News Round Up 2020

[wareagle57]

No doubt true. But that doesn't get the press that the pre-season warning gets.

I mean do you really expect a big news story announcing a weather prediction was wrong slightly? The last several years have been slightly above normal. 5 years ago was low.

It’s been about 10 years since the last true extremely active season. when the categories are only average or above or below average, you don’t reserve above or below average predictions for the truly fringe years. Maybe they should but the huge outliers are rarely definitively predicted ahead of time. It’s just seen that there is potential for it to happen. Sometimes it does, sometimes not.

it’s not like announcing these predictions make anyone panic. There could be 20 hurricanes that make landfall and still have all of them miss Orlando. We know about the storms so far in advance that people wait to panic until it’s predicted to land close. You should of course always be prepared ahead of time in case you can’t get out to get emergency items

 

[rteetz]

Probably not the best place to be arguing about weather sources...

 

[MGMmjl]

NOAA has had the Atlantic hurricane season at above normal (or near normal) since 2016. I actually had to look when the last time they predicted normal or below normal (It was 2015). It’s almost like they have to predict above normal to get people to prepare.

And each season since 2016 has verified as being above normal, some of them well above normal. In fact, the 2017 season was the fifth-busiest on record, and 2019 the fourth-busiest on record in terms of named storms.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1263840381277540361

 

[OSUZorba]

Yawn. This gets published every year but I never see a report at the end of the seas on as to how accurate it is. The actual incidence of a hurricane hitting the WDW area is pretty low. Yes, I know it has happened. Don't recall if that was a particularly busy season or not.

As @skeeter31 suggests above, I believe this is really intended to get people to prepare for one. This weekend is the FL emergency preparedness sales tax holiday weekend IIRC.

In the last 4 years, I've had 3 hurricanes impact my WDW trips to varying degrees. Hermine, Irma, and Dorian.

 

[SaintsManiac]

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...vacation/?CMP=SOC-DPFY20Q3wo0521200527200012C

 

[tlmadden73]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1263840381277540361

Disney and UO are big competitors .. I guess Disney is big enough to let their competition potentially open up before they do? I can see Disney not opening for a few days or a week (like City Walk vs. Disney Springs) .. but I can't see Disney not being open for a MONTH while their competition has a whole month to grab whatever vacationers (that still decide to come down) money.

*shrug* Maybe Disney is big enough to not care or maybe they do plan on opening the parks (just maybe not resorts) in early June.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Disney and UO are big competitors .. I guess Disney is big enough to let their competition potentially open up before they do? I can see Disney not opening for a few days or a week (like City Walk vs. Disney Springs) .. but I can't see Disney not being open for a MONTH while their competition has a whole month to grab whatever vacationers (that still decide to come down) money.

*shrug* Maybe Disney is big enough to not care or maybe they do plan on opening the parks (just maybe not resorts) in early June.

They are competitors but at the end of the day Disney needs to do what is best for Disney and I think they would rather be cautious than rush - I think the "downside risk" is way higher for them than the "upside" of opening a few weeks earlier. Honestly, if they thought it was best to wait 6 more months I think they would (now, I am sure they are feeling pressure from shareholders and the governor, etc. to open sooner and if it can be done sooner they will)

And not to minimize the scale of Universal, but their hotels are run by a third party they just aren't as responsible for as many different aspects.

 

[siren0119]

Disney and UO are big competitors .. I guess Disney is big enough to let their competition potentially open up before they do? I can see Disney not opening for a few days or a week (like City Walk vs. Disney Springs) .. but I can't see Disney not being open for a MONTH while their competition has a whole month to grab whatever vacationers (that still decide to come down) money.

*shrug* Maybe Disney is big enough to not care or maybe they do plan on opening the parks (just maybe not resorts) in early June.

Disney also has a LOT more to work out logistically than Universal does. Six parks vs three, plus all of the resorts, onsite transportation, etc. I would have been more worried if they rushed plans to reopen just to beat or meet Universal's opening date - I would much rather they take longer and do it well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disney also has a LOT more to work out logistically than Universal does. Six parks vs three, plus all of the resorts, onsite transportation, etc. I would have been more worried if they rushed plans to reopen just to beat or meet Universal's opening date - I would much rather they take longer and do it well.

Universal has onsite transportation too, boats and buses. Disney has in addition Skyliner and monorail.

Universal has resorts though not in the numbers that Disney has.

Universal has parks the same as Disney has.

Universal has a shopping district the same that Disney has.

They are really the exact same thing; I mean if you look at the safety measures they really have the same concerns. They may be looking to slightly deviate from each other (that's my guess) but logistically they don't actually have anything different. When you're talking about putting forth a place for governmental approval that should really be the same concerns. Disney on the backend may be trying to figure out for instance what transportation options to utilize, to open some resorts (and if so which ones) or to not open the resorts at all, etc but that's not any different concern than Universal has.

