Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[mm824]

The temperature checking is IMO not a true indicator of Covid. We’ve been taking temperatures at my work since March. Six employees- that I know of- have tested positive and NOT ONE had a temperature of 100.4 or higher when they were scanned at beginning or end of their shifts. Maybe they developed fevers later at home-maybe they never had any symptoms-but the reliance on taking temperatures as a gauge of someone’s Covid status clearly has not been the case in my situation.

By the time a person is sick enough to have a fever, they've already spread the virus, so the temp check is mostly just a feel good formality for most businesses.

 

[Disneylover99]

By the time a person is sick enough to have a fever, they've already spread the virus, so the temp check is mostly just a feel good formality for most businesses.

I also see it as a deterrent to some who may be feeling under the weather.

 

[armerida]

Here at Disney now, got prompted to take this survey after visiting their website. Some new questions that I screenshot:

 

[mattpeto]

Here at Disney now, got prompted to take this survey after visiting their website. Some new questions that I screenshot:
View attachment 518892View attachment 518893View attachment 518894

Thanks for sharing the survey and I agree with every answer.

 

[Geomom]

Are they doing the new, touchless bag check at all 4 parks, or are any of them still physically going through people’s bags?

When we were there 7/25-8/8, it was all touchless unless you set off the metal detectors at those parks. It was less invasive than previously, but they still went through a bit...DH set it off a couple times...forgot he had his keys the days we switched resorts, or they wouldn't let him take the bag of chargers and metal mint tin out first (only umbrellas and metal water bottles/sunscreen)...and of course it set it off. So if you know you have a clear bag with lots of metal take it out no matter what they say-- if it's a metal detector one. The other type like at AK, you just needed to hold the umbrellas in front of you and we had no issues.

 

[mmackeymouse]

So, we didn't do this intentionally, (I mean yes it was intentional but not for any specific reason) but I think we got lucky, as we decided 4 weeks ago on park reservations, and we decided Epcot and AK on Labor Day weekend; the other parks we have on the books for the week following.

So...unbeknownst to us at the time, I think we ended up making the right decision.

 

[michellej47]

Agree to disagree. As has been discussed in previous posts, not everyone can cancel (in my case I have a non-refundable DVC rental that I tried unsuccessfully to have re-rented) and aside from that, Disney needs to be ensuring that social distancing is possible in their parks.

1. If you are that concerned about your health, the $$ shouldn't matter. I don't care how much I have spent, if I was truly worried about my health or safety, I would not go.

2. Disney enforcement can only go so far. They can't have their eyes on every single guest at every single moment. So yes, if someone can't handle being bumped into or walked past or any other close contact on rare occasions, they absolutely should not go.

 

[Dentam]

So, we didn't do this intentionally, (I mean yes it was intentional but not for any specific reason) but I think we got lucky, as we decided 4 weeks ago on park reservations, and we decided Epcot and AK on Labor Day weekend; the other parks we have on the books for the week following.

So...unbeknownst to us at the time, I think we ended up making the right decision.

We did the same thing, although intentionally. We have AK for Sunday and Epcot for Monday.

1. If you are that concerned about your health, the $$ shouldn't matter. I don't care how much I have spent, if I was truly worried about my health or safety, I would not go.

2. Disney enforcement can only go so far. They can't have their eyes on every single guest at every single moment. So yes, if someone can't handle being bumped into or walked past or any other close contact on rare occasions, they absolutely should not go.

Again, agree to disagree. I'm done arguing with ppl about this. Also, rare occasions of close contact are not what have been reported the past couple of weekends and not what I was referring to.

 

[mmackeymouse]

1. If you are that concerned about your health, the $$ shouldn't matter. I don't care how much I have spent, if I was truly worried about my health or safety, I would not go.

2. Disney enforcement can only go so far. They can't have their eyes on every single guest at every single moment. So yes, if someone can't handle being bumped into or walked past or any other close contact on rare occasions, they absolutely should not go.

On #1, that's you. For some people, the money spent DOES matter. For people who are or were on the fence, it could absolutely be a tipping point.

