Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Miss Bella]

I honestly don't buy that demand is there cause if it was they wouldn't just be relying on AP holders right now.

So we should do nothing about this Zombie virus as you call it? I just don't understand what the big deal is with wearing a mask and staying 6 ft apart from others? You can still function as a society with that in place.

Did I call it a Zombie virus? If it turned people into Zombies I'd be much more afraid.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I had already canceled my October trip.

Then I cancelled my AP.

Now, I'm cancelling my December trip.

There's your Florida tourism dollars at work.

I hear you. Cancelled my September trip, made it for November-December.. cancelled that for now January. When you are DVC there’s so much more that you need to think about, especially losing points. January not looking real good and with February being my end month, might be skiing in NE for a few weeks by the end of February.

 

[Jrb1979]

Did I call it a Zombie virus? If it turned people into Zombies I'd be much more afraid.

You did call it the Zombie apocalypse.

 

[Miss Bella]

You did call it the Zombie apocalypse.

In what context?

 

[Jenny72]

Even though it's counterintuitive, it's the people who write this off as trivial or overblown who are succumbing to fear. And it's understandable. It's awful and scary that there is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that has crippled the entire globe, and during a period of unrest and climate disasters. It's much less frightening to believe that everyone's just panicking unnecessarily, and everything will be fine. If the pandemic is just an invented crisis to score political points, that makes it even smaller and more ridiculous. I don't think this is a deliberate or conscious process, but it's a very human one.

It's people that recognize the challenge of a serious pandemic but also try to determine how we can weather it with the least suffering that are truly courageous. On that note I think Disney's approach is not a terrible model but obviously that's just one piece of the puzzle.

 

[MisterPenguin]

More guests will still come and enjoy anyway. Have a Magical Day.

So far, except for some weekends, the parks haven't been hitting their very reduced capacity. Disney keeps expanding the AP bucket and the CM bucket because there are precious few guests staying at the resorts. And then even with that, they aren't hitting max (very reduced) capacity.

International visitors can't come here because their countries won't allow them to go a known hotspot: The USA.

States with a huge tourism population that goes to Florida, namely, the Northeastern states, tell their people don't go to hotspots in the US, and if you do, you have to quarantine for two weeks when you come back. And one of those named hotspots? Florida.

And given Florida's bad reputation for managing COVID, especially with the news the governor is making, wanting a bill of rights for student to get COVID if they want, even if the states didn't discourage travel to Florida, most people won't go. The NE knows what COVID is like when it gets bad. Hardly anyone wants to be part of that in another state.

In the NE things are opening up... and people aren't showing up... they don't want to take the risk. They ain't going to Florida where the positivity rate is five times higher.

Unless Floridians residents step up a lot more than they're already doing... there are no other guests to attend WDW.

 

[Chomama]

I hear you. Cancelled my September trip, made it for November-December.. cancelled that for now January. When you are DVC there’s so much more that you need to think about, especially losing points. January not looking real good and with February being my end month, might be skiing in NE for a few weeks by the end of February.

Us too....we have no financially or logistical reason NOT to go.
- no state quarantines here
- driving distance
- virtual school
-AP
- more Marriott points than we know what to do with
I was considering driving down and having kids do virtual school until lunch and the. Play in the parks in the afternoon. Was actually looking at booking it yesterday. Then Desantis came out. Totally changed our minds. I realize wdw will keep their restrictions but the gas stations and hotels and restaurants around there? Forget it. It was already bad in July. Also I imagine this is going to make front of line CMs very stressed and have a lot more difficulty with mask enforcement. And I don’t want to be around a bunch of adults acting like toddlers trying to get away with breaking the rules on the side. I can do that at Walmart

 

[Miss Bella]

Even though it's counterintuitive, it's the people who write this off as trivial or overblown who are succumbing to fear. And it's understandable. It's awful and scary that there is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that has crippled the entire globe, and during a period of unrest and climate disasters. It's much less frightening to believe that everyone's just panicking unnecessarily, and everything will be fine. If the pandemic is just an invented crisis to score political points, that makes it even smaller and more ridiculous. I don't think this is a deliberate or conscious process, but it's a very human one.

It's people that recognize the challenge of a serious pandemic but also try to determine how we can weather it with the least suffering that are truly courageous. On that note I think Disney's approach is not a terrible model but obviously that's just one piece of the puzzle.

That's a lot of arm chair psycho babble.

 

[Chi84]

Nothing...they are doing what they have to do based on their risk management.

