WDW Closings due to COVID19

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

43 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

 

I cannot fathom how individuals and businesses that depend on the thousands of WDW guests as customers will survive this. 

 

Thousands will be bankrupt over this (not just WDW related).   Too many folks cannot work remotely (but there kids are home so they need to be home), too many are working at businesses whose doors will be closed, too many families live paycheck to paycheck, too many small business were barely making it before this.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

31 minutes ago, dblr....Rennie said:

We have reservations at Vero Beach DVC for next month for Easter week and are waiting to see if that will be affected as well. We have tickets for Cirque du Soleol that week as well, finally starting to get nervous over our plans 

Tom was supposed to wine and dine some clients at the Masters here in Georgia (over Easter weekend)... that was cancelled (or postponed...maybe).   That's an outdoor event, that is a month away.

[PGHFiend 140]

Read that Fort campers are being quarantined to thier respective campsites until closure. 

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

45 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thousands will be bankrupt over this (not just WDW related).   Too many folks cannot work remotely (but there kids are home so they need to be home), too many are working at businesses whose doors will be closed, too many families live paycheck to paycheck, too many small business were barely making it before this.

I'm afraid you are correct. We all should help out are family, friends, and neighbors, if possible, if the need arises.

[Travisma 1,317]

50 minutes ago, PGHFiend said:

Read that Fort campers are being quarantined to thier respective campsites until closure. 

I saw a FB post where the poster said they were quarantined to their site. 

I asked it they were instructed to do that by Disney,  but they replied it was a self quarantine because someone in their party has a compromised immune system.

[PGHFiend 140]

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

I saw a FB post where the poster said they were quarantined to their site. 

I asked it they were instructed to do that by Disney,  but they replied it was a self quarantine because someone in their party has a compromised immune system.

That makes better sense.  

[dblr....Rennie 224]

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

I saw a FB post where the poster said they were quarantined to their site. 

I asked it they were instructed to do that by Disney,  but they replied it was a self quarantine because someone in their party has a compromised immune system.

 

1 hour ago, PGHFiend said:

That makes better sense.  

Yes it makes better sense but not for what they think is better reading or adding to the hype, that's what makes thing worse!!!!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

6 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

 

Yes it makes better sense but not for what they think is better reading or adding to the hype, that's what makes thing worse!!!!

Yep....  but isn't that the rub of social "media"?    Remember the Swine-Flu of 2009?  The country did shut down and it too was an aggressive pandemic.  In my opinion, the main difference is:  social media.   People panic.  I think fear is built into a human's DNA.  So any mention (truthful or not) of anything bad/fearful and that's what is heard, focused on and passed along for others to believe  

[kadancer 82]

Right now I am more afraid of the damage the restrictions/closures will do than I am of the actual virus.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

9 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Yep....  but isn't that the rub of social "media"?    Remember the Swine-Flu of 2009?  The country did shut down and it too was an aggressive pandemic.  In my opinion, the main difference is:  social media.   People panic.  I think fear is built into a human's DNA.  So any mention (truthful or not) of anything bad/fearful and that's what is heard, focused on and passed along for others to believe  

Yes that is exactly what I mean, plus some people seem to want their problems seem worse then others.....they need to remember we are all in this together.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

10 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Yep....  but isn't that the rub of social "media"?    Remember the Swine-Flu of 2009?  The country did shut down and it too was an aggressive pandemic.  In my opinion, the main difference is:  social media.   People panic.  I think fear is built into a human's DNA.  So any mention (truthful or not) of anything bad/fearful and that's what is heard, focused on and passed along for others to believe  

I'm also seeing too many people sharing b.s. "cures" on social media, that and random posts from someone they don't know whose cousin's uncle's neighbor's dentist's sister-in-law's massage therapist, a reported expert in pandemics, has a laundry list of completely inaccurate "facts" about COVID19.  The one I saw yesterday (shared by a family member) claimed that taking a few sips of water every 15 minutes will wash the virus into your stomach where your natural stomach acid will kill it. 

