Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Lilofan]

I respectfully disagree. This is not last year. There has been a very dramatic, palpable sea change in the public's attitude toward Covid restrictions. I don't believe the public would accept them coming back this time as they have in the past.

IMHO, unless we get a horrible new variant that manages to escape the vaccines, restrictions are not coming back even if we have another surge.

I'd say there has been a change in attitude. There was a time when N95 masks were in hot demand . Now my local Walgreens has a aisle bin with a sign saying 3 N95 masks per person please . They are free. The bin is full of masks and not many takers. I still remember in 2020 when Lysol spray, antibacterial hand gel, toilet paper were in hot demand and if one found a can or TP , it was like finding gold. The TP buying spree was an odd one.

 

[Tom P.]

I'd say there has been a change in attitude. There was a time when N95 masks were in hot demand . Now my local Walgreens has a aisle bin with a sign saying 3 N95 masks per person please . They are free. The bin is full of masks and not many takers. I still remember in 2020 when Lysol spray, antibacterial hand gel, toilet paper were in hot demand and if one found a can or TP , it was like finding gold. The TP buying spree was an odd one.

Agreed! I still do not understand the toilet paper hoarding. Household cleaning products I can understand, but... toilet paper??? Then again, I still can't figure out why bread and milk are the two hot items anytime there's going to be a snowstorm.

And I've seen the same thing as you with regard to demand for masks.

 

[DisneyCane]

Pandemic is over….again. Let’s hope it sticks this time. Almost 5,000 pages…crazy long thread and I see not much has changed since I stopped posting here regularly . Glad to see lots of you are still hanging in there and doing OK.

At this point outside of still wearing a mask on the flight (for now but maybe not for long) a trip to WDW has pretty much gone back to normal…minus the lightning lane and park reservations which aren’t really covid related and probably won’t go away any time soon. I hope they keep the hand sanitizers forever, but most of the rest of the WDW covid stuff I hope never comes back. It’s been a long time coming and I do sincerely hope this is the true beginning of the end and a start of an endemic phase for the virus (not just another trick like last June). Time will tell. Mistakes were made (hopefully not this most recent change) and we certainly didn’t do this the easy way, but best to put the past behind us and look towards a brighter future for all of us. I just hope everyone appreciates the little things a little more now, continues to practice better hygiene and people can start to get along a little better again too.

Good to see a post from you!!!

I share your sentiments. As for the bold, if one thing good can come out of all of this it would be more people practicing better hygiene. If everybody washes their hands frequently and properly and covers coughs and sneezes with their elbow, we'd have a fewer people come down with nuisance illnesses every year and A LOT fewer catching them at WDW.

 

[DisneyCane]

Agreed! I still do not understand the toilet paper hoarding. Household cleaning products I can understand, but... toilet paper??? Then again, I still can't figure out why bread and milk are the two hot items anytime there's going to be a snowstorm.

And I've seen the same thing as you with regard to demand for masks.

I will understand the meaning of life long before I understand the hoarding of toilet paper. I got lucky and Charmin happened to be on sale at Costco in February 2020. My standard practice was always to purchase enough at the sale price to last until the next sale a few months later. Therefore, I accidentally had enough that I didn't have to go on toilet paper hunts.

The same thing happened with Clorox wipes. I had always kept a supply because as a germaphobe (making it psychologically interesting that I had an opposite reaction to COVID), I used them to wipe down my area on a plane and also wiped down all hotel rooms upon check-in. Those were on sale just as the "coronavirus" news started to become more frequent. I remember going to my business partner's house after buying them and joking around showing him the label stating that they kill "human coronavirus."

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Good to see a post from you!!!

I share your sentiments. As for the bold, if one thing good can come out of all of this it would be more people practicing better hygiene. If everybody washes their hands frequently and properly and covers coughs and sneezes with their elbow, we'd have a fewer people come down with nuisance illnesses every year and A LOT fewer catching them at WDW.

I dont think I have ever left WDW in the last 25 years without catching something or feeling bad even if for a day or two. Hopefully better hygiene is what comes out of this. Maybe im just allergic to something in Florida, who knows. But back when i went in the 70’s I never remember being sick, so I’ve always thought that it could have been brought on by more international travel to the parks.

 

[Andrew C]

I dont think I have ever left WDW in the last 25 years without catching something or feeling bad even if for a day or two. Hopefully better hygiene is what comes out of this. Maybe im just allergic to something in Florida, who knows. But back when i went in the 70’s I never remember being sick, so I’ve always thought that it could have been brought on by more international travel to the parks.

Too many burgers and fries.

 

[drizgirl]

I think the TP shortage started with legit shortages. People all of a sudden were staying home. Commercial rolls of TP were going unused and the need for consumer packages of TP skyrocketed. Overnight. From there, I assume it built upon itself and people did what people do when they hear things are in short supply.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I think the TP shortage started with legit shortages. People all of a sudden were staying home. Commercial rolls of TP were going unused and the need for consumer packages of TP skyrocketed. Overnight. From there, I assume it built upon itself and people did what people do when they hear things are in short supply.

