Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Mit88]

I agree.

Can‘t go back and determine which posts were deleted but I know I’ve had some removed related to Covid numbers. The thing is, I’ve linked actual statistics related to the virus to directly respond to inconsistencies. My posts (and several others) were deleted but the false data was left up. I totally understand and respect this isn’t the place for it (I’m new), but consistency is paramount. Leaving up the faulty data from someone who doesn’t have direct knowledge over factual statistics provided by those who actually live in FL seems strange. People come here to plan a vacation and feel confident they will be safe during this pandemic, so seeing fake information and/or posters fear mongering with their own personal opinion is not helpful.

My biggest issue with it is, these numbers come out, and all of a sudden 75% of DISboards are doctors, and 50% of those work for the CDC. It’s crazy how in the 5 months since this virus became prevalent in the US that people immediately went to online medical school, did 7 years worth of schooling in the matter of 3 months and now they can tell you all you need to know about COVID, and if you disagree, you’re wrong. There’s no civil discussion to be had from either side. There’s one group that believes on thing and the same people “like” their posts, and there’s another group that has the same people “like” their posts. Then there’s people in the middle ground that doesn’t care to take the medical expertise from people on the message board. Having information is better than having none, but with that information comes the headache of opinions being presented as fact, and then you get some that bring politics into it and thats where you get a firestorm that needs to be taken care of.

As I said, the daily numbers for Florida don’t have an impact on the Operations of the parks. Yes, the numbers impact the potential for an increase in capacity, but chances are we wont know if/when that will occur anyway, so it makes needing the numbers to tell when a capacity increase will come, moot. The parks are open. Some are very angry about it. Some are very happy about it, but they’re open, and almost certainly not going to close again at this point (Yes, I know no one saw the parks closing in March. Things are different now than they were in March. The CDC was also recommending the general population NOT to wear masks in Masks in March.)

There’s a place on these very boards that basically allows you to talk about anything you want, no hold barred that makes far more sense to talk about COVID numbers. And I’ll leave a link

https://www.disboards.com/threads/anyone-else-having-trouble-getting-excited-about-anything.3807836/

 

[skeeter31]

My biggest issue with it is, these numbers come out, and all of a sudden 75% of DISboards are doctors, and 50% of those work for the CDC. It’s crazy how in the 5 months since this virus became prevalent in the US that people immediately went to online medical school, did 7 years worth of schooling in the matter of 3 months and now they can tell you all you need to know about COVID, and if you disagree, you’re wrong. There’s no civil discussion to be had from either side. There’s one group that believes on thing and the same people “like” their posts, and there’s another group that has the same people “like” their posts. Then there’s people in the middle ground that doesn’t care to take the medical expertise from people on the message board. Having information is better than having none, but with that information comes the headache of opinions being presented as fact, and then you get some that bring politics into it and thats where you get a firestorm that needs to be taken care of.

As I said, the daily numbers for Florida don’t have an impact on the Operations of the parks. Yes, the numbers impact the potential for an increase in capacity, but chances are we wont know if/when that will occur anyway, so it makes needing the numbers to tell when a capacity increase will come, moot. The parks are open. Some are very angry about it. Some are very happy about it, but they’re open, and almost certainly not going to close again at this point (Yes, I know no one saw the parks closing in March. Things are different now than they were in March. The CDC was also recommending the general population NOT to wear masks in Masks in March.)

There’s a place on these very boards that basically allows you to talk about anything you want, no hold barred that makes far more sense to talk about COVID numbers. And I’ll leave a link

https://www.disboards.com/threads/anyone-else-having-trouble-getting-excited-about-anything.3807836/

Thank you for this! One of the best worded, most thoughtful posts on this topic yet. Exactly how I feel on this issue.

 

[Aimeedyan]

For what it's worth, we are staying off-site for a 4 night mini-vaca - we live about 70 miles away.

Had breakfast at Homecoming this morning; we have been to DS several times but always in the morning. We have yet to be able to park in Lime; it's always been closed when we arrive but seemingly open by the time we leave. I'm guessing they do a staggered opening.