I would agree that Disney may have more in the numbers game but they don't have much difference than Universal does.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Universal has onsite transportation too, boats and buses. Disney has in addition Skyliner and monorail.

Universal has resorts though not in the numbers that Disney has.

Universal has parks the same as Disney has.

Universal has a shopping district the same that Disney has.

They are really the exact same thing; I mean if you look at the safety measures they really have the same concerns. They may be looking to slightly deviate from each other (that's my guess) but logistically they don't actually have anything different. When you're talking about putting forth a place for governmental approval that should really be the same concerns. Disney on the backend may be trying to figure out for instance what transportation options to utilize, to open some resorts (and if so which ones) or to not open the resorts at all, etc but that's not any different concern than Universal has.

I would agree that Disney may have more in the numbers game but they don't have much difference than Universal does.

though Universal doesn't manage their hotels, Loews does - so they aren't responsible the same way.

The scale of transportation is very different too - even just getting people from the TTC to MK will be a logistical challenge

Disney also furloughed a lot of the CMs so getting them back might be more challenging that for Universal (granted that was their decision to do that)

I agree that they are similar so if Universal can pull it of Disney should be able to find a way - even if "harder" they also have more experience and staffing, etc. Might not be apples and oranges but at least McIntosh to Granny Smith or something

 

[ErinF]

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...vacation/?CMP=SOC-DPFY20Q3wo0521200527200012C

I think many people have been waiting to see a message like this. Seems like they could have posted it several weeks ago. I know from reading other threads and from the June trip FB page I'm on that there are some frustrated guests that just wanted to hear something from Disney.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

And not to minimize the scale of Universal, but their hotels are run by a third party they just aren't as responsible for as many different aspects.

Correct but that doesn't mean there isn't a coordination between Loews and Universal Orlando Resort. They both have to communicate with each other and they both need to be on the same page. I would actually argue (though not actually arguing lol) the opposite here. Disney gets full control of the resorts on their property that are owned and operated by them so decision making is easier (implementation may be harder due to their numbers of resorts) but with Universal it has be a coordinated response. How would it look to the public to have radically different rules in their hotels (which aren't generally seen as different entities than Universal Orlando to the general public who may not even be aware that Universal themselves doesn't run them) but not out in CityWalk or the Studios or IOA?

though Universal doesn't manage their hotels, Loews does - so they aren't responsible the same way.

See above

The scale of transportation is very different too - even just getting people from the TTC to MK will be a logistical challenge

Sanitizing is from what I understand the key as well as number of people in one place together (whether that is on the actual transportation or just in queue for one). In that respects it's the same. Disney may need to figure out is it worth running all their transportation in the beginning is worth it for sure. You are correct on MK due to the unique nature of where it's at. Buses are the only transportation that will get you to the front of the gates there but that in the past was only for resort guests. That may need to change.

I guess what I was more getting at is Disney isn't some really out there crazy unique place with respects to the reopening adjustments. They may have more in numbers but it's not that the same concerns are non-existent at Universal either. Sanitizing a boat is the same concern at both same as a bus and the concept of sanitizing and queue handling is the same for the monorail and the skyliner.

I would imagine that both companies have already thought of quite of bit of things. Presently my thought (which could totally be wrong) is Disney is waiting to see how the plans are received by other companies (Universal, Legoland, seeing how SeaWorld is working through some things) rather than the thoughtprocess that others are rushing their plans.

Disney also furloughed a lot of the CMs so getting them back might be more challenging that for Universal (granted that was their decision to do that)

Unless the plans are radically different if you're a theme park worker and you're concerned about returning to work for one given the times it's the same for Disney as it is for Universal. Both have to figure out what roles and who in those roles they need to recall. Even though Universal didn't furlough all their workers (just part-time) doesn't mean all the full-time people will be able to work from day 1; the need for them won't be there. Disney does def. have more workers to go through totally agree on that.

I agree that they are similar so if Universal can pull it of Disney should be able to find a way - even if "harder" they also have more experience and staffing, etc. Might not be apples and oranges but at least McIntosh to Granny Smith or something

lol I have to say I giggled at the comparison, first time I've seen something other than apples and oranges

 

[Mrs Geek]

I think Disney is probably happy to have Universal be the guinea pig here. If (and probably, when) there is a second big spike after everything re-opens, the nightmare scenario for Disney would be the headline "X million deaths nationwide caused by Y # of asymptomatic infected guests at WDW". Even if lots of the Florida theme parks are open, and a nationwide spread could be blamed on all of them, Disney will be the one in the headlines. (Remember right before the parks shut down, there was a 30 year old man who died from the virus shortly after returning from his vacation to WDW? Buried in the story was the mention that he also went to Universal on his vacation, but for whatever reason Disney is always held to a higher standard by the news media, so it was their name in the headline.)

