Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[dreday3]

I still enjoy clean surfaces regardless

 

[Figgy1]

I can’t imagine that they don’t help. Honestly.

Surface contact is not thought to be a major contributor to the spread of the virus.

Anything that cuts down on general crud is ok with me

 

[GoofGoof]

I can’t imagine that they don’t help. Honestly.

Surface contact is not thought to be a major contributor to the spread of the virus.

Both statements are true. Surface contact has been proven to not be the primary way the virus spreads but the CDC never said that it could not be spread that way. So while it may not be a very effective means to stop spread it can’t hurt either unless people try to substitute enhanced cleaning instead of masks, distancing or the vaccine which are all much more effective at preventing spread.

 

[hopemax]

This is where people taking calculated risks come more into focus.

We take calculated risks every day. Some risks are higher based on where we live. Some of us have things that put us at higher risk in general.

Some things are worth a certain level of risk to some and not to others.

I won't go into the grocery store without a mask on. I use the wipes at the front door to push my cart and open freezer doors. I limit my visits and buy more at one time. (Publix is doing the $10 off a gas card thing this weekend, so I bought a buncha stuff LOL. That ten dollars apparently factors into my risk assessment!!)

And I'm going to WDW at the end of this month, as has been planned for a long time, to celebrate my 50th and theirs. There is obviously risk there, but like everything else, we are taking steps to mitigate that risk. We are vaccinated (3-4 months, so it should still be solid protection.) We mask indoors and even outdoors if we find ourselves in a crowd (such as fireworks.) We are staying in a Ft Wilderness cabin instead of a hotel (less interaction with people.) We're limiting our park time, consciously remaining outdoors as much as possible, and we will force social distancing or not participate. (Example: if CoP is packed such that someone else is closer than two seats away from me, I'm not participating. In all the years we've been going, it's very rarely ever been that packed.)

With all that said, if there were a travel ban, fine. We'd stay home, but it's still my (milestone) birthday (and I've now outlived my Dad by 5 years) so we'd take less risk but still probably go out to eat locally, perhaps with a few friends. All different degrees of risk.

If I hit 60, I'll be the first male on my father's side to do so. I've already decided I might try some kind of drugs LOL. Calculated risk.

My calculated risk... we are heading to the Golden Corral in Celebration for dinner before heading to a Disney fan club meeting. I don’t want want to hear from anyone how my pessimism about the remaining trajectory we still have to travel through the pandemic translates to anything else about me. It’s good to challenge my immune system, right, lol.

Jeez the parking lot is packed!

 

[bryanfze55]

Both statements are true. Surface contact has been proven to not be the primary way the virus spreads but the CDC never said that it could not be spread that way. So while it may not be a very effective means to stop spread it can’t hurt either unless people try to substitute enhanced cleaning instead of masks, distancing or the vaccine which are all much more effective at preventing spread.

It could hurt in theory… increased cleaning is a labor and material cost incurred by companies, and they can pass that cost along to the consumer. I’m willing to pay the cost if it helps, but we have little reason to believe it helps much, if at all. Get your vaccine, wear your mask… if you’re still too scared of the virus beyond that, stay home. Don’t go to Disney World and expect them to clean the seats on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after every ride-through and spike the wait time. *not speaking TO you, just rhetorically

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It could hurt in theory… increased cleaning is a labor and material cost incurred by companies, and they can pass that cost along to the consumer. I’m willing to pay the cost if it helps, but we have little reason to believe it helps much, if at all. Get your vaccine, wear your mask… if you’re still too scared of the virus beyond that, stay home. Don’t go to Disney World and expect them to clean the seats on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after every ride-through and spike the wait time. *not speaking TO you, just rhetorically

Ok... so let’s not keep the parks clean and well maintained so the ticket prices don’t go up. Good plan.

Why anyone is against cleaner restaurants and transportation is really beyond me.

 

[JoeCamel]

It could hurt in theory… increased cleaning is a labor and material cost incurred by companies, and they can pass that cost along to the consumer. I’m willing to pay the cost if it helps, but we have little reason to believe it helps much, if at all. Get your vaccine, wear your mask… if you’re still too scared of the virus beyond that, stay home. Don’t go to Disney World and expect them to clean the seats on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after every ride-through and spike the wait time. *not speaking TO you, just rhetorically

There was a short time 99% of the public restrooms along the roads didn't stink. I liked those times and the enhanced cleaning was due to covid fear. It worked for that even if it didn't stop a single case. It did stop virus from being transmitted and I'll take the clean over the norm any day

 

[bryanfze55]

Ok... so let’s not keep the parks clean and well maintained so the ticket prices don’t go up. Good plan.

Why anyone is against cleaner restaurants and transportation is really beyond me.

Ticket prices AND wait times. I’m cheap and impatient.

 

[GoofGoof]

It could hurt in theory… increased cleaning is a labor and material cost incurred by companies, and they can pass that cost along to the consumer. I’m willing to pay the cost if it helps, but we have little reason to believe it helps much, if at all. Get your vaccine, wear your mask… if you’re still too scared of the virus beyond that, stay home. Don’t go to Disney World and expect them to clean the seats on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after every ride-through and spike the wait time. *not speaking TO you, just rhetorically

I agree they shouldn’t go to extreme measures that directly impact customers or in that case ride capacity and wait times, but I have no problem with something like hand sanitizer stations everywhere. It’s a minimal extra cost that will eventually be passed on to the consumer but I think there’s some reason to assume it could help some.

 

[bryanfze55]

I agree they shouldn’t go to extreme measures that directly impact customers or in that case ride capacity and wait times, but I have no problem with something like hand sanitizer stations everywhere. It’s a minimal extra cost that will eventually be passed on to the consumer but I think there’s some reason to assume it could help some.