It was empty when we arrived but getting to an uncomfortable level by noon when we left. We wandered WoD and similar to last visit, people don't seem to have heard of social distancing. It was hard to dodge people and it was still early.

Masks were nearly 100% with a few chin guards and a couple people nursing drinks. We sat outside at Homecoming and with the breeze and fans, it felt great (but it was 930am). We plan to go back on Wednesday for an early lunch.

In our city, masks are also required and it's nearly 100% at Publix, Target, Walmart, post office, restaurants picking up to-go orders (we don't dine indoors), etc. It's very rare to see people without. However, we decided to wander the outlet mall as I find outdoor places pretty safe and the weather had cooled off but the mask compliance was a joke. Full families with nothing, lots of chin guards, people carrying them in their hand, and maybe 50% of the cart employees had one on. The employees without were especially annoying. I watched a security guard walk past the carts several times and didn't say a word so I guess the mask requirement is not actually enforced.

The stores all had mask required signs and I assume they were requiring them. Almost all the high end stores had queues outside with very limited admittance. Gucci was even checking temps at the door and others were squirting sanitizer as people were let in.

It wasn't a normal Saturday crowd (parking was easily found, so you know it was not normal!) but it wasn't dead by any means.

We stopped at a local restaurant for take-out and the waiter had no mask on and not a single person waiting for take-out in the tiny restaurant did either. The cooks all did.

I was surprised at the lack of masks/social distancing once outside the Disney bubble and was pretty disappointed that just "up the road (I-4)" things were so much more different. Unfortunately, you may feel safe at Disney but those same people are probably not near as diligent in their masks/social distancing when a CM isn't standing nearby to remind them of the guidelines.

 

[rteetz]

I agree.

Can‘t go back and determine which posts were deleted but I know I’ve had some removed related to Covid numbers. The thing is, I’ve linked actual statistics related to the virus to directly respond to inconsistencies. My posts (and several others) were deleted but the false data was left up. I totally understand and respect this isn’t the place for it (I’m new), but consistency is paramount. Leaving up the faulty data from someone who doesn’t have direct knowledge over factual statistics provided by those who actually live in FL seems strange. People come here to plan a vacation and feel confident they will be safe during this pandemic, so seeing fake information and/or posters fear mongering with their own personal opinion is not helpful.

As always report anything in question. I can and will miss things. I am not on here every second of every day. I have other things in life to do.

 

[LSUmiss]

I’m sure we would hear from somebody on this board if they got sick after visiting WDW. We’re now home for 7 days after a 6 day trip. So far so good for all 5 in my party. . Not quite to the two week mark yet but will report back next weekend.[/ISPOILER]

Same here. Home 7 days now. Knock on wood no issues.

 

[AnaHtDis]

Just back from 4 day mini-vacay. MK and AK were awesome with lower crowds and wait times. The heat and masks didn’t really bother us Friday & Saturday. Today was HOT and definitely more crowded at HS. Got into the park at 9:30. MMRR broke down when it was our turn to sit down. We got passes to come back later. Got RoR boarding group 24 at 10 am (while standing in line at MMRR). They called our BG at about 1:15. When we walked over there....it broke down. We left to other rides and finally rode RoR at about 3 (amazing!!!). Then went to slinky dog and (drumroll) lightning closure. So... HS has more glitches, more people, more stress, but it was still worthwhile for us. My college-aged kids, DH, and I all decided we would do it all over again. Also, first time at FW cabins and I was terrified from all the negative comments I read on the boards (originally booked POR). We loved it and thought it was a perfect place for covid distancing. (Get a golf-cart)
I thought Disney did as best as they could to protect people. I feel bad for the people who had to go around measuring and placing 6 feet markers (we personally saw them adding more). They are everywhere!!!
Disclaimer: I am a newbie, so if I posted in the wrong place, have pity!!!

 

[OKWFan88]

When we went to ride TT last week, we were chatting with a CM in the queue line and she mentioned that the markers on the ground are actually 9 feet apart rather than 6 feet in rides that have longer queues in order to assist with families that have more in their party. Thought that was interesting and a smart idea.

