Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[sullyinMT]

I’m mainly concerned about this on here in the context at how wdw will proceed…

They just announced MNSSHP returning this year and are moving the Dream (DCL) to Europe which has a larger capacity than the Magic. I think you’re good in that regard. Disney, and the western world at large, are moving forward.

It has taken WEEKS for the national average to double, and hospitals remain largely clear of critical (ICU) patients. This isn’t Omicron 1.0. Germany and the UK shrugged it off, too. It also appears that some of the areas in the NE where our national uptick started are slowing down a little, so by Memorial Day we’ll hopefully be headed back down overall.

Subject to change, of course, but things look brighter every day.

 

[correcaminos]

No one is being rude. No one is making an assumption. You said above that you are not concerned - several times. No one labelled you as anything so you can stop putting words in my mouth.

You are doing both - or it is reading that way to me. You are acting like I am in some little Fantasyland (your words, not mine). Rude - as it is not true. You are putting me in with people who never have cared. Forget that I actually joined a vaccine trial almost 2 years ago to save people like you? Yeah no, I'm not happy with being tossed in with the "keep twisting what is actually happening in the world" group. That's rude. So I suggest you apologize and realize I am not the bad guy. Just have a difference in opinions on what is considered "really bad"

 

[correcaminos]

They just announced MNSSHP returning this year and are moving the Dream (DCL) to Europe which has a larger capacity than the Magic. I think you’re good in that regard. Disney, and the western world at large, are moving forward.

It has taken WEEKS for the national average to double, and hospitals remain largely clear of critical (ICU) patients. This isn’t Omicron 1.0. Germany and the UK shrugged it off, too. It also appears that some of the areas in the NE where our national uptick started are slowing down a little, so by Memorial Day we’ll hopefully be headed back down overall.

Subject to change, of course, but things look brighter every day.

Thanks for pointing out what I am trying to say. Though I do see S. Africa up again but they might be leveling off already. I expect ups and downs. I absolutely do, but not enough to get stressed about it yet. If we want to face an inconvenient truth, even BA.1 wasn't near as catastrophic as it could have been... case counts yes, but over all we were not stressed as a whole like the previous winter. That was some scary stuff and lost too many loved ones then.

 

[BuddyThomas]

You are doing both - or it is reading that way to me. You are acting like I am in some little Fantasyland (your words, not mine). Rude - as it is not true. You are putting me in with people who never have cared. Forget that I actually joined a vaccine trial almost 2 years ago to save people like you? Yeah no, I'm not happy with being tossed in with the "keep twisting what is actually happening in the world" group. That's rude. So I suggest you apologize and realize I am not the bad guy. Just have a difference in opinions on what is considered "really bad"

I have nothing to apologize for. I was not specifically talking about you, and I never said that I was. You and others are making all sorts of assumptions on here. Those who I was talking about know who they are.

 

[sullyinMT]

Thanks for pointing out what I am trying to say. Though I do see S. Africa up again but they might be leveling off already. I expect ups and downs. I absolutely do, but not enough to get stressed about it yet. If we want to face an inconvenient truth, even BA.1 wasn't near as catastrophic as it could have been... case counts yes, but over all we were not stressed as a whole like the previous winter. That was some scary stuff and lost too many loved ones then.

We were maybe right to hold our breath with the original Omicron outbreak based on the previous 18 or so months. Luckily it was mild enough and we had a lot of vaccine and recent Delta protection. But we now have a great deal of data both here and in similar populations that we’re in a decent to very good place right now. Until that changes, I’m gleefully planning our July trip to Aulani and our week in Ireland next June. We’ve also finally crossed our last personal threshold and placed a bunch of deposits on cruises through 2024.

-edited for grammar

 

[correcaminos]

I have nothing to apologize for. I was not specifically talking about you, and I never said that I was. You and others are making all sorts of assumptions on here. Those who I was talking about know who they are.

But you quoted me..... so it sure comes across as you lumping me wrong. You feel you wish. I'm done with this. .

