Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[DisneyCane]

I don’t think you will be alone. Attendance will be down for a while. I just hope these Harvard guys are wrong and we don’t have to continue some form of social distancing through 2022

https://news.yahoo.com/repeated-bouts-social-distancing-may-needed-until-2022-200006162.html

I know that the media needs clicks and researchers want to make a name for themselves for grants but I wish people would refrain from this type of speculation until antibody tests are available to figure out how many people have actually had COVID-19 which would determine immunity and the actual fatality rate.

There was data of over 200 mothers who were tested upon entering a couple of hospitals in NY to give birth. 15% tested positive and 29 of 33 (iirc) were asymptomatic. That is active infection and doesn't measure how many of the rest already had it and got over it.

It's not a large or randomized study but it shows the possibility that a huge percentage of the population, especially in the NYC hot spot, may have already been infected and be immune.

 

[TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives]

It's not a large or randomized study but it shows the possibility that a huge percentage of the population, especially in the NYC hot spot, may have already been infected and be immune.

One of the key questions we need to figure out is how long does that immunity last. I'm hoping a year if not longer, but that's going to be key in all of this.

 

[DisneyCane]

One of the key questions we need to figure out is how long does that immunity last. I'm hoping a year if not longer, but that's going to be key in all of this.

Agree 100%. If it is less than a year it will make it difficult to get people to go every few months for multiple shots of a vaccine. In addition it has implications before vaccine availability.

I guess it will take some time to figure it out since the oldest cases that recovered aren't even 5 months old yet.

 

[TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives]

Agree 100%. If it is less than a year it will make it difficult to get people to go every few months for multiple shots of a vaccine. In addition it has implications before vaccine availability.

I guess it will take some time to figure it out since the oldest cases that recovered aren't even 5 months old yet.

Exactly. From a medical standpoint, I just want to go to sleep for the next two years and come out hoping for the best. Multiple vaccine shots are going to be tough for everyone to deal with (though a nice course of revenue for the companies producing the vaccines). From an economic standpoint, it's going to be a long slog ahead and I think it's going to be some of the darkest days we've ever seen, which is a painful pill to swallow, so I would very much like to miss that as well.

 

[GoofGoof]

Agree 100%. If it is less than a year it will make it difficult to get people to go every few months for multiple shots of a vaccine. In addition it has implications before vaccine availability.

I guess it will take some time to figure it out since the oldest cases that recovered aren't even 5 months old yet.

I’d take a shot every few months if thats what it took. I get a flu shot every year. Takes a few minutes.

 

[techgeek]

Simple truth is.. they did what you said for small businesses. They intentionally excluded large businesses... its not more efficient, but they also expected those bigger companies to be far more varied in what would be done, and then it's all political on who gets funds, who doesn't, etc. The 'only small businesses' get the grants was a cleaner way to get things through the system.

The small business relief programs (PPP loan And EIDL grant / loan program) are great on paper and would have helped small business through the first few months of this.. At least if they could actually get the funds. Despite high-level claims, very few business have actually received funding. The EDIL grant was supposed to be $10k up front, few questions asked, delivered in 3 days... That was 2 weeks ago, they are just now starting to trickle out some grants, and the rules of the game keep changing - now it's only $1k per employee up to 10 employees. The PPP loan program was farmed out to banks to process, and many of them are now overwhelmed and waiting on SBA approval to move forward on actually funding loans... that are supposed to help cover April payroll.

Here's a site that says only 4% of the self-submitted businesses they track have gotten funds:

COVID Loan Tracker — COVID Loan Tracker

COVID Loan Tracker is a community of 40,000+ small business owners reporting across all 50 states. Launched by two small business owners, we started with the mission to help inform other entrepreneurs with PPP and EIDL.

www.covidloantracker.com

Even if it were timely and efficient, the small business 'bailout' is only going to be effective at helping out over the course 2-3 months. (the PPP for example only funds 2.5 months of payroll). Because the rollout was botched, many of those employees have been forced to the unemployment system already, making that system even worse.

So, from my perspective, 'they' haven't actually 'done' anything yet... except make the situation worse with promises that many small business owners took at faith and are now in a worse position because there hasn't been follow-through.

