News Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon to remain closed until March 2021

[SoFloMagic]

Also, I don't understand how beaches are usually the first ones to open in cities but they feel water parks are not safe. Probably they thought it would be hard to distance guests in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon especially with that size of the wave. Slides are no problem since they can alternate unlike those lazy rivers and wave pools.

Beaches tend to have more open space and don't have small, tight pathways. Also, they're not usually owned by private parties with legal responsibilities and a name to uphold while operating in a pandemic.

Universal could have 45 people packed in a bus like sardines and it wouldn't make the evening news. I don't need to tell you where that picture would go if the same happened at disney...

 

[SoFloMagic]

Oh my gosh you people are so sad, Z it's a virus with a greater than 99% survival rate

I can't help myself. Show your math.

We've had 6 million cases in the US and 200,000 deaths - isn't that 3.3%? Flu is 0.1%

So it's a like the flu except it's way more contagious, can cause lifelong health issues, and you are 33 times more likely to die from it.

 

[nor'easter]

Oh my gosh you people are so sad, Z it's a virus with a greater than 99% survival rate

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

 

[peter11435]

What happens when a storm moves everyone out of the water? Where are they all going to go?

This is one of the biggest reasons Disney has not reopened a water park

 

[peter11435]

Oh my gosh you people are so sad, Z it's a virus with a greater than 99% survival rate

I don’t know what that has to with the fact that chlorine in the water provides no protection for guests walking around a water park.

 

[Archie123]

Wake up. It has killed 200,000 Americans and more than 40,000 in the UK.

Feel free to ban this person. It's one thing to have a differing opinion on the virus but to show blatant ignorance and stupidity is another thing.

 

[Disney Analyst]

All the water parks in Texas managed and it's not like going near ani othervperdon will kill you, all this coronastuff is stupid, it's a virus, big deal. I had it you no what happened nothing not even a sneeze.

What a disgusting comment. Please say this to the families of the almost 1 million people dead around the world. Dead due to a new, highly contagious virus.

I am so happy you have had it and it barely effected you. Many people have not been as lucky. Many who didn’t have it as bad are also still suffering effects. The long-haulers wish they had your experience.

Show some damn respect.

 

[larryz]

Feel free to ban this person. It's one thing to have a differing opinion on the virus but to show blatant ignorance and stupidity is another thing.

Well, here in 'Murica we have a right to show blatant ignorance and stupidity if we want to, as long as we're nice about it.

 

[surfsupdon]

I have never been to Volcano Bay. Do they have more places than TL/BB to take shelter when a storm rolls through?

 

[SoFloMagic]

I have never been to Volcano Bay. Do they have more places than TL/BB to take shelter when a storm rolls through?

No. But they don't care. And neither does anyone else because it's universal.
That picture of the packed bus tunnel got like half a day of press. If it happened at Disney it'd be on every news channel and they'd make them testify before congress.

 

[Gabe1]

You’re the “sad” one. Grow up and open your eyes to the world.

Goodbye.

Me with my eyes wide open don’t see the WaterParks opening until the return of the College Program students And that I don’t see the program returning until there is a well proven vaccine That adjusts to new strains. Just too many guests from everywhere come into contact with these students that are housed in close quarters together.

The CPs can work full time And overtime. Then the shear volume of Certified lifeguards needed. A huge chunk of guard CMs are CPs. I can’t foresee Disney having their permanent staff working that many hours. It requires lifeguard licenses and passing a 5 day course by Ellis Co, an endurance of many many laps of a pool, and inservice hours each week to keep skills current. Full CPR cert and First aid training I just can’t imagine too many adults with skills to slip in those roles and want to sit in the sun in the Florida heat for 8 hours. Nor Disney wanting to take on that many more permanent employees.

The CPs are almost always accepted into the CP program if they have previous life guarding and or are competitive swimmers. The limited permanent lifeguards CMs are generally at the resorts but still a chunk are CPs. It is a difficult role to fill overall

 

[cookiee_munster]

Does anyone know if the waterparks are having quite a bit of a refurb during the extended downtime? seems a really perfect time to give everything a freshen up...

 

[ToTBellHop]

Me with my eyes wide open don’t see the WaterParks opening until the return of the College Program students And that I don’t see the program returning until there is a well proven vaccine That adjusts to new strains. Just too many guests from everywhere come into contact with these students that are housed in close quarters together.

The CPs can work full time And overtime. Then the shear volume of Certified lifeguards needed. A huge chunk of guard CMs are CPs. I can’t foresee Disney having their permanent staff working that many hours. It requires lifeguard licenses and passing a 5 day course by Ellis Co, an endurance of many many laps of a pool, and inservice hours each week to keep skills current. Full CPR cert and First aid training I just can’t imagine too many adults with skills to slip in those roles and want to sit in the sun in the Florida heat for 8 hours. Nor Disney wanting to take on that many more permanent employees.

