Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[lisa12000]

Well it looks as though foreign tourism is a bust for the foreseeable future as Fauci has come out and said that it may not return until there is a vaccine





Realistically I never expected that the travel ban for Europeans will be lifted before 1st Sept 2020.

I wish it would ....

Ah I didn’t Think it would be open before September I agree but if you wait for a vaccine you could be talking 12 months time

 

[lovethesun12]

At some point when the country which you would come from has lover or no infection makes sense to lift travel restrictions. But until I agree it won`t happen.

I agree. Hopefully they are all lifted sooner rather than later =)

 

[koszmok]

Ah I didn’t Think it would be open before September I agree but if you wait for a vaccine you could be talking 12 months time

Actually I don`t think a working vaccine will be on the cards at all. So I`m not one of the people who wait for the vaccine. But I do think and wish that the virus will become weaker with time and will be like any other common cold causing corona virus. So as soon as infection rates are down let`s go travel !

 

[mshanson3121]

Is there a chance this will all get shut down again before they have a chance to open? I saw that cases are really rising again in Florida (even taking into account increased testing). Wasn't one of the conditions of re-opening that cases be on the decline?

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Is there a chance this will all get shut down again before they have a chance to open? I saw that cases are really rising again in Florida (even taking into account increased testing). Wasn't one of the conditions of re-opening that cases be on the decline?

They are watching the % of positive cases returned from testing, not number of positive cases.

 

[brich330]

I may have missed this in one of the other threads (a few are getting way too long), but does anyone have any speculation on what rides will be closed, when the parks reopen?

 

[Jiminy76]

Is there a chance this will all get shut down again before they have a chance to open? I saw that cases are really rising again in Florida (even taking into account increased testing). Wasn't one of the conditions of re-opening that cases be on the decline?

I have been thinking about this the past day or so as more and more reports are coming out across the country concerning the cases starting to increase again. In the next day or so we should start seeing stories concerning cases connected to people who were protesting and potential superspreader incidents connected to the protests. Would not shock me if Disney announces in the next few days they have decided not to reopen due to concerns over the infection rates starting to spike and being nervous having people from all over the country come to WDW at this time. Let’s be honest Disney was really giving vibes that they really did not want to open in the first place and more than likely were only opening because of DVC and pressure from local governments. There has been speculation that they may still be over booked for the capacity they desire to initially open with and the new reservation system work may not be progressing as desired. Not to mention rumblings that the NBA players wanted more or other resorts during their bubble stay to re-start the their season.

Given all of this it would at this point almost be a solution to their problems to further delay the re-opening further as they would come out looking responsible and it would pressure the other parks to re-evaluate their re-opening especially f the infection rate numbers explode in the next few days. Crossing my fingers the rates do not increase, but from what I have seen the past week on the news and the observations I have made locally when shopping it seems people have forgotten we are in a pandemic.

 

[hertamaniac]

I don't see any cruises sailing in August. There are 10's of thousands of crew members that are still waiting to repatriate. It wouldn't make sense to send all of these people home and then turn right around and then have a brand new staff board. Also, the DCL performers are unable to practice

I've bookmarked this to see if the larger cruise lines (>250 passengers) start sailing in August. I'm not talking about only DCL as I also think the initial sailings will be very limited in terms of on-board entertainment.

I can envision the larger cruise lines leaving a Florida port and going only to their own respective islands as a sort of soft-opening.

 

[TakesFaithTrust&PixieDust]

I have been thinking about this the past day or so as more and more reports are coming out across the country concerning the cases starting to increase again. In the next day or so we should start seeing stories concerning cases connected to people who were protesting and potential superspreader incidents connected to the protests. Would not shock me if Disney announces in the next few days they have decided not to reopen due to concerns over the infection rates starting to spike and being nervous having people from all over the country come to WDW at this time. Let’s be honest Disney was really giving vibes that they really did not want to open in the first place and more than likely were only opening because of DVC and pressure from local governments. There has been speculation that they may still be over booked for the capacity they desire to initially open with and the new reservation system work may not be progressing as desired. Not to mention rumblings that the NBA players wanted more or other resorts during their bubble stay to re-start the their season.

