engineer and he found the cutesy Hello Kitty and other flimsy paper masks amusing - they did absolutely nothing to protect the wearer other than a false sense of security. (Hello placebo effect!) The best thing we can do is proper hygiene - wash your hands (a lot of ppl don't wash for the 20+ seconds) & don't touch your face.

@flyingcat2003 - Since you did mention immune deficiencies, I would follow advice from a previous poster and purchase travel insurance - ensure that the wording will allow you to cancel for any reason at any time (or a certain amt of days or hours prior to the trip) & get your full money back. We don't know how long this virus will last and there is word (perhaps rumors) that scientists are close to developing a successful vaccine. I'm absolutely crossing fingers that this virus will be cured & eradicated by Oct. If not, travel insurance will hopefully allow you to cancel. You can go the route of 3rd party for greatest peace of mind. Also look into your credit cards you use to book the reservations - many have cancellation/trip insurance policies.

 

[kyton]

On the subject of people wearing masks - sometimes it is not to protect THEM from illness, rather it is to stop them transferring their sniffles / coughs etc to YOU.

This was explained to us by a visitor from Japan when we questioned why so many masks were worn.

 

[corgi_monster]

it is to stop them transferring their sniffles / coughs etc to YOU.

This. In Japan, it's very rude to NOT wear a mask if you are sick.

I don't know how effective it is, but it's the cultural norm.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

by the time march rolls around if the corona virus is going to end up being insanely bad like measles/spanish flu...everyone should know it...by october...if you haven't gotten it where you live you likely won't be getting it.

if it is bad...cancel asap...there aren't anywhere near enough hospitals/facilities on any island to handle a pandemic level outbreak, and given how many elderly are in hawaii...those facilities will be well past capacity. (even without a pandemic level virus emergency room wait times can regularly exceed 4 hours)

also interesting to note is that the last really bad flu outbreak in the US, every state but hawaii was heavily affected. SARS and MRS never really hit hawaii either...but as with all things there's always a first so its not impossible.

 

[agirlcallededdy]

Came home yesterday from Aulani. Family of 5 with 3 kids under 12. Lots of handwashing and sanitizer but agree... More worried about flu than coronavirus. All seemed well at Aulani!

 

[agirlcallededdy]

Updating my prior reply: turns out my family flew in to HNL 2 hours before the gentleman from Japan who was later diagnosed with coronavirus. If more cases come thru HNL, I am not sure I would travel to Oahu. It is a small island, and once there, you might have a hard time getting home (like the cruise passengers).

 

[SL6827]

We are going in March and also have the long flight from Atlanta. I am concerned about the coronavirus but still plan on going.

I bet that is a long flight. Not sure if I could do that. I have a flight to San Diego in early March from Atlanta and it will be the longest one I have ever flown, dread that. I did pick up a 5-pack of the face mask in the paint department the other day at Walmart and believe me there weren't that many packs left. Now these masks are not suppose to help one bit, but I got some anyways. My husband says he will not wear one on the flight, but I might.