Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

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Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
I don’t disagree that the change was coming either way for Disney parks. It’s a good thing and definitely a big step towards the end of this pandemic. I applaud Disney for not dragging their feet on the actual decision.
I may applaud them for not dragging their feet, I am disappointed in how they increased capacity without adding things to keep guest satisfaction high.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
I may applaud them for not dragging their feet, I am disappointed in how they increased capacity without adding things to keep guest satisfaction high.
I think they will be bringing more things back soon. Nighttime shows in the near future, possibly some additional park shows, especially at DHS.
 

Figgy1

Premium Member
No I'm talking about this:
May I don't wear mask anymore in this fall/winter after COVID-19 isn't a threat in US anymore?
Try not to worry about what may or may not come in the future. I'm sure your mom will help you make an informed decision if that time ever comes
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
I would go just a bit further and say as of June 1st all these new things would start. Is 2 weeks really that much? I mean it’s disney not 6 flags. We hold them to a bit of a higher standard with things. Is 2 weeks crazy? Give people on vacation to not have to worry about things while they are at the park.. gives others with vacations coming up some time to see if they still want to go.. and on the other hand, gives families who don’t want to wear masks get on the phone and start booking. Win-win all around.
My knee jerk reaction at hearing the news was wait a week to implement, but I’ve been talked down to 24 hours. See it is possible to change people’s opinions on here :) For me personally it would be a welcome relief in the FL sun (so happy that I won’t be wearing a mask outside in Florida in August) but I do have unvaccinated kids and I can see why some people would be turned off by the change right now. You can’t please everyone and if you do 2 weeks then someone going in 3 weeks but doesn’t like the change might say why not wait 3 weeks and someone going next week who doesn’t want to wear a mask will say why not next week. I settled on 24 hours to at least not spring this on someone who woke up to the news. In an extremely unlikely scenario someone went to bed early, missed the news and woke up and ran out the door for rope drop and never saw the announcement.
 

Polkadotdress

Well-Known Member
The most recent announcement feels inconsistent.

In my view, public messaging needs to be clear, relatively simple, but ALSO- and this is the key part- the public needs to know the objective. Why is the public being asked to do something?

In my view, a better approach would have been to set a clear goal and clear benchmarks, and how close we were getting to those benchmarks.

Such a well-written post, which best articulates this seemingly “out of nowhere” policy change and why it concerns some of us.

While many people are “living their lives” and embraced the most recent policy update, many others have been keeping a watchful eye on things. Perhaps because there are children in the family that are too young to be vaccinated. Or perhaps (like me) they have medical concerns about the efficacy of the vaccine, and are only comfortable holding a job “in the public” because everyone is masked. Or maybe, they are a family that had planned their Disney trip, knowing that masks are worn by all so they needn’t worry about anything.

But this change, which came out of left field, has not allowed any of us to make plans in advance. Those with young kids have to decide when/where they can go in public. For the medically at-risk like me, the danger of working in public has now been increased tremendously.

*And please don’t tell me to stop working and/or find another job.

Those of us with concerns have not had sufficient time to plan. Had there been benchmarks or goal posts, then at the very least we could’ve seen what was approaching and had time to thoughtfully make a plan. And the businesses like Disney and so many others, wouldn’t have been thrust into a situation where they’ve had to change their operation overnight.
 

mmascari

Well-Known Member
I'll admit I don't understand parts of your post, but it seems you are arguing that WDW should keep outdated health protocols in place because some people may have depended on them when they booked their vacation. Disney decided not to do that; no one seems to be doing that. And I think Disney is very aware of what their guests expect.
Disney and Hershey Park both decided to allow an unvaccinated individual to be in a crowded location outside with no mask right next to an 11 year old. They left the decision to the 11 year old to determine if the crowd was light enough to not matter, if wearing their own mask was enough, or if they didn’t want to be in that position.

Someone choosing option 3 had extremely limited notice to change plans. Anyone in the middle of a trip would be almost impossible to pick that option and certainly lose financially picking it.

If option 1 is fine for someone, even option 2, then it seems great. Option 3 people didn’t get a choice. A weeks notice, they could all react and change, even if needing to fight for refunds or credits.
 

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
Such a well-written post, which best articulates this seemingly “out of nowhere” policy change and why it concerns some of us.

While many people are “living their lives” and embraced the most recent policy update, many others have been keeping a watchful eye on things. Perhaps because there are children in the family that are too young to be vaccinated. Or perhaps (like me) they have medical concerns about the efficacy of the vaccine, and are only comfortable holding a job “in the public” because everyone is masked. Or maybe, they are a family that had planned their Disney trip, knowing that masks are worn by all so they needn’t worry about anything.

But this change, which came out of left field, has not allowed any of us to make plans in advance. Those with young kids have to decide when/where they can go in public. For the medically at-risk like me, the danger of working in public has now been increased tremendously.

*And please don’t tell me to stop working and/or find another job.