At this point, the unemployment system is already in melt down. Maybe a deal should have been cut at the state or federal level to keep Disney's employees off of it.

 

[hopemax]

Interestingly, DH's company got their money last Tuesday. Their owner sent out a company email, and mentioned that after their successful application, they were assisting their clients get their proper paperwork submitted. I guess they got lucky.

EDIT: I can't even see where DH's company would be on that list. So maybe it's incomplete? There is a CO company that received money 4/7, but DH's company doesn't have 155 employees. Unless they are actually, considered a Utah company. There is one that the date matches, but the employee count is still off but not by so many.

 

[manmythlegend]

Exactly. From a medical standpoint, I just want to go to sleep for the next two years and come out hoping for the best. Multiple vaccine shots are going to be tough for everyone to deal with (though a nice course of revenue for the companies producing the vaccines). From an economic standpoint, it's going to be a long slog ahead and I think it's going to be some of the darkest days we've ever seen, which is a painful pill to swallow, so I would very much like to miss that as well.

The pessimist in me thinks our best days are behind us.

 

[Chi84]

The pessimist in me thinks our best days are behind us.

Give it some time.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I am seeing ads for masks every time I go to Facebook.

Any experience with these masks advertised as keeping the virus out? I know surgical masks and homemade bandana masks don’t do that.

I am high risk but still have to venture out. If they really work, it could be a good purchase.

 

[techgeek]

EDIT: I can't even see where DH's company would be on that list. So maybe it's incomplete? There is a CO company that received money 4/7, but DH's company doesn't have 155 employees. Unless they are actually, considered a Utah company. There is one that the date matches, but the employee count is still off but not by so many.

I believe the list and overall data only represents those companies that are self-reporting to that particular site... so it’s just a snapshot (and one that of course has some bias) of the overall landscape of the loan programs.

It’s good to hear things are finally moving for some though!

 

[TrojanUSC]

With the updated guidance from California, it is likely Disneyland will not open until August at the earliest. Given that Florida's predicament is somewhat similar and the CDC guidelines will likely mirror California's (even if FL Gov. DeSantis doesn't take as hard of a line), I can''t imagine an earlier open on the east coast:

Disneyland Reopening ‘Unlikely’ Through August as California Rules Out Mass Gatherings

Reopening Disneyland before the fall became “unlikely” as California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that mass gatherings with thousands of people are “not in the cards” through the end of the summer. Disney’s two Anaheim

www.micechat.com

 

[manmythlegend]

With the updated guidance from California, it is likely Disneyland will not open until August at the earliest. Given that Florida's predicament is somewhat similar and the CDC guidelines will likely mirror California's (even if FL Gov. DeSantis doesn't take as hard of a line), I can''t imagine an earlier open on the east coast:

Disneyland Reopening ‘Unlikely’ Through August as California Rules Out Mass Gatherings

Reopening Disneyland before the fall became “unlikely” as California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that mass gatherings with thousands of people are “not in the cards” through the end of the summer. Disney’s two Anaheim

www.micechat.com

Unfortunately, the way things appear to be moving, I believe society is stuck at home until a vaccine or some sort of advanced treatment is available.

 

[Nunu]

I am seeing ads for masks every time I go to Facebook.

Any experience with these masks advertised as keeping the virus out? I know surgical masks and homemade bandana masks don’t do that.

I am high risk but still have to venture out. If they really work, it could be a good purchase.

Are the face masks you're seeing made out of cloth and of good quality? If they are, buy a couple. You must wash them thoroughly (in hot water, plenty of soap and Clorox) and dry them completely after each use. If you get two, you'll always have one ready to wear when you need to venture out.

Please protect yourself by wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others, specially since you're high risk. Stay safe Tony.

Edit to add: Aside from the N95 masks, which are used by health workers, the cloth masks option is not as effective, but the way I see it, it's better than going out completely exposed.

 

[Nubs70]

I know that the media needs clicks and researchers want to make a name for themselves for grants but I wish people would refrain from this type of speculation until antibody tests are available to figure out how many people have actually had COVID-19 which would determine immunity and the actual fatality rate.

There was data of over 200 mothers who were tested upon entering a couple of hospitals in NY to give birth. 15% tested positive and 29 of 33 (iirc) were asymptomatic. That is active infection and doesn't measure how many of the rest already had it and got over it.