The CPs are almost always accepted into the CP program if they have previous life guarding and or are competitive swimmers. The limited permanent lifeguards CMs are generally at the resorts but still a chunk are CPs. It is a difficult role to fill overall

Somehow Volcano Bay had a 4 1/2 month season this year with no deaths reported on CNN.

 

[Magic Feather]

Somehow Volcano Bay had a 4 1/2 month season this year with no deaths reported on CNN.

Unfortunately, it was in first place for "most Team Member with COVID cases."

 

[Gabe1]

Somehow Volcano Bay had a 4 1/2 month season this year with no deaths reported on CNN.

That is an argument without merit that has been floated by the governor and His enablers for months. Nobody hears the Mayors of the area speak to the residents or tourists as if they were nitwits. It is ignorant and lacks value In destinations like Orlando. Each tourist can come into contact with 10s of thousands of different tourists and staff in a single day. Impossible to contact trace As guests keep moving from hotels to waterparks, to theme parks shopping districts, night districts And transport back to their resorts and repeat. Plus if they die in Their home state it isn’t a Florida Covid case. Florida has one of the most convoluted tracking systems of all the states, by design.

Another gimmicky knock off claim to ‘We have more cases Because we are testing more’ That does not equate to if you never take a COVID test you will never get COVID. Better One yet if you think your pregnant but don’t test you are not pregnant. No more babies If we ban pregnancy tests. But people listened to Jim Jones and were believers in his words. 2020 just have Jim Jones wannabes On steroids peddling disinformation to their believers.

I am in awe of the ludicrous things the Florida Governor says and yet he has not seen tourism bounce back. Has he seen the layoffs at just Disney alone? The empty resorts? The collateral damage to the disinterest overall in going to a tourist destination let alone Orlando? He can save his words about no deaths at Volcano. Not useful.

 

[Gabe1]

Unfortunately, it was in first place for "most Team Member with COVID cases."

Exactly. And team members can be contact traced Unlike the nameless faces that enter a waterpark with a day ticket.

Correct me if I am wrong, Volcano is closed correct?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Exactly. And team members can be contact traced Unlike the nameless faces that enter a waterpark with a day ticket.

Correct me if I am wrong, Volcano is closed correct?

If they aren't, they will be closing soon. I have a friend who works there and she told me it was closing temporarily.

 

[DCBaker]

If they aren't, they will be closing soon. I have a friend who works there and she told me it was closing temporarily.

November 2nd.

 

[Gabe1]

If they aren't, they will be closing soon. I have a friend who works there and she told me it was closing temporarily.

Just looked. It was revised

Volcano Bay will begin a seasonal closure on Nov. 2, with a current planned reopening timeframe of on or before March 1, the theme park said.

kinda like the presser for Kali Rapids. Maintenance yet nothing visible can be spotted. I don’t blame them Any more than Disney.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That is an argument without merit that has been floated by the governor and His enablers for months. Nobody hears the Mayors of the area speak to the residents or tourists as if they were nitwits. It is ignorant and lacks value In destinations like Orlando. Each tourist can come into contact with 10s of thousands of different tourists and staff in a single day. Impossible to contact trace As guests keep moving from hotels to waterparks, to theme parks shopping districts, night districts And transport back to their resorts and repeat. Plus if they die in Their home state it isn’t a Florida Covid case. Florida has one of the most convoluted tracking systems of all the states, by design.

Another gimmicky knock off claim to ‘We have more cases Because we are testing more’ That does not equate to if you never take a COVID test you will never get COVID. Better One yet if you think your pregnant but don’t test you are not pregnant. No more babies If we ban pregnancy tests. But people listened to Jim Jones and were believers in his words. 2020 just have Jim Jones wannabes On steroids peddling disinformation to their believers.

I am in awe of the ludicrous things the Florida Governor says and yet he has not seen tourism bounce back. Has he seen the layoffs at just Disney alone? The empty resorts? The collateral damage to the disinterest overall in going to a tourist destination let alone Orlando? He can save his words about no deaths at Volcano. Not useful.

For the record, I am very critical of DeSantis’s response to...everything, but COVID-19, in particular. However, I struggle to believe it would not have made national news if there were clusters of illness from any of the Central Florida parks. The news agencies love headlines critical of theme parks. I somehow doubt NBCUniversal or Disney are able to quash such stories on CNN. I’m sure Anderson would love a free trip to Disney World or Islands of Adventure but that only goes so far.

Even California Gov. Newsom admitted yesterday that Disney’s response (and presumably Universal’s) to the pandemic has been strong. His concerns lie squarely on the attraction of outside tourism to Anaheim, not on Disney’s safety record.