Universal Puts Disney's Reopening on Defensive

[MisterPenguin]

So I've read through the last 10 pages since my last posts (a lot of interesting discussion going on, by the way) and I keep seeing comments about Disney waiting until things are "safe" or "appropriate to open" or "waiting until the timing is right", etc. And I'm still curious as to what milestone/metric Disney is waiting for to set some dates. And why Universal isn't. Is it ever truly going to be "safe" to open? I posed that maybe it might have more to do with a PR/image decision. Or is it more a matter of the internal workings of getting all the pieces in place to reopen? I'm honestly curious as to what they're waiting for. The virus will still be here in 1, 3, 6, 12 months and beyond. Can't be a vaccine. That's most likely years away (and may never happen). And we don't know if/when there will be effectice treatment. Have they just been waiting for cases to go down locally in FL?

Though the virus would be around for a while, the hope was that there would be adequate testing and contact tracing. Such things can actually control and reduce the spread of the virus as has been done in Australia and New Zealand. So, things can get better and safer over time... if done right.

Our governments are dropping the ball on this and it is taking way longer than it should have.

 

[TrojanUSC]

So I've read through the last 10 pages since my last posts (a lot of interesting discussion going on, by the way) and I keep seeing comments about Disney waiting until things are "safe" or "appropriate to open" or "waiting until the timing is right", etc. And I'm still curious as to what milestone/metric Disney is waiting for to set some dates. And why Universal isn't. Is it ever truly going to be "safe" to open? I posed that maybe it might have more to do with a PR/image decision. Or is it more a matter of the internal workings of getting all the pieces in place to reopen? I'm honestly curious as to what they're waiting for. The virus will still be here in 1, 3, 6, 12 months and beyond. Can't be a vaccine. That's most likely years away (and may never happen). And we don't know if/when there will be effectice treatment. Have they just been waiting for cases to go down locally in FL?

USO is also paying their team member already, so they have the blessing of operating at a smaller capacity without substantially increasing overhead. This makes the experience safer for guests and the employees. Disney has furloughed everyone, so unless they can bring back enough guests to turn a profit, they are better of staying shut.

Also, while much is not known about this virus still, it does seem like public transportation could pose a potential risk for a high degree of transmission. This makes it much trickier for WDW than USO alone. The operation really only works with various forms of very public and very crowded methods of transportation.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

But if Universal is open for several months with no major outbreak tied to it, then Disney looks a lot less sensible and responsible-especially to the employees and shareholders.

It is a risk either way. Hindsight will be 20/20. Either way, whichever one happened to guess right is probably going to say, "I told you so."

Sure, but "Disney Keeps Theme Parks Closed Longer than Needed in an Abundance of Caution" doesn't sound quite as click-baity and scandalous as "Covid-19 Outbreak Linked to Disney World" illustrated with a big picture of Mickey in front of Cinderella Castle.

If anything, I think the idea (whether it's a reality or not) that Disney was especially cautious about protecting the health of its guests will be good for the brand.

 

[monothingie]

Sure, but "Disney Keeps Theme Parks Closed Longer than Needed in an Abundance of Caution" doesn't sound quite as click-baity and scandalous as "Covid-19 Outbreak Linked to Disney World" illustrated with a big picture of Mickey in front of Cinderella Castle.

If anything, I think the idea (whether it's a reality or not) that Disney was especially cautious about protecting the health of its guests will be good for the brand.

Look it’s sort of inevitable that no matter what precautions are taken, people will get sick and die from the virus at either theme parks after reopening and it will be covered and sensationalized in the media. I guess USO just wants to get it out of the way.

 

[JoeCamel]

They don't communicate with their customers the way other cruise lines do. At least Royal and Carnival have stated they plan to restart in August if the CDC does not extend the ban. Carnival has sent out emails with ships and embarkation ports it plans on resuming with. They have cancelled cruises well in advance. They pulled out of Europe and Alaska over a month ago. I haven't heard anything from DCL. They pull cruises off the website but don't cancel them. The continue allowing people to book cruises in June and July even with the CDC ban in place until the end of July.

I've been on one Royal cruise, one Carnival cruise and 25 DCL cruises. I get update emails from Carnival weekly, but nothing from Disney. I was supposed to cruise on DCL in Europe this Summer. I changed the cruise to next year. The cruises have been pulled from the website, but people in my Facebook group that are still booked haven't heard anything.

To be fair the division just lost it's chief exec. He got a new job. Should be better but with the number of stranded crew they may not know where their ships will end up in six months. They could tell you that but they didn't, glad you spent all that green on DCL over the years? I would feel betrayed and look for other experiences to enjoy.