Um... that is NOT a thing. 5 seconds on Google debunked that one (and a bunch of others) from an actually reliable source. And sharing stuff like that will only make all of this worse if people believe it and do stupid things that will help spread this. In this case this was someone who is smack in the demographic of people likely to be the worst effected by the virus, and who was still having regular random visitors to their home until we nagged the bejinkies out of them and got them to understand that social "obligations" can wait for a few weeks.  (sigh)

1 hour ago, dblr....Rennie said:

Yes that is exactly what I mean, plus some people seem to want their problems seem worse then others.....they need to remember we are all in this together.

100%.  DH and I were talking last night about what we can do to prepare for the fact that one or both of our incomes may very well be effected.  It's scary but I kept reminding him that EVERYONE is going through this to one degree or another.  That doesn't fix our situation, but it does instill some sense of... well I'm not sure exactly what but it's oddly comforting in some way, knowing that we're not alone.

Now to get my elderly parents (one with a lung condition) to understand why if we come by this weekend to fix their stove and drop off groceries, we're not staying for dinner and will ask them to stay in the other room until we clean up and leave.  Wish me luck! 

 

[Travisma 1,317]

12 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I'm also seeing too many people sharing b.s. "cures" on social media, that and random posts from someone they don't know whose cousin's uncle's neighbor's dentist's sister-in-law's massage therapist, a reported expert in pandemics, has a laundry list of completely inaccurate "facts" about COVID19.  The one I saw yesterday (shared by a family member) claimed that taking a few sips of water every 15 minutes will wash the virus into your stomach where your natural stomach acid will kill it. 

Um... that is NOT a thing. 5 seconds on Google debunked that one (and a bunch of others) from an actually reliable source. And sharing stuff like that will only make all of this worse if people believe it and do stupid things that will help spread this. In this case this was someone who is smack in the demographic of people likely to be the worst effected by the virus, and who was still having regular random visitors to their home until we nagged the bejinkies out of them and got them to understand that social "obligations" can wait for a few weeks.  (sigh)

100%.  DH and I were talking last night about what we can do to prepare for the fact that one or both of our incomes may very well be effected.  It's scary but I kept reminding him that EVERYONE is going through this to one degree or another.  That doesn't fix our situation, but it does instill some sense of... well I'm not sure exactly what but it's oddly comforting in some way, knowing that we're not alone.

Now to get my elderly parents (one with a lung condition) to understand why if we come by this weekend to fix their stove and drop off groceries, we're not staying for dinner and will ask them to stay in the other room until we clean up and leave.  Wish me luck! 

 

I have a distant relative whose stance is "Does anyone personally know someone who has the virus ?"   He doesn't know anyone, so he thinks it's all a media hoax/hype.

He has been a strong supporter of a certain unnamed politician who has just changed his stance on this entire mess, so we will see if he changes his mind to match the politician.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

1 hour ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Now to get my elderly parents (one with a lung condition) to understand why if we come by this weekend to fix their stove and drop off groceries, we're not staying for dinner and will ask them to stay in the other room until we clean up and leave.  Wish me luck! 

 

Good luck with that, I told my mom almost the same thing as I don't want or need to add anything else for her to worry about, she does live with a grand daughter so at least I know supplies will be replenished there when needed. She for some reason looks forward to our visits even when she always repeats the same stories form the last visit, oh well it's just things to get used to. Good thing is no Dr. appointments scheduled until late May

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

7 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I'm also seeing too many people sharing b.s. "cures" on social media, that and random posts from someone they don't know whose cousin's uncle's neighbor's dentist's sister-in-law's massage therapist, a reported expert in pandemics, has a laundry list of completely inaccurate "facts" about COVID19.  The one I saw yesterday (shared by a family member) claimed that taking a few sips of water every 15 minutes will wash the virus into your stomach where your natural stomach acid will kill it. 

