Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Jrb1979]

Anything not already underway for sure. Anything already started can’t just be left.

I wonder if they don't open Epcot when they do reopen.

 

[Farro]

I have a trip in December. I probably get to ride SSE again and Rat.

That outside shot for a soft opening of GotG is pretty toast though.

I'm speaking more of the spine project, the new water features, even the two-story festival center? I really wanted to see all of that happen.

 

[fsjking]

I'm speaking more of the spine project, the new water features, even the two-story festival center? I really wanted to see all of that happen.

Oh I know. But after December, we don't have another trip to Disney on the radar, so those don't appeal to me. lol

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I just hope Disney doesn't cave to pressure from a vocal few who want to wait for a vaccine to open. I don't know who these people are, who think life can't go on until there's a vaccine. We need to open businesses again once the amount of cases goes down (no, I'm not saying now). Then deal with hot spots if/when they occur.

Are there a lot people who are saying WDW should wait for a vaccine to open back up? I’ve followed this thread and haven’t seen much of that. I’ve probably missed a page here or there, though.

I have seen more posts about people not being *personally* comfortable going until the situation is stable, but are they saying WDW shouldn’t open until then either?

With a potentially high risk kid, we probably will not travel to WDW until there is a safe vaccine (or Covid 19 somehow mutates and disappears out of existence, there’s solid herd immunity, a good antiviral med, etc.) I think they’ll be able to open long before someone like me is comfortable bringing my family back. I don’t think WDW is opening for quite some time, but I do believe it will be before a vaccine is available.

 

[Farro]

Are there a lot people who are saying WDW should wait for a vaccine to open back up? I’ve followed this thread and haven’t seen much of that.

I have seen more posts about people not being *personally* comfortable going until the situation is stable, but are they saying WDW shouldn’t open until then either?

With a potentially high risk kid, we probably will not travel to WDW until there is a safe vaccine (or Covid 19 somehow mutates and disappears out of existence, there’s solid herd immunity, a good antiviral med, etc.) I think they’ll be able to open long before someone like me is comfortable bringing my family back. I don’t think WDW is opening for quite some time, but I do believe it will be before a vaccine is available.

Yes, a lot of people are implying that they should not or will not open until there's a vaccine.

I do understand your reasoning for wanting to wait for a vaccine before you visit.

 

[Vern60]

Poor Epcot. I was so looking forward to what it was going to become.

Let's hope that once the revenue starts coming in again, the projects come to life again.

I know, seems like things couldn't have happened at a worse time for EPCOT. At least World Showcase is still intact right?
Sorry to stray off topic for a second, hope the moderator doesn't mind but for whatever reason, reading your post and all this Disney stuff reminded me of the old Cool Hand Luke movie, near the end George Kennedy blurts out to Luke, maybe they'll even let us have our old bunks back too! hehe I dunno, seemed relevant somehow

 

[Vern60]

I wonder if they don't open Epcot when they do reopen.

That's an interesting thought Jrb1979 but seems any extra revenue they could generate will be much needed. On top of that, wouldn't that sort of devastate interest in the Epcot resorts? I'd much rather stay at the monorail resorts if Epcot's closed.
I guess these tough decisions are why the CEO's make the big bucks

 

[Farro]

That's an interesting thought Jrb1979 but seems any extra revenue they could generate will be much needed. On top of that, wouldn't that sort of devastate interest in the Epcot resorts? I'd much rather stay at the monorail resorts if Epcot's closed.
I guess these tough decisions are why the CEO's make the big bucks

That is very true. We looooove the Epcot resort area. It would certainly lose it's luster if Epcot was closed.

Perhaps World Showcase could open while Future World stayed closed?

 

[rteetz]

That's an interesting thought Jrb1979 but seems any extra revenue they could generate will be much needed. On top of that, wouldn't that sort of devastate interest in the Epcot resorts? I'd much rather stay at the monorail resorts if Epcot's closed.
I guess these tough decisions are why the CEO's make the big bucks

There are several rumors floating about what will reopen when they do reopen WDW. I have seen several where Epcot is not the first thing to open.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Poor Epcot. I was so looking forward to what it was going to become.

Let's hope that once the revenue starts coming in again, the projects come to life again.

I was just thinking about the new Epcot preview area today and how beautifully they highlighted all of the new things to come! DS12 and I were so excited. And also thinking how the nighttime show "Epcot Forever" might actually become "Epcot Forever" if they stop work on the new permanent show. Dang, this pandemic is a real bummer!