So they are probably waiting to see how things go for Universal- do guests follow the rules? Are there a high number of confrontations over said rules? Does Universal actually make any profit from being open? How many people get sick? I think they would rather a scenario where guests complain about Disney being overly cautious and opening weeks (or months) later than the rest of the parks and then everything be fine, even if it means their competitors make a little more money than they do in the meanwhile, rather than a scenario where they're the epicenter for the next big spike in cases. If Universal reopens June 1 and then a month later, there's a huge spike in Florida (and surrounding states), Disney will look prudent and wise for waiting.

 

[siren0119]

Universal has onsite transportation too, boats and buses. Disney has in addition Skyliner and monorail.

Universal has resorts though not in the numbers that Disney has.

Universal has parks the same as Disney has.

Universal has a shopping district the same that Disney has.

They are really the exact same thing; I mean if you look at the safety measures they really have the same concerns. They may be looking to slightly deviate from each other (that's my guess) but logistically they don't actually have anything different. When you're talking about putting forth a place for governmental approval that should really be the same concerns. Disney on the backend may be trying to figure out for instance what transportation options to utilize, to open some resorts (and if so which ones) or to not open the resorts at all, etc but that's not any different concern than Universal has.

I would agree that Disney may have more in the numbers game but they don't have much difference than Universal does.

Universal does not own or operate the hotels that are "onsite". They are independently run and just have an arrangement with universal. Disney on the other hand manages all of the onsite resorts directly.

I didn't even include the shopping districts though if you count those then Disney has seven areas to manage MK, AK, HS, Epcot, DS and the two waterparks) vs the four for Universal (US, IOA, Citywalk and the waterpark). That's not a slight difference.

I stand by my statement, Disney has a lot more logistically to manage.

 

[inlalaland]

Correct but that doesn't mean there isn't a coordination between Loews and Universal Orlando Resort. They both have to communicate with each other and they both need to be on the same page. I would actually argue (though not actually arguing lol) the opposite here. Disney gets full control of the resorts on their property that are owned and operated by them so decision making is easier (implementation may be harder due to their numbers of resorts) but with Universal it has be a coordinated response. How would it look to the public to have radically different rules in their hotels (which aren't generally seen as different entities than Universal Orlando to the general public who may not even be aware that Universal themselves doesn't run them) but not out in CityWalk or the Studios or IOA?

This. Loews manages the hotels but Universal completely controls the inventory, rates, etc. Universal has a lot more control over the resorts than people realize. There is still a lot of coordination that needs to happen, especially since Loews TMs were furloughed and I imagine that’s also part of the hold up. But I was surprised not to hear anything about them yesterday.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Universal does not own or operate the hotels that are "onsite". They are independently run and just have an arrangement with universal. Disney on the other hand manages all of the onsite resorts directly.

I didn't even include the shopping districts though if you count those then Disney has seven areas to manage MK, AK, HS, Epcot, DS and the two waterparks) vs the four for Universal (US, IOA, Citywalk and the waterpark). That's not a slight difference.

I stand by my statement, Disney has a lot more logistically to manage.

Yes I'm aware of the bolded and I commented about that in my other comments and I gave my explanation where I think Disney actually wins out in that respect (though you're free to disagree with my assertation of the situation on that).

Of course you're free to stand by your statement.

Managing the theme parks won't be any different than the other. Just because you have more theme parks doesn't mean that you will have different policies for AK than you will at Epcot. And if you notice both Universal and Disney had very similar rules and procedures for their respective shopping districts.

Your comments were more framed,it appeared, as if Universal didn't have the same concerns that Disney does thus my response to you. They do, Disney does however have more numbers but it isn't as if things that will be presented in reopening plans are very different. Masks, sanitiation, who gets in first, bag requirements, queue handling, etc all those are the same at both places. Universal and Disney may choose not to do the same things but it isn't as if those things don't exist at either place to think about and I do believe Disney has been thinking about things for quite a while now. It would be way strange IMO if they just now started thinking about it; that to me would come off like they are rushing thinking through it rather than building over time with the information that we've learned about the virus and how other places have been handling reopening.

Anywho we can agree to disagree and move on respectfully

 

[chicagoshannon]

I got a survey from Loews a little bit ago. It asked when I was planning on traveling and what ammenities I'd expect to be open. Also asked about restaurants. Was a very short survey but I got the impression they wanted to know if I expected everything to running as usual or not.

 

[atricks]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1263899943049322497

Reduced hours at first:

Universal Studios Florida: 9am-6pm Daily
Universal’s Islands of Adventure 9am-6pm Daily
Universal’s Volcano Bay 10am-5pm Daily
Universal CityWalk Orlando 6am – 10pm Daily

Masks are required at the theme parks, but only recommended at Volcano Bay (but not in the water).

 

[rteetz]

Disney on the clock now then.