Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[esskay]

I would not describe the convention / meeting cancellations as ‘a handful’. I’m directly involved with that business, and right now my personal schedule has taken a 80-90% hit for the next 2 months. I have a few smaller local / regional meetings that may possibly still happen, if their venues remain open.

There’s a strong trend of normalcy bias at play here. Nothing about this is normal. As people slowly overcome that, the leisure market fallout will follow.

I've been to a few large conventions in Orlando. There is a huge number of people at them - not saying they are insignificant. But:

A) I'd comfortably say at least half the people at the most recent one I went to didnt even bother going to the parks, and were only there for the convention - these were mostly Americans, as most of us from Europe take it as a 2 week vacation after the convention.

B) Even taking those people into account, its a fraction of the number of general tourists at the parks.

 

[disneygeek90]

I've been to a few large conventions in Orlando. There is a huge number of people at them - not saying they are insignificant. But:

A) I'd comfortably say at least half the people at the most recent one I went to didnt even bother going to the parks, and were only there for the convention - these were mostly Americans, as most of us from Europe take it as a 2 week vacation after the convention.

B) Even taking those people into account, its a fraction of the number of general tourists at the parks.

To those restaurants over on I-Drive, the conventions are a huge source of revenue. I’d expect to see most of those restaurants with under performing locations for a while if conventions continue to be cancelled.

I’m not sure how many of those typically go to the parks, but there’s gotta be a decent amount that do attempt to work a day or two into their schedule.

 

[Wsny11]

The amount of denial in this tread is absurd.

There are likely people walking around in all four parks right now that are infected with COVID 19. There has been community spread ongoing for weeks. This is an extremely contagious virus, much more so than the flu. The “confirmed cases” data / maps are not an accurate representation of the virus’s spread, because no one has been tested yet. And while it may not be much more dangerous than the flu for younger demographics (but still more dangerous than the flu) you can easily catch it and pass it on to an older person.

I’m not saying you should cancel your trip or freak out, but please be cognizant of the situation and take precautions when in public.

 

[Jrn14]

I'm sure the average family would be fine at Disney world but would you leave grandma behind?

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

I was at Hollywood Studios yesterday and washed my hands numerous times, but two restrooms I went to were out of soap. I tried all the dispensers. We had dinner at Docking Bay and they had a stand with an automatic disinfectant dispenser, like they have on cruise ships, but it was empty. I was expecting to see more of these dispensers, but didn’t notice any others. I think they should have them at the exit of every ride and at the turnstiles after you do the fingerprint.

It is outrageous that this country has not been doing more tests. There are likely many more cases in Florida. Businesses like WDW might be taking more preventative measures if they had more information.

 

[DisneyCane]

The amount of denial in this tread is absurd.

There are likely people walking around in all four parks right now that are infected with COVID 19. There has been community spread ongoing for weeks. This is an extremely contagious virus, much more so than the flu. The “confirmed cases” data / maps are not an accurate representation of the virus’s spread, because no one has been tested yet. And while it may not be much more dangerous than the flu for younger demographics (but still more dangerous than the flu) you can easily catch it and pass it on to an older person.

I’m not saying you should cancel your trip or freak out, but please be cognizant of the situation and take precautions when in public.

I don't think there is denial. Sometime last week I posted that it was blown out of proportion and the panic was ridiculous BECAUSE there are likely thousands of people walking around with mild or asymptomatic cases that aren't detected. Essentially, my thought being that for the vast, vast majority of people that contract the virus it is no big deal.

My opinion is seemingly borne out by the data from South Korea. They seem to be the only country doing mass testing which will find the mild and asymptomatic cases. To date, they have confirmed 7041 cases and 48 deaths. The important data is that out of 6875 active cases only 36 are considered serious or critical. That is 0.52% which is lower than the percentage of cases of the flu in the USA that require hospitalization.

I'm not in denial about the spread of the virus. It is certainly spreading and there are certainly more people in the US that are infected than have been detected. However, unless you are elderly and/or have serious underlying health issues, there is no reason to be concerned about contracting it any more than you are concerned about getting the flu.

 

[marni1971]

The amount of denial in this tread is absurd..

As is the hysteria.

The few with balance are the most sensible.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The amount of denial in this tread is absurd.

There are likely people walking around in all four parks right now that are infected with COVID 19. There has been community spread ongoing for weeks. This is an extremely contagious virus, much more so than the flu. The “confirmed cases” data / maps are not an accurate representation of the virus’s spread, because no one has been tested yet. And while it may not be much more dangerous than the flu for younger demographics (but still more dangerous than the flu) you can easily catch it and pass it on to an older person.