We were at WDW when the pandemic first hit in March. They closed the parks just a few days after we arrived. So we drove to Hilton Head for a few days, then drove home. First time we went shopping, the shelves were completely bare of TP and paper towels. We were fortunate enough to have a few weeks worth already, but it was touch and go for a bit. We were down to our last 2 rolls before finally finding some.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

I wouldn’t count on that. Remember WDW dropped masks last Spring and then when Delta exploded added back indoor masks. I do think it’s much less likely that a Delta type situation occurs this Summer but it’s still possible. I’m optimistic we don’t have a major setback, but if the situation warrants it some restrictions will return.

Masks stopped Delta, we should not get rid of them. I forgot the CDC said it was safe now. We can stop wearing masks. But maybe if another variant comes, they will need to be worn to stop it.

 

[G00fyDad]

I remember sitting outside of the stores (Wal-Mart, Target. Krogers, etc) waiting on my wife to come out from shopping and I'd see people with shopping carts loaded with TP. They looked like they had pure gold with them that they just looted from a wrecked armored truck. LOL A couple of times I yelled out the window "You might want to know COVID affects the OTHER end of your body!" It was ridiculous.

 

[DisneyCane]

Masks stopped Delta, we should not get rid of them. I forgot the CDC said it was safe now. We can stop wearing masks. But maybe if another variant comes, they will need to be worn to stop it.

I don't believe there was any study done to determine how effective they were against Delta. I'm pretty sure the study in Bangladesh that determined a small reduction in spread was pre-Delta. That study found that surgical masks or better were needed for any measurable reduction.

It is unlikely that a less contagious variant than Omicron will show up as viruses tend to mutate to become more contagious, if anything. Therefore, whatever doesn't work against Omicron is unlikely to work against a future variant.

 

[correcaminos]

We were at WDW when the pandemic first hit in March. They closed the parks just a few days after we arrived. So we drove to Hilton Head for a few days, then drove home. First time we went shopping, the shelves were completely bare of TP and paper towels. We were fortunate enough to have a few weeks worth already, but it was touch and go for a bit. We were down to our last 2 rolls before finally finding some.

We were about to go when Disney shut down the parks. We canceled our flights and stayed home. Lousy time to let supplies run out. Stores were bare of a lot here. Even food staples. We tend to let some supplies go low before traveling. Not sure we'd do that again lol.

 

[correcaminos]

I don't believe there was any study done to determine how effective they were against Delta. I'm pretty sure the study in Bangladesh that determined a small reduction in spread was pre-Delta. That study found that surgical masks or better were needed for any measurable reduction.

It is unlikely that a less contagious variant than Omicron will show up as viruses tend to mutate to become more contagious, if anything. Therefore, whatever doesn't work against Omicron is unlikely to work against a future variant.

You know I am for removing masks when safe. No one said that masks don't work against omicron. I am so sick of reading this. A less effective method doesn't mean it doesn't work. Good lord 2 years in and people are still trying to find things to justify their point of view.

Still mandated here in some areas. Ill be glad when they are gone, but won't ever say masks don't work. Also we have no clue what mutations will occur next. History will point to it becoming not as big of a deal but nothing is 100%

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

I don't believe there was any study done to determine how effective they were against Delta. I'm pretty sure the study in Bangladesh that determined a small reduction in spread was pre-Delta. That study found that surgical masks or better were needed for any measurable reduction.

It is unlikely that a less contagious variant than Omicron will show up as viruses tend to mutate to become more contagious, if anything. Therefore, whatever doesn't work against Omicron is unlikely to work against a future variant.

The CDC says they work and I saw that Mayor Adams in NYC said we beat Covid with diligence and masks.

 

[DisneyCane]

The CDC says they work and I saw that Mayor Adams in NYC said we beat Covid with diligence and masks.

What "beat COVID," if it has been beaten, was the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 being highly contagious and not severe for most people. Therefore it was able to immunize a huge percentage of the population in a short time period without killing a high percentage.

If NYC beat COVID with diligence and masks then I guess FL beat COVID using different tactics since there were a lot fewer masks and a lot less "diligence" here.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

What "beat COVID," if it has been beaten, was the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 being highly contagious and not severe for most people. Therefore it was able to immunize a huge percentage of the population in a short time period without killing a high percentage.

If NYC beat COVID with diligence and masks then I guess FL beat COVID using different tactics since there were a lot fewer masks and a lot less "diligence" here.

CDC said. That's what I know.

 

[mmascari]

I just hope people have the common decency to leave people alone and respect their choice.

Have you met people?

A person may be decent, but people are a disaster.

if one thing good can come out of all of this it would be more people practicing better hygiene.

See above.

People are a mess.

 

[DisneyCane]

CDC said. That's what I know.

The CDC has been borderline incompetent when it comes to COVID going back to day 1 so I don't take anything the CDC said as gospel.

In 2021 the CDC said that fully vaccinated people didn't have to wear masks and then did a 180 five weeks later.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

The CDC has been borderline incompetent when it comes to COVID going back to day 1 so I don't take anything the CDC said as gospel.

In 2021 the CDC said that fully vaccinated people didn't have to wear masks and then did a 180 five weeks later.

The science changed. I don't want to fight, you seem nice. I trust the CDC 100%. You won't change that. They say we needed masks last week but not this week. And I believe them.

 

[DisneyCane]

The science changed. I don't want to fight, you seem nice. I trust the CDC 100%. You won't change that. They say we needed masks last week but not this week. And I believe them.

I thought this SNL clip was funny (and relevant to the discussion):