Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Bob Harlem]

So what does that have to do with WDW?

It means travel is taking a nosedive which will impact WDW, there are more than several companies that have pretty much outright froze all corporate travel -- tech firms in particular Microsoft/EA/Sony, and non tech as well etc--, which would mean any trade shows/conventions, etc (Disney has a lot of those too in Coronado/Contemporary, etc). Search for business travel and coronavirus for a bunch of examples.

This makes up a huge chunk of the hotel/airline business and Disney hosts a lot of corporate events. I know of two small/medium ones that have already been cancelled at WDW (There are likely more than that). In the short term you may be more likely to find opened up ADRs.

 

[Lilofan]

It means travel is taking a nosedive which will impact WDW, there are more than several companies that have pretty much outright froze all corporate travel -- tech firms in particular Microsoft/EA/Sony, and non tech as well etc--, which would mean any trade shows/conventions, etc (Disney has a lot of those too in Coronado/Contemporary, etc). This makes up a huge chunk of the hotel/airline business and Disney hosts a lot of corporate events. In the short term you may be more likely to find opened up ADRs.

Many industries in Orlando are tied into tourism. If the employees directly or indirectly tied to tourism are severely impacted, this can be a downward spiral that cannot be corrected anytime soon.

 

[John park hopper]

Fear is the biggest inhibitor of rational thinking.
The coronavirus genome has been sequenced and they have a cell culture in which to propagate the virus. Two big hurdles in vaccine development.

"Moderna, which is working with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates that it could have a vaccine ready for a phase one clinical trial in people in three months.

Moderna and Inovio are both using a newer vaccine technology based on specific DNA or messenger RNA (mRNA) sequences of the virus. The chosen sequence codes for a viral protein, such as one on the surface of the virus."

 

[FettFan]

Mark me as saying fears of Coronavirus are far overblown. So far there have been somewhere around 2500 deaths....out of a population of 7.6 Billion people. A tragedy for 2500 families losing their loved ones, but nothing for the entire world to panic over.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

We have so many people telling us Chinese are bad that we are starting to believe it. I don't think that's fair to them TBH.

Well, to be fair, their caging of wild animals to sell as a food source is where this virus came from. They've also got a lake that is literally black goop from the junk they're pumping into it.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Mark me as saying fears of Coronavirus are far overblown. So far there have been somewhere around 2500 deaths....out of a population of 7.6 Billion people. A tragedy for 2500 families losing their loved ones, but nothing for the entire world to panic over.

Thats Deaths however ~20% of those who have the virus end up in serious/critical conditional. That's 1 in 5 people.

 

[Hakunamatata]

We are headed to WDW in a couple weeks. We will be a bit more aware of hand washing and using hand sanitizer and trying to avoid individuals that are displaying symptoms of illness, coughing, etc, but dont feel like there is an overt threat to our well being. Now if we were high risk then maybe we would be having second thoughts. But remember, even if you contract this its not a death sentence and most have cold symptoms when the do contract it then they recover.

 

[Minthorne]

We were going to go to Tokyo Disneyland in March (from Vancouver, Canada) and in light of the current news coming out of Tokyo we decided it would be best to cancel. Really, this could not have come at a worse time!

Smart move - Tokyo Disneyland is now closing for at least 2 weeks in March.

Tokyo Disneyland Theme Parks to Shut Down for 2 Weeks Over Coronavirus Concerns

Schools in Japan will also be closed for a month to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus

people.com

 

[Lilofan]

We are headed to WDW in a couple weeks. We will be a bit more aware of hand washing and using hand sanitizer and trying to avoid individuals that are displaying symptoms of illness, coughing, etc, but dont feel like there is an overt threat to our well being. Now if we were high risk then maybe we would be having second thoughts. But remember, even if you contract this its not a death sentence and most have cold symptoms when the do contract it then they recover.

You may want to buy hand sanitizer prior to travel. Not good if you drive around Orlando and can't find any.

 

[seascape]

Mark me as saying fears of Coronavirus are far overblown. So far there have been somewhere around 2500 deaths....out of a population of 7.6 Billion people. A tragedy for 2500 families losing their loved ones, but nothing for the entire world to panic over.

