Theme Parks & Shopping Districts Reopening General Thread

[Clive]

Yeah, there's literally no way to prove what they are claiming.

I mean, they're basically pointing to an absence of evidence of a major outbreak, which is not the same thing as proactive contact tracing discovering no cases. That's still good news, but you're right in that it's a pretty qualified "victory."

 

[Nick]

I mean, they're basically pointing to an absence of evidence of a major outbreak, which is not the same thing as proactive contact tracing discovering no cases. That's still good news, but you're right in that it's a pretty qualified "victory."

Yeah, what they're basically saying is Orange County and the greater Orlando area hasn't seen an increase in cases that would point to the theme parks being the issue.

 

[Mad Dog]

With the unacceptable long lag time in test results, it's doubtful there's much real and effective contact tracing going on. But the news is positive in that there's no major outbreak traced to the parks as @Clive stated so well.

 

[Tbad556]

I'd be more than happy to be corrected, but aren't we also not really seeing a big decrease in cases in Orange County with bars closed which was a huge factor in cases? What's to say that some of the cases that have replaced it aren't from the parks? It also assumes all visitors are strictly from Orange County when a lot of AP holders are from all throughout the state (which is still hitting incredibly high numbers).

I also want to clarify that I don't think it's been this big breeding ground for COVID thus far, but I feel like that headline is absurd especially when they're even admitting to knowing there have been individual cases so far.

/nitpicking

 

[Nick]

I'd be more than happy to be corrected, but aren't we also not really seeing a big decrease in cases in Orange County with bars closed which was a huge factor in cases? What's to say that some of the cases that have replaced it aren't from the parks? It also assumes all visitors are strictly from Orange County.

I also want to clarify that I don't think it's been this big breeding ground for COVID thus far, but I feel like that headline is absurd especially when they're even admitting to knowing there have been individual cases so far.

To be clear, most bars aren't closed. You only have to close if over 50% of your revenue comes from alcohol so yeah, a lot of dive bars are closed, but still plenty of places to go out and grab a drink if you want.

 

[Tbad556]

To be clear, most bars aren't closed. You only have to close if over 50% of your revenue comes from alcohol so yeah, a lot of dive bars are closed, but still plenty of places to go out and grab a drink if you want.

Fair point! Not a big bar guy so I'm a bit out of the loop, but I'd only heard about the park bars using loopholes. Not too surprised though.

Side note: Just want to throw out that I have reservations to give DHS a fair swing at the end of August (and was planning on attending at least one night of HHN), so I'm not over here solely shouting down the parks. Mostly just nitpicking the headline

 

[Mad Dog]

At least the increase flattened, and even dropped a bit. That's importance since once you get community spread, those early cases start reaching family members, co workers, etc., spreading out everywhere. This is a positive for the county.
Hopefully, it plateaued and will decrease....as long as people are careful in what they do and where they go. Though Tuesday's dump day for cases that get under counted on the weekends and early Monday. , so that should show where this may be headed.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I find it odd that Disney really is being so quiet about reopening.

Maybe because of Stock prices they are fine but don't understand why they the minute they said the normal Halloween events aren't coming you would not also announce "while Oggie Boggie is not happening, Imagneers are hard at work to find alternative ways to get guests back into the park safety"

I don't know if I was them I'd find a way to make money from DL and DCA even if the rides can't be on


Also went a hike this weekend and they had park rangers checking for masks, I didn't see anyone on the trails at least without a mask which was a good surprise. I've only see one Karen in the wild but besides that most people have masks on when I'm out somewhere

 

[Parkscope Joe]

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Willing to bet both parks go down to 10-5 by mid-September if not Labor Day. With school resuming and HHN cancelled, attendance is going to dive even more.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Willing to bet both parks go down to 10-5 by mid-September if not Labor Day. With school resuming and HHN cancelled, attendance is going to dive even more.

My understanding is it has nothing to do with cost cutting or attendance.

 

[Mad Dog]

My understanding is it has nothing to do with cost cutting or attendance.

Scheduling?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Scheduling?

Yes

 

[Nick]

Yes

Scheduling makes sense, as they really only need one shift to cover the whole day with the reduced hours.

However, let’s not pretend this won’t affect A LOT of TMs. Some have already had a tough time getting scheduled from what I understand and this will make it even harder. If you aren’t Full-time, you’re essentially screwed now.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Scheduling makes sense, as they really only need one shift to cover the whole day with the reduced hours.

However, let’s not pretend this won’t affect A LOT of TMs. Some have already had a tough time getting scheduled from what I understand and this will make it even harder. If you aren’t Full-time, you’re essentially screwed now.

You’d be surprised....

 

[Nick]

You’d be surprised....

No, I know what's going on. The parks have had a tough time getting people to come back or there's significant holes in certain areas due to people out with COVID. And yet many part-timers aren't getting scheduled despite the venue looking for people to fill spots from outside of the current venue that they work in. Scheduling has always been bad at UOR though so none of it surprises me.

They still run these parks, even through all the growth, like they are a regional amusement park.

 

[TheGentTrent]

Here are some photos that are sure to trigger a little discomfort amongst our members. The new Pirates ride opened up at Europa Park, and as you can see, there was not much distancing going on coupled with improper mask use:

I know Germany has been handling things way differently than we are, but there's no way that this can be a good look for the park on a global scale. From what I can tell, all the rides in the park are operating at full capacity, which is just plain crazy.

 

[HandsomePete]

Disney has a Deluxe issue. With DVC pushing so many effectively deluxe resorts open, there is a surplus of expensive rooms over $250/n. Pop is the only property that has come close to selling out (and I want to say actually has sold out of the hotel’s slightly reduced capacity a few times) because it is a value. CBR coming online this week is expected to aid that, but not by too much.

When even Universal is struggling to sell it’s more expensive rooms (RPR and HRH are both running for around 300/n) it’s no wonder Disney is struggling with so many resorts.

Not saying that filling them isn’t a problem, but if a mixed resort is filled with DVC while the normal rooms sit empty, it will just send almost all of the operating costs over to DVC.

I know Germany has been handling things way differently than we are, but there's no way that this can be a good look for the park on a global scale. From what I can tell, all the rides in the park are operating at full capacity, which is just plain crazy.

America is the only Western nation that didn’t snuff this thing out to a relatively manageable level. That’s why they get to do things like that and we don’t.

 

[shiekra38]

They still run these parks, even through all the growth, like they are a regional amusement park.

I've heard this many times, I feel like this season will only solidify that mindset further

 

[Rideguy70]

Germany has essentially had less than 500 cases a day since the end of May. The US, in contrast, is averaging about 60,000 cases a day for about the last three weeks, and in May/June was at about 25,000 cases a day. For the most part, only the US (and parts of South America) have skyrocketing rates.

Europe as a whole has it under control, so I don't see why they look bad, except by turning the mirror at our own situation that is largely our own falut. (All sources: NYT)