It's not a large or randomized study but it shows the possibility that a huge percentage of the population, especially in the NYC hot spot, may have already been infected and be immune.

The 15% figure matches that of a hotspot in Germany with a larger randomized sample

 

[SteveV]

Just a few observations regarding some of the posts about wdw reopening:-

1) how are international visitors going to reach the USA? No cruise ships, very limited air travel. Surely Disney will therefore open to locals first as there will be no or limited demand for hotel rooms. I write as somebody who had trips planned and has found my flights cancelled for the foreseeable future and allowed to be Refunded or rearranged up to the end of 2022.

2) it’s not just social distancing in the parks, it’s in the hotels, it’s in the travel to and from the parks, it’s having the facilities available to support the traveller etc. Are governors going to prioritise Reopening facilities for locals or facilities for travellers who may not come? Now I fully get that in an area like Orlando almost all of the jobs rely to at least some degree on tourism but that ‘pent up demand’ isn’t necessarily there.

3) relating to the pent up demand, people need to have the money to travel, which is an expensive discretionary use of funds at the best of times. Currently with furloughing etc this won’t be a priority for most people. Secondly, a number of regular Disney travellers, people I know in the uk, have been told they have to take their holiday leave entitlement whilst the lockdown is on. So they won’t even have the time to travel should they have the money available.

4)with schools shut at the moment, nobody knows what will happen to the school breaks. It has been suggested that the summer break could potentially be used as a catch up for missed academic work here. Again, that then removes the possibility of travelling to Disney or anywhere else

5) we have one set of flights that haven’t been rearranged yet, but to somewhere that is currently operating a two week isolation period after arrival. That makes our ‘holiday’ unviable as a break as we would spend all of our time there in isolation. and that’s if our airline is even operating those flights at that time.

6) even if things are operating close to normal, as a traveller with a family, I am going to have to make some tough decisions as to whether or not I risk the possibility of being stranded under a new lockdown because the virus rebounds. I have received multiple emails from my travel insurer saying that anything I book after 18th March 2020 will not be covered if I cannot travel due to coronavirus restrictions as it has been ‘known’ since that date. So i wouldn’t get money back or be assisted in the event of any problems and also I may spend my whole vacation in isolation, struggling to get a flight home.

i believe that the above is fairly realistic for my situation (uk based, family with young children, reduced income) and indicative of the thoughts going through mine, and probably other’s heads. Local travel is going to open first wherever you are, so locals will be the first back to wdw in some form or another. This might then mean that wdw will stay shut a lot longer than Disneyland as it is more reliant on the international market.

 

[manmythlegend]

Just a few observations regarding some of the posts about wdw reopening:-

1) how are international visitors going to reach the USA? No cruise ships, very limited air travel. Surely Disney will therefore open to locals first as there will be no or limited demand for hotel rooms. I write as somebody who had trips planned and has found my flights cancelled for the foreseeable future and allowed to be Refunded or rearranged up to the end of 2022.

2) it’s not just social distancing in the parks, it’s in the hotels, it’s in the travel to and from the parks, it’s having the facilities available to support the traveller etc. Are governors going to prioritise Reopening facilities for locals or facilities for travellers who may not come? Now I fully get that in an area like Orlando almost all of the jobs rely to at least some degree on tourism but that ‘pent up demand’ isn’t necessarily there.

3) relating to the pent up demand, people need to have the money to travel, which is an expensive discretionary use of funds at the best of times. Currently with furloughing etc this won’t be a priority for most people. Secondly, a number of regular Disney travellers, people I know in the uk, have been told they have to take their holiday leave entitlement whilst the lockdown is on. So they won’t even have the time to travel should they have the money available.

4)with schools shut at the moment, nobody knows what will happen to the school breaks. It has been suggested that the summer break could potentially be used as a catch up for missed academic work here. Again, that then removes the possibility of travelling to Disney or anywhere else

5) we have one set of flights that haven’t been rearranged yet, but to somewhere that is currently operating a two week isolation period after arrival. That makes our ‘holiday’ unviable as a break as we would spend all of our time there in isolation. and that’s if our airline is even operating those flights at that time.

