OC Register - Disneyland and Universal Studios ask Newsom not to finalize theme park reopening plans just yet

[TP2000]

I'm going to do this 10 minutes early this week, just to live on the edge and make it more fun...

Welp, gang... it's 3:50pm now in Sacramento and they still have not released the guidelines on how theme parks in California may reopen. Our elected leaders and bureaucrats in Sacramento are now going home for the weekend. Disneyland is still closed.

 

[SplashGhost]

Not only is it quite unlikely that OC could actually get to yellow in 3-6 weeks (or at any point in calendar year 2020) but it’s also near impossible that in the heart of the holidays and the traditional flu season that it could maintain metrics to keep it within yellow.

Even if OC somehow managed to get to yellow, park operators would be foolish to plan for a reopening in hopes the county could maintain that level, unless there is some certainty from the state that the guidelines are agile enough in the event an outbreak pushes them back into the orange/red tiers.

From what we know of the guidelines, I highly doubt they will be very agile with anything like that. Theme park operators might not even bother going through the hassle of opening if it is likely the guidelines will make them close again in a couple of weeks.

 

[el_super]

The only thing that seems certain is that Newsom's team had no intention of solving any problems or addressing any economic concerns, despite the countless appeals from affected parties.

“We are not putting the health and safety of people visiting the state or recreating in the state at the parks at risk.” - Newsom

Seems like a solid plan.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

I'm going to do this 10 minutes early this week, just to live on the edge and make it more fun...

Welp, gang... it's 3:50pm now in Sacramento and they still have not released the guidelines on how theme parks in California may reopen. Our elected leaders and bureaucrats in Sacramento are now going home for the weekend. Disneyland is still closed.

Beautiful. That train is NEVER LATE. In fact, it is early this week. Highlight of my week. same time next week yeah?

 

[TP2000]

Beautiful. That train is NEVER LATE. In fact, it is early this week. Highlight of my week. same time next week yeah?

I wouldn't miss it for the world!

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

I wouldn't miss it for the world!

You had me at "Welp, gang"

 

[SplashGhost]

“We are not putting the health and safety of people visiting the state or recreating in the state at the parks at risk.” - Newsom

Seems like a solid plan.

Health and safety goes deeper than whether or not a theme park is open. Once all the laid off employees of the parks, hotels etc. end up homeless due to a lack of income, their health and safety is going to be a lot worse than it would have been if they could still have gotten their income.

 

[el_super]

Health and safety goes deeper than whether or not a theme park is open. Once all the laid off employees of the parks, hotels etc. end up homeless due to a lack of income, their health and safety is going to be a lot worse than it would have been if they could still have gotten their income.

You're right. But that is an argument for providing assistance and support to impacted workers, not for unsafely reopening the park.

Also, it's important to remember that the broader economy also has to be protected for the very same reasons. If the parks being closed, allow for the opening of restaurants, offices and schools, it should be an easy decision to keep the parks closed.

 

[networkpro]

You're right. But that is an argument for providing assistance and support to impacted workers, not for unsafely reopening the park.

Also, it's important to remember that the broader economy also has to be protected for the very same reasons. If the parks being closed, allow for the opening of restaurants, offices and schools, it should be an easy decision to keep the parks closed.

Are they going to start harvesting from the magical money trees to supply these funds? Oh I know, raise taxes!

 

[cmwade77]

Health and safety goes deeper than whether or not a theme park is open. Once all the laid off employees of the parks, hotels etc. end up homeless due to a lack of income, their health and safety is going to be a lot worse than it would have been if they could still have gotten their income.

I keep saying that and people keep saying let them live off the state....well, many of the CMs have precisely 12 weeks left to live off the state as of this Sunday and that is only thanks to the PUA extended unemployment, which could run out of money before that time, then what happens?

It is clear Newsom is counting on the federal government to bail him out of his mess, what happens if no additional aid is provided? He needs to be thinking about that.

 

[DrAlice]

As a Northern Californian, I just thought I'd throw this into the mix....