On point #2, I disagree. Of course, they can't have their eyes on every single guest at every single moment. Unfortunately, there are guests who know that and use it to their advantage, but that's not Disney's fault.

Personally, I know this is harsh. But...I think if Disney brought out the ban hammer, and permanently banned people not wearing masks or social distancing properly....as they have every right to do...if they do this a handful of times, and people become aware of it....hopefully people wouldn't risk it. But, that's just a thought.

That said, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect public places- grocery stores, movie theaters, restaurants, outdoor malls (looking at you, Disney Springs), and yes, Disney World to maintain capacity levels to a point that being bumped into and close contact while passing isn't a thing. Of course, there will always be people not paying attention to what they are doing and bumping into people. I wasn't paying attention and ran into a pole my last visit. It happens. But, if the overall crowding and congestion is what is leading to these moments, then I do think the (grocery store, movie theater, restaurant, open air mall, and Disney World) are not successfully maintaining a capacity as they should.

We did the same thing, although intentionally. We have AK for Sunday and Epcot for Monday.



Again, agree to disagree. I'm done arguing with ppl about this.

Might see you at AK!

Same...for this weekend, at least.

 

[Dentam]

Might see you at AK!

I'll keep an eye out for you! Hopefully we both have amazing trips!

 

[chicagoshannon]

The temperature checking is IMO not a true indicator of Covid. We’ve been taking temperatures at my work since March. Six employees- that I know of- have tested positive and NOT ONE had a temperature of 100.4 or higher when they were scanned at beginning or end of their shifts. Maybe they developed fevers later at home-maybe they never had any symptoms-but the reliance on taking temperatures as a gauge of someone’s Covid status clearly has not been the case in my situation.

Yep. I think the stat was that 80% of the people admitted to the hospital did NOT have a fever and those are the sickest people. At this point it seems like a waste of money to pay for the staff to do the checks. We'll see though.

 

[yulilin3]

Yep. I think the stat was that 80% of the people admitted to the hospital did NOT have a fever and those are the sickest people. At this point it seems like a waste of money to pay for the staff to do the checks. We'll see though.

I have a friend that works at AK, as central floridians we tend to blast the A/C in the car to get as cold as possible before going outside, he did this and when they checked his temp at the CM gate it said 92 degrees, they waved him through, no one concerned about hypothermia

 

[xuxa777]

On #1, that's you. For some people, the money spent DOES matter. For people who are or were on the fence, it could absolutely be a tipping point.

On point #2, I disagree. Of course, they can't have their eyes on every single guest at every single moment. Unfortunately, there are guests who know that and use it to their advantage, but that's not Disney's fault.

Personally, I know this is harsh. But...I think if Disney brought out the ban hammer, and permanently banned people not wearing masks or social distancing properly....as they have every right to do...if they do this a handful of times, and people become aware of it....hopefully people wouldn't risk it. But, that's just a thought.

That said, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect public places- grocery stores, movie theaters, restaurants, outdoor malls (looking at you, Disney Springs), and yes, Disney World to maintain capacity levels to a point that being bumped into and close contact while passing isn't a thing. Of course, there will always be people not paying attention to what they are doing and bumping into people. I wasn't paying attention and ran into a pole my last visit. It happens. But, if the overall crowding and congestion is what is leading to these moments, then I do think the (grocery store, movie theater, restaurant, open air mall, and Disney World) are not successfully maintaining a capacity as they should.








Might see you at AK!

Same...for this weekend, at least.

Disney explicitly on their home page and on multiple signs as you enter the park says you will be likely exposed to Covid while at WDW just like any public place.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.

By visiting Walt Disney World Resort you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

 

[SMRT-1]

Disney explicitly on their home page and on multiple signs as you enter the park says you will be likely exposed to Covid while at WDW just like any public place.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present.

By visiting Walt Disney World Resort you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

Those messages don't say that exposure is "likely"; they say that it's "[a] risk" (i.e. possible), which is significantly different than "likely."

 

[Brianstl]

Those messages don't say that exposure is "likely"; they say that it's "[a] risk" (i.e. possible), which is significantly different than "likely."

