Universal Puts Disney's Reopening on Defensive

[GoofGoof]

Yes I would be happy. I could change my PTO from August to September and plan accordingly. Not everyone can change their vacations at the last minute or request vacation time at the last minute.

That’s your call. If I were in your shoes I’d either move it to September when you can be almost certain WDW will be open or just go elsewhere in August. You could probably even hedge your bets a bit by planning something else for August that doesn’t require a lot of advance booking or is fully refundable then you have options if for some reason WDW isn’t open. I actually think there’s a pretty good chance WDW in some capacity will be open in August, but nobody knows for sure. If they file a plan with the government and reach a conclusion on the NBA deal it’s also possible they announce something by the beginning of June then you would know for sure.

 

[SugarMagnolia75]

I'm a little behind, so bear with me.

Having been to both today I wouldn't say that Universal is "ahead of the game". Both were the same in terms of the setups they had for screening at CW and DS. But Universal do have several factors in their favor to reopen the parks:

1. Guest attitude. As I already mentioned almost all the guests at Universal were following all the rules today. I haven't done any studies or anything but if I had to guess I would say this is because Uni has never been known as pushovers by locals/APs/guests.

2. Logistics. The central parking garages and security makes the whole thing a lot easier. To get all the parks and resorts open Disney will need to deploy a lot more cast members to screen everyone. Plus the issues with transportation that Universal just doesn't have. Maybe it's time to pave the Seven Seas Lagoon?

3. Scale. Disney's size make their work bigger by an order of magnitude.

But just opening City Walk (with a few stores and restaurants) may not translate into opening two theme parks and a water park safely and with no issues. It will be interesting to see how they handle it.

Guests staying at Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort can walk to the gates at MK... as will those staying at the luxurious Grand Floridian, once WDW finishes the other bridge over the nearer channel. I wonder if we'll see exclusive opening of MK for those guests...

You would think that completing the pathway from the GF to MK would be high priority right now.

Yeah they plan for it to be one party per cabin, and then they will send the cabin off “fogged” before someone new enters the cabin.

So only loading every other cabin while only loading one party per cabin? That would reduce capacity far too much. Think of all the people waiting who also have to spread 6 feet apart. Hand sanitizer at loading and unloading is much more likely.

I still don’t understand the thought that Disney needs to clean its transportation options after each use in order to function, or not even open some methods. Hand sanitizer stations before boarding and after boarding make sense, so does practicing good hygiene. Maybe lower the occupancy by a few dozen.

All over the US, mass transportation is still functioning with people on board. Sometimes it’s crowded, sometimes it’s not. Buses, trains, airplanes, subways.

Disney has operated under risk before, and they will again. I just see transportation as not a big issue for the Parks.

Busses have been running here, but they don't get as crowded as they do in other large cities. I would think they would have to eliminate standing on busses and increase cleaning. I would also expect that masks would be required.

The fact that people won't really care about what the Mouse has done says a lot of how he has y'all wrapped around his finger. I liked Disney til this all happened but how they have handled this compared to all the other theme park companies doesn't give them a good look. I realize it's a pandemic and nobody knows how each day is going to go right now. The lack of communication has been downright awful. Six Flags has even put out their plans when they reopen and they are at the bottom for amusement parks.

Then you have the Mouse who has been tight-lipped through this whole thing. All news that has come out has never been directly from them other then their VP not guaranteeing the June opening. So much for them being ahead of the curve. In my books they aren't the leader any more

Six Flags has even less to account for than Universal. The parks are local so transportation isn't an issue. Almost all the rides are outside and very few of them last longer than a couple of minutes. They also tend to have short seasons, so I'm sure that they want to open as soon as possible.

 

[sbunit]

I’m more interested in Disney’s domestic plans. When do they plan to phase out masks? When do they plan to incorporate parades and fireworks again? Will there be hard ticket events in 2020? Is Disney making these decisions in line with the state’s phasing reopening guidelines ? What if Florida hits it’s last phase (not sure if it’s phase 3 or 4 down there), does that mean all social distancing efforts stop and if so does Disney plan to follow suit?

I really think late 2020 is in play and can be a real sweet spot to go on a Disney vacation. Assuming by then things start to lax. Unfortunately when it comes to planning it’s quite difficult at the moment because There is no concrete info to base planning decisions on.

 

[Touchdown]

With regards to Six Flags you are wrong about short seasons, last year their most northern park, Great America opened in late April and closed in December.

 

[GoofGoof]

, I’m more interested in Disney’s domestic plans. When do they plan to phase out masks? When do they plan to incorporate parades and fireworks again? Will there be hard ticket events in 2020? Is Disney making these decisions in line with the state’s phasing reopening guidelines ? What if Florida hits it’s last phase (not sure if it’s phase 3 or 4 down there), does that mean all social distancing efforts stop and if so does Disney plan to follow suit?