6) even if things are operating close to normal, as a traveller with a family, I am going to have to make some tough decisions as to whether or not I risk the possibility of being stranded under a new lockdown because the virus rebounds. I have received multiple emails from my travel insurer saying that anything I book after 18th March 2020 will not be covered if I cannot travel due to coronavirus restrictions as it has been ‘known’ since that date. So i wouldn’t get money back or be assisted in the event of any problems and also I may spend my whole vacation in isolation, struggling to get a flight home.

i believe that the above is fairly realistic for my situation (uk based, family with young children, reduced income) and indicative of the thoughts going through mine, and probably other’s heads. Local travel is going to open first wherever you are, so locals will be the first back to wdw in some form or another. This might then mean that wdw will stay shut a lot longer than Disneyland as it is more reliant on the international market.

WDW will just have to come to the realization that there may not be 60,000 people waiting at the gates on their 1st day of re-opening? It's going to be light.

 

[DisneyCane]

Just a few observations regarding some of the posts about wdw reopening:-

1) how are international visitors going to reach the USA? No cruise ships, very limited air travel. Surely Disney will therefore open to locals first as there will be no or limited demand for hotel rooms. I write as somebody who had trips planned and has found my flights cancelled for the foreseeable future and allowed to be Refunded or rearranged up to the end of 2022.

2) it’s not just social distancing in the parks, it’s in the hotels, it’s in the travel to and from the parks, it’s having the facilities available to support the traveller etc. Are governors going to prioritise Reopening facilities for locals or facilities for travellers who may not come? Now I fully get that in an area like Orlando almost all of the jobs rely to at least some degree on tourism but that ‘pent up demand’ isn’t necessarily there.

3) relating to the pent up demand, people need to have the money to travel, which is an expensive discretionary use of funds at the best of times. Currently with furloughing etc this won’t be a priority for most people. Secondly, a number of regular Disney travellers, people I know in the uk, have been told they have to take their holiday leave entitlement whilst the lockdown is on. So they won’t even have the time to travel should they have the money available.

4)with schools shut at the moment, nobody knows what will happen to the school breaks. It has been suggested that the summer break could potentially be used as a catch up for missed academic work here. Again, that then removes the possibility of travelling to Disney or anywhere else

5) we have one set of flights that haven’t been rearranged yet, but to somewhere that is currently operating a two week isolation period after arrival. That makes our ‘holiday’ unviable as a break as we would spend all of our time there in isolation. and that’s if our airline is even operating those flights at that time.

6) even if things are operating close to normal, as a traveller with a family, I am going to have to make some tough decisions as to whether or not I risk the possibility of being stranded under a new lockdown because the virus rebounds. I have received multiple emails from my travel insurer saying that anything I book after 18th March 2020 will not be covered if I cannot travel due to coronavirus restrictions as it has been ‘known’ since that date. So i wouldn’t get money back or be assisted in the event of any problems and also I may spend my whole vacation in isolation, struggling to get a flight home.

i believe that the above is fairly realistic for my situation (uk based, family with young children, reduced income) and indicative of the thoughts going through mine, and probably other’s heads. Local travel is going to open first wherever you are, so locals will be the first back to wdw in some form or another. This might then mean that wdw will stay shut a lot longer than Disneyland as it is more reliant on the international market.

For international travel I can see the possibility that a test will be part of customs when you enter the country (all countries, not just USA) for a while.

 

[King Panda 77]

For international travel I can see the possibility that a test will be part of customs when you enter the country (all countries, not just USA) for a while.

Wouldn't it make more sense to have the test before you travel ?

 

[zengoth]

something I just thought of.... Disney has always relied on guests telling friends about the good experiences. If everyone goes back home and says “half the rides were closed, you couldn’t get into any of the restaurants, no parades, no fireworks, had to get a temperature check to even walk in” how many people are going to book a trip after hearing all of that?

Don't underestimate Disney fans and tourists. Last year they would have heard "half the rides had an hour or more wait in line, you couldn't get into any of the restaurants without booking months beforehand, you could barely squeeze through crowds during a festival, heat index over 100 degrees, boarding passes all gone in minutes, outrageous prices for snacks..." and people still went in throngs. The place has a magical pull on folks.