INHERENT risk

 

[andyman8]

For me, those reports get me slightly excited that people are starting to feel better about coming back!

I just want to emphasize that there really isn’t much evidence that the general public is warming to the idea of theme parks. It seems apparent that WDW is seeing significantly increased attendance on weekends due to the reallocation of reservation spots over to APs. The percentage of available reservations available to APs is higher today than it has been. Plus, you have more “eligible” APs with the Silver passholders now in play. Because so few Disney Resort rooms are full, that bucket (along with Theme Park Ticketholders) was usually not even approaching full, with a few notable exceptions. Likely most of the guests who are visiting the parks right now would have visited earlier (or more frequently) if they had access to availability. As I’ve said before, the demand was there but it wasn’t being met with equal “supply.” Are there some folks who now that they’ve seen on the ground reports are comfortable going? Sure, but I’d argue that other factors are the vastly more prevalent ones at play.

At WDW, the crowds have been significantly higher on the weekends lately. I’ve visited on weekends and weekdays at various periods and I can tell you consistently that weekdays (especially Tues through Thurs). While weekends have always been slightly busier still in recent years, the drop off has been nowhere near this pronounced. That’s indicative of APs making up a vastly higher percentage than usual. Of course, this isn’t how WDW operates. It depends on Resort guests to fill its parks on the weekdays and these are (as Disney will say) the Guests where Disney makes it money. If they felt demand was warming, they wouldn’t be delaying hotel reopenings and cutting hours. Likewise, UOR wouldn’t be closing hotels.

Just back from Disney Springs, definitely busier than normal. weekday or even morning weekends. Mask compliance way down, I was there for a job interview that didn't pan out and was pretty upset, going back to the car an entire family with masks on their chins were blocking the escalator up to lime garage, I stopped myself from speaking up cause it could've gotten ugly and only managed to say "excuse me" they looked at me up and down (sure dressed in business casual during a 106 degree heat) and slowly moved out of the way
So avoid if you can the weekends

Ugh, I’m so sorry to hear about the job. I’ve talked to a number of friends in similar positions and they’ve also told me that the applicant pool right now is ridiculously competitive for the few opportunities available. We’re all thinking of you and rooting for you! You are such a helpful, friendly source here on the Boards, so I’m sending all that good energy back your way!

On DS, I agree with your assessment and found the garages to be some of the biggest choke points in the entire complex.

Is it April 1st? Because I was told here that there is “No Demand” for theme parks. So theres no way this can be true

Reminder that UOR (like WDW) just had a whole batch of seasonal APs get “unblocked” from parks. When we start to see more off property hotels reopening and reopen more offerings, that would be a sign that demand is warming. I’ve been told that hotel occupancy in the Orlando area is abysmal and hasn’t improved as expected with the June and July reopenings. These parks aren’t built to do great business two days a week and no business the other five.

Labor Day may be a glimmer of hope but I’m not particularly encouraged about the rest of September.

 

[SMRT-1]

INHERENT risk

That doesn't change the point I was trying to make.

"Inherent" does not mean that the risk is more likely. It simply means that just by going out in public there is the possibility of exposure. It says nothing about the likelihood of exposure in any particular place.

ETA:
To use air travel as an example... Just by the act of going up in the air, an airplane creates the possibility that it could crash. So for anyone travelling by plane, there is an inherent risk that the plane could crash, but that does not mean that it's likely that the plane will crash.


I'm not trying to take sides in anybody's argument here. I'm just trying to point out the inaccuracies in the PP's interpretation of the warning messages, as misinformation has a way of snowballing in this thread, regardless of what the original intent of the post was.

 

[Tigger's ally]

On DS, I agree with your assessment and found the garages to be some of the biggest choke points in the entire complex.

which brings me to my question. OKW boats to DS running yet?

 

[yulilin3]

which brings me to my question. OKW boats to DS running yet?

none of the boats are running to DS

 

[Mit88]

none of the boats are running to DS

Guess we’ll have to swim from DS to Port Orleans.