Theme Parks & Shopping Districts Reopening General Thread

[OhHaiInternet95]

Unrelated to the thread, but I wonder how effective that plan is when it only bans the sale of gas-powered cars rather than their use. People are still gonna be driving their 2034 Ford trucks into the 2050s...or they'll just buy new cars in Nevada.

As for the parks, I hope people are able to land on their feet. Given that so many expected this to happen to the travel industry, maybe it gave some people some time to plan and reorient themselves. But of course, it's never that simple.

I hate to say it, but massive, unprecedented action is needed on CC. I constantly think of that scene in T2 when it comes to that issue:


Alright, sorry for diverting from topic.

 

[Evan]

Hard to take Disney's side when they refuse to put any effort forward. Knotts has officially sold out their entire Halloween event as of today. Disney easily could've put some creativity forward and allowed some income to come in and instead chose to sit back and watch essentially with CM jobs on the line.

Not to say that all of the blame is on Disney, but this could've been avoided and their attitude about it is incredibly gross. And I'd be at least slightly less angry if that press release was more professional.

Disneyland could definitely do some fun events. But that wouldn’t have stopped this from happening.

Newsom keeping the parks closed and forcing them to only do small events like Knotts is making the layoff worse then it would have been had Disneyland reopened.

And this isn’t only because of Disneyland, but the park being closed is having an impact.

 

[Nick]

He'll be missed:

 

[JungleSkip]

Newsom keeping the parks closed and forcing them to only do small events like Knotts is making the layoff worse then it would have been had Disneyland reopened.

The fact of the matter is even if the parks opened the layoffs would be massive. The Florida parks are barely scraping by.

I’ll say it time and time again, things aren’t going to get meaningfully better until the virus is under control, and we’re nowhere near that point

 

[Nick]

View attachment 13300
The fact of the matter is even if the parks opened the layoffs would be massive. The Florida parks are barely scraping by.

I’ll say it time and time again, things aren’t going to get meaningfully better until the virus is under control, and we’re nowhere near that point

I'd argue that the only place at WDW doing good business is Disney Springs and the parks are probably barely breaking even or in the red during the week. I'd hate to see what their hotel occupancy numbers look like right now.

 

[JungleSkip]

I'd argue that the only place at WDW doing good business is Disney Springs and the parks are probably barely breaking even or in the red during the week. I'd hate to see what their hotel occupancy numbers look like right now.

By “barely scraping by” I probably should have said “probably only justify their operation on weekends”

 

[Nick]

By “barely scraping by” I probably should have said “probably only justify their operation on weekends”

I feel like it's not out of the realm of possibility that we see DAK and Epcot move to 5 or 6 day operation on alternating schedules. That may seem drastic, but they are the least attended parks (especially during the week) and i'm not really sure too many guests would care if they were closed, tbh.

 

[Magic Feather]

I feel like it's not out of the realm of possibility that we see DAK and Epcot move to 5 or 6 day operation on alternating schedules. That may seem drastic, but they are the least attended parks (especially during the week) and i'm not really sure too many guests would care if they were closed, tbh.

That wasn’t out of the possibility a month-and-a-half ago. That ship has sailed. Same with the Universal dry parks.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

View attachment 13300
The fact of the matter is even if the parks opened the layoffs would be massive. The Florida parks are barely scraping by.

I’ll say it time and time again, things aren’t going to get meaningfully better until the virus is under control, and we’re nowhere near that point

The realist-optimistic part of me thinks that things will gradually improve each year for the next five or so years. I could see 2021 being like it's been over the last few weeks--still well below 2019 levels but above June and July numbers. .

To use a sports analogy, if 2015-2019 were 10-11 win seasons, 2020 is a 2-4 win season, 2021 will be a 4-6 win season, 2022 a 7-8 win season, 2023 a 9 win season, etc.

 

[JungleSkip]

The realist-optimistic part of me thinks that things will gradually improve each year for the next five or so years.

I think once there’s a vaccine widely available things will improve fairly quickly. That being said that won’t be until 1/2 way through the year. But things will start getting better sometime next year imo

 

[Mad Dog]

I think once there’s a vaccine widely available things will improve fairly quickly. That being said that won’t be until 1/2 way through the year. But things will start getting better sometime next year imo

Yes, I agree with you. There's a lot of pent up demand, and there's a large segment of the theme park vacation community that hasn't really been adversely affected economically by this crisis.
There's lots of money on the sideline that people are eager to spend, and a thirst to get back to normal vacations. Once people feel it's safe, and theme parks get back to normal, or almost normal, operations, the floodgates will open.
I think you're timeline is right on, barring any unforeseen happenings.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Yes, I agree with you. There's a lot of pent up demand, and there's a large segment of the theme park vacation community that hasn't really been adversely affected economically by this crisis.
There's lots of money on the sideline that people are eager to spend, and a thirst to get back to normal vacations. Once people feel it's safe, and theme parks get back to normal, or almost normal, operations, the floodgates will open.
I think you're timeline is right on, barring any unforeseen happenings.

The thing is that the first vaccines will NOT be anywhere near a silver bullet. Will they make things better? Definitely. But it's why I'm so firm in my belief that we can't be depending on some perfect polio-level effectiveness vax, which is the attitude I get from those who think the parks should still be closed. To use another analogy, it's going to be way more like the Lord of the Rings books than the movies.

 

[JungleSkip]

The thing is that the first vaccines will NOT be anywhere near a silver bullet. Will they make things better? Definitely. But it's why I'm so firm in my belief that we can't be depending on some perfect polio-level effectiveness vax, which is the attitude I get from those who think the parks should still be closed. To use another analogy, it's going to be way more like the Lord of the Rings books than the movies.

