PrincessV
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2006
I'm feeling weirdly optimistic today, so here are my current thoughts:
Things are changing VERY quickly here in the FLA. I fully expect a return of fireworks/nighttime shows/parades by mid-summer. More resorts are coming on-line shortly, and I expect to see others open by early fall. (POR may remain closed the longest, but I would not look to that as an indicator against anything else returning: it has a ton of rooms and has a history of staying closed when overall crowd levels are down.)
In general, Floridians are pretty hyped to "get back to normal." The good or bad of that is absolutely debatable, but that's the prevailing emotion, so I see no issue with being able to get enough participants and volunteers to pull off live racing. Adequate staffing is a problem for WDW right now, but I don't really think that would impact races, especially with the return of the CP.
Outdoor masking is gone, so that impediment is alleviated. Social distancing at 3' isn't really social distancing at all, so I don't see that as an obstacle, either, especially by, say, January, at which point I think there will be no social distancing outdoors.
I'm not convinced it really takes that much time for rD/Track Shack to prep for a WDW race. They've done a gazillion of them, so it's not like they don't have any experience and plans already in place - they already know course layouts, logistics, have specs and suppliers for barriers/signage, etc.; they won't be starting from scratch. They've been doing the virtuals, so they have medal and shirt manufacturers and in place and working, and they've had sponsors onboard, too - neither of those should be an issue to bring on quickly. WDW has a contract in place with Orange County Sherriff, so I doubt it takes terribly long to work out the OCSO needs for races. Back in my early rD days, I could still register for races a few weeks out from race weekend; I just do not believe everybody needs a year to plan & book hotels. I think 6 months would suffice, so I'm thinking maybe an announcement within the next few weeks.
Things are changing VERY quickly here in the FLA. I fully expect a return of fireworks/nighttime shows/parades by mid-summer. More resorts are coming on-line shortly, and I expect to see others open by early fall. (POR may remain closed the longest, but I would not look to that as an indicator against anything else returning: it has a ton of rooms and has a history of staying closed when overall crowd levels are down.)
In general, Floridians are pretty hyped to "get back to normal." The good or bad of that is absolutely debatable, but that's the prevailing emotion, so I see no issue with being able to get enough participants and volunteers to pull off live racing. Adequate staffing is a problem for WDW right now, but I don't really think that would impact races, especially with the return of the CP.
Outdoor masking is gone, so that impediment is alleviated. Social distancing at 3' isn't really social distancing at all, so I don't see that as an obstacle, either, especially by, say, January, at which point I think there will be no social distancing outdoors.
I'm not convinced it really takes that much time for rD/Track Shack to prep for a WDW race. They've done a gazillion of them, so it's not like they don't have any experience and plans already in place - they already know course layouts, logistics, have specs and suppliers for barriers/signage, etc.; they won't be starting from scratch. They've been doing the virtuals, so they have medal and shirt manufacturers and in place and working, and they've had sponsors onboard, too - neither of those should be an issue to bring on quickly. WDW has a contract in place with Orange County Sherriff, so I doubt it takes terribly long to work out the OCSO needs for races. Back in my early rD days, I could still register for races a few weeks out from race weekend; I just do not believe everybody needs a year to plan & book hotels. I think 6 months would suffice, so I'm thinking maybe an announcement within the next few weeks.