How realistic is it that these things come back by the first week of April?

[nycdrummer]

Hey all
My family and I are scheduled to go to Disney during the first week of April. We're all Disney vets and have gotten pretty accustomed to have things used to be at WDW pre-COVID. As of now, we have a trip planned for a week during the first week of April. I'm curious what the overall thoughts are on these once normal things returning by then:

- fastpass
- majority of sit down restaurants open
- dinner shows
- meet and greets with characters
- masks not mandatory
- return of the dining plan

 

[JohnD]

Did a trip in November with all the restrictions. We still had a great time. This is not a oh just accept how it is response, but more of a mentally prepare yourself it's going to be different and just go with it. Are there as many pictures? Not if you don't want to, so embrace that. No FPs? No problem embrace the old school way of park going. The masks are not great but doable and the extra space in the line is actually kind of nice. No character meet and greets can be tough if you have small ones but my kids both 7 and up did fine.
If this is your first WDW trip, I might say push back further again, but if not, just think of it as a different kind of trip and that mentality might make it easier to swallow.

I agree. If you go with the intent of having a good time, knowing that things are different during COVID, then you will have a good time.

 

[Dave B]

I'll take my chances with the 95% covid vaccine. Thankfully, we got ours this month. The flu vaccine is usually only 50 to 60% effective. (But of course, I get that also)

The flu is NOT nearly as deadly as this COVID thing and now with B117 around it is even more contagious, taking a 5% chance at death to go to an amusement park doesn't seem like a good risk to me, Have fun though

 

[Disstevefan1]

Hey all
My family and I are scheduled to go to Disney during the first week of April. We're all Disney vets and have gotten pretty accustomed to have things used to be at WDW pre-COVID. As of now, we have a trip planned for a week during the first week of April. I'm curious what the overall thoughts are on these once normal things returning by then:

- fastpass
- majority of sit down restaurants open
- dinner shows
- meet and greets with characters
- masks not mandatory
- return of the dining plan

My feeling is it’s not gonna happen but you never know. With the election won and the new administration in there now, there could be a push to reopen everything instead of locking things down.

 

[Chi84]

Show your papers please! Not sure if you understand that you are asking for actual fascism here.

United Airlines CEO calls on companies to mandate COVID-19 vaccination

United Airlines may make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for employees, and other companies should do the same, United Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby told workers at a meeting on Thursday, according to a transcript reviewed by Reuters.

www.reuters.com

Cruise line says only vaccinated passengers can sail — CNN

British operator Saga Cruises is the first to demand all cruise-goers have the Covid-19 vaccine before they board a ship. Is pre-boarding vaccination the future of the cruise industry?

apple.news

First cruises, then airlines, restaurants, amusement parks, etc. The government probably won’t mandate vaccines, though, so no worries about fascism.

 

[aliceismad]

First cruises, then airlines, restaurants, amusement parks, etc. The government probably won’t mandate vaccines, though, so no worries about fascism.

From a cruiseline perspective, I'm guessing that requiring guests to be vaccinated is threefold: 1. not wanting to be sued by people or crew who get covid on a sailing, 2. making it easier for ports/countries to allow the ships to stop, and 3. to avoid bad publicity and make people feel warm and fuzzy enough that they'll travel by ship.

I think we're going to see a lot in the coming months about whether it's legal for employers or schools or businesses to require people to get vaccinated.

 

[Chi84]

From a cruiseline perspective, I'm guessing that requiring guests to be vaccinated is threefold: 1. not wanting to be sued by people or crew who get covid on a sailing, 2. making it easier for ports/countries to allow the ships to stop, and 3. to avoid bad publicity and make people feel warm and fuzzy enough that they'll travel by ship.

I think we're going to see a lot in the coming months about whether it's legal for employers or schools or businesses to require people to get vaccinated.

Schools already require vaccinations. Employment is generally “at will” barring discrimination against protected classes. Businesses are generally free to set their own rules and requirements - again, as long as they don’t run afoul of discrimination laws.

There may be more of an issue with cultural objections. Then again there are cultural objections to masks and we expect people to get over them. Should be the same for vaccines.

 

[wendysue]

The flu is NOT nearly as deadly as this COVID thing and now with B117 around it is even more contagious, taking a 5% chance at death to go to an amusement park doesn't seem like a good risk to me, Have fun though

Yes, I understand what you are saying..and that new variant is worrying. We have gone nowhere since last April. We are fortunate in that we have had no family members who have gotten sick. We got our vaccinations and I am still watching the news regarding the virus. We have a window of time yet to cancel our room only reservation and we may do that ( for like the 4th time). I just feel that with good sanitation and double masking, we could do this safely.