I really think late 2020 is in play and can be a real sweet spot to go on a Disney vacation. Assuming by then things start to lax. Unfortunately when it comes to planning it’s quite difficult at the moment because There is no concrete info to base planning decisions on.

This whole post assumes we don’t have a downturn or big second wave. Once we hit end of August into September if schools really go back all bets are off on social distancing. Anyone with kids (and by extension anyone who associates or works with people with kids) is going to be exposed to lots of people. Kids at school won’t be effectively social distancing. Assuming things go well I could see the country moving to a phase 3 and all but limited physical distancing will be removed at that time. Masks go to optional everywhere and large gatherings in some form come back. At that point there would still be changes to normal at WDW but not all of the extreme things talked about now. I agree it could be a sweet spot where the experience isn’t completely diminished but crowds are more manageable than normal.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

Disney will only do what they think is in the best interest of its most important entity, the share holder...

Yes- but like many, I am a shareholder and a park guest so win win?

 

[jwutony16]

Here's the problem with some of the toxic members of the forum. I literally concede the point because I had forgotten and was wrong, and you still won't stop. I'm honestly ready to stop posting here with any information. It's becoming more and more apparent that some of you have zero interest in any information, and only want to talk trash.

Buddy I appreciate your input.

 

[sbunit]

if theres a second wave thatcould change everything

theres a theory that everything we experienced in March and April may have been that 2nd wave since they are finding more evidence that the virus was here earlier

 

[jpeden]

theres a theory that everything we experienced in March and April may have been that 2nd wave since they are finding more evidence that the virus was here earlier

With France finding COVID in November patients it wouldn’t surprise me.

 

[zengoth]

Back to Universal's opening - their FAQs mention turning off "water effects" like misting. Is this really a virus-spreader (assuming it's recycled water). Do misters for cooling down folks in queues operate the same way? If Disney follows suit, the atmosphere will be even more uncomfortable in hot weather. Folks will really need to be fit and healthy warriors to do a Florida themepark.

 

[TeriofTerror]

Back to Universal's opening - their FAQs mention turning off "water effects" like misting. Is this really a virus-spreader (assuming it's recycled water). Do misters for cooling down folks in queues operate the same way? If Disney follows suit, the atmosphere will be even more uncomfortable in hot weather. Folks will really need to be fit and healthy warriors to do a Florida themepark.

I was thinking it may have something to do with masks being less effective when wet.

 

[zengoth]

I was thinking it may have something to do with masks being less effective when wet.

makes sense. i remember life before misters (in themeparks, fans in queues too), but i have to admit i have grown to appreciate them.

 

[jpeden]

i guess we’ll find out soon enough

Honestly I don’t know. It could go either way.

 

[Getachew]

Honestly I don’t know. It could go either way.

third wave?

 

[sedati]

I'd love things to open, but this forum has me legitimately terrified that the uncooperative masses are going to spoil it for everyone and we'll be looking at a longer closure.
With Tokyo Disneyland possibly opening soon it's going to make for an interesting comparison. We'll see how their guests handle the changes and new rules. Also, wouldn't it be wonderful to have an opening due to data proclaiming a clear "we did it!" instead of a simple "we bored- screw it!"

 

[brianstl]

third wave?

We are going to continue to have waves of this until their is a safe and effective vaccine. No lockdown is going to eradicate this virus

 

[jpeden]

We are going to continue to have waves of this until their is a safe and effective vaccine. No lockdown is going to eradicate this virus

Unless it mutates to a less communicable form, which is possible with RNA based viruses.

I don’t think that’s gonna happen but it’s not out of the realm of scientific possibilities.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Unless it mutates to a less communicable form, which is possible with RNA based viruses.

I don’t think that’s gonna happen but it’s not out of the realm of scientific possibilities.

You’d have to have similar mutations in millions of people occurring all around the world for that to really work out.

 

[jpeden]

You’d have to have similar mutations in millions of people occurring all around the world for that to really work out.

True, but RNA viruses can do that. I don’t know enough to get into details outside of what I’ve read recently. But there is some evidence the R naught isn’t increasing even in countries where lockdowns are being lifted (I think it was .7 in the UK today) so I don’t think it’s impossible.

I think it would be wrong for scientist to put that out because if it’s wrong it would cause a massive spike so I doubt it will get publicized but I’m sure there are many researching and asking the same questions.

 

[Tavernacle12]

They should announce a date because they are taking reservations with (from what "insiders" are saying) no plans to reopen. You are correct it could change, but if they realistically think August is the best time to reopen stop taking reservations for July 1st. Do you not think those people who keep moving reservations aren't being constantly disappointed?

ETA: If they truly have no date in mind, why continue to take reservations and allow people to purchase party tickets? A target date that they are actually considering is better than what we have no which is basically dragging people along, getting their hopes up, and vacation time accounted/used only to be let down last minute.

They probably should stop taking reservations for 1-3 months out to be safe.