Thank you, I think this is a very sensible approach. I think these things need to be approached with a risk/reward balance, and with surface being a minimal method of transmission, I’m willing to accept more risk here. I understand some others have decided they will accept zero risk at all in this area of their life.

And hey, if it doesn’t help prevent the spread of COVID, perhaps it will help prevent the spread of Hepatitis A or something.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Even though their numbers are rising, as experts have said they will without an effective 100% immunity rate, the hospitalizations in Israel paint the same picture they do here. Vaccinated individuals, while still having potential for infection, aren’t the ones filling the hospitals.

The vaccine narrative still holds. We need approval for 5-11 year olds as the school year gets going, or this will spiral again even if we do hit a peak with the current wave soon.

Yeah by next month, that more people is getting vaccinated as FDA approval for 5-11 year olds by end of the month for school year as the wave will go down even lower soon as federal transportation will lift mask by end of the year as possible.

 

[DisneyFan32]

Leaving your house for any reason contributes to spread. So does seeing family and friends. It’s all a matter of taking the best precautions to limit one’s chances of getting infected. In the US breakthrough infections are still rare. The new cases reported in Orange County periodically these days are still 90%+ in unvaccinated people. Even though breakthrough infections do happen almost all of the hospitalizations and deaths are in unvaccinated people. So what’s really contributing the most to spread is people not getting vaccinated. If we had 95%+ people vaccinated nobody would need to do anything differently and in the rare case of an outbreak we would have an easy time isolating it.

By holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas comes, the wave will become BIGGER as spike will get SUPER large as possible that's impossible to herd immunity thanks to anti-vaxxers as BIGGER PROBLEM NOW! Get vaccinated, you stupid anti-vaxxers before it's too late!

 

[The Mrs]

New poster here but have spent days going through this thread. Interesting that this Disney fan group is one of the most intelligent sources of information and conversation surrounding Covid that I've found to date. A general thank you to you all for your time and effort.
Though I've seen many mentions of a vaccine roll out for 5-11, I haven't seen a recent update on an expected timeframe. Does anyone know anything current? Also, what about children under 5? Wondering if we'll get there before that age group becomes old enough to be a different age group

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Thank you, I think this is a very sensible approach. I think these things need to be approached with a risk/reward balance, and with surface being a minimal method of transmission, I’m willing to accept more risk here. I understand some others have decided they will accept zero risk at all in this area of their life.

What’s the risk / reward of sanitizing tables at restaurants?

Do we ever clean ride vehicles? Or too little reward?

 

[sullyinMT]

It could hurt in theory… increased cleaning is a labor and material cost incurred by companies, and they can pass that cost along to the consumer. I’m willing to pay the cost if it helps, but we have little reason to believe it helps much, if at all. Get your vaccine, wear your mask… if you’re still too scared of the virus beyond that, stay home. Don’t go to Disney World and expect them to clean the seats on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after every ride-through and spike the wait time. *not speaking TO you, just rhetorically

For COVID in a vacuum, sure. But we know no single disease exists that way, and we saw declines in other seasonal viruses with increased cleaning. Of course, that is also multi factorial and not solely the result of enhanced cleaning. As others have stated, though, the cleaning is a net positive for businesses. From more comfortable and confident guests, to actually being a more sanitary place to be, the increased costs to them will be a wash as they attract more business. It’s a (small) price I’m willing to absorb as a consumer.

 

[bryanfze55]

What’s the risk / reward of sanitizing tables at restaurants?

Do we ever clean ride vehicles? Or too little reward?

Probably too little reward, but we don’t have the data yet.

I kid, I kid. We’re really veering from where I kicked this off. I was simply stating we don’t have good data to show enhanced cleaning helps.

Whether one thinks enhanced cleaning is good or bad for other unrelated reasons is personal preference.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Not to be the rain on the "if everybody would get a shot, COVID would go away" parade but I was looking at the Israel numbers. They are having quite the spike with over 70% of the population fully vaccinated.

Either Pfizer doesn't work too well (at least at preventing infections) vs. Delta or the protection starts to wear off after just a few months. Either is not a good thing and goes against the narrative that the only reason COVID still exists is the anti-vaxxers.

Still the deflection game…god bless

Why limit travel if you are vaccinated and follow mask guidelines of wherever you visit?

I understand if a person doesn't want to risk it, but if someone else who is vaccinated isn't as concerned about getting it and follows all the guidelines, what is the issue?

Unnecessary travel perhaps?…indicated as being unnecessary by the word “unnecessary”?

So when do you propose people can travel? There plenty of places to go that aren't hotspots but still have cases.

Get vaccinated, follow mandates/guidelines at home and where you are visiting, decide on your own risk. That's what we will do.

So we're just speaking of Orlando? People travel all over.

Saying "people shouldn't travel" is such a blanket statement and it irks me.

So non-essential travel may not be a great idea? Possible? I have a feeling that “something” in Orlando might be the issue that “irks” you…

What have enhanced cleaning procedures done to halt the spread of Covid? Honestly

Well…it’s been largely abandoned too…so it is a little hard to judge.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Probably too little reward, but we don’t have the data yet.

You do realize that restaurants are supposed to sanitize tables in normal times as well?

 

[sullyinMT]

You do realize that restaurants are supposed to sanitize tables in normal times as well?

This might be the most important point in this argument. Is anyone else (really) shocked at how little businesses as a whole were doing to maintain a clean environment?

 

[bryanfze55]

You do realize that restaurants are supposed to sanitize tables in normal times as well?

Yes, I added to my previous comment. We have really entered different territory in this conversation, as my initial declaration was simply we don’t have good data to show that enhanced cleaning should be considered one of the pillars to defeat COVID-19. Desiring a more sanitized environment in a theme park for personal enjoyment is a different discussion.