Eclipse on Monday being allowed into the park with welder glasses?

[MusicalAstronaut]

84% isn't that much when it comes to an eclipse. I know it's cliche to hear it now, but there is even a huge difference between 99.8% and 100% when dealing with an eclipse.

Just google "Eclipse 2017 Close is not close enough" to read a veteran eclipse-hunter's take on the percentages.

Yes! I read that & it makes me feel really sad for the people who are saying "99% where I am, close enough!" Because I want to be like noooooo get in your car/on your bike and get closer!

They're keeping kids in schools here, but they my coworker said hers were sent home with permission slips to go outside & see it with the glasses. It sucks but I'm sure it's because people are dumb & sue-happy and they don't want to be liable if some kid decides to see how long they can stare at the sun because it's all people have been talking about.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

"Ok kiddies ignore the totally cool teachable moment happening outside...."
I've heard several parents say they are keeping kids inside or making them wear glasses all day. As a science teacher that bothers me. Teach correct viewing and get out there and enjoy the eclipse!

In principle I agree with you, but there have been so many reports of mis-marked and faulty glasses that there is no way I'd bother taking a chance on my eyesight or anyone else's eyesight over something like an eclipse. The eclipse seems like a big deal now, but next week this time it will have faded from memory. Seared corneas last a lifetime.

 

[Capang]

In principle I agree with you, but there have been so many reports of mis-marked and faulty glasses that there is no way I'd bother taking a chance on my eyesight or anyone else's eyesight over something like an eclipse. The eclipse seems like a big deal now, but next week this time it will have faded from memory. Seared corneas last a lifetime.

You don't need glasses to view the eclipse. No one seems to know this. Also, if you give directions kids should be able to follow them providing they are not toddlers. Explain why they need to follow directions. When kids blatantly did dumb things they were told not to do we used to call it survival if the fittest. Now parents call lawyers. I stand by my statements. It is a teachable moment and no kids should be forced inside. Or animals for that matter. It's an eclipse, not the apocalypse.
ETA: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/how-make-pinhole-projector-view-solar-eclipse
How to view safely without glasses

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

This is what I found for how Disney is handling the eclipse:

• Tom Sawyer Island at the MK will close at 2 pm and will stay closed for the entire day on Monday.
• Animal Trails at AK will close briefly prior to it getting dark and will reopen once the darkness period is over.
• Blizzard Beach will close as needed at the onset of darkness. Entertainment will be available at the beach area of the park and additional lighting will be added. Also, buses will be running directly to Typhoon Lagoon from 1:30 to 2:45 pm.
• Typhoon Lagoon already has nighttime lighting installed and will be utilizing during the darkness period. There should be no impact to guests of the park.
• Sammy Duvall’s Watersports Centre will be closed from 12 to 5 pm on Monday since Disney is shutting down all lake activities.
• Ferry Transportation sounds like it will be also stopped between 12 and 5 pm per Sammy Duvall’s announcement. No official word on this has been announced by Disney as of now.

If you plan on being at Disney World and want to view the eclipse, make sure to bring your own glasses! Disney will not be providing any for their guests due to liability reasons.

Where can Guests view the eclipse if they don't have the appropriate glasses? Guests staying in a Disney resort can check their in-room television to watch news coverage of the eclipse or view it online using personal mobile devices.

My goodness! Is this for real? WDW is so far from totality that it's hardly worth mentioning.

 

[AngiTN]

In principle I agree with you, but there have been so many reports of mis-marked and faulty glasses that there is no way I'd bother taking a chance on my eyesight or anyone else's eyesight over something like an eclipse. The eclipse seems like a big deal now, but next week this time it will have faded from memory. Seared corneas last a lifetime.

Come on now. This is where I'm annoyed with this whole thing. Not at you. At the warning that are coming out that are just unnecessary. These glasses that are mismarked are not going to sear a cornea. Looking at the sun without any protection will. These do offer protection. This hysteria is getting out of hand

It's a wonder millions are not blinded from past eclipse since we didn't have all this media to warn us about special glasses before

And we did watch. There was a major eclipse in the late 60s or early 70s, DH and I were 7 or so. All us kids went out to watch with our film negatives or dark glasses. Pin hole viewers are ok but that is just a shadow. That is not watching for yourself. May as well watch on TV if you are doing that, in my opinion. We all wanted to look up and watch and we did. Just not without something to protect our eyes. Even if the protection was unverified. We all wanted to see the whole thing too, not run off and play. None of our retina got seared

 

[mesaboy2]

You don't need glasses to view the eclipse. No one seems to know this. Also, if you give directions kids should be able to follow them providing they are not toddlers. Explain why they need to follow directions. When kids blatantly did dumb things they were told not to do we used to call it survival if the fittest. Now parents call lawyers. I stand by my statements. It is a teachable moment and no kids should be forced inside. Or animals for that matter. It's an eclipse, not the apocalypse.
ETA: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/how-make-pinhole-projector-view-solar-eclipse
How to view safely without glasses

For the record, I agree with you. But this gets at why so many schools are keeping kids inside. DD is upset she will be watching in class instead of outside, and I essentially told her this was the reason.

