Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So you don't think the goal is to get the higher risk vaccinated first so they are protected, which in turn will reduce deaths and hospitalizations - which are the most serious issues at the moment? You seem to get upset at the mere discussion of possible scenarios of what can happen.

Apparently I'm discussing something you feel has been discussed ad-nauseum, so please, don't respond.

No...I do...I’m just tired of the emphasis on “high risk groups” as if that was ever the point.
Obviously more attention is paid to that group...for good reason...but stopping community spread is still not emphasized enough and that was the only way to control this until vaccination. And it’s a simple reason: because compliance interferes with political attitudes and limited optional activities.

Sorry though...I did hit you with some friendly fire.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Why would Florida laws be involved? Some people are hilarious - they went from being terrified of the virus (understandable) to being terrified of the vaccine or the possibility that people won't get it. I think there's a good chance Disney will require people working in or entering the parks to be vaccinated. It's an entertainment venue with large crowds and limited space, so it would make sense to require people working or visiting there to be vaccinated. My state's laws don't require an employer to employ someone not suited to a job, and an unvaccinated CM working in crowds would seem to be just that.

It's silly to argue who has the better crystal ball, and some take it very personally when anyone questions the rampant pessimism here. My opinion is that Disney will do whatever it takes to get things back to the way they were before the virus, which may very well be requiring proof of vaccination and dropping the restrictions. As one of their imagineers said, people don't want to go to a theme park feeling like they're in a hospital.

I’m not saying the state should be involved...i’m Saying that there is no real path to mandate given the conditions involved.

And if anything should be learned from this year...it’s to not assume that the human will screw it up.

And again: how will Disney mandate vaccines as a condition of employment retroactively? That’s a legit question...I just don’t see it.

Because they'll figure it out. Vaccination requirements are not rocket science . . .

Staying out of the mall isn’t rocket science either...how we doing?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I agree, cruise lines should require vaccination, but will they? If they do, can you get vaccinated in time for your cruise? How to prove you got vaccinated? Will folks make fake vaccination papers so they don’t miss the cruise they paid for? There are a lot of questions.

Side note I am seeing Norwegian cruise line commercials right now on TV...

There’s an opportunity here for both the national and international community to do a medical record check system that provides real time access/verification. You walk to checkpoint...it queries whether you have a vaccine...and it gives a straight forward yay or no.

But I bet it can’t get agreed upon. Just a hunch based on fools 20 years ago telling me they wouldn’t get EZ Pass because “the government is gonna track me”

 

[danlb_2000]

One of the tricky parts of making a vaccine a requirement for something is, when is it feasible to start doing that? You would probably have to wait until we reach a point where anyone can freely get a vaccine which is ways off, and even further off if you include people from other countries.

 

[techgeek]

Disney has not required CM’s or guests to have or prove regular test results, nor have they gone out of their way to encourage or provide testing opportunities (notably, the ‘on-property’ testing site at maingate / 192 is about as far off property as possible, especially from guest perception).

If Disney was going to go all out and push a testing / vaccine agenda, I think we’d be hearing a lot of buzz about that by now. The fact that we haven’t heard a peep is more telling regarding their future intentions. This seems to be one of those situations where Disney is very content to not lead.

 

[Chi84]

I’m not saying the state should be involved...i’m Saying that there is no real path to mandate given the conditions involved.

And if anything should be learned from this year...it’s to not assume that the human will screw it up.

And again: how will Disney mandate vaccines as a condition of employment retroactively? That’s a legit question...I just don’t see it.



Staying out of the mall isn’t rocket science either...how we doing?

I believe most states have “at will” employment. You can be fired for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all unless prohibited discrimination against a protected class is involved. Very few people have a right to continued employment, and that would be especially true if their unwillingness or inability to get a vaccine made them unsuitable to work in a crowded theme park.

There have been some ADA challenges to some of the virus restrictions, but I believe the public health exemption won out.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I believe most states have “at will” employment. You can be fired for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all unless prohibited discrimination against a protected class is involved. Very few people have a right to continued employment, and that would be especially true if their unwillingness or inability to get a vaccine made them unsuitable to work in a crowded theme park.