The two big NorCal parks (Discovery Kingdom and California's Great America) are both in counties that are in the Red/Substantial category. Both are in fairly populated counties, that I suspect aren't going to be in yellow for a LONG time. The decision to band together and push back makes sense. While Disney might be the heavy hitter in the group, they really are all in the same (sinking) boat.

As crazy as this back and forth drama is, at least the gov'na pulled back from releasing the guidelines. There's hope in that for businesses. I think. Maybe?

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Whether he releases The Guidelines in present restrictive form or doesn't, it changes nothing. Disneyland is not opening for a long, long time. Keep retinol in good supply. We'll all be a lot older when they reopen.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Health and safety goes deeper than whether or not a theme park is open. Once all the laid off employees of the parks, hotels etc. end up homeless due to a lack of income, their health and safety is going to be a lot worse than it would have been if they could still have gotten their income.

This is and was already happening because there is actually a larger underlying issue no matter how much you want to pretend otherwise.

 

[ToTBellHop]

So let me get this straight—I could fly from CT to CA for a vacation and not quarantine on either end. I could go to beaches, Walmarts, and barbershops, and that’s all safe. But I couldn’t go on Dumbo?

People from CT are less likely to have the plague than anyone from CA. Here’s an idea: establish a 14-day quarantine for folks from states with high COVID-19 rates. Let anyone else ride Dumbo after getting a temperature check. I’ll submit for a cavity search if necessary.

 

[el_super]

Here’s an idea: establish a 14-day quarantine for folks from states with high COVID-19 rates.

California's a big state. What about people coming from counties with high COVID-19 rates?

 

[el_super]

Are they going to start harvesting from the magical money trees to supply these funds? Oh I know, raise taxes!

If you're not willing to consider raising taxes to help out some Cast Members, then it can't be that important if they have work or not.

 

[SuddenStorm]

If you're not willing to consider raising taxes to help out some Cast Members, then it can't be that important if they have work or not.

Raising taxes to maintain perpetual unemployment is foolish economic policy.

Unemployment is intended to help pay for those who have temporarily lost their jobs while they actively search for new employment, not fund thousands of entry level workers who's workplace was shut down and continues to be shut down by the government.

 

[ToTBellHop]

California's a big state. What about people coming from counties with high COVID-19 rates?

If it’s that dangerous, place those areas on lockdown like the rest of us liberal states are doing. It really isn’t that difficult. Gavin merely needs to email any of the governors in the Northeast for advice. We dealt with this and got the damn rollercoasters running. And for the record, I am completely for controlling this very dangerous virus, but common sense measures should suffice. Stick with what is good enough for Florida, France, Japan, and China.

 

[el_super]

Raising taxes to maintain perpetual unemployment is foolish economic policy.

Yeah, I agree. But that also doesn't justify forcing people into an unsafe environment in order to earn a paycheck. Fortunately there are a lot of options between A and B. Unemployment programs are pretty well established, and have beem extended due to the crisis. Extending them again for a very specific and hard hit industry shouldn't be out of the question. Federally, we have offered education and job placement grants for sectors that saw heavy job loses and even corporate bailouts to help industry keep jobs.

Saying any or all of these are off the table really betrays the idea that this is solely a selfish argument for reopening the park, pretending to be concern for Cast Member wellbeing.

 

[SplashGhost]

You're right. But that is an argument for providing assistance and support to impacted workers, not for unsafely reopening the park.

Also, it's important to remember that the broader economy also has to be protected for the very same reasons. If the parks being closed, allow for the opening of restaurants, offices and schools, it should be an easy decision to keep the parks closed.

AFAIK Newsom isn't laying out any plans to provide long term assistance to the impacted workers. If he wants to keep the parks closed, he needs to announce a detailed plan about how he will take care of these workers long term.

Right now, it feels like he is out of touch with the average person and doesn't care about the impact it will have on them. If he does care, he needs to communicate detailed plans to his populace.