 

[ELG13]

We just got back from a trip and honestly the masks didn't bother us. Yeah, pictures look a little different but it's part of the earth's history at this point. The pictures are a memory we will show our grandchildren. I was definitely apprehensive about wearing masks in the park all day and how it would look for pictures and how comfortable it would be and (I'm an avid mask wearer) I was afraid it would take away from disney magic but it really didn't. The trade off was zero crowds and walking on to Peter pan, pooh, buzz, space mountain etc so I'll take it lol. This was our test run for our big trip in April and I can honestly say I'm completely ok with it being just like it was this week. If you are someone who needs the shows, fireworks, all the dining options, and people shoulder to shoulder line with a few fast pass options then it may not be worth it, but for us we never watched the shows and fireworks because we took advantage of the lower lines, it was nice not having people on top of us in line and I was really worried about fast passes but we did more rides in the 12 hrs total park time we had, then the week long trip we usually do when fast passes were an option. The longest we waited at 45 min at mine train, the posted time was 60 but never once waited that long. After going and seeing it in person I was completely happy with the experience. I think it mostly depends on what your expectations are and what you really want to do.

 

[ShookieJones]

From looking at your list, I am thinking by the time masks aren't mandatory, whatever else is on your list will most likely be back in play.
Excluding perhaps FP, as I am thinking they're replacing that with some kind of pay system like Max Pass.

 

[Dave B]

Schools already require vaccinations. Employment is generally “at will” barring discrimination against protected classes. Businesses are generally free to set their own rules and requirements - again, as long as they don’t run afoul of discrimination laws.

There may be more of an issue with cultural objections. Then again there are cultural objections to masks and we expect people to get over them. Should be the same for vaccines.

 

[bryanfze55]

The flu is NOT nearly as deadly as this COVID thing and now with B117 around it is even more contagious, taking a 5% chance at death to go to an amusement park doesn't seem like a good risk to me, Have fun though

Umm it’s not a 5% chance of death, dude. It’s a 5% chance of catching the virus. A 5% chance of death assumes everybody who gets the virus dies, which you probably believe based on your melodramatic preaching. Unfortunately the vaccine is all we’re going to have against this disease, so we will need to make do with it. A 95% success rate is quite good, and there’s reason to believe the others who still get the disease will have mitigated symptoms.

 

[rat face]

I guess we can take mask less photos at restaurants and the mask free zones. But I view photos as a snapshot( pardon the pun) of time. And well, this is mask time. Masks are like the bell bottoms and mullets for the new millennium.

 

[Dave B]

Umm it’s not a 5% chance of death, dude. It’s a 5% chance of catching the virus. A 5% chance of death assumes everybody who gets the virus dies, which you probably believe based on your melodramatic preaching. Unfortunately the vaccine is all we’re going to have against this disease, so we will need to make do with it. A 95% success rate is quite good, and there’s reason to believe the others who still get the disease will have mitigated symptoms.

Melodramatic preaching? What does that mean?

 

[ELG13]

I guess we can take mask less photos at restaurants and the mask free zones. But I view photos as a snapshot( pardon the pun) of time. And well, this is mask time. Masks are like the bell bottoms and mullets for the new millennium.

Baahahha yes what a good analogy!! We took plenty of pictures in mask free zones and while we were seated to eat and drink and it was fine. We have a good mix of mask on and mask off pictures.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Schools already require vaccinations. Employment is generally “at will” barring discrimination against protected classes. Businesses are generally free to set their own rules and requirements - again, as long as they don’t run afoul of discrimination laws.

There may be more of an issue with cultural objections. Then again there are cultural objections to masks and we expect people to get over them. Should be the same for vaccines.

I think every state actually allows for religious and medical vaccine exemptions, and many allow for personal objection. In most cases, the parents just need to sign a waiver. (and update it)

For the time being, the two vaccines that are out are under Emergency Use Authorization. Just, no such medication has ever been required, and it would be difficult for any business to mandate that everyone take an EUA vaccine. If it is every considered, it won't be until it get full approval.

Even then, from a legal perspective- requiring it is not something most employers do. I have heard the cruise ships saying they want this, and maybe they can do it because they travel in international waters. I think requiring it domestically would be a bit more challenging.

Further, the vaccine is not yet approved for children. I'm sure there are also (potentially) medical reasons why some adults might not be able to get it - like allergic reactions, having a bad reaction to the 1st dose- likely others.

To answer OP's question, April seems a little early for much in the way of changes at WDW. If case number drop , and vaccination rates go up significantly, we could see more dining added. Beyond that, multiple WDW hotels will still be closed Easter week. People tend to book WDW at least 3 months out, so it isn't likely WDW will see a huge increase in bookings quickly enough to change big things like FP. It is long shot possible WDW will want to draw more people. Post 9/11, WDW crowds were light, but WDW offered long park hours, so possible, but more likely any real uptick in offerings will be AFTER Easter week - like June- IMO.