There have been some ADA challenges to some of the virus restrictions, but I believe the public health exemption won out.

Yeah “right to work”...its a hoax.

But beyond that...I’m not sure even Florida could twist that into vaccines. Hard to impose medicine and you can invent exclusions on the fly.

Now we’d THINK that wouldn’t be an issue, don’t we?

...but who are we kidding?

And it is a tough sell claiming “public health exemption” on the most independent, privately owned/run special government district in the country.

And that is the Walt Disney world resort thanks to Roy in 1965.

 

[Horizons '83]

This is the reasonable and sensible approach, but Disney staying at 35% capacity isn't exactly good for business, either.

From what I gather, they cannot raise capacity with the current social distancing standards. There's just not enough room in the parks. I think they could piece-meal it together by adding shows (crowd eaters) and maybe increasing capacity marginally.

If the vaccines prove to curb transmission (still unknown), then all bets are off. Forcing all guests and employees to be vaccinated would be the best interest for their bottom line (capacity limit back to 100%) and overall for the guest experience (ditching masks, social distancing protocols, bringing back thousands of jobs, restore M&G, shows and entertainment, gathering events like parades, fireworks, holiday parties etc.)

It still doesn't mean it's the best solution for all people. Guests who want to avoid the vaccine will be welcomed back eventually, just not now. Employees who don't wish (or cannot be) be vaccinated, that's a real pickle - but those requirements aren't unprecedented either.

I still want to see the cruise lines do first...

Good points.

It should be easier for cruises to manage that policy, if vaccine's were required. I feel like they almost need to for that business to survive in the near and long term.

Ideally if the bulk of the population can have access to a vaccine by say June, and it's as effective as we hope, then I'd say your plan could be a solid one. Targeting the Summer of 2021 as the return of some normal offerings and look of the parks. Must have vaccine or having a negative test ( same day results should be a thing by then) same day to enter parks.

 

[Chi84]

Yeah “right to work”...its a hoax.

But beyond that...I’m not sure even Florida could twist that into vaccines. Hard to impose medicine and you can invent exclusions on the fly.

Now we’d THINK that wouldn’t be an issue, don’t we?

...but who are we kidding?

And it is a tough sell claiming “public health exemption” on the most independent, privately owned/run special government district in the country.

And that is the Walt Disney world resort thanks to Roy in 1965.

I don’t think there would be a government imposition of vaccines, but that has nothing to do with whether or not you can hold a particular job.

Also, the ADA covers Disney and I assume the public health exemption is the reason Disney does not have to worry about allowing mask exemptions for autistic people or others who can’t wear them. It’s okay for Disney to exclude them from the parks right now without running afoul of disability protections.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

There’s an opportunity here for both the national and international community to do a medical record check system that provides real time access/verification. You walk to checkpoint...it queries whether you have a vaccine...and it gives a straight forward yay or no.

But I bet it can’t get agreed upon. Just a hunch based on fools 20 years ago telling me they wouldn’t get EZ Pass because “the government is gonna track me”

It’s already being done. Saw it on the news last night and many concert venues, stadiums like one in California, not sure which one, is going to require this to get in. On the report it said personal info will not be gathered but we will see. If they can scale this out, with people feeling comfortable about giving up some info, Disney and others would have no more worries about who’s been vaccinated or not. Then comes the problem of people showing up without it. It’s a start.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s already being done. Saw it on the news last night and many concert venues, stadiums like one in California, not sure which one, is going to require this to get in. On the report it said personal info will not be gathered but we will see. If they can scale this out, with people feeling comfortable about giving up some info, Disney and others would have no more worries about who’s been vaccinated or not. Then comes the problem of people showing up without it. It’s a start.

I think you can code it where no data is accessible by the access point except simple yes or no determinations.