I’m not saying you should cancel your trip or freak out, but please be cognizant of the situation and take precautions when in public.

This is the most reasonable post here...by far. Well done.

We have panic and dismissal all based at least partially in the unknown here. This cute it to the bone.

What we are looking at here is hard to handle. It’s at an intersection of money, politics, health concerns and of course - Disney fandom.

That’s a difficult stew to mix right.

I was at Hollywood Studios yesterday and washed my hands numerous times, but two restrooms I went to were out of soap. I tried all the dispensers. We had dinner at Docking Bay and they had a stand with an automatic disinfectant dispenser, like they have on cruise ships, but it was empty. I was expecting to see more of these dispensers, but didn’t notice any others. I think they should have them at the exit of every ride and at the turnstiles after you do the fingerprint.

It is outrageous that this country has not been doing more tests. There are likely many more cases in Florida. Businesses like WDW might be taking more preventative measures if they had more information.

That’s Bob...cost cutting over a long time to shave mere pennies.

Theses things bear rotten fruit

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think there is denial. Sometime last week I posted that it was blown out of proportion and the panic was ridiculous BECAUSE there are likely thousands of people walking around with mild or asymptomatic cases that aren't detected. Essentially, my thought being that for the vast, vast majority of people that contract the virus it is no big deal.

My opinion is seemingly borne out by the data from South Korea. They seem to be the only country doing mass testing which will find the mild and asymptomatic cases. To date, they have confirmed 7041 cases and 48 deaths. The important data is that out of 6875 active cases only 36 are considered serious or critical. That is 0.52% which is lower than the percentage of cases of the flu in the USA that require hospitalization.

I'm not in denial about the spread of the virus. It is certainly spreading and there are certainly more people in the US that are infected than have been detected. However, unless you are elderly and/or have serious underlying health issues, there is no reason to be concerned about contracting it any more than you are concerned about getting the flu.

As is the hysteria.

The few with balance are the most sensible.

I think anyone is being dishonest - again - if they don’t admit that because we are talking about traveling to our holy retail Mecca, the opinions are not pure.

If we were cautioned not to go to nearly an other place/scenario because of the potential of infection...there would be very little descent.

Because it’s Disney...and because we overanalyze and harp and obsess and do countdowns and type book reports to nobody on....

This is just a weeee bit skewed.

 

[Wsny11]

I don't think there is denial. Sometime last week I posted that it was blown out of proportion and the panic was ridiculous BECAUSE there are likely thousands of people walking around with mild or asymptomatic cases that aren't detected. Essentially, my thought being that for the vast, vast majority of people that contract the virus it is no big deal.

My opinion is seemingly borne out by the data from South Korea. They seem to be the only country doing mass testing which will find the mild and asymptomatic cases. To date, they have confirmed 7041 cases and 48 deaths. The important data is that out of 6875 active cases only 36 are considered serious or critical. That is 0.52% which is lower than the percentage of cases of the flu in the USA that require hospitalization.

I'm not in denial about the spread of the virus. It is certainly spreading and there are certainly more people in the US that are infected than have been detected. However, unless you are elderly and/or have serious underlying health issues, there is no reason to be concerned about contracting it any more than you are concerned about getting the flu.

You are making an incorrect judgement re: South Korea’s data. Their testing is fairly recent and many of those testing positive have not had a chance to get sick and require medical intervention yet.

The primary concern in the USA should be mitigating the spread as much as possible, because we do not have excess capacity in our healthcare system to deal with a surge of these patients. We are already seeing serious shortages of PPE (masks, etc) for healthcare workers. A slow uptick in serious cases can be dealt with, a fast uptick cannot. This disease requires ICU care for about 20% of those requiring hospitalization. Bed / ventilator / PPE / healthcare worker availability will be a serious concern and lead to much higher mortality rates if the system becomes overwhelmed.

Please take this seriously. It can make you very sick, and it can make those you infect very sick.

 

[DisneyCane]

You are making an incorrect judgement re: South Korea’s data. Their testing is fairly recent and many of those testing positive have not had a chance to get sick and require medical intervention yet.

The primary concern in the USA should be mitigating the spread as much as possible, because we do not have excess capacity in our healthcare system to deal with a surge of these patients. We are already seeing serious shortages of PPE (masks, etc) for healthcare workers. A slow uptick in serious cases can be dealt with, a fast uptick cannot. This disease requires ICU care for about 20% of those requiring hospitalization. Bed / ventilator / PPE / healthcare worker availability will be a serious concern and lead to much higher mortality rates if the system becomes overwhelmed.

Please take this seriously. It can make you very sick, and it can make those you infect very sick.

All of the testing is recent. The different is that the other countries are mostly testing people that are at least somewhat sick. South Korea is screening large swaths of the population.