Um... that is NOT a thing. 5 seconds on Google debunked that one (and a bunch of others) from an actually reliable source. And sharing stuff like that will only make all of this worse if people believe it and do stupid things that will help spread this. In this case this was someone who is smack in the demographic of people likely to be the worst effected by the virus, and who was still having regular random visitors to their home until we nagged the bejinkies out of them and got them to understand that social "obligations" can wait for a few weeks.  (sigh)

Haha... maybe not a thing, but it did make me laugh 😄

[djsamuel 322]

The Oregon Poison Control office issued a statement to tell people that drinking bleach will not cure the Corona Virus.  I am not kidding.

[Travisma 1,317]

Coronavirus could be just the start of bad news for the tourism industry

 

Link to the full article

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/03/17/coronavirus-could-be-just-the-start-of-bad-news-for-the-tourism-industry?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature

Excerpts

Last week, when the required closures were becoming a reality, many hospitality leaders, such as those within theme parks and hotels, thought this time could be used to speed up construction projects. But as it becomes clear that gatherings of any size are not encouraged, and as potential OSHA regulations related to coronavirus become more likely, the ability to find the labor for such projects becomes increasingly impossible. That means, at least for the foreseeable future, construction projects, including those already well underway, have come to a halt. Disney confirmed construction at WDW has been paused for the time being.

 

One person familiar with Disney’s construction plans compared this to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, plans where Disney abandoned projects already underway, such as the Legendary Years section of the Pop Century resort. That hotel construction site sat abandoned for nearly a decade before finally opening as the Art of Animation resort in 2012.

Disney has already used the closures as a way to review many longstanding third party contracts with many of Epcot’s World Showcase performers being let go over the weekend, some of whom have performed at the park for decades.

With the news cycle being consumed by the pandemic, it looks like Disney and others have decided this might be a good time to move forward with decisions that may generate pushback in more normal times. The domino effect first started by coronavirus is now moving forward with layoffs, budget cuts, and other choices that typically garner a large amount of negative press happening with little to no attention.

Nearly everyone who spoke with Orlando Weekly expected closures to last well past the proposed April 1 reopening, most saying it’ll likely be May at soonest. Many pointed to early June for the potential opening timeline, with a few even saying that it could last until fall.

TCD's predictions look to be true
Speaking specifically about Disney World, reopening the parks will take some time, thanks to Disney ending this semester’s College Program and laying off those third-party entertainers. According to Lance Hart of Screamscape, the resort will likely do a phased opening with the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios opening first, followed soon after by the Animal Kingdom. Epcot, which is the most reliant upon international labor and which currently has the most construction projects, may be delayed longer. For the foreseeable future, foreign workers coming to Orlando will likely have to quarantine for at least two weeks. A delayed opening of this park would also allow for many of the current construction projects to move forward without the hardships they face when the park is fully operational.
 

 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I don't think we will see phased openings of the parks- but I do think we could see very limited operating hours and no EMH’s for resort guests, with a lot of hard ticket after hours events. 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

On 3/17/2020 at 8:56 AM, Travisma said:

I have a distant relative whose stance is "Does anyone personally know someone who has the virus ?"   He doesn't know anyone, so he thinks it's all a media hoax/hype.

He has been a strong supporter of a certain unnamed politician who has just changed his stance on this entire mess, so we will see if he changes his mind to match the politician.

I will limit my commentary on that to.... *BLURG*

23 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

Good luck with that, I told my mom almost the same thing as I don't want or need to add anything else for her to worry about, she does live with a grand daughter so at least I know supplies will be replenished there when needed. She for some reason looks forward to our visits even when she always repeats the same stories form the last visit, oh well it's just things to get used to. Good thing is no Dr. appointments scheduled until late May

Yeah she's insisting "I already have something for dinner... we're fine."  Oy.  I'm going to push her even if she gets ticked off.  DH has people at work that are sick, including one they sent home, and we don't have confirmation of what exactly they're sick with.  If my parent's oven didn't need fixing, we definitely would not be going and now if she doesn't agree to keep her distance and let us come in, fix and leave, she's going to have to microwave dinner for a while.  🙄

She did at least put the kibosh on my dad's daily jaunts to McDonalds... where he does not use the drive-thru *bangs head on wall*
 

17 hours ago, djsamuel said:

The Oregon Poison Control office issued a statement to tell people that drinking bleach will not cure the Corona Virus.  I am not kidding.

