Effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) On Entertainment & Tourism Industry

[DeadSexeh]

No. As long as people keep dying, and we keep forcing workers into unsafe conditions we will not stop raising our voices. We had 11,000 new cases today in Florida. Another record. And non essential businesses being open is the Number 1 reason people are getting sick and dying! Theme parks should not be open with these increased infection rates! Period. Profits over people must stop.

We as theme park enthusiast must raise our voice for the safety of the people who work so hard to make our days at the parks memorable.

If feel pretty confident that theme parks are not the main source of infection. It would be places that are indoors, with no distancing between people, and no maks. Constantly saying they need to cancel due to it being irresponsible and providing no new information to the discussion does nothing and just puts us in the same cycles over and over again.

 

[Tbad556]

If feel pretty confident that theme parks are not the main source of infection. It would be places that are indoors, with no distancing between people, and no maks. Constantly saying they need to cancel due to it being irresponsible and providing no new information to the discussion does nothing and just puts us in the same cycles over and over again.

Do they have to be the main source of infection for it to be a legitimate problem? There are plenty of indoor attractions operating. There are TMs at waterparks that are forced to deal with maskless guests day in and day out. There are TMs who absolutely have been infected since the parks have reopened. This is the thread for this and unfortunately, it is going to get cyclical because it's a cyclical topic. Cases go up, things get worse, things may change within the parks. 11K daily cases are nothing to scoff at and there's no telling if we may finally see some changes in the near future as cases are only going to continue to rise until something changes. It's absolutely worth speculating.

For reference, look at where theme/amusements parks land on this chart. The parks being good at maintaining public appearances does not mean they aren't furthering the problem and creating new cases.

 

[Casper Gutman]

If feel pretty confident that theme parks are not the main source of infection. It would be places that are indoors, with no distancing between people, and no maks. Constantly saying they need to cancel due to it being irresponsible and providing no new information to the discussion does nothing and just puts us in the same cycles over and over again.

No, of course theme parks are not the “main” source of infections. But they are “a” source. People are going to get sick because they went to Uni. They are going to get other people sick.

And if you go to a theme park to sit on a bench outside - and you get there by walking or driving on your own - you’re probably fine. But Uni has a lot of indoor rides, and worse, a lot of attractions that involve sitting in an air-conditioned theatre with a lot of other people. They just opened a new one this week. Those are dangerous.

And of course Uni executives aren’t sitting in a darkened room, stroking a white cat, and chuckling at the thought of innocents suffering. But just like decision-makers at every level of society they are cherry-picking data, pretending the virus and the economy can be treated separately, deluding themselves into Ignoring likely outcomes, finding excuses - in other words, acting like human beings.

Look, Disney is certainly not an altruistic company. They are as focused on the bottom line as can be imagined. And Reports are that Disney wasn’t going to open up for quite some time until Uni jumped in the pool. We know WDW has cancelled their Halloween event, which, unlike Uni’s, focuses on outdoor events and is thus likely less risky then HHN.

When cases in Florida were falling or steady, opening the parks was probably unwise, but the point was arguable. Cases are rising now, and folks - including the decision makers at major corporations - need to acknowledge that reality.

 

[HandsomePete]

No offense to whoever at MLive decided to rank those things, but no chance I’m spending two hours in a doctor’s waiting room over two hours in a theme park. No chance.

 

[Magic Feather]

Do they have to be the main source of infection for it to be a legitimate problem? There are plenty of indoor attractions operating. There are TMs at waterparks that are forced to deal with maskless guests day in and day out. There are TMs who absolutely have been infected since the parks have reopened. This is the thread for this and unfortunately, it is going to get cyclical because it's a cyclical topic. Cases go up, things get worse, things may change within the parks. 11K daily cases are nothing to scoff at and there's no telling if we may finally see some changes in the near future as cases are only going to continue to rise until something changes. It's absolutely worth speculating.

For reference, look at where theme/amusements parks land on this chart. The parks being good at maintaining public appearances does not mean they aren't furthering the problem and creating new cases.

No offense to whoever at MLive decided to rank those things, but no chance I’m spending two hours in a doctor’s waiting room over two hours in a theme park. No chance.

That chart is comedically inaccurate as far as what risk level these things actually are. I even texted this picture to a friend of mine that is an ER doctor working with Coronavirus patients who laughed at it.
Another thing it doesn’t account for is mask enforcement.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

That chart is comedically inaccurate as far as what risk level these things actually are. I even texted this picture to a friend of mine that is an ER doctor working with Coronavirus patients who laughed at it.
Another thing it doesn’t account for is mask enforcement.

