Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[glocker]

And since there has been no cases linked to either UO or SW I think this is big for Disney too moving forward.

I have heard NOTHING on the local news here about SW or UO since their opening. Which is a good thing

And you won't hear anything, because the spread is too far gone; contact tracing requires much lower numbers so that you can trace your positives back to the source. Florida, Texas, and the like are all guessing right now. That's why you see the "young people in bars" defense; they really don't know. Universal and SeaWorld have been open during this hotspot activity, but tracers can't do their job to link back to them because there are not enough of them to do the job with 9-10k per day.

 

[Jothmas]

Lots of numbers being thrown around here..the main number I'm looking at when it comes to my upcoming planned trips in the next couple weeks and months is the heat index number..when it's over a 100 degrees I think twice, especially since most of the park time is during the hottest time of the day..

Yes, the heat is my main concern too for a trip in July. If there will be challenges ducking into stores or entryways to feel some air conditioning, Disney is going to need to do better at providing shade, especially for any outdoor queuing.

 

[KBoopaloo]

And you won't hear anything, because the spread is too far gone; contact tracing requires much lower numbers so that you can trace your positives back to the source. Florida, Texas, and the like are all guessing right now. That's why you see the "young people in bars" defense; they really don't know. Universal and SeaWorld have been open during this hotspot activity, but tracers can't do their job to link back to them because there are not enough of them to do the job with 9-10k per day.

We’ve also heard from the federal coronavirus team that contract tracing has been difficult nationwide because people are not answering calls from the contact tracers so it is a difficult process all around even with a lower level of cases. It is also more difficult in places where many things are open because people could have been any number of places during the time they were infectious.

 

[Spridell]

Lots of numbers being thrown around here..the main number I'm looking at when it comes to my upcoming planned trips in the next couple weeks and months is the heat index number..when it's over a 100 degrees I think twice, especially since most of the park time is during the hottest time of the day..

Well I can tell you, the last 2 weeks down have been some of the hottest weather I have seen in a long time. Unusually warm EVERY single day getting close to 100 degree temps.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Serious question, why do you think you’ll “peak” this week? What is Florida doing now that it wasn’t doing 3 weeks ago to that’s going to cause it to “peak” other than blind hope?

I hold to my belief it will peak when WDW reopens to the public. That’s just how Disney’s luck has been rolling this year.

(As you can see I’m VERY scientific!)

 

[glocker]

Lots of numbers being thrown around here..the main number I'm looking at when it comes to my upcoming planned trips in the next couple weeks and months is the heat index number..when it's over a 100 degrees I think twice, especially since most of the park time is during the hottest time of the day..

That's a great point. Initially I was all in for wearing masks, and will do so if/when I come in July, but the fact that I cannot enter a park at 8:00 AM every day, and that Epcot will be at 11:00 AM makes wearing a mask during the heat of the day, where I would normally be on my way back to the resort to swim, very unappealing.

 

[Jothmas]

And you won't hear anything, because the spread is too far gone; contact tracing requires much lower numbers so that you can trace your positives back to the source. Florida, Texas, and the like are all guessing right now. That's why you see the "young people in bars" defense; they really don't know. Universal and SeaWorld have been open during this hotspot activity, but tracers can't do their job to link back to them because there are not enough of them to do the job with 9-10k per day.

The thought is that anyone who tests positive and tells anyone they were at Universal or Sea World since their reopening, it will make it on to the news, probably as the lead story, even without contact tracing.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

I'm really surprised by the opinions of so many on this thread. I know 8 people that have had Covid and they contracted it in 3 different Countries. Two were hospitalized and both of those were under 40. Luckily both have fully recovered but this virus is real and studies are showing that it has mutated and is spreading faster now.

For those that are going to Disney please wear your masks properly, wash your hands and keep your distance from others as much as possible. The more everyone takes this seriously, the fewer cases we will have and the safer it will be for everyone.

I haven't heard much the past few weeks about Universal being open which IMO is a good thing. I believe they are doing the same things that Disney will be doing, so hopefully this will lead to a safe experience for all guests visiting WDW.

 

[constanze]

That's a great point. Initially I was all in for wearing masks, and will do so if/when I come in July, but the fact that I cannot enter a park at 8:00 AM every day, and that Epcot will be at 11:00 AM makes wearing a mask during the heat of the day, where I would normally be on my way back to the resort to swim, very unappealing.

I’m wondering if they’ll be adjusting park hours to open earlier once they get a handle on things to combat the heat?

 

[jbreen2010]

11,500 cases announced in Florida today alone. I was really hoping somewhere around the 6k or 9k was going to be the peak and then start going back down again. I guess Disney is still full speed ahead with reopening but having some second guesses now if our end of July trip even makes sense anymore. We’re not in a high risk population group, but I don’t want to pick this up and then spread it to others that I encounter. I know Disney will work to keep it safe...just wondering how much more spread is going to happen over next 3 weeks or if maybe today it’s peaked.

 

[princesscinderella]

Happy 4th of July!! We just finished having a nice lunch at D-Luxe Burger. It’s not very busy today at DS so far. We can confirm the walkway from SSR CP area is open to DS, you have to walk around the back of the christmas store and earl of sandwich to the plaza in front of the void to get your temperature checked. Everyone is wearing their masks and social distancing has been easy.