 

[only hope]

When we went to ride TT last week, we were chatting with a CM in the queue line and she mentioned that the markers on the ground are actually 9 feet apart rather than 6 feet in rides that have longer queues in order to assist with families that have more in their party. Thought that was interesting and a smart idea.

The ones at Uni are mostly about 10 feet apart I’d guess. They’re a bit closer in preshow waiting rooms.

 

[Mit88]

When we went to ride TT last week, we were chatting with a CM in the queue line and she mentioned that the markers on the ground are actually 9 feet apart rather than 6 feet in rides that have longer queues in order to assist with families that have more in their party. Thought that was interesting and a smart idea.

My fear is those families/groups of 4+ people that walk horizontally down the sidewalks. But thats something thats always been a pet peeve of mine. Prior to COVID I’d wait for an opening and walk by them, but now with social distancing, you’re kind of stuck and have to wait no matter how slow those people are. And its not even about being in a rush, I just walk fast, and some people walk very, very slow. And before I get yelled at, I know people have medical, or are older that have issues that they cant walk fast, I’m not talking about those individuals. It’s the teens and people in their 20s-30s that dilly dally

9ft apart for markers makes sense and is very smart to do. If you have more than 2 people in your group, you’re going to be closer than 6ft from the next person in line that isn’t with your group. As someone that hasn’t been there yet, just seeing pictures and videos, I can nit pick some things that I’d like Disney to work on that would make me personally feel better, but it also seems like they have thought a lot through and have over produced when it comes to safety measures in many instances around the park

 

[johnnyr]

Hondo is especially socially distant tonight.

View attachment 513641

The first time I rode Hondo was there. The second time he was covered up just like this.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

My fear is those families/groups of 4+ people that walk horizontally down the sidewalks. But thats something thats always been a pet peeve of mine. Prior to COVID I’d wait for an opening and walk by them, but now with social distancing, you’re kind of stuck and have to wait no matter how slow those people are. And its not even about being in a rush, I just walk fast, and some people walk very, very slow. And before I get yelled at, I know people have medical, or are older that have issues that they cant walk fast, I’m not talking about those individuals. It’s the teens and people in their 20s-30s that dilly dally

Wouldn’t this be less of an issue now with the lower crowds? Seems in most situations now you’d be able to find a way to get past slower walkers with all the open space, even social distancing considered?

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

Same here. Home 7 days now. Knock on wood no issues.

We've been home 6 days and so far so good. Hopefully it continues. We're in quarantine, but can go grocery shopping. I went today and actually felt less safe in Wegmans than Disney. People were not 6 ft away in the produce section. I needed to dodge carts and kept seeing people with masks under their noses. Disney the compliance was topnotch while we were there.

 

[Dentam]

For those who have returned already from WDW, are you planning to get tested regardless of whether you have symptoms or not? If so, how many days after you return are you getting tested? I think if I do end up going in Sept (stuck with a non-refundable DVC rental) I will be taking over a week off after my trip and will get tested a few days after I get home. I don't want to be the asymptomatic person who brings it back to my workplace from a hotspot...

 

[parasail_of_congress]

As I said, the daily numbers for Florida don’t have an impact on the Operations of the parks. Yes, the numbers impact the potential for an increase in capacity, but chances are we wont know if/when that will occur anyway, so it makes needing the numbers to tell when a capacity increase will come, moot.

I'm trying to figure out what to make of this part of your comment. I'm quite certain the numbers in Florida, or at minimum, the numbers in Orange, are reviewed daily as part of WDW operations. It seems that you think that, too. Maybe you're just saying that people are guessing if/when capacity will change since they don't have actual numbers? I would agree with that if so.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

For those who have returned already from WDW, are you planning to get tested regardless of whether you have symptoms or not? I think if I do end up going in Sept (stuck with a non-refundable DVC rental) I will be taking over a week off after my trip and will get tested a few days after I get home. I don't want to be the asymptomatic person who brings it back to my workplace from a hotspot...

