News Walt Disney World theme parks increase capacity but see longer waits and less physical distancing

[GoofGoof]

This is bonkers. Am I the only one here who thinks it’s time to reclose the parks altogether as numbers continue to worsen?

I don’t know about closing, but they probably shouldn’t consider an increase in capacity at this point either. The CDC is already recommending that people don’t travel so maybe Disney would consider going to FL residents only before a full shut down but I don’t know if there’s enough demand to make the economics work.

Unfortunately, I dont think they care.

If the net result is a decrease in customers over time I would think they would care. At some point when they are ready to remove restrictions they want to have as many customers back as possible.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don’t know about closing, but they probably shouldn’t consider an increase in capacity at this point either. The CDC is already recommending that people don’t travel so maybe Disney would consider going to FL residents only before a full shut down but I don’t know if there’s enough demand to make the economics work.

The CDC also recommends avoiding crowds. I get that we all love WDW, but how can we be OK with people (whether locals or not) flocking to a theme park at such a time?

 

[rowrbazzle]

The CDC also recommends avoiding crowds. I get that we all love WDW, but how can we be OK with people (whether locals or not) flocking to a theme park at such a time?

You can't judge crowds from a single picture at eye level. Wdwmagic had pictures of the new evening shows recently. From the back it looked packed. From the sides and higher up you could see that it wasn't. Maybe it's packed today; maybe it isn't. There are still caps in place so I doubt it.

I'm ok with people making their own decisions.

 

[Jrb1979]

You can't judge crowds from a single picture at eye level. Wdwmagic had pictures of the new evening shows recently. From the back it looked packed. From the sides and higher up you could see that it wasn't. Maybe it's packed today; maybe it isn't. There are still caps in place so I doubt it.

I'm ok with people making their own decisions.

And look where that has got us.

 

[LittleBuford]

You can't judge crowds from a single picture at eye level. Wdwmagic had pictures of the new evening shows recently. From the back it looked packed. From the sides and higher up you could see that it wasn't. Maybe it's packed today; maybe it isn't. There are still caps in place so I doubt it.

I'm ok with people making their own decisions.

Many of those who have been to the parks in recent weeks have commented on how much higher the crowd levels are. For Disney to be allowing this sort of thing is plain reckless.

 

[SoFloMagic]

The CDC also recommends avoiding crowds. I get that we all love WDW, but how can we be OK with people (whether locals or not) flocking to a theme park at such a time?

I mean, that's fair. But I also think that they can be a safe-ish escape, which is important for mental health. I go for 2-3 hours, avoid crowded areas, and skip indoor shows and indoor dining. Not as safe as staying at home, but I feel safe.

But yeah, all these people doing Disney trips as if nothing is going on are morons...

 

[LittleBuford]

I mean, that's fair. But I also think that they can be a safe-ish escape, which is important for mental health. I go for 2-3 hours, avoid crowded areas, and skip indoor shows and indoor dining. Not as safe as staying at home, but I feel safe.

But yeah, all these people doing Disney trips as if nothing is going on are morons...

Don't get me wrong: I too would be sorely tempted to visit if I were a local, and I certainly understand the need to do things for the sake of our mental wellbeing. But I'm struggling to understand the logic behind keeping the parks open, especially when I remove my Disney-tinted spectacles. If we weren't Disney fans, I suspect a significant number of us would be looking at the situation with absolute incredulity, in the same way that many posters here have wondered at people gathering for worship or to protest.

 

[rowrbazzle]

I mean, that's fair. But I also think that they can be a safe-ish escape, which is important for mental health. I go for 2-3 hours, avoid crowded areas, and skip indoor shows and indoor dining. Not as safe as staying at home, but I feel safe.

But yeah, all these people doing Disney trips as if nothing is going on are morons...

The number of hoops you have to jump through in order to go to Disney and then stay at Disney make it clear that there is something going on. But even if one thinks it's all a hoax, you still have to comply while at Disney. One's beliefs don't matter at that point.

 

[rowrbazzle]

Many of those who have been to the parks in recent weeks have commented on how much higher the crowd levels are. For Disney to be allowing this sort of thing is plain reckless.

Don't get me wrong: I too would be sorely tempted to visit if I were a local, and I certainly understand the need to do things for the sake of our mental wellbeing. But I'm struggling to understand the logic behind keeping the parks open, especially when I remove my Disney-tinted spectacles. If we weren't Disney fans, I suspect a significant number of us would be looking at the situation with absolute incredulity, in the same way that many posters here have wondered at people gathering for worship or to protest.

According to Chapek the capacity has increased. Per Marni, it's up a few thousand, but it sounded like they haven't been selling out most days. I think this is a recent change so we'll see how things progress. As for the logic behind having the parks open, they're running a business and they believe they can do it safely. I expect Disney (and maybe we) will hear from the unions if there are issues with the increases or other safety matters.

But I think your latter point is a separate question. Why do people congregate for a common purpose? I imagine they believe the rewards outweigh the risks.

 

[Jrb1979]

According to Chapek the capacity has increased. Per Marni, it's up a few thousand, but it sounded like they haven't been selling out most days. I think this is a recent change so we'll see how things progress. As for the logic behind having the parks open, they're running a business and they believe they can do it safely. I expect Disney (and maybe we) will hear from the unions if there are issues with the increases or other safety matters.

But I think your latter point is a separate question. Why do people congregate for a common purpose? I imagine they believe the rewards outweigh the risks.