This all may end up being a horrible bizarre experiment in natural selection.

 

50 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I don't think we will see phased openings of the parks- but I do think we could see very limited operating hours and no EMH’s for resort guests, with a lot of hard ticket after hours events. 

TCD

Just saw this on WDWMagic...

Quote

According to those familiar with the situation, Disney is currently working on a heavily modified park experience to be deployed when the parks resume operations.

 

Hand-sanitizers at Walt Disney World

 

Ideas being floated inside the company, and not confirmed or announced, include:

• Re-opening the parks in phases with a limited selection of attractions and shows that can be adapted to capacity and guests spacing needs. This is a pattern that has been seen before, following the 9/11 attacks and hurricane closures.
   
• Limiting the number of people in indoor queue spaces. This may see the use of virtual queues, similar to the Boarding Groups that were deployed for the opening of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
   
• Eliminating entertainment that requires close gathering, such as nightly firework shows and parades.
   
• Table Service restaurant capacity reduced to maintain a maximum 50% occupancy with tables being spaced at least 6ft apart.
   
• No queuing at quick service restaurants, with Mobile Order via My Disney Experience taking its place for all transactions.
   
• Suspending meet and greets with face characters, which includes the Disney princesses.
   
• Reducing maximum capacity of busses and monorails.
   
• Continuation of hand washing stations and sanitizers throughout property.

Of course, much remains unknown and the coronavirus situation is rapidly changing. As of now, the only known in regard to the theme parks is the announced closure through to the end of March 2020.

Article Posted: Mar 18, 2020 / 9:38am ET

 

https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disney-company/news/18mar2020-disney-exploring-a-modified-park-experience-to-be-deployed-as-soon-as-park-reopening-is-possible.htm?fbclid=IwAR0Q_x7gVTVJ_tfPteW2FU7XK5n7kmKALRYhGQWlRPVtPsNwM-3EGhAhHD0

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

After reading this report I am not too worried about when WDW opens again.

 

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Oh and for those trying to find a way to get elderly friends and family to understand how serious this is for them...

How to talk with your older parents about the COVID-19 pandemic—and have them actually listen -

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/how-to-talk-to-older-adults-who-arent-taking-coronavirus-seriously.html?fbclid=IwAR3WsBoQwX4JTdItGmnoBUj9kwVhIvAlzDYw8xednhvJQUSm2U1yDpxfsH8

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

Coronavirus could be just the start of bad news for the tourism industry

 

Link to the full article

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/03/17/coronavirus-could-be-just-the-start-of-bad-news-for-the-tourism-industry?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature

Excerpts

Last week, when the required closures were becoming a reality, many hospitality leaders, such as those within theme parks and hotels, thought this time could be used to speed up construction projects. But as it becomes clear that gatherings of any size are not encouraged, and as potential OSHA regulations related to coronavirus become more likely, the ability to find the labor for such projects becomes increasingly impossible. That means, at least for the foreseeable future, construction projects, including those already well underway, have come to a halt. Disney confirmed construction at WDW has been paused for the time being.

 

One person familiar with Disney’s construction plans compared this to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, plans where Disney abandoned projects already underway, such as the Legendary Years section of the Pop Century resort. That hotel construction site sat abandoned for nearly a decade before finally opening as the Art of Animation resort in 2012.

Disney has already used the closures as a way to review many longstanding third party contracts with many of Epcot’s World Showcase performers being let go over the weekend, some of whom have performed at the park for decades.

