The Rumor Tracking Thread

[Aprilshack]

Heathrow airport has started 20 minute rapid testing for HK & Italy flights. £80. Hopefully this can spread to other airports and gets things moving for international travel.

 

[Phicinfan]

I didn't say I didn't believe it. I do still remain skeptical that they would wait that long.

First released summer 2021? That seems fairly late by many projections.

Also Disney, I have a park that desperately needs things for people to do. They are not going to hold Ratatouille until 2022.

I also think this may end up being somewhat fluid. Which is why no Disney announcement will be made.
IF we get vaccine sooner, and IF we have way to produce and distribute, these timelines may change.
As for when we get Vaccine, I am working of a few medical reports I have seen, not gov't reports. My guess is the medical reports are more conservative, but will also be more accurate.

No, I don't think Rat will be held up, as that park desperately needs the draws. All that said though, here is the key again to me....
1) They are not having the normal crowds and demand they have had
2) That won't probably change until vaccine hits, or disease suddenly mutates and basically eats itself(no news of that happening now...).
3) You can defer millions of $$$$ by delaying finish of these rides
4) You then have ADDITIONAL draws for when the gates get flung open - maximizing those new big rides.

Again, I am with you in that this is going to be extremely fluid. If virus suddenly loses strength, or vaccine suddenly hits, it won't take much for Disney to pick up crews and get construction finished and still hit summer 2021 if they so desire.

 

[Jrb1979]

I also think this may end up being somewhat fluid. Which is why no Disney announcement will be made.
IF we get vaccine sooner, and IF we have way to produce and distribute, these timelines may change.
As for when we get Vaccine, I am working of a few medical reports I have seen, not gov't reports. My guess is the medical reports are more conservative, but will also be more accurate.

No, I don't think Rat will be held up, as that park desperately needs the draws. All that said though, here is the key again to me....
1) They are not having the normal crowds and demand they have had
2) That won't probably change until vaccine hits, or disease suddenly mutates and basically eats itself(no news of that happening now...).
3) You can defer millions of $$$$ by delaying finish of these rides
4) You then have ADDITIONAL draws for when the gates get flung open - maximizing those new big rides.

Again, I am with you in that this is going to be extremely fluid. If virus suddenly loses strength, or vaccine suddenly hits, it won't take much for Disney to pick up crews and get construction finished and still hit summer 2021 if they so desire.

Its more then just having a vaccine or the virus losing strength. Personally I think it has more to do with demand. They released booking dates for the 50th and I think they hoped they would mostly be full already. Til that picks up it they will stay in cost cutting mode. There is 2 ways to make money. Either fill the parks but if that's not happening, regardless of capacity limits, or cut costs. I know everyone keeps saying the parks are busy again. If you look at the fact its mostly weekends where its really busy, that tells me they are having difficulty filling resorts with week long guests.

 

[rteetz]

Its more then just having a vaccine or the virus losing strength. Personally I think it has more to do with demand. They released booking dates for the 50th and I think they hoped they would mostly be full already. Til that picks up it they will stay in cost cutting mode. There is 2 ways to make money. Either fill the parks but if that's not happening, regardless of capacity limits, or cut costs. I know everyone keeps saying the parks are busy again. If you look at the fact its mostly weekends where its really busy, that tells me they are having difficulty filling resorts with week long guests.

Demand is directly related to the virus right now.

 

[Jrb1979]

Demand is directly related to the virus right now.

Yes right now it is related to the virus. At the same time all I hear is how the parks are busy and travel is up yet Disney is still cutting costs. IMO the demand they expected is not happening right now. Resorts aren't being filled during the week and I believe they were hoping bookings would be high for 2021 for the 50th. I bet they aren't what they hoped. Now if they start filling the resorts for 2021 and money starts coming in maybe they start working on Tron and Guardians sooner. I'm sorry but it's a bad look when the park down the street will have a brand new attraction open in spring while Disney keeps delaying theirs.

 

[rteetz]

Yes right now it is related to the virus. At the same time all I hear is how the parks are busy and travel is up yet Disney is still cutting costs. IMO the demand they expected is not happening right now. Resorts aren't being filled during the week and I believe they were hoping bookings would be high for 2021 for the 50th. I bet they aren't what they hoped. Now if they start filling the resorts for 2021 and money starts coming in maybe they start working on Tron and Guardians sooner. I'm sorry but it's a bad look when the park down the street will have a brand new attraction open in spring while Disney keeps delaying theirs.