Its why I thought they should have went with the Six Flags way. Have timed entries. If most are leaving by 2 a few hour delayed entry wouldn't hurt anyone.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Don't get me wrong: I too would be sorely tempted to visit if I were a local, and I certainly understand the need to do things for the sake of our mental wellbeing. But I'm struggling to understand the logic behind keeping the parks open, especially when I remove my Disney-tinted spectacles. If we weren't Disney fans, I suspect a significant number of us would be looking at the situation with absolute incredulity, in the same way that many posters here have wondered at people gathering for worship or to protest.

Agreed 100%. I think what I do is safe, yet it's clearly unprofitable. What the tourists do is less safe, but profitable. They should be closed, as profitable operation is likely unsafe. What people forget is that distancing is more important than masks.

That said, while theyre open I'll enjoy it safely until they're so crowded that I cannot.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Many of those who have been to the parks in recent weeks have commented on how much higher the crowd levels are. For Disney to be allowing this sort of thing is plain reckless.

The recklessness is on the part of the guests who still go.

 

[LittleBuford]

The recklessness is on the part of the guests who still go.

You don’t think Disney bears responsibility for remaining open and allowing so many people to visit?

 

[MisterPenguin]

You don’t think Disney bears responsibility for remaining open and allowing so many people to visit?

Yes. And the people. And the governor.

Positivity's going up. Hospitalizations are going up. Anyone from out of state is coming in from a red zone.

Disney should immediately go back to 25%, but they keep opening up more reservations.

People showing up and seeing the crowd should turn right around.

People seeing pictures of the place should cancel their reservations.

I've canceled two trips already and my AP.

 

[techgeek]

You don’t think Disney bears responsibility for remaining open and allowing so many people to visit?

There are so many levels to this it’s hard to pin responsibility precisely.

The situation is very much poised to become a perfect storm of inaction, where everyone is staring blankly at the numbers going up and up and yet no one feels like they are empowered to actually do anything about it. From the very top all the way to the bottom.

 

[LittleBuford]

Yes. And the people. And the governor.

Positivity's going up. Hospitalizations are going up. Anyone from out of state is coming in from a red zone.

Disney should immediately go back to 25%, but they keep opening up more reservations.

People showing up and seeing the crowd should turn right around.

People seeing pictures of the place should cancel their reservations.

I've canceled two trips already and my AP.

Thanks for your answer. We’re on the same page, I think. I didn’t mean to suggest that the responsibility is only or even mainly Disney’s. It’s just that I hate seeing a brand I love and feel loyalty to involved in this kind of recklessness. I know that sounds silly and naive, but the Pixie Dust is strong, and I was foolish enough to expect better of Disney.

 

[note2001]

Remember the old extra magic hours? (not the more crowded, newer version) Disney used to keep the park open for an additional 3 hours after close for those staying on property and for years attendance was very low, and yet Disney continued them. It was all about getting more people to stay on site but I sincerely doubt they would have continued them had they been loosing money.

So why is it now that in order to run the park and make a profit those attendance numbers need to be higher than the old EMH ones? They've cut staff, raised pass prices, closed stores and dining locations.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I 100% blame Disney (and Universal) who are packing the parks while still trying to act like effective social distancing is possible. The parks feel only VERY SLIGHTLY less crowded than they would have been otherwise, with the exception of Epcot and DAK on weekday evenings.

And if they're going to continue to pack the parks, there's absolutely no reason to continue with reduced hours and severely reduced offerings.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Yes. And the people. And the governor.

Positivity's going up. Hospitalizations are going up. Anyone from out of state is coming in from a red zone.

Disney should immediately go back to 25%, but they keep opening up more reservations.

People showing up and seeing the crowd should turn right around.

People seeing pictures of the place should cancel their reservations.

I've canceled two trips already and my AP.

To be fair, Disney is being told by the governor to open at 100% capacity and abandon masks and distancing.

With that kind of messaging its kind of difficult to expect people to do the right thing. It's become a two-sided issue rather than a set of universal standards.

 

[brifraz]

Another point... again to be fair, Disney is still employing at least 50,000 people in Florida and another closing would likely result in far more layoffs than the first did - potentially a LOT more people losing their income and health care. I'm not defending their current decision making process and I feel that they have made some very poor decisions throughout the past 8 months, but it is another factor to the equation that sometimes gets overlooked.

Also, if you acknowledge (not necessarily accept) the fact that they were open in July with a local positivity rate over 13%, then being open now with a positivity rate under 8% seems... dare I say logical? Now, I'm not sure that there is much logic to them being open at either time, but it's hard to argue that they should close now when they weren't closed then.

And... my final comment on this Sunday morning - historically, WDW's biggest crowds from the US tend to be from the northeast, where all the states are currently in the bottom half of US states in terms of testing positivity rate, hospitalization rate, and new cases per 100,000 population. Granted, all states in the US except a small handful have alarming numbers at this time, but it wouldn't be a giant leap of logic to say that the majority of those who are actually traveling to WDW are not coming from the hotspots in the US.

Again, just to be very clear, I'm not defending their decision to be open right now (or in July, for that matter) but there are certainly many factors that they are weighing and there are some that I think can be said to lean in their direction by comparison. I am extremely hopeful that maybe by next Summer we are all looking at this in the rearview mirror and shaking our heads at the stupidity of a lot of decisions that have been made by a lot of people during this crisis.