They are not being supported by the local government to the levels needed. It’s that simple

Specifically, what kind of support are you referring to and at what level? I would like to see Disney, like other businesses, do whatever is needed to get through this with as little damage as possible, fully realizing that there will still be a lot of damage.

It's hard to extrapolate from the opinions expressed on a Disney site how prospective guests will react to the choices Disney makes in order to stay afloat. As much as some would like it not to be true, masks are a huge deal for a whole lot of people and likely a deal-breaker for those who can't afford regular trips to WDW or are taking that once in a lifetime trip. There was an article recently about Disney trying to develop rapid COVID tests, with an imagineer saying that you can't treat people like they're in a hospital. As long as Disney is requiring masks on 2-year-olds being pushed outdoors in a stroller, I don't see them reaching the kind of capacity they need to operate successfully. (I'm just using that to represent the extreme in precautions, not to start a debate about the necessity of masks on 2-year-olds being pushed outdoors in a stroller.)

Now that they've decided to open WDW, Disney has to find a balance between protecting against the virus and creating an atmosphere that will entice people to come into the parks. People are going to disagree on the proper balance. Most on this board seem to favor more restrictions, but these sites tend to skew older and more conservative. I've seen several comments stating the belief that Disney wants to keep as many COVID restrictions in place as possible, but I'm not at all sure that's the case.

 

[Chomama]

That's a lot of arm chair psycho babble.

It’s also true.

 

[Miss Bella]

It’s also true.

Says who?

 

[Jrb1979]

In what context?

You posted about being at Disney felt normal and not being in the zombie apocalypse.

 

[Miss Bella]

You posted about being at Disney felt normal and not being in the zombie apocalypse.

Ah yes. That's true it was fun.

 

[Chomama]

Says who?

I would point you toward a number of articles written by psychologists and counselors but I imagine that is “psycho babble”. It’s impossible to help someone understand human psychology when they don’t want to. Fear is a driving motivator of human behavior. Fear of change is one of the strongest.

 

[Miss Bella]

I would point you toward a number of articles written by psychologists and counselors but I imagine that is “psycho babble”. It’s impossible to help someone understand human psychology when they don’t want to. Fear is a driving motivator of human behavior. Fear of change is one of the strongest.

That's why so many people are afraid to go to WDW? Is that what you're saying?

 

[Heppenheimer]

Well, some counts go as low as 40 percent of the population.

The problem is that we only know with hindsight which method (herd immunity + precautions vs. vaccine + precautions) has "less" deaths, and the other issue is hoping that people acquire the Tcell immunity, rather then the temporary antibody immunity. It can work, but its a risky method. That's why Sweden's data after this is "over" should be studied compared to other countries. So the bottom line can be settled for a future pandemic (lets hope for year 2120)

The most on-point data that we can extrapolate to a future pandemic will be the mitigation meaures. The patterns of natural immunity that infections confer on survivors, however, is different for every virus, as are the mortality and morbidity.

 

[Chomama]

That's why so many people are afraid to go to WDW? Is that what you're saying?

Nope. I am saying people don’t want to travel because there is a pandemic and they are trying to be responsible even when it is not fun. Also, I agree that people are afraid to do some things because they don’t want to contract or spread coronavirus. But what the OP was saying was that people who refuse to accept the reality and severity of the current situation are likely living in a different kind of fear. It is very hard to live in a world of uncertainty and maintain stability. It’s easier, psychologically, to rationalize our behavior to fit our own narratives.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Even though it's counterintuitive, it's the people who write this off as trivial or overblown who are succumbing to fear. And it's understandable. It's awful and scary that there is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that has crippled the entire globe, and during a period of unrest and climate disasters. It's much less frightening to believe that everyone's just panicking unnecessarily, and everything will be fine. If the pandemic is just an invented crisis to score political points, that makes it even smaller and more ridiculous. I don't think this is a deliberate or conscious process, but it's a very human one.

It's people that recognize the challenge of a serious pandemic but also try to determine how we can weather it with the least suffering that are truly courageous. On that note I think Disney's approach is not a terrible model but obviously that's just one piece of the puzzle.

So does this mean if we are not scared of something we are actually scared of that thing?

 

[Chomama]

So does this mean if we are not scared of something we are actually scared of that thing?

Now we are getting deep! This reminds me of my daughter learning to ride a bike and flying downhill and yelling out loud “im not afraid! I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid!”

 

[Miss Bella]

Now we are getting deep! This reminds me of my daughter learning to ride a bike and flying downhill and yelling out loud “im not afraid! I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid!”

I do know when I said the word "fear" on here a few hundred pages ago people got really offended. They are not staying in their houses and cancelling vacations out of fear. Got it.