I stopped by guest services to see about updating my TIW card to a new extended expiration date and was told they aren’t issuing the the extensions yet the TIW team are working on it and to check back once the parks open.

 

[LSUmiss]

Regardless, couldn’t traveling on vacation to another state that is a spiking hotspot be considered an unnecessary risk regardless of what’s open at home?

I’m traveling by car & I’m coming from a hot spot anyway. Going out in public other than for essentials is all an unnecessary risk.

 

[atlmgm]

I work in a profession that deals with analyzing numbers and we have a saying that "liars figure and figures lie". NO disrespect to anyone but there are many ways to analyze these numbers.

Here is my concern - with a current positivity rate of 14% - how will we know which 14% of CMs are positive? Disney appears to be only taking temperature checks which is one test but it is estimated that 80-90% are asympotamatic and will not show a fever.

There is minimal contact tracing happening and I have not seen any enforcement on quarantining. The local news just reported Allegiant and another airline that flew from FL had positives and those are being contact traced (A flight to Albany NY and somewhere in SC) - I cant remember what the other airline was or where it went.

 

[gottalovepluto]

@rteetz any idea of the rumor from the site with death of Minnie Vans story claiming the program was “hemorrhaging“ money is true? I’m surprised at that with how much money they put into refreshing & upgrading the fleets.

I was also surprised Disney is supposedly just going to terminate 200 employees with the program. Almost everyone I met riding them seemed to have experience in other parts of Disney, seems a waste to not let them be furloughed until they might have space elsewhere for them?

 

[TheMuffinSpot]

I see a lot of talk about Universal Orlando. As someone who is from Orlando and has many friends as cast members and team members who work front line, I can tell you that Universal Orlando isn’t making news because no one has proof of where they got it from. I’ve heard of more than a few cases at UO and managers telling cast “you can’t prove you got it from here.” And they are sent home. So yeah. You won’t see those news posts at all, because they don’t have to claim responsibility for it.

 

[rteetz]

@rteetz any idea of the rumor from the site with death of Minnie Vans story claiming the program was “hemorrhaging“ money is true? I’m surprised at that with how much money they put into refreshing & upgrading the fleets.

I was also surprised Disney is supposedly just going to terminate 200 employees with the program. Almost everyone I met riding them seemed to have experience in other parts of Disney, seems a waste to not let them be furloughed until they might have space elsewhere for them?

Nothing would surprise me at this point. I’d wait and see on this though. I know many, myself included, that loved Minnie Vans. Definitely pricey but enjoyable.

 

[RWinNOLA]

Actually it is even a bit higher closer to 98% and even higher the younger a person is, close to essentially zero for kids

Another thing to consider is that WDW was open until March 15th with no crowd control and no safety measures. I don’t recall ever hearing much about any cases being tied back to WDW back then or anything about CMs getting sick.

Things started to peak in the US in late March - early April. Given the lag from exposure to positive test seems like there would have been cases tied back to WDW but doesn’t really seem like there was.

My brother and his family (group of 8) were there the first week of March and nobody in their group got sick (unless they were asymptomatic).

Point is, COVID was absolutely starting to spread in the US before WDW closed and doesn’t really seem that there were a lot of cases tied back to the theme parks when they were open without any controls in place.

Hoping the safety measures they put in place for reopening will indeed be successful and prevent visitors from spreading the virus.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I work in a profession that deals with analyzing numbers and we have a saying that "liars figure and figures lie". NO disrespect to anyone but there are many ways to analyze these numbers.

Here is my concern - with a current positivity rate of 14% - how will we know which 14% of CMs are positive? Disney appears to be only taking temperature checks which is one test but it is estimated that 80-90% are asympotamatic and will not show a fever.

There is minimal contact tracing happening and I have not seen any enforcement on quarantining. The local news just reported Allegiant and another airline that flew from FL had positives and those are being contact traced (A flight to Albany NY and somewhere in SC) - I cant remember what the other airline was or where it went.

Lies, darned lies, and statistics!

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

Take this discussion about Covid to the COVID THREAD. Hi, welcome to a FORUM. It has these things called THREADS. Each thread--wait for it-- has its own purpose!

Wow! We're certainly on easy street, these days. Things just couldn't get any better!

 

[KBoopaloo]

@rteetz any idea of the rumor from the site with death of Minnie Vans story claiming the program was “hemorrhaging“ money is true? I’m surprised at that with how much money they put into refreshing & upgrading the fleets.

I was also surprised Disney is supposedly just going to terminate 200 employees with the program. Almost everyone I met riding them seemed to have experience in other parts of Disney, seems a waste to not let them be furloughed until they might have space elsewhere for them?

I agree about Minnie Van CMs being some of the best around. I have never been a rope dropper because there has never been anything I wanted to do so badly that I felt I could not do via Fastpass or standby but on a trip in early 2018 my Minnie Van driver convinced me it was worth it for Flight of Passage and he was 100% correct. I loved FOP so much that now I rope drop it many times per trip and I always think of him.