Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[zemmer]

I keep reading that Disney doesn’t enforce rules. They do for height limits on rides. They might for rules deemed necessary for health and safety.

 

[e_yerger]

Not at all. I think they need to take their time in opening and Mickey has to grow a set and enforce the rules they put in place.

This right here - Disney theme parks need to step up and say what is right. If the major grocery store in your town can deny entry due to lack of mask, so can Disney.

(I'm using masks as an example, this can be replaced with whatever rules Disney seems fit for operations upon park open)

 

[DisneyWishes14]

So Disney waits until people don’t need to socially distance or wear masks. Sorry, Disney, you cant open until the virus is gone, which may be never

I don't think it will be necessary. Disney already knows how to lower capacity significantly and make a profit. They've proven they can do it through AH hard-ticket events, EMM and even some pass holder events (I've attended some that were very sparsely attended). Would it mean selling hard tickets to enter the parks? Maybe. And I'm sure they would get a ton of push-back from those who purchased regular park tickets. I, myself, would love it. Give me an AH-type of event any day/time of the week! Low crowds, walk-on rides, "free" snacks!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I key reading that Disney doesn’t enforce rules. They do for height limits on rides. They might for rules deemed necessary for health and safety.

Good point. Most of the rules I've seen unenforced are not rules around health and safety (line-cutting for example).

 

[Mit88]

Not at all. I think they need to take their time in opening and Mickey has to grow a set and enforce the rules they put in place.

They are taking their time opening, hence why there’s no opening date yet. Well, other than the dates passed on by 5th removed uncles that have friends that have cousins that get inside information different from the other people that have had 4th removed aunts with a hair dresser that has a son that once worked with a janitor that cleans the offices that these high profile meetings are taking place

 

[Sarahslay]

I’ve been thinking about this part. We are booked in June & will most likely still go IF they’re open & there are a few things that will be deal breakers so we are waiting to see what wdw will do. But I started thinking about the bolded last night & how sad it is b/c it’ll be so different from what it was on last trip just this past Feb/March. Lower crowds will be better, but it’s just a reminder of how things have changed so much in such a short period of time .

It's still escaping reality for me even if there are changes/everyone is wearing a mask. My current reality is being in my home day in and day out, even if I have to expend more energy to keep myself safe it's still better than just continuing to sit here in my house all day every day. I go to the store, I come home. Next week, I go to the store and I come home. Rinse, Repeat. We just want to go and be there even if it is modified for the time being. I got the virus before the parks even closed, this has been my reality before most people were ever forced to stay home, I just need something positive/semi-positive to escape to, even if it means dealing with drastic change.

 

[Jrb1979]

They are taking their time opening, hence why there’s no opening date yet. Well, other than the dates passed on by 5th removed uncles that have friends that have cousins that get inside information different from the other people that have had 4th removed aunts with a hair dresser that has a son that once worked with a janitor that cleans the offices that these high profile meetings are taking place

Yes they are taking their time. Either way Mickey has to grow a set and enforce the social distancing rules. If that means taking some of the Magic away so be it.

 

[joelanza5]

he Florida Dpt of Health, and of course the number will go up and down, but the new cases are going down, and more importantly people dying are going down. The concentration of cases here in Florida is in the south and those county's have not reached phase 1 yet. I won't add on the subject cause this thread is for WDW operations not disease stats but you can go look for yourself. Go to the dashboard and you can see all sorts of charts and numbers by county, even by zipcode

I get that it's mainly for WDW operations and apologies if I missed this - but if Disney did open up strictly to Florida residents, how would they discern who's a Florida resident and who is not. I assume checkpoints haven't been placed over the state border, so are they going to check IDs for every person in a party at the front gate?
And would WDW even be profitable by solely opening to Florida residents (cost of staff needing to be employed, food prep, etc). I assume it's not like every Florida resident is going to go every day or every week -- but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Mit88]

Yes they are taking their time. Either way Mickey has to grow a set and enforce the social distancing rules. If that means taking some of the Magic away so be it.

