Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[LSUmiss]

The positivity rate among young people with no symptoms could have been this high all along. The CDC antibodies study from the first week in April suggest that it was much higher in Florida than the positive rate at that time. We don’t know for sure because that was a group that wasn’t even allowed to be tested at that time.

That’s the thing. More demographics of ppl have access to testing now. This could have always been the positivity rate.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I’m wondering if they’ll be adjusting park hours to open earlier once they get a handle on things to combat the heat?

No, I think one of the reasons for the staggered openings is to spread out where buses are needed and when, given the social distancing measures necessary for safe bus travel. The staggered openings will help them manage transportation.

 

[xuxa777]

11,500 cases announced in Florida today alone. I was really hoping somewhere around the 6k or 9k was going to be the peak and then start going back down again. I guess Disney is still full speed ahead with reopening but having some second guesses now if our end of July trip even makes sense anymore. We’re not in a high risk population group, but I don’t want to pick this up and then spread it to others that I encounter. I know Disney will work to keep it safe...just wondering how much more spread is going to happen over next 3 weeks or if maybe today it’s peaked.

Disney is can't really tie any decision to just new cases numbers, that will be problematic. Today new case numbers are a good example, more tests, same positivity range, more new cases . Lets say when Disney opens next week, Florida runs 165,000 test (doubt it but could) the number of causes will be around 26-27K if the positivity rate stays the same as it has for the past few weeks. On the flip side, they could just not test as many and the test numbers will drop, not suggesting they will do that or even should do that. Florida is currently under testing though that is clear. A realltivly good part for Disney still is the majority of new cases etc. is still in South Florida.

I imagine Disney is looking at the overall situation much more heavily, hospitalizations (steady) and deaths (steady/decreasing), then again who knows other than Disney. If they are open looking forward to being in the MK on the 9th , but dreading the heat.

 

[princesscinderella]

Did they tell you what your temperature was? I'm curious how that longish walk effects the temp.

someone posted yesterday (maybe it was you even lol) that you can still use your expired ToW card at restaurants because they can't issue new ones yet. They'll just have to get manager to do it.

They did not tell you your temperature just said you’re good. It’s definitely hot in the mask, I felt like my face was getting a good workout sweating.

My TIW card does not expire til next year and have used it on this trip, but figured since no one was in guest services right now I’d see if they would update it. As it took me 45 minutes in DS guest services to get it originally because it’s always so crowded there.

All the cast members we have interacted with have been amazing so far! They help provide that Disney Magic. The amount of CMs we have seen constantly cleaning is incredible, I know it’s their job but they are working hard to keep us as safe as possible.

 

[yulilin3]

Can anyone on here from the Orange County area comment and whether they have observed a change in people’s behavior out in public the last couple of weeks since masks were mandated?

I’ve mentioned before that my parish (county) here in southeast LA is one of the only ones that did NOT make masks mandatory but I did notice a much larger % of people in the store yesterday wearing masks.

Yes, definitely more people wearing masks again. Still, from my personal observations, older people are still the number one group not wearing them at publix, also tourists have started to arrive, I've seen entire families shopping without masks and no care for social distancing

 

[SierraT]

Actually I don’t think you get it. Anything that propagates this virus is bad for all of us. The more it spreads the greater the chance someone I care about, or you care about could die. And they still don’t really know the long term affects of you get it

But whatever. I’m not trying to “make” anyone do anything. And I don’t feel anyone else is either. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course. Some back it with data, some dismiss the data, some twist the data to suit their argument.

But one thing everybody seems to agree on is this situation is completely unprecedented and nobody can be 100% sure what all of the fallout will be. So to completely disregard anyone advocating a more cautious approach is just tone d

Some of us have lost family members in the last couple months, so most do get it but are still choosing to not be fearful about something we really have no control over. It has been suggested by WHO infectious disease epidemiologist that asymptomatic transmission of Covid is rare and Disney is taking steps to ensure visitors do not have a fever, stay 6 ft. apart and mandate masks which are probably unnecessary. The recommendations by the experts have been heavily debated and inconsistent from the beginning but Disney is still doing all three things to ensure safety.

Outside of that, over 98 percent have recovered from this virus worldwide. This is good news.

 

[TheMuffinSpot]

This is similar in many places though. I work in a hospital, and we were essentially told if we test positive, no way to prove we didn't pick it up from the community.

Which is sad, because it just passes the problem onto someone else who is anonymous. Instead of trying to find out how many employees are positive and if you have a small outbreak.

There is also a problem of people going to work knowing they’ve been in contact with an infected person, simply because they need the money. They are at work because they are still waiting for their test results which could take anywhere from 2 to 7 days to come back to them. While they are at work they are potentially Infecting others, but they didn’t want to call out because they didn’t want to miss a paycheck. It’s all just extremely sad to see.