 

[GladToBeHear]

Though the virus would be around for a while, the hope was that there would be adequate testing and contact tracing. Such things can actually control and reduce the spread of the virus as has been done in Australia and New Zealand. So, things can get better and safer over time... if done right.

Our governments are dropping the ball on this and it is taking way longer than it should have.

So do you think testing/contact tracing is what has been holding the decision up? And if so, why wouldn't this also be a concern for Universal? Not sure what you mean by adequate testing. Testing is available now -- if you're willing to travel to it. And contact tracing may not be realistic in this country (depending on where you live). I suspect there would be lots of people that wouldn't cooperate.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I feel very confident that no one will ever refer to Hong Kong Disneyland as Iger's Folly.

(Spoiler Alert: Eisner was still in charge when it opened)

Correct. Iger's folly will be Shanghai.

 

[GladToBeHear]

USO is also paying their team member already, so they have the blessing of operating at a smaller capacity without substantially increasing overhead. This makes the experience safer for guests and the employees. Disney has furloughed everyone, so unless they can bring back enough guests to turn a profit, they are better of staying shut.

Also, while much is not known about this virus still, it does seem like public transportation could pose a potential risk for a high degree of transmission. This makes it much trickier for WDW than USO alone. The operation really only works with various forms of very public and very crowded methods of transportation.

All valid points. I understand the differences between operating the two resorts. There's several key differences. But I would asume they both share the same concerns.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

No, it's called "Accounting Games" as in pre-booked rooms are treated on the balance sheet as positive.
Now they COULD stop that and take the hit, but shareholders.

That's.. not how accounting works. It would be unearned revenue and classified as a liability.

 

[The Mom]

Nah, Somebody probably reported your post as inappropriate(not necessarily political) and the moderators agreed and nobody reported the one you quoted. The Moderators can't read every post in every thread.

If it'll make you feel better, report the offending post and I'm sure you will be richly rewarded. By the way, it's probably not a good idea to question the moderators... I think @The Mom does a great job

This is exactly what happened. This one particular thread gets about 200 - 300 posts per day, and I don't have time to read every single one. If a post is reported, I then look at that post, and any posts that prompted it, and end up deleting a bunch of posts at once. Some I notice while scrolling through looking for a different post.

I am not on duty 24/7 - especially since this is just a hobby and I'm not paid - except for a very nice wine basket at Christmas.

Correction - this is not the thread that gets 200-300 posts per day - that is another of the threads that has devolved into a discussion about Covid-19 that also gets political. Which is one of about 2 dozen threads that have already gone in that direction.

 

[VaderTron]

Nah, Somebody probably reported your post as inappropriate(not necessarily political) and the moderators agreed and nobody reported the one you quoted. The Moderators can't read every post in every thread.

If it'll make you feel better, report the offending post and I'm sure you will be richly rewarded. By the way, it's probably not a good idea to question the moderators... I think @The Mom does a great job

No, I received a warning that it was political, it had been removed, and my posting privileges may have been affected. Not the same.

 

[The Mom]

So let me get this straight @The Mom ... My jesting post in response to the joking statement of another poster who said "American's are delicate flowers" (regarding complaints of masks being too hot) of a cartoon depicting a big fat 'Murican on his ECV with oxygen tank and mounted machine gun with a caption saying "Until they morph into someone screaming about "Muh riiiiiights!!!" is a "political post" but something like this one that calls out a specific, real-life politician and slams their actual political actions is not??? Was it because the cartoon I posted had a flag in it? I just don't get it. I mean...if my post was political then we may as well slice and dice the rest of this forum because every other post in every thread falls in line with that definition of "political posts". That level of definition makes EVERYTHING you say political, because you are mistaking "societal" and "cultural" for "political". If you just don't like something and want to take it down at least own up to it rather than call it a political post.

There is another forum for Politics and Social Issues. That is where these discussions belong. If you wish to discuss the handling of the pandemic by politicians (and there experts) there is a discussion going on.

If you wish to discuss the situation in China - especially what is happening with Hong Kong, I would be delighted if you and some other posters - would start a thread there.

And as I note in another post - I do not have time to go through thousands of posts 24/7 so really do appreciate people reporting anything they feel violates the rules. I have definitely deleted posts - and issued warnings - about posts calling out government reactions as they fall within the political realm.
The ToS , which you agreed to, precludes posting questions about a moderating decision. Unlike the rules which may be posted about specific threads, and may be individualized or added if a problem occurs, the ToS rules apply to all threads.