I completely agree the fears of Covid19 are way overblown. However. that is human nature. Now the question is what are the ramifications? I already have legitimate fear of cruises because vhf of the diseases that spread so easily because of huge crowds is such a confined space. Disney is the only cruise line to consistently get high scores of cleanliness but I am not sure I would even take a Disney cruise until after the vaccine is available. That said, i will not give up my April WDW trip.

 

[Hakunamatata]

You may want to buy hand sanitizer prior to travel. Not good if you drive around Orlando and can't find any.

We already have but will likely pick up some additional in the event there is a rush on it back home while we are gone.

Another aspect of our trip is we are not flying. Im not sure that I will be flying much until this thing blows over even if it doesnt hit the US like it is in other areas.

 

[Minthorne]

I'm flying to WDW on Monday for a week. My plan is to keep my hands in my pockets as much as I can. I will not touch railings or door handles and I will sanitize my hands often, probably after every attraction I have to "hold on" for. But honestly I've always been super careful on touching things at WDW - it too easy to pick up a bug there.

 

[I'mwatchinguWizowski]

We just got back last week and my little one came down with the flu our last day there! He felt warm and I went to first aid, took his temp and 101.5. We left the park immediately and that was our last day so we headed home.He didn’t have any other symptoms. Went to the ped on Monday and he had influenza A. Only sign was a fever, he had energy and was acting normal. This was his second exposure as he had B about a month and half ago. I’d worry more about flu than corona virus. Like everyone said was hands and purell!

 

[jloucks]

Got Mono one time from a Disney trip, got the flu first day into another Disney trip.

It's just a cesspool of germs. Eh, what can you do really? I mean you get sick, stay indoors, in bed. Rest. Drink plenty of fluids. Medicate as necessary.

...get to go experience other countries medical systems.

This is how I got to visit the gynecologist. I'm male, so you see the novelty in this. (socialized medicine countries the doctors are a little more broadly skilled). Any doctor can diagnose basic cooties no matter their specialty. If they wanted to.

 

[Josh Hendy]

The death rate is estimated at up to 3%. The virus is extremely contagious, for example it seems that it can be spread by people who have no symptoms. Very little testing is being done and many attempts to quarantine people who have been exposed were totally botched. In China obviously, also Korea, Italy, Japan and the USA.

No vaccine exists yet so unless it starts to die out naturally with the end of winter, it will spread everywhere and to give a for instance, 3% of the US population means that almost 10 million people might die from it.

Until the situation looks significantly better, such as a vaccine is available or the infection rate approaches zero, I think it would be unwise to expose yourself in places like airplanes, hotels, cruise ships, crowded theme parks, etc.

Even if you're healthy and fit and at little risk of dying, this sounds like a really nasty Illness that you just don't want to have.

 

[Jrn14]

Why is it so crowded!!! If I might catch coronavirus can I at least get shorter lines

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

If attendance is down. Which it will be. If onsite spending is down. Which it will be. If hotel occupancy is down. Which it will be. Do the years and years of price increases and ancillary fees start to catch up to Disney? Going to be interesting to see if they start offering heavy discounts along with the suspension of certain things like parking fees and possibly reduce park hours and/or the amount of hard ticket events.

 

[TKTC]

Thats Deaths however ~20% of those who have the virus end up in serious/critical conditional. That's 1 in 5 people.

This is just plain wrong and misinformation like this is simply fear mongering.

Chinese CDC study (published in JAMA and featured 72,000 cases) notes that 81% of cases were mild, while 14% were severe (noted as having difficulty breathing). 5% were critical.

Study of 72,000 COVID-19 patients finds 2.3% death rate

www.cidrap.umn.edu

 

[Lilofan]

If attendance is down. Which it will be. If onsite spending is down. Which it will be. If hotel occupancy is down. Which it will be. Do the years and years of price increases and ancillary fees start to catch up to Disney? Going to be interesting to see if they start offering heavy discounts along with the suspension of certain things like parking fees and possibly reduce park hours and/or the amount of hard ticket events.

I'm sure the bean counters that run Disney are already thinking many contingency plans and all of your scenarios are very realistic and affects all including Disney cast members. Shorter park hours, certain locations, to include attractions, food and beverage open on select days ( think after 9/11) may happen.

 

[John park hopper]

Hope springs eternal for lower prices at WDW