Given all of this it would at this point almost be a solution to their problems to further delay the re-opening further as they would come out looking responsible and it would pressure the other parks to re-evaluate their re-opening especially f the infection rate numbers explode in the next few days. Crossing my fingers the rates do not increase, but from what I have seen the past week on the news and the observations I have made locally when shopping it seems people have forgotten we are in a pandemic.

That thought has crossed my mind, too. I’m not sure what they’ll do. Disneyland is set to open next month and California has more cases than Florida when they announced reopening. I think it’s going to depend on which way numbers trend in the next week or so. Orange County mayor has said he doesn’t want to shut down again. Protesting is to go on for a long time yet. So it’s a question of does a business stay shut while other activities are allowed to continue which affects the virus spread. It’s a tough call for Disney. I suspect they’ll open and reinforce their safety guidelines much stronger than in the past.

 

[skeeter31]

No there is no news or rumors about specific rides being open or closed when the parks reopen. Continue to check Rteetz news thread in the stickied threads for more news about this when it is announced.

 

[yulilin3]

The HUB has finally said that they are moving schedule releases to Wednesdays for now. No theme park CM has been recalled yet, some have been recalled but to work at DS. The Union expects theme parks to start recall by the end of this week, so hopefully we will see some news on that front

 

[rteetz]

I know we don’t get into the virus talk here. However I do think the question about numbers is valid. Disney is certainly actively watching the situation. Do I think they back track? No but it could further delay the opening of other things at WDW.

 

[KBoopaloo]

They are watching the % of positive cases returned from testing, not number of positive cases.

Correct but that % positive has been creeping up this week which is what is more concerning than the number of new cases.

 

[Carol Jackson]

Correct but that % positive has been creeping up this week which is what is more concerning than the number of new cases.

I read that Florida is now counting positive antibody tests as positive cases, which explains the increase. Can anyone confirm/deny?

 

[skeeter31]

I read that Florida is now counting positive antibody tests as positive cases, which explains the increase. Can anyone confirm/deny?

I haven’t seen that anywhere and I don’t think any state is going to want to actually inflate their numbers by counting antibody tests in their positive case count.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Correct but that % positive has been creeping up this week which is what is more concerning than the number of new cases.

They're also looking at where the % increase is happening. From my understanding it's mostly happening in Miami-Dade area that's still in phase 1.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I haven’t seen that anywhere and I don’t think any state is going to want to actually inflate their numbers by counting antibody tests in their positive case count.

Lots of states are counting + antibody tests in their count if the + person was never tested for Corona. Dont' know if Florida is however.

 

[yulilin3]

I read that Florida is now counting positive antibody tests as positive cases, which explains the increase. Can anyone confirm/deny?

not sure.
My DD and her dad and step family are at Orange County Convention right now getting tested. She says the line for antibodies testing is longer than for COVID
The Gov has said they are looking into the number of hospitalizations and bed availability more than anything else. They all new the numbers would spike as the reopening continues, I mean that's pretty common sense, but it's the way the state has too deal with people that need hospitalizations, which was the whole point of closing in the first place, to not overwhelm the hospitals
Each state is different but for me DL getting the go ahead and Paris also on its way signals that they are pretty commited to reopening

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think Remy has said that Disney’s choices regarding the opening were made so they can remain open during spikes and future waves, right? If it gets really bad I do think they’ll delay, but with a reservation system (well if it ever comes lol) they have the ability to control entry and numbers into the parks, and they can obviously close various things at their discretion.

So more of the same, if you’re still comfortable going when things get worse instead of better, be prepared for a lot of unknown, possibly having to cancel plans without a lot of notice, and departure from a normal Disney trip.

 

[skeeter31]

I think Remy has said that Disney’s choices regarding the opening were made so they can remain open during spikes and future waves, right? If it gets really bad I do think they’ll delay, but with a reservation system (well if it ever comes lol) they have the ability to control entry and numbers into the parks, and they can obviously close various things at their discretion.

So more of the same, if you’re still comfortable going when things get worse instead of better, be prepared for a lot of unknown, possibly having to cancel plans without a lot of notice, and departure from a normal Disney trip.

I agree with this. I think Disney is being extra cautious with their reopening plan so that they’ll be able to remain open should there be further spikes.