I’m not sure what you can expect given that you have capacity limits. It’s not like they can have huge crowds. The parks are definitely more busy.

Resorts booking for the 50th just opened. Lots of people are booking then. There is still a ton of uncertainty again tied to the virus.

I’m really not sure where you are going with this.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yes right now it is related to the virus. At the same time all I hear is how the parks are busy and travel is up yet Disney is still cutting costs. IMO the demand they expected is not happening right now. Resorts aren't being filled during the week and I believe they were hoping bookings would be high for 2021 for the 50th. I bet they aren't what they hoped. Now if they start filling the resorts for 2021 and money starts coming in maybe they start working on Tron and Guardians sooner. I'm sorry but it's a bad look when the park down the street will have a brand new attraction open in spring while Disney keeps delaying theirs.

I don't disagree - though the one difference is Disney has 3 new attractions coming - so they could say that Rat is their new on for 1H2021

I do think it isn't a great look to have the 50th celebration (or at least anniversary, even if no celebration) and the rail road is down, you have the shell of a new E-ticket attraction that no one can ride, etc.

Now, if the world is like it is now or worse, then who cares, no one really will want to celebrate - but I think the world can be a bit better (even if not all the way back) so be able to have Tron open for the 50th, almost as like the sign that things are "on their way back to normal" could be a good thing that will attract people. I suspect Disney is being flexible - finish the outside for now and "pause" construction and see how the first part of 2021 looks, the could then restart ~April and be ready to go with it for the 50th. I think they are taking things quarter by quarter now

 

[Jrb1979]

I’m not sure what you can expect given that you have capacity limits. It’s not like they can have huge crowds. The parks are definitely more busy.

Resorts booking for the 50th just opened. Lots of people are booking then. There is still a ton of uncertainty again tied to the virus.

I’m really not sure where you are going with this.

Where I'm going is to say why they would delay Tron and Guardians for a year. The demand they had hoped for isn't there to justify spending money on finishing them right now. That could change but they need resorts full to do that and outside of weekends, they aren't. I know the virus plays a big part in that.

 

[tlmadden73]

Yes right now it is related to the virus. At the same time all I hear is how the parks are busy and travel is up yet Disney is still cutting costs. IMO the demand they expected is not happening right now. Resorts aren't being filled during the week and I believe they were hoping bookings would be high for 2021 for the 50th. I bet they aren't what they hoped. Now if they start filling the resorts for 2021 and money starts coming in maybe they start working on Tron and Guardians sooner. I'm sorry but it's a bad look when the park down the street will have a brand new attraction open in spring while Disney keeps delaying theirs.

*shrug* .. Disney is the top of the food chain. They don't NEED any new attractions to draw people there. Smugglers Run, and Rise of the Resistance and Mickey's Runaway Railway are new enough (when you consider that the parks closed for 4+ months shortly after those opened).

I think delaying an attraction until they need it as a huge draw is a smart move. They need to penny pinch for a long time now. This tourism hit isn't going to magically go away the minute a vaccine is announced or the minute Disney decides to increase park capacity. It will take years to recover. Having a park shuttered for 4 months and then reduced to minimal capacity for months (probably a year?) is unprecedented.

I mean .. Disney shuttered the Art of Animation hotel (when it was Pop Century Part 2) for years despite it being well on its way (buildings had gone vertical).

 

[MissGina5]

You can get a 20 minute test at Newark and Kennedy airports starting last week.
I very nearly had to do that before our trip to disney last week.
I was notified of being exposed the day before our trip for Columbus weekend. Had a mad scramble to delay our trip with rented points. Thankfully the points owner was able to shift things back 5 days, while I got tested at my 7 day mark.

We were connecting through newark from Vermont. Had I not got in for the test, I was going to drive to newark and get tested there and continue on to join my family if clear(or home if not).
It all worked out. Thankfully we had a 2 bedroom unit that had availability at the time we pushed it back. Flight changes were available. Actually saved points and got an airline credit of a few bucks. So it worked out, but it was a bit of a freak out.
Long story short, you can get a quick test in the New York area currently. Which Imagine will help facilitate some international and domestic travel, provided you didn't test too soon in the develop of the virus.

how accurate are these tests though. That's the more important question

 

[MissGina5]

I also think this may end up being somewhat fluid. Which is why no Disney announcement will be made.
IF we get vaccine sooner, and IF we have way to produce and distribute, these timelines may change.
As for when we get Vaccine, I am working of a few medical reports I have seen, not gov't reports. My guess is the medical reports are more conservative, but will also be more accurate.