With the news cycle being consumed by the pandemic, it looks like Disney and others have decided this might be a good time to move forward with decisions that may generate pushback in more normal times. The domino effect first started by coronavirus is now moving forward with layoffs, budget cuts, and other choices that typically garner a large amount of negative press happening with little to no attention.

Nearly everyone who spoke with Orlando Weekly expected closures to last well past the proposed April 1 reopening, most saying it’ll likely be May at soonest. Many pointed to early June for the potential opening timeline, with a few even saying that it could last until fall.

TCD's predictions look to be true
Speaking specifically about Disney World, reopening the parks will take some time, thanks to Disney ending this semester’s College Program and laying off those third-party entertainers. According to Lance Hart of Screamscape, the resort will likely do a phased opening with the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios opening first, followed soon after by the Animal Kingdom. Epcot, which is the most reliant upon international labor and which currently has the most construction projects, may be delayed longer. For the foreseeable future, foreign workers coming to Orlando will likely have to quarantine for at least two weeks. A delayed opening of this park would also allow for many of the current construction projects to move forward without the hardships they face when the park is fully operational.
 

 

 

If (probably a BIG if) it gets as half as bad as some experts predict I simply will not want to visit a large crowded space like Disney anyway. Plenty of other ways to camp and recreate that offer some isolation and are a hell of a lot cheaper.

[Travisma 1,317]

6 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

If (probably a BIG if) it gets as half as bad as some experts predict I simply will not want to visit a large crowded space like Disney anyway. Plenty of other ways to camp and recreate that offer some isolation and are a hell of a lot cheaper.

State run campgrounds are shutting down left and right.

FL closed all of theirs yesterday, and some county run ones are closing.

The below is a kind of accurate list.

https://www.campendium.com/camping/covid-19-state-by-state-campground-closures-responses/comment-page-1/?unapproved=70676&moderation-hash=c1b997492f50b19e9f216fa0072339df#comment-70676

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

14 minutes ago, Travisma said:

State run campgrounds are shutting down left and right.

FL closed all of theirs yesterday, and some county run ones are closing.

The below is a kind of accurate list.

https://www.campendium.com/camping/covid-19-state-by-state-campground-closures-responses/comment-page-1/?unapproved=70676&moderation-hash=c1b997492f50b19e9f216fa0072339df#comment-70676

Plenty of private parks to chose from if one must camp....or just grab a fishing pole and head to the lake, go hiking, ride a bike, canoeing, etc. There's a multitude of safer options to chose from if a virus in on the loose.

[Robin 48]

We have a mid May trip planned and going to cancel. Not looking forward to being on hold for hours.

I hope we will be able to reschedule. I also hope that is the worst thing to happen to us.

My son is in a Tech school and they are saying April 6th for a return. I really don't see that happening.

We live in Wisconsin everything is shut down. And cases keep going up.

Please stay safe everyone!

[keith_h 420]

On 3/17/2020 at 8:56 AM, Travisma said:

I have a distant relative whose stance is "Does anyone personally know someone who has the virus ?"   He doesn't know anyone, so he thinks it's all a media hoax/hype.

He has been a strong supporter of a certain unnamed politician who has just changed his stance on this entire mess, so we will see if he changes his mind to match the politician.

Which I think has been a large part of the problem and has caused some of the unneeded panic. There has been a lack of clear information from the CDC which allowed all sorts of conspiracies to break loose. The information is finally starting to come out but it is hard to put the conspiracy genii back in its bottle once it has escaped.

There is reason for real concern. The US health system only has hospital beds for 2.8 per 1000 people. This compares to 3.2 per 1000 for Italy and 3.7 per 1000 for China. We aren't even in the ballpark with South Korea's 12.3 per 1000. All three have seen their medical systems over burdened and unlike China who can marshal thousands to build new hospitals in weeks we don't have the ability to turn everything around on a dime. If the US were to see the same infection curves we would be in real trouble with what to do with the infected not to mention the normal everyday medical issues that require critical care in a hospital.