Whose to say they aren’t going to enforce it? This is a little bit more serious than things that are typically let slide. Someone smoking in the park and not being kicked out isn’t the same as people disobeying guidelines set by the state that are to decrease the odds of contracting a highly contagious and deadly virus

 

[Sarahslay]

Speaking of zoos and apologies if this doesn’t belong here but does anyone know if Animal Kingdom has been letting the animals roam? I sincerely do not know the operating procedures there, only that they are housed when they aren’t on the savannah.

I would imagine that the closer they get to opening with a normal operating schedule, the animals would need to be circulated out to become adjusted? Probably a silly question, just curious.

There have been videos and pictures on social media of the animals out on the savannah, the rhinos even had their mud wallows redone. I saw pictures overnight of pictures of the parks empty and you can see animals out on the savannah, they won't just keep them in cages, they do have CMs there caring for them daily.

 

[LSUmiss]

Good point. Most of the rules I've seen unenforced are not rules around health and safety (line-cutting for example).

And unless the CM sees it & is 100% sure they know what they saw, it’s a he said/she said situation with things like line cutting so that doesn’t seem worth the drama for CMs to get involved in.
As for the mask debate, they can issue a policy that says they strongly recommend them & that they mandatory when social distancing can’t be maintained. Something as simple as that will look good PR wise & cover them.

 

[xuxa777]

https://www.holidayworld.com/covid-19/
another large theme park opening June 14th with limited capacity most likely

 

[Sean74]

Hopeful, is the key word. And even if one magically appears in January, how long does it take to produce and distribute to Billions of people? Probably about 6-9 months

You seem to be forgetting about the thousands of CMs who work in the WDW parks and are around tens of thousands of guests every day. Could they trace it back to a WDW park? Maybe not, but if they have numerous CMs getting sick, it will be bad for WDW on many levels.

Also, instead of thinking about WDW as a theme park, perhaps

There is a big difference in small businesses, restaurants, and the places that are opening to opening places of large gatherings like theme parks. If people could follow social distancing and wearing masks when they can't be 6ft apart we could open everything now. Its sad the government had to put this measures in place cause people can't voluntarily do social distancing.

WDW does employ 77,000 though.

Maybe instead of thinking of it as a theme park, think of it like it is a small city is appropriate. There are parts of it that could be opened relatively safely. Get some of the employees back to work and money flowing through the economy.

Also today may be too soon to open, but people advocating moving towards opening realize that once you start the process it will be another month (at least) before WDW would open to the public, Florida (and most places in the US) peaked in April so is June to early to open?

 

[SarahC97]

https://www.holidayworld.com/covid-19/
another large theme park opening June 14th with limited capacity most likely

I'm a passholder at this park as well (I live about 1.5 hours away). This has actually given me hope that Disney may open in June sometime.

 

[andyman8]

However, while it’s still tragic, that’s still just .02% of the US population.

This isn't just aimed at the QP, but I just wanted to reiterate what @rteetz said. While I'm not a moderator, this board is supposed to be a means of escape and a place to discuss something we're all passionate about: Disney. Though the current crisis has created a somewhat uncomfortable crossroads here, the moderators and ownership of this Board have made it clear that its original mission (and all of the rules that are in place to ensure it) is still in place. Everyone is going through their own individual struggles at the moment and really could use a place like The DIS for relief and escape from extremely stressful, and for some very scary, times.

This crisis is affecting everyone in a different way. For example, while it's easy to dismiss that number or imply it is not super significant, it's a lot harder to dismiss or minimize it when it includes friends and family members. It's a lot harder to ask "what's the big deal" when you've experienced the loss of a number of people you care about in what feels like a millisecond. Suddenly, a still tragic just .02% death toll is a heartbreaking loss of a friend, a loved one, or family member, or worse, some combination. Again, I'm not a moderator, but I've been around here for some time and have found that The DIS is at its absolute best when, in the midst of passionate discussion about Disney, the community leans on each other, supports each other, and stands together. I've seen some of the most heartwarming virtual displays of solidarity on this forum. Just remember there are people, with their own anxieties and problems, on the other side of the screen.