 

[rteetz]

I was just thinking about the new Epcot preview area today and how beautifully they highlighted all of the new things to come! DS12 and I were so excited. And also thinking how the nighttime show "Epcot Forever" might actually become "Epcot Forever" if they stop work on the new permanent show. Dang, this pandemic is a real bummer!

Harmonious pretty far along. It would be hard to just abandon that now. Delayed sure but don't see it scraped.

 

[GeneralTso]

I have so many thoughts on this pandemic and the way we handled it. I think in hindsight things would have been done differently, etc., etc. but won't get into it here, but boy just had a great conversation with some friends about it. And yes in the end when we finally get the testing done that we need (if ever) I think we may see that the "cure" was worse than the disease (yeah, I'm starting to lean that way). But I don't know...we need numbers. We need to know how many people have had it, we need to know how many people were cured, we need to know how many ended up needing hospitalizations, we need to know how many people didn't. What we don't need anymore is just numbers of deaths without the rest of the numbers - it's sensationalism, click-bait and only ups people's fears (rational or not).

I just hope Disney doesn't cave to pressure from a vocal few who want to wait for a vaccine to open. I don't know who these people are, who think life can't go on until there's a vaccine. We need to open businesses again once the amount of cases goes down (no, I'm not saying now). Then deal with hot spots if/when they occur.

So flippant the way people talk...open next year, wait for a vaccine....and if they never open again? Sure, life would go on, but it would be a lot less magical.

I don't think people are prioritizing "magical" over not dying of a pandemic.

 

[Farro]

I don't think people are prioritizing "magical" over not dying of a pandemic.

This is what I'm talking about.

People don't want to have real, rational discussions about re-opening businesses, such as Disney. They want to use hyperbole and dramatics to prove a point rather than real data.

We need real data to make these decisions. It's not just "magic". It's people's jobs. Heck, how would Orlando survive without the theme parks? Florida even?
What would happen? Look no further than Detroit to see what happens when the main driver of a city's economy is gone.

Losing the Disney parks would be life altering for many, many people.
But, I don't think that will happen. They will open, modified for a bit, but eventually back to business as usual.

(please don't delete this )

 

[SaintsManiac]

Disney will not be closed forever. It’s been less than a month.

I realize this thread is just people speculating and there isn’t any real news to share, but man this is a tough crowd.

 

[rteetz]

Disney will not be closed forever. It’s been less than a month.

I realize this thread is just people speculating and there isn’t any real news to share, but man this is a tough crowd.

NYT just shared some news worth discussing I think...

 

[jerry557]

The parks have almost certainly taken out loans to finance all these new projects. Those payments are going to get expensive when no revenue is coming in. And these are not projects that can be easily canceled. Most of them are already half-way through construction. The Tron coaster is half-done and the track is already laid. They've already torn EPCOT apart. You can't cancel those now. And even if they did, they'd still owe the bank for what was spent.

The cruise line is also probably looking really bad because they've got 2 new ships already under construction. There is going to be payments due on them. And there is no revenue coming in.

The studios are the least affected at the moment.

Everything depends on how long the shutdowns last. But money isn't infinite. Even Disney will have a limit to how long it can stay shutdown. They will almost certainly open before they reach that limit. But the financials are probably not going to be rosy for awhile.

 

[Farro]

Disney will not be closed forever. It’s been less than a month.

I realize this thread is just people speculating and there isn’t any real news to share, but man this is a tough crowd.

I get what you are saying, but I also find it alarming how easily people are willing to let businesses stay closed for an indefinite amount of time. It's actually mind-boggling.

 

[Jrb1979]

I get what you are saying, but I also find it alarming how easily people are willing to let businesses stay closed for an indefinite amount of time. It's actually mind-boggling.

Not every business is going to stay closed. I am not one of those who is saying that. I can't see WDW opening before any of the Asian Disney parks do.

 

[Farro]

Not every business is going to stay closed. I am not one of those who is saying that. I can't see WDW opening before any of the Asian Disney parks do.

I have no idea about that. I don't know what parameters our country would use compared to other countries for reopening.

Again, it would be helpful if we could get true data to make these decisions.

 

[Ariel 1715]

NYT just shared some news worth discussing I think...

Can you give info on it, I cant get the article to open