 

[kylenne]

Nothing would surprise me at this point. I’d wait and see on this though. I know many, myself included, that loved Minnie Vans. Definitely pricey but enjoyable.

I would hate to see Minnie Vans go. We were even considering the crazy expensive airport service next year as a treat.

 

[rteetz]

And yet several times when the discussion centered around Uni and what they were doing, you said that wasn't allowed, soo.....

I don’t think I’ve ever said that.

 

[xuxa777]

Do we know if they put barriers on the boats too like they did on the monorail?

Probably be more like the buses, and with barriers, but I haven't seen anything confirmed yet.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1279408536599101441

 

[xuxa777]

It should be fun to watch MK and Animal Kingdom be vlogger central on preview days and the first days. Ad hoc Disney vlogger convention or meet your favorite Disney vlogger days. Guarantee to see yourself on multiple YouTube channels if you are in the park on those days, judging from all the youtube vids/streams of the resort hotels this week.

 

[LSUmiss]

Sure, there is evidence in LA. There is also evidence in NY that a family returned from FL and the child spread it at a party. She picked it up in FL and brought it to NY. So, is it the party, or FL? Also, FL cannot trace while the numbers are so high, so they are guessing. Is some due to parties, bars, and clubs? Logically, yes. Is some due to restaurants? Yes. Is some spread due to theme parks? Surely....we don't know how much.

But the irresponsible part in that story is going to FL & then going to a party not going to FL.

 

[Tjddis]

Some of us have lost family members in the last couple months, so most do get it but are still choosing to not be fearful about something we really have no control over. It has been suggested by WHO infectious disease epidemiologist that asymptomatic transmission of Covid is rare and Disney is taking steps to ensure visitors do not have a fever, stay 6 ft. apart and mandate masks which are probably unnecessary. The recommendations by the experts have been heavily debated and inconsistent from the beginning but Disney is still doing all three things to ensure safety.

Outside of that, over 98 percent have recovered from this virus worldwide. This is good news.

So I am sorry for your loss and respect your opinion on safety precautions. I would hope
You can likewise respect my view that long term consequences of having this virus are not yet known. So mortality rate may be a bit of a red herring.

And to paraphrase the Mayor of Ft Lauderdale being outside is good but being in large clusters of people not so much. So I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that it is totally beyond our control. There are several things we can do to slow the spread, and one is to avoid large clusters of people.

I say this not to convince you of how you should or should not proceed, but rather to illustrate my view into one reason I will not be going to WDW. If there are people here who change their mind based on anything an anonymous person says on a message board I don’t know what to make of that. I suspect they had an opinion formed already and are just looking for affirmation, in either direction

So to circle back I think it is a bit naive to push aside the numbers and chastise anyone for citing them as the original poster did. If you are headed to WDW have a wonderful time and stay safe.

 

[SoShiny]

Did they tell you what your temperature was? I'm curious how that longish walk effects the temp.

someone posted yesterday (maybe it was you even lol) that you can still use your expired ToW card at restaurants because they can't issue new ones yet. They'll just have to get manager to do it.

One time at DS, we had been walking around all morning. I exited DS to use the nearby smoking area and had to reenter through temp check. My temp was 100.3. The guy told me...and told me that I should get some ice water and cool down. After that, I asked what my temp was each time I was tested. Never above 98.6 after that. So, yes, at least for me, walking around in the heat makes a difference. I do have difficulties regulating my body temp., though.

 

[Jothmas]

It should be fun to watch MK and Animal Kingdom be vlogger central on preview days and the first days. Ad hoc Disney vlogger convention or meet your favorite Disney vlogger days. Guarantee to see yourself on multiple YouTube channels if you are in the park on those days, judging from all the youtube vids/streams of the resort hotels this week.

That does sound fun. I won’t be at the previews, but every trip I take I always run into vloggers I watch at the parks. I hope there will be still be some out and about the days I’m there.

 

[Eric Smith]

Did they tell you what your temperature was? I'm curious how that longish walk effects the temp.

someone posted yesterday (maybe it was you even lol) that you can still use your expired ToW card at restaurants because they can't issue new ones yet. They'll just have to get manager to do it.

TimTracker did a video a couple days ago where he walked around Disney Springs and Saratoga Springs for a couple hours. He went back in to Disney Springs and still passed the temperature check.

 

[anthony2k7]

And we would have heard ALL about cases stemming from the theme parks for sure!

No, we wouldn't because no one is doing the contact tracing to know, as has already been said several times.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Let’s just enjoy the weekend (and holiday for those that live in the US) and go back to arguing whether Disney should open or not on Monday.

What I don’t understand really is people aren’t clamoring for Universal to shut back down but people are ranting and raving that Disney shouldn’t open.