We were maybe right to hold our breath with the original Omicron outbreak based on the previous 18 or so months. Luckily it was mild enough and we had a lot of vaccine and recent Delta protection. But we now have a great deal of data both here and in similar populations that we’re in a decent too very good place right now. Until that changes, I’m gleefully planning our July trip to Aulani and our week in Ireland next June. We’ve also finally crossed our last personal threshold and placed a bunch of deposits on cruises through 2024.

Oh absolutely we were right to hold our breaths on that. Not saying we were wrong to worry. Just severity wasn't there. We ran into risks locally of losing classes as teachers were out but that happens some winters as it is. I know one year with a different coronavirus literally half of my son's class was out. 2 were hospitalized for pneumonia. It's not wise to just ignore things ever. That year the teacher said stay home if sniffling even. We kept my kid out 2 days with a milder version. Whereas other times we would've sent him no worries.

We need to be smart and sensible. I'm ready to do whatever whenever. I just expect ups and downs now I guess

I have a big June trip coming. Very excited for it. But more worried because we have a new health issue in the party to deal with.

 

[Heelz2315]

They just announced MNSSHP returning this year and are moving the Dream (DCL) to Europe which has a larger capacity than the Magic. I think you’re good in that regard. Disney, and the western world at large, are moving forward.

It has taken WEEKS for the national average to double, and hospitals remain largely clear of critical (ICU) patients. This isn’t Omicron 1.0. Germany and the UK shrugged it off, too. It also appears that some of the areas in the NE where our national uptick started are slowing down a little, so by Memorial Day we’ll hopefully be headed back down overall.

Subject to change, of course, but things look brighter every day.

Hopefully you're correct. When it comes to Disney I feel like they look at a number of things when deciding to lift/bring back things like masks.

1-Local levels - CDC county maps etc. Case counts/hospital beds/usage etc.
2-National levels - ^same as above since so many come from all over to central Florida
3-The national mood - Last May when the CDC said you could drop your mask if vaccinated, WDW did so. Then delta shows up and everything went sideways. LA county, New Orleans, NY etc all were screaming for the masks to come back. Finally the CDC reversed course the end of July and so did WDW. This February when everyone was dropping masks like hot irons, so did WDW even tough the numbers were HIGHER than they were last July when they said to bring them back.

If one, two or all three go wonky soon, who knows what WDW will do. I think a good indicator will be next week, May 3rd. That's the date the original National Transportation mask mandate was set to expire before the judge overruled it. If the CDC/DOJ drop their appeal next week and let it expire on the 3rd that may be a sign that the country as a whole isn't going to do anything till at least the fall as far as covid measures go. I think that if things start to go in the wrong direction, the first thing they'll (WDW) is bring back masks on transportation. But if the appeal is dropped and the Gov't doesn't require masks on transportation , neither will Disney.

Also I think the availability of therapeutics and vaccines (esp for the under 5 crowd has something to do with their decision making. From what I have read Phizer and Moderna will have theirs ready and approved by June when the FDA meets.

We'll see.....again this is all me guessing based on what has happened in the past.

 

[sullyinMT]

Hopefully you're correct. When it comes to Disney I feel like they look at a number of things when deciding to lift/bring back things like masks.

1-Local levels - CDC county maps etc. Case counts/hospital beds/usage etc.
2-National levels - ^same as above since so many come from all over to central Florida
3-The national mood - Last May when the CDC said you could drop your mask if vaccinated, WDW did so. Then delta shows up and everything went sideways. LA county, New Orleans, NY etc all were screaming for the masks to come back. Finally the CDC reversed course the end of July and so did WDW. This February when everyone was dropping masks like hot irons, so did WDW even tough the numbers were HIGHER than they were last July when they said to bring them back.