As for all the once-in-a-lifetime hype of this, some very light research will reveal the next one to cover a good chunk of the US is less than 7 years away.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Do those kids go outside ever? Yes? Then let them out. Unless you're sitting there telling them to look at the sun they are going to do what they normally do. Which isn't likely to be "look at the sun".

Make pinhole viewers and show them how to use them. 5 seconds later they'll be back to playing.


.

Based on over a decade of teaching experience, you 100% wrong about this. They will definitely be looking at this if we take them out, even when told not to. There is too much hype around it and the temptation is too great.

 

[KrazeeK120]

We arent even supposed to let the kids go to the bathroom form 9:45-10:45.

What?!?! Are you in a one room school with an outhouse?? What harm can come to the children from going to the restroom??

There was an eclipse in 1994, I think. Maybe it wasn't as total as this one? I honestly don't remember. I think I was in 5th grade. We got the glasses and got to go outside and look at it. I don't remember which grades were allowed to go out. Everyone followed directions and no one got hurt. It was a pretty cool experience.

 

[anniemae]

My goodness! Is this for real? WDW is so far from totality that it's hardly worth mentioning.

I agree it seems like overkill to me. I think they are so worried about liability. Someone trips and gets hurt, says Disney did not protect them. Ridiculous. Who else would they sue? The sun? LOL!

 

[DanielNYC]

Here I thought my biggest concern on Monday was going to be my rope drop plan. Now I've got potentially seared corneas to contemplate. For anyone who's interested, here's a website that features an animation of what the eclipse will look like in Orlando. Special glasses not required.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/orlando

 

[DisneyOma]

I complain a lot about various administrative frustrations I have with our district, but I trust them to not take risks with my child's eyes.

Can you imagine what a colossal blunder that would be?

That's what I'd be worried about too - I mean, why not just print a fake ISO label on the fake glasses? How would a customer know it was fake?

I don't understand what the decisions these schools are making
I get why they don't want to be responsible for their students keeping the glasses on.
I don't get why they aren't giving the kids an opportunity to see this.
Ideally, they'd all close and let the kids view but I realize that for some parents this is a huge burden so the best would be if they'd just all allow any kids who do want to be out to see it to do so.

As for the glasses, my opinion, there is a much ado being made about them.
Looking at the eclipse without any eye protection is foolish, there is no doubt about that. Or with just sunglasses. It's the sun. You shouldn't do that any day, eclipse or no eclipse.
Will people be harmed by looking with these glasses that are unverified? I have my doubts. And no, I'm no expert of course.
I know millions used much less protection to view past eclipses and were ok. Even the supposed glasses Amazon couldn't verify are way better than anything we used in the past.
I actually have 2 sets of glasses. One set that I bought from Amazon that I was refunded for from them and another from Nova that our local PBS station sent out to all the members of their Kids Club. There's no difference in them. Other than the Nova emblem.

People used pinhole viewers, which did not have them looking at the sun, which is different from using some glasses that claim to protect your eyes.

With the sue-happy climate of this country, I can see why schools don't want anything to do with allowing kids to view the eclipse. I think the burden of their safety should definitely be on the parents.

Come on now. This is where I'm annoyed with this whole thing. Not at you. At the warning that are coming out that are just unnecessary. These glasses that are mismarked are not going to sear a cornea. Looking at the sun without any protection will. These do offer protection. This hysteria is getting out of hand

It's a wonder millions are not blinded from past eclipse since we didn't have all this media to warn us about special glasses before

And we did watch. There was a major eclipse in the late 60s or early 70s, DH and I were 7 or so. All us kids went out to watch with our film negatives or dark glasses. Pin hole viewers are ok but that is just a shadow. That is not watching for yourself. May as well watch on TV if you are doing that, in my opinion. We all wanted to look up and watch and we did. Just not without something to protect our eyes. Even if the protection was unverified. We all wanted to see the whole thing too, not run off and play. None of our retina got seared

Having a blurry spot in one eye myself, from an ******* kid who decided it would be funny to shine a laser pointer in my eye, yes, I'd consider there's a good chance that looking at the sun during the eclipse will do damage. It might not show up right away, but it can lead to issues later on. It's just stupid to look at it. When you used the film negatives or dark glasses, you were not protecting your eyes from all of the harmful rays. The so-called 'eclipse' glasses? I don't trust them either - but I would run them past the list here:

https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification

 

[Colleen27]

Come on now. This is where I'm annoyed with this whole thing. Not at you. At the warning that are coming out that are just unnecessary. These glasses that are mismarked are not going to sear a cornea. Looking at the sun without any protection will. These do offer protection. This hysteria is getting out of hand

It's a wonder millions are not blinded from past eclipse since we didn't have all this media to warn us about special glasses before