Also, the raw number of serious/critical cases in South Korea has gone down, not up as the days have passed.

The reason there is a shortage of PPE for healthcare workers is because idiots that don't need them are buying them in preparation for the apocalypse that the media reports make people think is upon us.

 

[The Mom]

1. Definitively? Other than Wuhan, China, no one knows for sure - or they're not saying publicly. Experts have made educated guesses that it was animal to human transfer.

2. We don't know yet if warmer weather will have much of an impact on the virus. MERS is apparently another coronavirus that began in the Middle East, so not all coronaviruses are sensitive to heat or humidity.

Polio was known as a warm weather virus - it seemed to spread faster in the warmer months.

 

[durangojim]

Can't speak of female restrooms but it has been my observation while using the mens restroom many don't wash their hands. I wash my hands and use the paper towel to open the door if there is one.

I don’t understand why all restrooms at Disney and in public in general don’t have doors that open out when leaving the restroom. You grasp the handle on the way in, wash your hands, and then push the door open with your arms or back like we do in the OR.

 

[The Mom]

I don't think there is denial. Sometime last week I posted that it was blown out of proportion and the panic was ridiculous BECAUSE there are likely thousands of people walking around with mild or asymptomatic cases that aren't detected. Essentially, my thought being that for the vast, vast majority of people that contract the virus it is no big deal.

My opinion is seemingly borne out by the data from South Korea. They seem to be the only country doing mass testing which will find the mild and asymptomatic cases. To date, they have confirmed 7041 cases and 48 deaths. The important data is that out of 6875 active cases only 36 are considered serious or critical. That is 0.52% which is lower than the percentage of cases of the flu in the USA that require hospitalization.

I'm not in denial about the spread of the virus. It is certainly spreading and there are certainly more people in the US that are infected than have been detected. However, unless you are elderly and/or have serious underlying health issues, there is no reason to be concerned about contracting it any more than you are concerned about getting the flu.

The CDC has advised (as of this morning) that people over age 60 limit their exposure to others as much as possible. That will not help those in nursing homes, etc - but will help to limit the cases among those who are still living independently.

I know that I will not be going to WDW, flying, and generally avoiding crowded places for a while. My local Publix delivers (for a fee) and is less crowded early in the morning (before 9AM) so those are options.

Everything else can be put on hold - unless I get sick and need to see a doctor.

 

[DisneyCane]

I don’t understand why all restrooms at Disney and in public in general don’t have doors that open out when leaving the restroom. You grasp the handle on the way in, wash your hands, and then push the door open with your arms or back like we do in the OR.

A former neighbor that works in construction management and has worked on many large projects (including Animal Kingdom and Islands of Adventure construction) told me several years ago that it has something to do with ADA and people in wheelchairs being able to open the door from inside without assistance.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Has there been a definitive answer of what this virus came from? And was it said that the virus cannot live in humidity?

Not sure about the humidity, but scientists say it came from bats and possibly snakes, transferred to civets and camels, and from there transmitted to humans.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Polio was known as a warm weather virus - it seemed to spread faster in the warmer months.

Until my boy Jonas Salk went medieval on it with his Petrie dish

 

[celluloid]

Until my boy Jonas Salk went medieval on it with his Petrie dish

And charged zero for his discovery. Legend.

 

[Tinkwings]

The CDC has advised (as of this morning) that people over age 60 limit their exposure to others as much as possible. That will not help those in nursing homes, etc - but will help to limit the cases among those who are still living independently.

I know that I will not be going to WDW, flying, and generally avoiding crowded places for a while. My local Publix delivers (for a fee) and is less crowded early in the morning (before 9AM) so those are options.

Everything else can be put on hold - unless I get sick and need to see a doctor.

Yeah I love that some grocery stores deliver....for a 5$ suggested tip, which I could change, when super busy I get nonperishable items delivered that way. Nice option to limit trips out. Can never get everything on my shopping list at one store.

 

[King Panda 77]

We've booked the Disney Magic out of Dover for 8/30 to Norway. For some reason I purchased Cancel For Any Reason insurance privately (rarely do that) before COVID was on my mind, but at least I know I have options. I suspect DCL would move their cancellation policies forward to my embarkation date if there is a concern.

At any rate, WDW is my back-up should we not be able to cruise. Since I can barely live in Florida in August heat, I'm reasonably confident COVID will have a hard time. Just need to make sure I book a cancellable DVC reservation!

United is waiving fees for cancellations, so we'll be going somewhere. We'll just have to wait and see where.

Hopefully you will be able to do your cruise. We did Norway in 2016 and are going back next year. Beautiful country.