If one, two or all three go wonky soon, who knows what WDW will do. I think a good indicator will be next week, May 3rd. That's the date the original National Transportation mask mandate was set to expire before the judge overruled it. If the CDC/DOJ drop their appeal next week and let it expire on the 3rd that may be a sign that the country as a whole isn't going to do anything till at least the fall as far as covid measures go. I think that if things start to go in the wrong direction, the first thing they'll (WDW) is bring back masks on transportation. But if the appeal is dropped and the Gov't doesn't require masks on transportation , neither will Disney.

We'll see.....again this is all me guessing based on what has happened in the past.

Just a side note on the CDC appeal. It’s not necessarily to reinstate masks any time soon, or extend the mandate that was vacated by the FL federal judge. Neither theCDC or DOJ sought an injunction on that ruling. They are, however, trying to establish their authority to make similar policy moves in the future should another pandemic occur, or some crazy new variant pop up.

Things have been mostly silent, with the occasional “hey, COVID is still a background source of noise“ news headlines. It’sa good time to relax and breathe, for real.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The difference is that one is a respected medical professional and the rest are just a bunch of Disney fans hiding behind fake names and pictures of rides and cartoons pretending that they have degrees in epidemiology.

Yes, that is the difference but the information provided by both is just as inaccurate

 

[MisterPenguin]

Can you knock of the rude please? Maybe you forgot but I actually do care about covid and probably did more to help people deal with it than the average poster here did. So I don't appreciate your attitude.

Cases are not really climbing!!!!!! That's my point. Climbing and really climbing are not even remotely the same thing. And don't even try to say a 50% over the course of weeks increase is huge. 50% of a small number is still a small number.

When cases we see are also asymptomatic or pretty much no symptoms at all, even the CDC says not to worry. If our medical centers aren't stressed, we shouldn't be. Most of the US is still very green or yellow which is good.

If you look back at the graph of all the previous spikes, they all started out with cases rising and not really climbing... at first.

It may not spike. But every previous spike began this way.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Honestly I am a middle ground person here and I am tired of the sky is falling for every up or whatever. Again I care more about hospitalizations and deaths. Look at the graphs. ICUs are down still. Deaths are down. Ups and downs in cases when honestly we are not seeing a massive increase in hospitalizations are really not hugely concerning to me.

The joys of being a moderate, those on the far left mock you for being a righty and those on the far right mock you for being a leftist.

I’ve been called so many things by both sides during the pandemic that I’ve stopped responding to both extremes now, that means I’ve generally stopped posting in this thread but it’s healthier in the long run to not get drawn into the never ending back and forth.

 

[mmascari]

If you look back at the graph of all the previous spikes, they all started out with cases rising and not really climbing... at first.

It may not spike. But every previous spike began this way.

You take that back. THIS time, things will be DIFFERENT.

If this is the start of a new spike, could it please get it's act together and spike already. Ideally getting to peak in the next 2 weeks and then dropping back down to the next lull in the 2 weeks after that.

Like a rocket or a slight bump, whatever. Just be done by June, please and thank you.

 

[Andrew C]

You take that back. THIS time, things will be DIFFERENT.

Things already are different...There is no brand new variant to speak, just subvariants. The slow crawling increase in a super contagious variant with less severe outcome is something we haven't seen before. More people are vaccinated and/or already had COVID. A ton of people already got omicron over the winter. Hospitalizations haven't spiked and are still low. ICU hospitalizations are lower than before this latest uptick. The experts people love to follow are not predicting a major surge. So yeah, the situation is unprecedented.

 

[correcaminos]

The joys of being a moderate, those on the far left mock you for being a righty and those on the far right mock you for being a leftist.

I’ve been called so many things by both sides during the pandemic that I’ve stopped responding to both extremes now, that means I’ve generally stopped posting in this thread but it’s healthier in the long run to not get drawn into the never ending back and forth.

Yep. I've been crapped on by both sides. It's annoying. Many here are cool with discussing differences of opinions though.

If you look back at the graph of all the previous spikes, they all started out with cases rising and not really climbing... at first.

It may not spike. But every previous spike began this way.