And we did watch. There was a major eclipse in the late 60s or early 70s, DH and I were 7 or so. All us kids went out to watch with our film negatives or dark glasses. Pin hole viewers are ok but that is just a shadow. That is not watching for yourself. May as well watch on TV if you are doing that, in my opinion. We all wanted to look up and watch and we did. Just not without something to protect our eyes. Even if the protection was unverified. We all wanted to see the whole thing too, not run off and play. None of our retina got seared

I agree. There was a partial eclipse when I was a kid. We watched through welding glass and pinhole viewers, and we all managed just fine. I think I was in upper elem at the time. Now we're hearing all these warnings like you shouldn't be outside during the eclipse without protection even if you don't plan to watch, welding glass isn't dark enough to be safe, etc. I wonder how much of it is the usual fearmongering that our media engages in because it drives ratings, and how much is the no-acceptable-risk mindset that our culture has embraced over the last 20 years or so.

 

[robl45]

The concern is that the sun will be considerably dimmed, but still dangerous enough to cause permanent damage.

Usually the sun is so bright that our eyes naturally avoid it. But when the sun is mostly blocked, people might look at it longer than they otherwise would.

I've never been in a solar eclipse before, but that's how the concern has been explained to me.

Yes, frankly I'm surprised Disney world isn't closing or didn't do like schools and get glasses for the people. For the price people pay for Disney and all the kids there, its just insanely stupid of them to risk people losing their eyesight. Kids are going to look at the sun, especially when it isn't super bright and I can guarantee there will be at least a few kids that have permanent damage from it walking around Disney.

 

[anniemae]

Yes, frankly I'm surprised Disney world isn't closing or didn't do like schools and get glasses for the people. For the price people pay for Disney and all the kids there, its just insanely stupid of them to risk people losing their eyesight. Kids are going to look at the sun, especially when it isn't super bright and I can guarantee there will be at least a few kids that have permanent damage from it walking around Disney.

It was stated in an article that Disney did not want to supply glasses due to liability issues. They are leaving it to parents to monitor children. If anyone was terribly worried, they could head back to the hotel and stay inside during the eclipse, or bring glasses of their own for the kids. Not sure how long it is required to not look at the sun, a couple hours? Anyone know?

 

[NinaBella]

What percentage is WDW getting-I didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal down there.

I live in Tampa and heard it's only 60%. Okay, looked it up and see news station says Tampa 81.4%. Orlando says 85.2%

 

[cgattis]

how much is the no-acceptable-risk mindset that our culture has embraced over the last 20 years or so.

And yet some of those same people will drive around with their eyes and hands all over a phone...

 

[Kindermouse]

What?!?! Are you in a one room school with an outhouse?? What harm can come to the children from going to the restroom??

There was an eclipse in 1994, I think. Maybe it wasn't as total as this one? I honestly don't remember. I think I was in 5th grade. We got the glasses and got to go outside and look at it. I don't remember which grades were allowed to go out. Everyone followed directions and no one got hurt. It was a pretty cool experience.

We do not have interior hallways. When you leave the classroom you go outside. You have to go outside to go to the bathroom. Classes are not in 1 building but rather there are pods of 3 classroom that are connected and every other pod has a bathroom for boys and girls attached to it-but even if your pod has an attached bathroom room can only enter it by going outside.

The thing is we cant let kids pee their pants and we cant really even tell them no if they say that they really need to go to the bathroom. They are 8-they go all the time! If the school is that concerned then they should close the school for the day.

 

[Kindermouse]

Not sure how long it is required to not look at the sun, a couple hours? Anyone know?

Basically you shouldn't look at the sun ever-not on the 21st or any other day of the year. The sun isnt more damaging during the eclipse than any other day its just that most people wont stare into the sun on your average day while they might do so during the eclipse.

Though I will say that I have, many times in my life, looked at the sun for a brief moment and I am not blind. I dont think its the momentary glance that is the problem. its staring at it for 5 or more minutes waiting for that cool totality halo.

 

[DisneyOma]

I agree. There was a partial eclipse when I was a kid. We watched through welding glass and pinhole viewers, and we all managed just fine. I think I was in upper elem at the time. Now we're hearing all these warnings like you shouldn't be outside during the eclipse without protection even if you don't plan to watch, welding glass isn't dark enough to be safe, etc. I wonder how much of it is the usual fearmongering that our media engages in because it drives ratings, and how much is the no-acceptable-risk mindset that our culture has embraced over the last 20 years or so.

I haven't heard any warnings about welding glasses, pinhole viewers, and to stay indoors. I mean, sure, there are the whackadoodles that worry the family cat is dumb enough to look up, and so forth, but from a credible source? Nah.

 

[anniemae]

Basically you shouldn't look at the sun ever-not on the 21st or any other day of the year. The sun isnt more damaging during the eclipse than any other day its just that most people wont stare into the sun on your average day while they might do so during the eclipse.

Yeah, I get that. I get that the brightness that forces you to squint and turn away will not be present and you will be able to stare away. But I had heard it only takes seconds to cause damage. I was wondering if that was true.