Those of us with concerns have not had sufficient time to plan. Had there been benchmarks or goal posts, then at the very least we could’ve seen what was approaching and had time to thoughtfully make a plan. And the businesses like Disney and so many others, wouldn’t have been thrust into a situation where they’ve had to change their operation overnight.
I've said it many times, this will be hard for many to readjust to. I do think if you gear vaccine efficacy you should look at real world data. But it takes time to relax and be comfortable. Unfortunately the ones who need more time will be caught in the crossfire of those itching to get out due to being vaccinated for a while.

I think we had benchmarks that we were watching from OC levels. Maybe I read into it, but I knew as soon as the mask mandate dropped that Disney would be close. Why? They all were talking and said so. I think Chapek's interview was a big clue it was going away by Memorial Day (aka summer).
 

Chi84

Premium Member
I've said it many times, this will be hard for many to readjust to. I do think if you gear vaccine efficacy you should look at real world data. But it takes time to relax and be comfortable. Unfortunately the ones who need more time will be caught in the crossfire of those itching to get out due to being vaccinated for a while.

I think we had benchmarks that we were watching from OC levels. Maybe I read into it, but I knew as soon as the mask mandate dropped that Disney would be close. Why? They all were talking and said so. I think Chapek's interview was a big clue it was going away by Memorial Day (aka summer).
I agree it is hard to feel comfortable with changes, but if people choose to go to a theme park at this time they are definitely taking a risk that protocols may change very quickly. The fact that Disney dropped outdoor masks is no guarantee they won’t go back to requiring them overnight if things get worse.

Disney is not making any promises to keep protocols in place for any given length of time and it’s clear they feel no obligation to do so. If I felt very strongly about safety protocols or was worried about being next to unvaccinated people, I would probably wait to visit until times are more settled.
 

JD80

Well-Known Member
My wife and kids went to Hershey Park yesterday after they changed their rules overnight too. Same observation. Lots of people still in masks. Hershey is actually following the CDC recommendations and saying that only fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a mask but unvaccinated people still need to wear one but it’s the honor system. No way of knowing if the maskless people were fully vaccinated or unvaccinated and cheating the system. The kids without masks were clearly not following the rules but there was no attempt to enforce them either.

We're going to Dutch Wonderland for Memorial Day weekend. Almost though about Hershey.
 

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
Yes, for sure. I don’t disagree that this approach is unproven and a gamble, but the other poster is suggesting we should have waited until 75% of the total population was vaccinated before dropping any restrictions. Essentially go into lockdown and stay there until 90%+ of eligible people get the shot or kids are approved and vaccinated in the late Fall or early Winter. In places like Israel they began removing restrictions as cases dropped and vaccinations rose. They didn’t wait to hit 75% of the total population, they are only at 60% now and their full economy has been opened for months and they have dropped masks outdoors. They still have indoor masking and some use of vaccine passports but they certainly didn’t keep all restrictions until 75% of the population was vaccinated.

Yes, Canada and the US are honestly entirely different situations (the reference to the 75%) and I expect it will be less jittery in a while when our actual numbers improve. We are one of the few places who had extremely at risk populations vaccinated and subsequently went through this current wave. As a result there isn't tolerance to have future waves, even if those at risk populations are safe, because we've seen it doesn't matter. Spread is spread.

Total cases were let run to about the same peak. Deaths were significantly lower (not surprising). Interestingly, hospitalization rates and ICU rates were actually the same and in the latter situation even a bit worse. That seems counter intuitive, but since the cases were demographically less at risk, they were more likely to survive. However, as a result they stayed in ICU way longer by not dying and eventually recovering.


Canada is high cases, moderate vaccination and high current policy. Israel I consider another case example down the middle, because their case load is currently very low, their vaccination currently very high and they still aren't even really fully normal. More of a generous but somewhat cautious policy.

The US comparatively has a moderate amount of vaccination, a moderate amount of circulating cases and seems to be going almost no policy, but the honour system. We talk a lot about masks, but it's actually more than that.

Capacity, distancing, indoors, gatherings, weddings, conventions, whatever. It's all good. Not really a step-by-step approach, but are any of us truly surprised to see another premature declaration of victory? Fortunately, vaccinated individuals really don't need to worry. This is what I really support and I think a lot of us do about the CDC's stance.

On the flip side the CDC still wants an entirely vaccinated cruise ship to wear their masks between bites of food. They really need to figure out they've lost the plot on that one. 😂

It's such a fine needle to thread, how to accept that the issue is no longer the people that are vaccinated, but those who aren't? Holding back those who were not vaccinated was my personal belief, but we know they aren't allowed to actually do that. So facing the consequences will be one to watch. I strongly do not believe this is the end of the Pandemic for the US, just the end of caring about it.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Stop by the Strasburg Railroad if you can. Lovely 45 minute steam train ride through the Amish farmland. Even if you don’t want to pay for a ride, it’s a lovely historic train station where you can wander a few shops and watch the trains come and go.
The Train Museum next door is pretty good too. They have a ton of cool stuff that I really liked and my kids loved it too when we took them.
 
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