And there are bumps that amounted to pretty much nothing that were this way. What do you expect us to do? I've always been a chill until I see real cause. Though really at this point I'm not sure what should be done anyway. Not saying to let it rip but if many didn't even mask during omicron in Jan I am not hopeful for much else.

You take that back. THIS time, things will be DIFFERENT.

If this is the start of a new spike, could it please get it's act together and spike already. Ideally getting to peak in the next 2 weeks and then dropping back down to the next lull in the 2 weeks after that.

Like a rocket or a slight bump, whatever. Just be done by June, please and thank you.

Eh I'd rather skip spikes and just get blips. That's me though.

 

[ABQ]

Testing is currently barely taking place. Many are home testing, if testing at all and those results won't be included in any state or federal database. All that can really be looked at for how things are trending in the US are hospitalizations.

For that, there is a very slight increase:

Due to the lack of testing and the sheer number of asymptomatic cases in the original omicron variant and the current omicron subvariant, it is highly likely a number of these cases in hospital are "with covid" vs "from covid"


The very low ICU case count further drives that scenario:

There simply would be higher numbers overall if the sheer volume of cases were very virulent.

Sadly, it seems that any time a glass half full post, as I consider this one, is posted, someone slams it as somehow being anti vax (completely bizarre, not that it matters to anyone but myself, but I'm 3 doses in) or "yeah but, in the UK it took 2 more weeks or a month before they showed a spike" or "yeah but, it's spring and people are indoors or outdoors or live at the bottom of the ocean in Bikini Bottom" Who cares, the numbers today are low in hospital and illegitimate in case counts, so what data point does one rely on?

 

[correcaminos]

Testing is currently barely taking place. Many are home testing, if testing at all and those results won't be included in any state or federal database. All that can really be looked at for how things are trending in the US are hospitalizations.

For that, there is a very slight increase:
View attachment 635925

Due to the lack of testing and the sheer number of asymptomatic cases in the original omicron variant and the current omicron subvariant, it is highly likely a number of these cases in hospital are "with covid" vs "from covid"


The very low ICU case count further drives that scenario:
View attachment 635926

There simply would be higher numbers overall if the sheer volume of cases were very virulent.

Sadly, it seems that any time a glass half full post, as I consider this one, is posted, someone slams it as somehow being anti vax (completely bizarre, not that it matters to anyone but myself, but I'm 3 doses in) or "yeah but, in the UK it took 2 more weeks or a month before they showed a spike" or "yeah but, it's spring and people are indoors or outdoors or live at the bottom of the ocean in Bikini Bottom" Who cares, the numbers today are low in hospital and illegitimate in case counts, so what data point does one rely on?

That's the argument. I posted smaller pics of similar data myself and got slammed for it. CDC (for better or worse) really is looking at this. Not to belittle everything but if the severity isn't the worry, then we should probably relax a little. I've always been kind of a numbers person. I also have always said that I don't get freaked out if there is an asymptomatic positive or super mild either. I do worry about spread to at risk, but hopefully boosters and such will keep them out of hospitals too.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

I'm noticing for the upcoming month, there is more park reservation availability on the weekends & Fridays and less on the weekday....?!

Are the parks actually less crowded on the weekends? Never know how to plan anything these days! You try to make a vacation stress and hassle free but they sure don't make it easy.

 

[correcaminos]

I'm noticing for the upcoming month, there is more park reservation availability on the weekends & Fridays and less on the weekday....?!

Are the parks actually less crowded on the weekends? Never know how to plan anything these days! You try to make a vacation stress and hassle free but they sure don't make it easy.

People do often travel in and out on weekends but I don't think they seem less busy. In fact Sundays often feel worse to me than some weekdays.

 

[DisneyCane]

Testing is currently barely taking place. Many are home testing, if testing at all and those results won't be included in any state or federal database. All that can really be looked at for how things are trending in the US are hospitalizations.

For that, there is a very slight increase:
View attachment 635925

Due to the lack of testing and the sheer number of asymptomatic cases in the original omicron variant and the current omicron subvariant, it is highly likely a number of these cases in hospital are "with covid" vs "from covid"


The very low ICU case count further drives that scenario:
View attachment 635926

There simply would be higher numbers overall if the sheer volume of cases were very virulent.