I feel safer standing outdoors in Kennywood six feet away from someone while we're all wearing masks than getting take out where myself, others around me, and the staff are not wearing masks.

 

[Tbad556]

That chart is comedically inaccurate as far as what risk level these things actually are. I even texted this picture to a friend of mine that is an ER doctor working with Coronavirus patients who laughed at it.
Another thing it doesn’t account for is mask enforcement.

The chart is what it is. There is literally no mask enforcement in water parks though. Those TMs have to legit hope the one-sided nature of it all works out for them. It's messed up. I just think this is all selfish af at this point. It's messed up just forcing the TMs to deal with it so people can be entertained.

 

[shiekra38]

Do they have to be the main source of infection for it to be a legitimate problem? There are plenty of indoor attractions operating. There are TMs at waterparks that are forced to deal with maskless guests day in and day out. There are TMs who absolutely have been infected since the parks have reopened. This is the thread for this and unfortunately, it is going to get cyclical because it's a cyclical topic. Cases go up, things get worse, things may change within the parks. 11K daily cases are nothing to scoff at and there's no telling if we may finally see some changes in the near future as cases are only going to continue to rise until something changes. It's absolutely worth speculating.

For reference, look at where theme/amusements parks land on this chart. The parks being good at maintaining public appearances does not mean they aren't furthering the problem and creating new cases.

They used to tell me playing tennis was dangerous...I knew in my heart they were wrong

 

[Jerroddragon]

Masks are great. Everyone should wear masks whenever they go out. But they aren’t 100% effective, and in a theme park environment, even with very aggressive enforcement (which is unlikely to happen, even at someplace like Uni that is trying to make an honest effort) there will be many times when people are unmasked, when they are eating, drinking, and, for many, when they forget or just don’t want to wear them. And because HHN tends towards a teen crowd, you’ll see more lapses then during the day. Plus, many people have to fly to HHN, which is impossible from many places and a bad idea from everyplace.

I think it’s unwise for Uni to be open now, but it doesn’t matter very much to me on a personal level because the Bourne Stuntacular and every other attraction will be there when the pandemic is abated. But HHN is a one-time deal. You miss it, it’s gone. And so the choice becomes literally risk harming yourself or someone you love vs missing a one-off event you really, really like. From that perspective, a theme park being open irresponsibly during a pandemic goes from troubling in a general sense to personally infuriating.

Well that is why you have personal responsibility and have the ability to do things like not eat near others (if the parks are empty most restaurants have the room for you to be more than 6 feet apart)

If a business wants to run and is doing all they can to be safe then they should be allowed to run, if you are so against it then do not go but the rest of the people willing to risk it (once again safely) then they should be allowed Planes and Cars have risks to, hell even walking in the city so what we stop everyone from doing anything that has a percent of endangering others?

It's like how the beaches are closed right now, I get it some are idiots but I'm not. I go by myself there is a .001 percent chance of me getting sit at the windy open beach but because some jerks ruined it the entire country has to shut down? How about we just fine those who are breaking the rules and in terms of theme parks kick them out if they wont comply, most America's support being safe so really don't see why we don't just crack down more on those being stupid instead of just shutting things down.

 

[Pirate Athos]

Well that is why you have personal responsibility and have the ability to do things like not eat near others (if the parks are empty most restaurants have the room for you to be more than 6 feet apart)

If a business wants to run and is doing all they can to be safe then they should be allowed to run, if you are so against it then do not go but the rest of the people willing to risk it (once again safely) then they should be allowed Planes and Cars have risks to, hell even walking in the city so what we stop everyone from doing anything that has a percent of endangering others?

It's like how the beaches are closed right now, I get it some are idiots but I'm not. I go by myself there is a .001 percent chance of me getting sit at the windy open beach but because some jerks ruined it the entire country has to shut down? How about we just fine those who are breaking the rules and in terms of theme parks kick them out if they wont comply, most America's support being safe so really don't see why we don't just crack down more on those being stupid instead of just shutting things down.

That was the plan when they started reopening. It clearly didn’t work. It is time to try something different.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Well that is why you have personal responsibility and have the ability to do things like not eat near others (if the parks are empty most restaurants have the room for you to be more than 6 feet apart)

If a business wants to run and is doing all they can to be safe then they should be allowed to run, if you are so against it then do not go but the rest of the people willing to risk it (once again safely) then they should be allowed Planes and Cars have risks to, hell even walking in the city so what we stop everyone from doing anything that has a percent of endangering others?

It's like how the beaches are closed right now, I get it some are idiots but I'm not. I go by myself there is a .001 percent chance of me getting sit at the windy open beach but because some jerks ruined it the entire country has to shut down? How about we just fine those who are breaking the rules and in terms of theme parks kick them out if they wont comply, most America's support being safe so really don't see why we don't just crack down more on those being stupid instead of just shutting things down.