It’s a bit total recall...but since pandemics are not guaranteed to be a one off...it’s worth the infrastructure investment

 

[Horizons '83]

It’s already being done. Saw it on the news last night and many concert venues, stadiums like one in California, not sure which one, is going to require this to get in. On the report it said personal info will not be gathered but we will see. If they can scale this out, with people feeling comfortable about giving up some info, Disney and others would have no more worries about who’s been vaccinated or not. Then comes the problem of people showing up without it. It’s a start.

Seems a little "big brother" doesn't it?

Personally, I wouldn't have an issue with that because the things I love are typically where large crowds gather, concerts, theme parks, sporting events, etc. but I think many will take issue with that.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Seems a little "big brother" doesn't it?

Personally, I wouldn't have an issue with that because the things I love are typically where large crowds gather, concerts, theme parks, sporting events, etc. but I think many will take issue with that.

It does and that’s my problem with it. I’m no conspiracy theorist in anyway and we all know no matter how much we try and avoid our info being out there, some of it is. Heck, when I go to the doctors office or other places they still ask me for my drivers license to copy. I say no every time. I’ll show it to them to prove it’s me but they don’t have any reason to keep it in their files. That’s one of the problems with this.. upload driver’s license. Few other things also but it’s a start and from the amount of big venues hopping on board, it might be the way to go. We will see.
On the news they showed it live with the person hitting the Covid button on the app and your pic is there with green around you and a check mark saying your vaccinated.

 

[GoofGoof]

Who’s paying/coordinating that?

And anything in Florida laws (Swiss cheese) that would require vaccination for employment? It is a “right to exploit” state.

The vaccine is free for everyone. CMs will have to wait like everyone else until it is there turn but I could absolutely see Disney require it for customer facing workers. It protects the workers but is also a selling point for guests to be able to say all the CMs you interact with are vaccinated. They can’t force guests to get vaccinated or easily require proof but it’s easy to do for workers.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Here’s a article on some NY firms going with it. Like I said there’s a few venues and a football stadium already signed up for it but can’t find any articles on it but was mentioned on the news.

NYC firms sign up for health app to screen workers for coronavirus

Major New York City-based companies are using a new “Health Pass” app that will enable employees to safely return to their offices while preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The ap…

www.google.com

 

[GoofGoof]

One of the tricky parts of making a vaccine a requirement for something is, when is it feasible to start doing that? You would probably have to wait until we reach a point where anyone can freely get a vaccine which is ways off, and even further off if you include people from other countries.

They can’t require a vaccine while it’s under emergency use authorization. It would have to be after full FDA approval and then only after anyone who wants one can get it. God willing if the vaccines work as expected there won’t be a need for these requirements because herd immunity will have kicked in and case counts will be low enough that it doesn’t matter.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The vaccine is free for everyone. CMs will have to wait like everyone else until it is there turn but I could absolutely see Disney require it for customer facing workers. It protects the workers but is also a selling point for guests to be able to say all the CMs you interact with are vaccinated. They can’t force guests to get vaccinated or easily require proof but it’s easy to do for workers.

It always sounds simple. Most things do

 

[Chi84]

Seems a little "big brother" doesn't it?

Personally, I wouldn't have an issue with that because the things I love are typically where large crowds gather, concerts, theme parks, sporting events, etc. but I think many will take issue with that.

They won’t be forced to comply. I think of “big brother” as a personification of the power of the state - George Orwell’s 1984. It seems a bit overly dramatic to apply the concept to people who want to vacation at a theme park or go to a concert. That’s just a decision they’ll have to make based on their own wants.

 

[Kevin_W]

As much as they are annoying to wear all day and that they look stupid in photos, face coverings are the smallest thing hurting the WDW experience. Bringing back park hopping (very soon) and entertainment like parades and fireworks is far more important.

I agree with that wholeheartedly.

 

[danlb_2000]

They can’t require a vaccine while it’s under emergency use authorization. It would have to be after full FDA approval and then only after anyone who wants one can get it. God willing if the vaccines work as expected there won’t be a need for these requirements because herd immunity will have kicked in and case counts will be low enough that it doesn’t matter.

There has been so much talk of emergency approval, I haven't seen much discussion how how we get to full FDA approval.