Your'e right. There is no smoking gun. These are literally rumors and hearsay. But the CMs are not being given the info that would contradict the rumors and make them feel safe going to work. They already tried taking their concerns to their managers, to local officials, and to State officials. Now they're talking to the press. Hopefully, further investigation occurs.
Right. And here we're hearing from CMs that Disney may not be managing the response in the way they've told me they are.
Nobody is saying that Disney is alone. But while both are non-essential, Disney is different from my neighborhood restaurant in that there are literally thousands of people from different places gathering there. I understand that international travel is still limited, but there are still people from all over the country attending the parks and people from all over the world planning to as soon as restrictions are limited.
Again, it's no about Disney being unique, it's about Disney. Articles about issues and risks in other places would be great fodder for discussion on websites dedicated to discussion about those places.
I really don't have an argument here, other than wanting to discuss the article with other WDWMagic members who also have read the article. I appreciate you engaging with me on this- that's really all I was after.
The problem is no one will ever know the true rate of exposure at WDW, because guests that travel there may have picked it up at a different location completely unrelated to Disney, and even passed it to a CM. And CMs are the same way. They have lives outside of Disney, and may have gotten it from their local market or a restaurant they visited. If Disney released numbers that said that 500 CMs had tested positive, you know darn well that the media would make it look like the pandemic is right there at WDW, even though it is entirely possible that the vast majority probably caught the virus somewhere else. If I were Disney, I would never release those numbers for that very reason.
I'm glad that guests "feel" safer when going to the reopened parks. But that feeling doesn't matter much if they're being unnecessarily exposed to the virus, does it?
Right. And this is exactly why lots of people were concerned that as a non-essential vacation destination that attracts loads of self-centered (rightfully so- these are people on an expensive vacation!) people, Disney may be opening prematurely.
I'm not sure I like the article. I'm very interested to see what, if anything, comes of the claims these CMs are making. I do hope that by escalating the concerns to the media, and the media publishing articles like this, someone will look into them. I also hope any CMs out there with similar experience might come forward (not to the public, but to their employer and maybe to health officials).
If you don't feel safe going there, then by all means, don't go. Lots of us feel differently, as we will be there shortly for our vacation. Self-centered? Way to lump all of us together.
It seems to me that you're making the argument that just because you don't want to go, that none of us should want to go, and the place shouldn't even be open.
Right. "A bit," in this case, means "somewhat" or "slightly." In some ways, Disney is a business, like all other businesses. But in some ways, it is different. We don't treat all businesses the same- things like size, location, income, and management structure all factor in. So it's the things that make Disney unique that, in my opinion, warrant a higher expectation of transparency about the total number of cases on property.
But it is nothing, as you cannot (nor can anyone else) prove that a person or CM got infected at WDW. You can't. So again, if Disney says so many hundreds of CMs, out of the thousands working there tested positive, the media would have a field day blaming Disney, when the probable answer is that most of them caught it from somewhere else not related to Disney at all. Not sure why you don't understand why they won't release the numbers, or are you just looking to shut down the parks?
How would I know if I would feel safe going if I don't know how many cases are going in/coming out? That's why so much discussion on these boards have been around the efficacy of masks and distancing and lockdown measures–because we're all trying to gauge what the risks are, weigh those risks, and then make informed decisions.If you don't feel safe going there, then by all means, don't go. Lots of us feel differently, as we will be there shortly for our vacation. Self-centered? Way to lump all of us together.
Oh, and as far as being an expensive vacation. We're DVC members, so pay nothing for our resort this trip (dues are paid once a year in January), we have APs which are covered by only one trip out of the 3 we usually make, so no cost for this upcoming trip for any park tickets. Our flights were heavily discounted to only $79 each way. Our main expense while we are there will be for food & wine. Hardly expensive, but that's ok, just lump all of us self-centered people together.
I've been in those NYC subways. Got to get used to the sights and smells of the NYC subway system.
Nobody is trying to prove that a guest or CM got infected at WDW. But we can know if a knowingly-infected person was in close proximity (6ft., 15 consecutive minutes) to others in the parks (especially true of CMs, which is what the article was about).
You don't understand how the media works then. If Disney reports any cases at all, then the media will blow it so out of whack that everyone will believe that every single person that visits WDW will get COVID. If you don't believe that, then I'm sorry, but you are being very naive.
I think I have a pretty good handle on how the media works. If the numbers are high (lots of people exposed, lots of people testing positive) there would surely be exaggeration in the media (especially social media). But if the numbers are low, what do you think the response would be?
This is why it's so important to read news articles beyond the headlines. And to discuss them rationally on message boards like this. I'm sure there would be negative PR if the numbers are high.
According to the article, some CMs are claiming that Disney is not, in fact, doing everything they can to make everyone's vacation as safe as possible. I'd welcome further investigation and more transparency.
Actually, there are already a lot of people saying that the media is and has been exaggerating in order to get viewers and clicks. That's all the alleged news media is about these days. It isn't about fairly reporting the news anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.
No, that is not my opinion. If Disney has a safety problem in the parks, then that should and will get reported. People are injured on rides and even a few deaths, and those are reported, as they should be. But reporting something that may or may not have happened at WDW, does NOT need to be reported. Yes, if you or anyone else can PROVE that a person was infected with COVID at WDW, then that can absolutely be reported. But it has to be proven that someone got it there. That's the big difference.
We can read the entire article, but in many cases, it's still full of half truths, inuendo, and straight out lies that can't be contradicted that are still the problem with today's media.
Yes, so these CMs have access to proof that Disney isn't doing something right, or do they just "think" that? So you would welcome further investigation? Why didn't they do further investigation before publishing the article - maybe with some proof of what was being alleged? Again, that is a lot of my problem with the news media nowadays. They publish a damning article about something with no proof whatsoever, and then add a blistering headline so that they pretty much guarantee that people will click on the link, and then poof, they get revenue for the ads that are on their website. It's all about the greenbacks - and not about the truth.