Now for myself I’m not going until November at the earliest and if I was going soon I would be cautious but I do feel Disney is doing everything they can to keep people as safe as possible. I would feel much safer going to WDW than a bar down the street.

100% what I have been thinking and wondering.

Yes, there absolutely are people out there who are legitimately concerned about the state, their loved ones, other people...but for the most part, on the social media outlets...it's all haters. It's just haters. A lot of people will take every chance they get to dog Disney.

Now my opinion has always been "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

So, for Disney....I think you have to take the haters with a grain of salt, but also realize that they will be a target PR/media wise. It's a fine line Disney will have to walk. So far, I think they are doing their best.

Because this is a Disney board so the discussion focuses on Disney? And, Disney is a far bigger/different beast than Universal, a point you yourself have made several times over the years. That said, plenty of people in the "real world" condemned Universal for opening as well.

Yes, many people condemned UO for opening. And those are probably the more reasonable people.

I think a lot of us are referring to those who look for any excuse to go after Disney. I think when you see people who post memes about dead grandmas, and say that Disney should face negligence charges for any future outbreaks in Florida.....meanwhile having never said a single word about any other park that has opened the last month....to me, it's clear they have an agenda.

Long lines are crowd management measures. Some of those queues are huge. Better to have people standing in a socially distant line for 90 minutes then all out in front of the castle on Main Street I guess.

There is one fallacy with this thinking. There are people, and I know bc my family is mostly comprised of them, who simply will not wait in a 90 minute line. It's FP, short standby, or bust.

So, instead of waiting in that 90 minute line, they go ride or re-ride other attractions, and a 5-10 minute standby average becomes 20-30 because people are avoiding the long lines and filling in the shorter ones. OR.....they go meander around the park, Main Street, the castle. So...people are probably going to end up crowding out front of the castle anyway.

I don't have an answer; I don't have a solution. I really think VQ was probably the way to go, and it seemed like from the MDE app, they were at least thinking that way....I'm not sure what changed their mind.

I have to say I agree with the bolded. Everything seems to be measured in absolutes, but why can't it be measured in phased, slooooow opening(s)? And that's not just with Disney, that's in the states in general.

I am keeping my fingers crossed very tightly for Disney - please let it go smoothly. And please let them have the awareness to make adjustments if it starts to look bad.

It's been over 3 months. They opened Disney Springs over a month ago. The resorts are opening first. They are testing the transportation measures, they are testing the health safety measures. How much more sloooooooow do you want it?

At some point, there is a breaking point. And maybe it's not now, but here's the thing about breaking points. Quite often, people wait too long, and don't even know it until the breaking point has passed. If you wait for the Go or get off the pot moment.....chances are, you probably will wait too long.

You have anything scientific evidence to back up your claim about Universal being responsible to Orlando’s cases?

My guess, is that now that testing is being administer to a much broader section of Florida’s population is that we are seeing how wide spread asymptotic carriers have been in Florida for months among demographic groups that weren’t being tested. An actual CDC antibodies study done back in the first week of April actually suggests to this being the case and that infection levels in South Florida were 11x higher than what testing was showing.

YES. This is exactly what I have been saying.

I mean, people keep making the argument that all the increases in positives are the result of more testing and yet the positivity rate doesn’t come down. At a certain point you’ve gotta stop making this argument, it’s ridiculous.

I really dunno how to explain it to you, other than the rate is the rate. It's probably the same rate it was back in April and May...we just didn't have the testing to determine it at that point.

Would it be ideal for the rate to come down, and for cases to come down? Sure.

The fact that there is 11K+ new cases is awful, but the fact that the rate has remained pretty steady...it's small, but it's something.

I think it's also relevant to mention that the overall death rate is 2%. In Indiana, where I am, it's over 5%. In Louisiana, it's around the same. 2% is actually quite good, and hopefully, it stays that way.

I work in a profession that deals with analyzing numbers and we have a saying that "liars figure and figures lie". NO disrespect to anyone but there are many ways to analyze these numbers.

Here is my concern - with a current positivity rate of 14% - how will we know which 14% of CMs are positive? Disney appears to be only taking temperature checks which is one test but it is estimated that 80-90% are asympotamatic and will not show a fever.

There is minimal contact tracing happening and I have not seen any enforcement on quarantining. The local news just reported Allegiant and another airline that flew from FL had positives and those are being contact traced (A flight to Albany NY and somewhere in SC) - I cant remember what the other airline was or where it went.

When we were preparing to open up at my workplace, essentially that was the question. And the response was....treat every single person you are in contact with as if they are infected.

There is unfortunately no way to know who is in the 10% or 14% or whatever %.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Some of us have lost family members in the last couple months, so most do get it but are still choosing to not be fearful about something we really have no control over.

Isn’t this exactly what is so scary about a place like WDW opening right now? The number of people who do not fear the virus and have a seemingly blasé attitude about it.