I called our pediatrician prior to leaving for Disney to set up an appointment to have the kids tested when we returned. They said to not have the kids tested because there are so many tests that are false positives and false negatives. They said even if your kids came out negative they would need to quarantine 14 days because the results could be false. They also said to call to be tested if the kids start to show symptoms. So we are all staying home from activities and my husband is working from home for two weeks. He has one more week to work from home.

 

[Dentam]

I called our pediatrician prior to leaving for Disney to set up an appointment to have the kids tested when we returned. They said to not have the kids tested because there are so many tests that are false positives and false negatives. They said even if your kids came out negative they would need to quarantine 14 days because the results could be false. They also said to call to be tested if the kids start to show symptoms. So we are all staying home from activities and my husband is working from home for two weeks. He has one more week to work from home.

Interesting - I wonder if I did get it while there or on the flight home and was asymptomatic, if taking 8 days off after I fly back home would be safe. I will talk to my boss about it. We don't have any travel restrictions at this point but I want to make sure I do whatever I can to make sure I don't bring it back to my workplace. I will only have 8 days of vacation time remaining, although if I did test positive, my workplace has given us additional weeks of paid time off for that purpose.

It's kind of crazy also that we have so many visitors from out of state at my workplace now - many from Texas, so I know I could be exposed to it on a daily basis anyway. Luckily I work outside and masks are required for staff and visitors.

Sorry if off topic - preparing for the deletion.

 

[Farro]

I'm not even going until next May, but I work for a hospital-non-clinical position- and if needed I can quarantine/work from home for 14 days, 9 work days.

Everyone really needs to iron this out with their jobs before travel anywhere.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

Interesting - I wonder if I did get it while there or on the flight home and was asymptomatic, if taking 8 days off after I fly back home would be safe. I will talk to my boss about it. We don't have any travel restrictions at this point but I want to make sure I do whatever I can to make sure I don't bring it back to my workplace. I will only have 8 days of vacation time remaining, although if I did test positive, my workplace has given us additional weeks of paid time off for that purpose.

It's kind of crazy also that we have so many visitors from out of state at my workplace now - many from Texas, so I know I could be exposed to it on a daily basis anyway. Luckily I work outside and masks are required for staff and visitors.

Sorry if off topic - preparing for the deletion.

It's part of the planning. Luckily for us my husband can work from home and the kids are doing their sports training in our backyard. That was the one thing I felt bad about. They were finally doing activities again and now have to miss two more weeks on top of our vacation. But we didn't want to take a chance with their teammates.

 

[Dentam]

I'm not even going until next May, but I work for a hospital-non-clinical position- and if needed I can quarantine/work from home for 14 days, 9 work days.

Everyone really needs to iron this out with their jobs before travel anywhere.

Yes, that is why I plan to speak with my boss about it. I'm not required to and we haven't been told that we have to quarantine after traveling (we were given a set of guidelines from HR, but nothing about travel was included), but I think it's the responsible thing to do.

Also, the CDC has changed the period of time recommended for quarantine from 14 days to 10.

 

[Mit88]

I'm trying to figure out what to make of this part of your comment. I'm quite certain the numbers in Florida, or at minimum, the numbers in Orange, are reviewed daily as part of WDW operations. It seems that you think that, too. Maybe you're just saying that people are guessing if/when capacity will change since they don't have actual numbers? I would agree with that if so.

They’re being reviewed by professionals. People being paid to make decisions. People that are far more likely to have civil conversations about these numbers. I’m not saying that the daily numbers are meaningless, I’m saying they cause too many arguments here because people have differing opinions on the matter depending on the source they’re getting their information from. That’s evident by the daily purge/deletion of posts. I’m not opposed to the information, I’m opposed to the “I’m right, you’re wrong, I know more about this virus than you do”. The truth is, none of us know the absolute truth about this thing, and neither do the real life doctors.

The correlation between capacity and daily numbers are important to Disney, the state of Florida, the city of Orlando‘Kissimmee, and the county of Orange. Disney isn’t going to put a commercial out on twitter announcing an increase in capacity, so its irrelevant to us. So the correlation between the daily numbers and the potential raise in capacity discussions here would all be guesses and conjecture