 

[The Mom]

No, I received a warning that it was political, it had been removed, and my posting privileges may have been affected. Not the same.

Your post was probably reported. Again, I don't spend all day scouring every thread to see if anyone is violating the rules.

 

[Horizons '83]

That's.. not how accounting works. It would be unearned revenue and classified as a liability.

This is correct, its a liability on the books until the trip occurs, then it hits revenue. Pretty basic stuff.

 

[disneymama10]

Disney can't tell you when they'll be closed and when they'll be open precisely because they don't know. An opening date depends on factors outside their control.

I'm in the hot spot of New Jersey. I know several people who had a wedding scheduled for April. They moved it to June. They're moving it again to September or next year.

Their reception venues and churches aren't being non-communicative with them withholding a plan of when to reopen because they don't know when they'll be allowed to reopen.

It is eminently unreasonably to expect Disney to know when they'll be reopening until they know they are allowed to open and they can do it to the level of safety that they and their employees are comfortable with. And that there isn't a current or likely spike in hospitalizations that will have them closing it all down all over again.

Just like those churches and venues accepted new dates and reservations in the hope that they'll be open, so is Disney. It is absolutely commonplace in the service industry to have business lined up for whenever you might be able to run your business.

That Disney had a very definite date in late August is not the case. Several of our most trusted insiders have said over and over again that Disney has options and that was just one of them. They reserve for themselves the right to open earlier or later than a soft internal target.

My issue is that they're continuing to take NEW reservations without an announced plan in place. Disney could set a target date of "July 1st" and instead of saying "just because we are taking reservations, it does not mean we will be open" they could say, "we have every intention of opening on July 1st, but due to circumstances beyond our control that date may not happen, due to this fact we are not taking new reservations until the date is confirmed" and that would sit better with me and a lot of other people are sure. I would even be happy if they said they were not taking new reservations until a confirmed date is set, but still kept current reservations until that date was confirmed. ***July 1st is an arbitrary date I threw out there, I do not have an opinion on when they should reopen, just needed a date to get my point across***

I would also like to add that my May trip was cancelled by Disney and my July trip was booked when the free dining incentive was announced (I did not get the incentive as an AP), so I am not concerned with how quickly they open up I am not rebooking until a date is announced and even then it will most likely not be as soon as they open up because I want to see the new restricitons, etc. since we are over 8 hours away.

We can agree to disagree on this topic, but I have booked another vacation with another company in Florida (non-theme park related) and that company did not take reservations until the rental ban was lifted.

 

[corsairk09]

If they can’t trace this down to patient zero, what makes you think they can trace a now “community” spread virus to a specific theme park in FL?

I don't know if the connection will be valid... Disney will just want to avoid more news stories like this.

34-Year-Old Man Who Died After Getting Coronavirus Had Visited Disney World

Jeffrey Ghazarian developed a severe cough a few days after visiting Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[Disstevefan1]

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

Let’s hope In this case what’s good for the shareholder also benefits the guests at the theme parks. We will see.

 

[KaliSplash]

My issue is that they're continuing to take NEW reservations without an announced plan in place. Disney could set a target date of "July 1st" and instead of saying "just because we are taking reservations, it does not mean we will be open" they could say, "we have every intention of opening on July 1st, but due to circumstances beyond our control that date may not happen, due to this fact we are not taking new reservations until the date is confirmed" and that would sit better with me and a lot of other people are sure. I would even be happy if they said they were not taking new reservations until a confirmed date is set, but still kept current reservations until that date was confirmed. ***July 1st is an arbitrary date I threw out there, I do not have an opinion on when they should reopen, just needed a date to get my point across***

I would also like to add that my May trip was cancelled by Disney and my July trip was booked when the free dining incentive was announced (I did not get the incentive as an AP), so I am not concerned with how quickly they open up I am not rebooking until a date is announced and even then it will most likely not be as soon as they open up because I want to see the new restricitons, etc. since we are over 8 hours away.

We can agree to disagree on this topic, but I have booked another vacation with another company in Florida (non-theme park related) and that company did not take reservations until the rental ban was lifted.

Seems to me they are taking reservations so there will be a built-in crowd available for whenever they do open. They are not concerned about canceling and re-scheduling, they do that every day for folks. They are just in a situation where they are doing it for more folks now to maintain a crowd available when they do reopen.

 

[Jimdalva]

Everything Disney does ( or doesn't do ) is extremely well though out by a lot of very smart people. Some will disagree. For Disney, First and Foremost is protect the Disney brand. They know that at any given time some customers will be unhappy with them, and they have calculated that into the equation.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

We should know a date before before the EOB on Friday.