Trust me, I get it; it can be so tempting to insert politics or economics or personal opinions on an issue like this, but I've really tried to focus to keep myself "on topic" and discussing Disney-centered COVID-19 news and speculation and asking myself "is this post really about Disney or something larger?" There are other avenues for those types of posts, but I really hope we can try to keep The DIS a Disney-focused escape from which we can walk away feeling better than we did when we arrived. While that's not always possible, we can all play a part in trying to make that happen.

 

[Pickle Rick]

Also, instead of thinking about WDW as a theme park, perhaps

WDW does employ 77,000 though.

Maybe instead of thinking of it as a theme park, think of it like it is a small city is appropriate. There are parts of it that could be opened relatively safely. Get some of the employees back to work and money flowing through the economy.

Also today may be too soon to open, but people advocating moving towards opening realize that once you start the process it will be another month (at least) before WDW would open to the public, Florida (and most places in the US) peaked in April so is June to early to open?

I think most people agree WDW will open in phases. Springs first. Some think either this month, or early next month.

 

[e_yerger]

This isn't just aimed at the QP, but I just wanted to reiterate what @rteetz said. While I'm not a moderator, this board is supposed to be a means of escape and a place to discuss something we're all passionate about: Disney. Though the current crisis has created a somewhat uncomfortable crossroads here, the moderators and ownership of this Board have made it clear that its original mission (and all of the rules that are in place to ensure it) is still in place. Everyone is going through their own individual struggles at the moment and really could use a place like The DIS for relief and escape from extremely stressful, and for some very scary, times.

This crisis is affecting everyone in a different way. For example, while it's easy to dismiss that number or imply it is not super significant, it's a lot harder to dismiss or minimize it when it includes friends and family members. It's a lot harder to ask "what's the big deal" when you've experienced the loss of a number of people you care about in what feels like a millisecond. Suddenly, a still tragic just .02% death toll is a heartbreaking loss of a friend, a loved one, or family member, or worse, some combination. Again, I'm not a moderator, but I've been around here for some time and have found that The DIS is at its absolute best when, in the midst of passionate discussion about Disney, the community leans on each other, supports each other, and stands together. I've seen some of the most heartwarming virtual displays of solidarity on this forum. Just remember there are people, with their own anxieties and problems, on the other side of the screen.

Trust me, I get it; it can be so tempting to insert politics or economics or personal opinions on an issue like this, but I've really tried to focus to keep myself "on topic" and discussing Disney-centered COVID-19 news and speculation and asking myself "is this post really about Disney or something larger?" There are other avenues for those types of posts, but I really hope we can try to keep The DIS a Disney-focused escape from which we can walk away feeling better than we did when we arrived. While that's not always possible, we can all play a part in trying to make that happen.

Well said

 

[e_yerger]

I think most people agree WDW will open in phases. Springs first. Some think either this month, or early next month.

Back to topic - I have a feeling that we'll see Springs open before the end of May. Maybe the week before MDW. I believe someone else posted about the Starbucks opening?

 

[LSUmiss]

@rteetz or @yulilin3 we have two and half pages of COVID data fights now in the middle of the theme park operations thread and it’s spiraling quick

I agree & am glad my off topic posts will eventually be deleted. I let myself get roped into the debate. I come here for news too & just get so sick of reading all the posts saying why Disney shouldn’t open. The fact is they will open whenever they do & if ppl don’t like it they can voice their opinion wherever they think might help. But, here we are supposed to be discussing updates etc.

 

[wallawallakids]

Nothing I can do, sorry, I'm not a mod of this forum.

Poor @rteetz. He can’t get lunch again today.