Yea, we know. You think the parks are going to close forever.

A vaccine will not be a silver bullet, but it will be the first meaningful step towards normalcy.

 

[JawsVictim]

18 Legislators in California are beginning to side with that of the parks and tourist destinations.

CA Rules For Reopening Disneyland, Universal Studios, Other Parks Must Be “Thoughtful” And “Responsible,” Says State’s Top Health Official – Updated

A group of 18 California state legislators sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, requesting guidelines for parks to reopen.

deadline.com

18...out of 40. Not the majority and the letter signed contained no expert opinion from a health professional. Instead it refers to “logic” which is subjective.

Florida’s cases are rising again as more parts of the state reopen. LA just received the news that we didn’t have a post Labor Day spike, which is another sign things are heading in the right direction. Why risk it?

 

[DeadSexeh]

Florida’s cases are rising again as more parts of the state reopen. LA just received the news that we didn’t have a post Labor Day spike, which is another sign things are heading in the right direction. Why risk it?

Here is what is known, you open up cases go up. You stay closed up cases stay fairly flat to a slight trend downward. Cases are large enough that we will never get them to 0 unless an immunity is achieved or everyone is boarded up in their house with no one allowed to step outside for about a month.
Why risk it? Cause you have to open sometime and the longer you take to open the longer it takes to get back to normal. There is not silver bullet. Even if there was in form of vaccine it is pretty obvious that people wouldn't take it because they don't trust it. You have to push forward at some point, you can't expect people or companies to bleed money forever. Side note: to me it seems florida method is closest to being right and followed the initial plan back in the spring(flatten curve). Hospitals in good standing open up, they start getting bad then dial it back.

 

[fryoj]

18...out of 40. Not the majority and the letter signed contained no expert opinion from a health professional. Instead it refers to “logic” which is subjective.

Florida’s cases are rising again as more parts of the state reopen. LA just received the news that we didn’t have a post Labor Day spike, which is another sign things are heading in the right direction. Why risk it?

Not sure where you are getting that Florida's numbers are rising. 7 day average is dropping and no Labor Day spike there either.

 

[JawsVictim]

Here is what is known, you open up cases go up. You stay closed up cases stay fairly flat to a slight trend downward. Cases are large enough that we will never get them to 0 unless an immunity is achieved or everyone is boarded up in their house with no one allowed to step outside for about a month.
Why risk it? Cause you have to open sometime and the longer you take to open the longer it takes to get back to normal. There is not silver bullet. Even if there was in form of vaccine it is pretty obvious that people wouldn't take it because they don't trust it. You have to push forward at some point, you can't expect people or companies to bleed money forever. Side note: to me it seems florida method is closest to being right and followed the initial plan back in the spring(flatten curve). Hospitals in good standing open up, they start getting bad then dial it back.

I agree you have to adapt and learn to live with COVID, but it’s also about mitigating risks. There’s a huge risk to reopening theme parks, and to be honest, I’m not entirely opposed to them reopening soon. But nothing of substance is being offered in regards to safely reopening, especially in a state that was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. The parks are literally saying “tell us what you want!” Instead of “we have this evidence to show we can do it like this and no one will be exposed.”

It’s all about your level of comfort, which isn’t scientific. So this constant nagging to reopen the parks is based on personal preference and hear say. With all of the disasters happening in CA right now, theme park reopening guidelines are the last thing we should be begging the government to prioritize.

As far as businesses, especially corporations, I have little sympathy. As an individual, I’m expected to having an emergency savings fund for if I lose my job or income. Corporations operate on speculated future profit, which isn’t guaranteed. I say, tough sh*t. If you want the right to buy elections and have the same free speech as I do (Citizens United), you should suffer a downturn like the rest of us; especially if you weren’t prepared with an emergency plan. I have loads of empathy for the workers of said companies, and even more for independent business owners. But the actual corporate entities and their CEOs? None.

Edit:

Not sure where you are getting that Florida's numbers are rising. 7 day average is dropping and no Labor Day spike there either.

View attachment 13301

You don’t see how that last big bar compares to the previous few days?

 

[Brian G.]

You don’t see how that last big bar compares to the previous few days?

Sorry, the graph shows it's remained flat. The bar is showing consistency at those levels for the past month.

 

[JoeCamel]

Unrelated to the thread, but I wonder how effective that plan is when it only bans the sale of gas-powered cars rather than their use. People are still gonna be driving their 2034 Ford trucks into the 2050s...or they'll just buy new cars in Nevada.

As for the parks, I hope people are able to land on their feet. Given that so many expected this to happen to the travel industry, maybe it gave some people some time to plan and reorient themselves. But of course, it's never that simple.

I think EV implementation will be like the gas mileage mandates. Still guzzlers around but less and less each year. Ford is selling an all electric truck next year and I never thought I could have a V8 chevy truck that gets me 22 on the highway and 19 around town. Amazing progress.
Back to thread

 

[Magic Feather]

Largely thanks to Cast Member specific testing, Disney has a good idea of how many CM’s are getting/have gotten the virus. The numbers are low enough to suggest that Disney’s safety measures have been incredibly effective, even in an area where COVID didn’t go away.

Unfortunately, by virtue of those numbers not being zero, they can’t really use them in the court of public opinion to pressure the CA government. Even the government probably sees that number not being zero as not good enough (which as long as the virus is in existence will be nearly impossible).

While they don’t have as concrete of numbers, off the top of my head, SeaWorld has been doing the toughest of the big three (unsurprisingly) with Universal in the middle, but leaning better. I wish there was a more concrete testing operation for these groups so that better numbers would be available.