No, I don't think Rat will be held up, as that park desperately needs the draws. All that said though, here is the key again to me....
1) They are not having the normal crowds and demand they have had
2) That won't probably change until vaccine hits, or disease suddenly mutates and basically eats itself(no news of that happening now...).
3) You can defer millions of $$$$ by delaying finish of these rides
4) You then have ADDITIONAL draws for when the gates get flung open - maximizing those new big rides.

Again, I am with you in that this is going to be extremely fluid. If virus suddenly loses strength, or vaccine suddenly hits, it won't take much for Disney to pick up crews and get construction finished and still hit summer 2021 if they so desire.

wait it can mutate to get rid of itself? that would be great.
I am in the camp of not taking a vaccine right away because of the rushed process and I have been surprised how many have agreed with me to be honest lol. Still, once we see how the holidays go I have my sights set on March. That's my goal lol.
Regardless I am also confused by the prioritization. I would think Tron should be at the top. Guardians I feel probably has more to get done so that might take til 2022 but Tron? Thats kinda crazy to me. And halting completely is even MORE crazy, that and cast salary is where all the money should be going right now in my opinion. Well and safety lol.

 

[sachilles]

how accurate are these tests though. That's the more important question

Relative to other tests? or just testing in general. They have several options. Basically, accuracy is consistent with the same tests administered by your local health agency.
Below is a link to the FAQ. They have plans to spread to other airports.
https://www.xprescheck.com/#faqs

 

[MissGina5]

Relative to other tests? or just testing in general. They have several options. Basically, accuracy is consistent with the same tests administered by your local health agency.
Below is a link to the FAQ. They have plans to spread to other airports.
https://www.xprescheck.com/#faqs

In general with tests not just at the airport. Glad that they are consistent with the others at least though. But even the ones around here like at CVS could be better. ESPECIALLY the self administered.

 

[rteetz]

Where I'm going is to say why they would delay Tron and Guardians for a year. The demand they had hoped for isn't there to justify spending money on finishing them right now. That could change but they need resorts full to do that and outside of weekends, they aren't. I know the virus plays a big part in that.

Its purely a cost savings if it completely true. I remain skeptical on all the details of this rumor.

 

[Aprilshack]

Starting a go fund me page has crossed my mind! Lol!

 

[Spaghetti Cat]

It wouldn't be outrageous to lay the train tracks down, possibly in a plywood "tunnel", then rip them back up later when construction resumes in earnest. I think you're right that it'll be important for the 50th and worth the modest expense.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wait it can mutate to get rid of itself? that would be great.
I am in the camp of not taking a vaccine right away because of the rushed process and I have been surprised how many have agreed with me to be honest lol. Still, once we see how the holidays go I have my sights set on March. That's my goal lol.
Regardless I am also confused by the prioritization. I would think Tron should be at the top. Guardians I feel probably has more to get done so that might take til 2022 but Tron? Thats kinda crazy to me. And halting completely is even MORE crazy, that and cast salary is where all the money should be going right now in my opinion. Well and safety lol.

I am with you on the vaccine - though obviously will depend on timing of rollout, who is saying what, etc.

One thing with a vaccine (or other treatment or other external elements) is that it takes it a bit out of Disney's hands. Right now it is sort of on them to prove they are doing what they can to be safe - thus the mask requirement and the temp screening: those are tangible things they can do. But once there is somethe external readily avialbe then if something happens at Disney they can point the finger elsewhere ("well, you chose to to get the vaccine", well the vaccine proved not to be as effective as we thought", etc.)

 

[lovethesun12]

The thing is that many of our ideas on when this will end are just based on our own experiences. Somewhere near the beginning of these threads, I mentioned how travel would likely be restricted here for two years and there were a ton of people on these threads who didn't agree with it. That's fair but where I live that was the typical opinion then and it still is now. So I'm not sure how this will end up for Disney but it wouldn't surprise me at all that they could be looking at this over a 1.5-2 year stretch.

Not saying that will happen! Hopefully it doesn't but I guess they don't know right now either so it makes sense to be proactive and entertain all the different scenarios.

 

[rteetz]

 

[MissGina5]

View attachment 534794

I am trying to understand this. So definitely Happily Ever After but....