Sadly, it seems that any time a glass half full post, as I consider this one, is posted, someone slams it as somehow being anti vax (completely bizarre, not that it matters to anyone but myself, but I'm 3 doses in) or "yeah but, in the UK it took 2 more weeks or a month before they showed a spike" or "yeah but, it's spring and people are indoors or outdoors or live at the bottom of the ocean in Bikini Bottom" Who cares, the numbers today are low in hospital and illegitimate in case counts, so what data point does one rely on?

Due to the proliferation of at home testing, "the numbers" that some love so much are rendered essentially meaningless. Positivity will be artificially high due to the high percentage of people who will not get an "official" test until after they have tested positive on a home rapid test.

The only "number" that really matters at all is the number of patients hospitalized or in the ICU BECAUSE of COVID. That is the metric that should be used in the "community status" or whatever the CDC calls the new mask guidance map. Even if a hospital is at 90% capacity and 80% of the patients have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, that does not translate to COVID overwhelming the hospital if only 2% of them are admitted because of COVID.

Outside of this thread, I haven't seen any "numbers" for months. SARS-CoV-2 and resultant COVID-19 cases will likely exist for hundreds of years. The obsession with rising "numbers" is disturbing to me. As long as the vaccines remain capable of significantly lowering the risk of severe illness and death, what's the difference?

If you are vaccinated and have followed the recommended booster schedule for your age and risk group, COVID should be of no more concern to you than anything else. Do you follow "the numbers" for other viruses? I doubt it.

It seems to me, the motivation of some people is just to want to say, "see, I told you so, we dropped 'mitigation X' too soon and look what happened."

To circle back to WDW, I continue to believe strongly, based on observations and data, that the overwhelming majority of people who "feel safe" traveling and visiting leisure destinations have very little concern about COVID on a daily basis. There are people like me who were never really that concerned and there are other people who aren't concerned because they are vaccinated now.

 

[correcaminos]

Due to the proliferation of at home testing, "the numbers" that some love so much are rendered essentially meaningless. Positivity will be artificially high due to the high percentage of people who will not get an "official" test until after they have tested positive on a home rapid test.

The only "number" that really matters at all is the number of patients hospitalized or in the ICU BECAUSE of COVID. That is the metric that should be used in the "community status" or whatever the CDC calls the new mask guidance map. Even if a hospital is at 90% capacity and 80% of the patients have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, that does not translate to COVID overwhelming the hospital if only 2% of them are admitted because of COVID.

Outside of this thread, I haven't seen any "numbers" for months. SARS-CoV-2 and resultant COVID-19 cases will likely exist for hundreds of years. The obsession with rising "numbers" is disturbing to me. As long as the vaccines remain capable of significantly lowering the risk of severe illness and death, what's the difference?

If you are vaccinated and have followed the recommended booster schedule for your age and risk group, COVID should be of no more concern to you than anything else. Do you follow "the numbers" for other viruses? I doubt it.

It seems to me, the motivation of some people is just to want to say, "see, I told you so, we dropped 'mitigation X' too soon and look what happened."

To circle back to WDW, I continue to believe strongly, based on observations and data, that the overwhelming majority of people who "feel safe" traveling and visiting leisure destinations have very little concern about COVID on a daily basis. There are people like me who were never really that concerned and there are other people who aren't concerned because they are vaccinated now.

I do every year for the flu for the bolded. Mostly out of curiosity. My doc does for other things which is how I knew to get a whooping cough booster a couple times.

However I never let either really worry me much. Covid absolutely did at first and still does in countries where vaccines are low and such. Covid numbers have been off since home testing was the way to do it starting in the fall. Especially in terms of positivity.

Your argument italicized mentioned goes both ways. Many who were largely unconcerned use certain arguments to prove they were right. That's why this all still sucks. Too many who want to justify vs actually consider what might be best.