 

[Chi84]

I think every state actually allows for religious and medical vaccine exemptions, and many allow for personal objection. In most cases, the parents just need to sign a waiver. (and update it)

For the time being, the two vaccines that are out are under Emergency Use Authorization. Just, no such medication has ever been required, and it would be difficult for any business to mandate that everyone take an EUA vaccine. If it is every considered, it won't be until it get full approval.

Even then, from a legal perspective- requiring it is not something most employers do. I have heard the cruise ships saying they want this, and maybe they can do it because they travel in international waters. I think requiring it domestically would be a bit more challenging.

Further, the vaccine is not yet approved for children. I'm sure there are also (potentially) medical reasons why some adults might not be able to get it - like allergic reactions, having a bad reaction to the 1st dose- likely others.

To answer OP's question, April seems a little early for much in the way of changes at WDW. If case number drop , and vaccination rates go up significantly, we could see more dining added. Beyond that, multiple WDW hotels will still be closed Easter week. People tend to book WDW at least 3 months out, so it isn't likely WDW will see a huge increase in bookings quickly enough to change big things like FP. It is long shot possible WDW will want to draw more people. Post 9/11, WDW crowds were light, but WDW offered long park hours, so possible, but more likely any real uptick in offerings will be AFTER Easter week - like June- IMO.

Not all states allow religious exemptions for school vaccines, New York and California among them. Not many allow exemptions for philosophical reasons.

Obviously, I’m not talking about the next few months, but if COVID is around long enough, I can see employers and businesses requiring proof of vaccination. I don’t think the legal challenges will be all that successful, especially if people (and unions) support the idea for safety reasons.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Not all states allow religious exemptions for school vaccines, New York and California among them. Not many allow exemptions for philosophical reasons.

Obviously, I’m not talking about the next few months, but if COVID is around long enough, I can see employers and businesses requiring proof of vaccination. I don’t think the legal challenges will be all that successful, especially if people (and unions) support the idea for safety reasons.

Sure, proof of vaccination the same as, no more and no less, than for any other vaccination for any other contagious disease.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Not all states allow religious exemptions for school vaccines, New York and California among them. Not many allow exemptions for philosophical reasons.

Obviously, I’m not talking about the next few months, but if COVID is around long enough, I can see employers and businesses requiring proof of vaccination. I don’t think the legal challenges will be all that successful, especially if people (and unions) support the idea for safety reasons.

The CA law was passed in 2019, and was set to go fully into this month. It looks like the NY law (that also took away religious exemptions) was also passed in 2019, but went into effect sooner.

Other states that are more restrictive include MS, ME, and WV. I think the other 45+DC allow a religious exemption, and 15 allow philosophical exemptions, but I'm just going by one website, The National Conference of State Legislatures. i should have remembered though, I looked at this website maybe a month ago.

Still, I think a place like WDW would have to allow for - at a bare minimum- medical exemptions. It would be a very dramatic shift if a place like WDW was to require everyone to show proof of vaccination to enter.

 

[Chi84]

The CA law was passed in 2019, and was set to go fully into this month. It looks like the NY law (that also took away religious exemptions) was also passed in 2019, but went into effect sooner.

Other states that are more restrictive include MS, ME, and WV. I think the other 45+DC allow a religious exemption, and 15 allow philosophical exemptions, but I'm just going by one website, The National Conference of State Legislatures. i should have remembered though, I looked at this website maybe a month ago.

Still, I think a place like WDW would have to allow for - at a bare minimum- medical exemptions. It would be a very dramatic shift if a place like WDW was to require everyone to show proof of vaccination to enter.

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens. This pandemic has disrupted our lives in ways no one has experienced before - it's truly unprecedented, which makes it difficult to predict how employers and businesses will respond. I think it may ultimately come down to what people are willing to require in order to feel safe. The masks and social distancing won't last long after the vaccine is available on demand, if they even make it that long. I'm seeing a real decline in my state, and we've had pretty strict restrictions (with good compliance) since May.

Maybe proof of vaccination won't be required, given the high level of effectiveness of the vaccines. If people feel well-protected, maybe they won't be so concerned about going out again even if others choose not to be vaccinated. But I've seen articles about airlines, cruise lines and entertainment venues that are very interested in the technology involving proof of vaccination.

 

[Da Bird is Da Word]

The flu is NOT nearly as deadly as this COVID thing and now with B117 around it is even more contagious, taking a 5% chance at death to go to an amusement park doesn't seem like a good risk to me, Have fun though

You definitely do not have a 5% risk of death from COVID or by going to Disney World. That is straight up misinformation at best and fear mongering at worst. I do appreciate your attitude of not going if you're really that scared, though. Get things back to normal and let people weigh their own risks.