I’m sure you know this, but the most important thing about this whole pandemic, the whole point or criticizing Uni for opening, is that it isn’t just YOU “risking it,” it’s everyone you come into contact with for several weeks who is “risking it” when you go to Universal, and then everyone who comes into contact with them.

And unfortunately, those “jerks” endanger others, and there are a lot of them. So for the moment, we have to jerk-proof the country. Effectively “cracking down” on the jerks is a legal, political, and cultural minefield, and it will never change the behavior of most - or even many - of the jerks.

 

[Teebin]

Walmart’s open, Home Depot’s open, Burger King is open... they all have queues at checkout, they are indoors short of a drive through at one as an option. Not sure any difference between a theme park and those examples. All people breathing in large and smaller spaces.

Except one is enforcing as hard as they can on people to wear their masks or be tossed out...

This nay, nay on theme parks reopening is foolishness coming from people whom I expect left their homes to purchase something somewhere in the past 24 hours.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Great. But you’re still funneling thousands through heavily air conditioned halls, even if you stagger groups. And to get there, many people need to fly in planes, which are great sites for spreading the virus, and stay in hotels. This is not even mentioning Fl’s skyrocketing case count.

Unless you live close to Uni and both you and everyone you interact with is young and has no health issues, attending HHN will almost certainly be irresponsible.

And by the by, we don’t actually know how well Uni’s current measures are working, because as far as I know they aren’t reporting positive tests among employees.

just wanted to chime in (and I do not know specifics around anything I shall speak of here.

I believe planes do not recirculate air, I know planes have folks wear mask, but it seems that planes (at the moment), well, they do not seem like big spreader.

A/C in many places is recirculated air, I have no clue what HHN does in those sound stages, but maybe they could pipe in fresh air and that could lower 'risk'.

Performers working behind plexiglass, more distance between employees and public. The world will need to adjust to some sort of new 'normal' for a few years I would imagine.

hard to say, only the future knows what is to come. I saw/found some hope today in a youth so in need of leadership, they have simple questions, they just need a little guidance!

 

[TheGentTrent]

Since SeaWorld ended up moving forward with fireworks for this weekend, does anyone else think Epcot will bring back their fireworks show soon? Of the 4 WDW parks, they’re the one most capable of doing a large scale show with enough viewing areas for people who want to watch, especially with capacity being limited.

 

[Jerroddragon]

That was the plan when they started reopening. It clearly didn’t work. It is time to try something different.

I do have to ask, are their facts that theme parks are a mega spreader or are people just speculating

 

[Disneyhead]

I do have to ask, are their facts that theme parks are a mega spreader or are people just speculating

More like "assuming".

 

[Jerroddragon]

More like "assuming".

I mean if they have evidence I'm more open to it but seems like some just want to close the world down for over a year and rather not have to bail out Companies again if they can be safe and let people in. Yes, sucks some will get around the rules and get some sick but really we can't control people and at some point just have to accept that if we don't let businesses open up that we could really be looking at a bad future for everyone.

 

[shiekra38]

I do have to ask, are their facts that theme parks are a mega spreader or are people just speculating

They're open, much of the day is spent outside, they're able to spread out big crowds (which aren't coming), and they're cleaning the crap out of everything

I would say theme parks are the least of my concerns

 

[Imperius]

If you want to be mad at anyone being open universal isn’t the top of the list. Gyms should be, Olive Garden should be, bars should be. If you’re not closing all of those then Universal has every right to stay open as they are actually being smart about it.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Walmart’s open, Home Depot’s open, Burger King is open... they all have queues at checkout, they are indoors short of a drive through at one as an option. Not sure any difference between a theme park and those examples. All people breathing in large and smaller spaces.

Except one is enforcing as hard as they can on people to wear their masks or be tossed out...

This nay, nay on theme parks reopening is foolishness coming from people whom I expect left their homes to purchase something somewhere in the past 24 hours.

Walmart, Home Depot, and Burger King are all more essential then theme parks, as much as I love theme parks. And you should minimize trips to those places anyway. AND eating IN a BK or any other restaurant is a bad idea.

Please feel free not to assume the precautions I or anyone else is taking.

Look, if cases in the US - or in Florida - were low and steady or falling, fine. We talk about reopening theme parks. But that ain’t happening. Other places have managed to control the outbreak, but we haven’t. We thus have to control the outbreak as our first priority, and if that means staying closed, so be it.

I cannot say this often enough: THE ECONOMY WILL NOT STABILIZE UNTIL WE CONTROL THE VIRUS.