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

[Nick]

NBA seems to be going full steam ahead, adding a second bubble in Chicago. This one for the teams not playing for the playoffs.

 

[Scott W.]

Waldorf charges a $45 resort fee and $40 for parking. Enforcement of parking fees at Universal hotels has been......... lax.

If I was to stay at a Universal hotel and accumulate a few hundred bucks worth of parking charges, could I tip the person at checkout, say $100 and see what they can do about that? :whistle:

 

[JoeCamel]

If I was to stay at a Universal hotel and accumulate a few hundred bucks worth of parking charges, could I tip the person at checkout, say $100 and see what they can do about that? :whistle:

At this time I would be negotiating on my way in.

 

[Mad Dog]

Walmart will be transforming 160 of it's store parking lots into drive in theaters. ......Great idea.

 

[Stryker]

If I was to stay at a Universal hotel and accumulate a few hundred bucks worth of parking charges, could I tip the person at checkout, say $100 and see what they can do about that? :whistle:

This works especially well in Vegas and my friends and I do it quite often. On one of our last bachelor's party (or in your case, stag party), we rented 6 rooms at the Venetian. With a $100 bill, we wiped off about $1000 in resort fees. Wrap a $100 bill around your credit card at check-in and place it on the counter with your hand partially over it. If they take both your credit card and cash, you're all set. Also works for bottle service at a mega nightclub like Hakkasan, Omnia or XS. Book a table that's further away from the dancefloor that has a lower minimum spend (say $2-3000), then tip your host $100 and you should be able to get a closer table that would've had a $5000 minimum spend.

 

[HandsomePete]

If I was to stay at a Universal hotel and accumulate a few hundred bucks worth of parking charges, could I tip the person at checkout, say $100 and see what they can do about that? :whistle:

I don't know.... or you could just drive past the traffic arms that are set to the up position.

 

[Scott W.]

I don't know.... or you could just drive past the traffic arms that are set to the up position.

Are the traffic arms always up? This isn't really a Covid era question but one for in general.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I really think Uni may be shocked by the amount of fan goodwill they burn by plowing ahead with HHN.

It’s one thing to miss a non-repeatable event because you have personal reasons for not being able to attend. It’s another to miss it because you are being responsible during a global catastrophe and the multinational entertainment conglomerate really wants you to risk your life and the lives of those around you to help their bottom line.

 

[Imperius]

I really think Uni may be shocked by the amount of fan goodwill they burn by plowing ahead with HHN.

It’s one thing to miss a non-repeatable event because you have personal reasons for not being able to attend. It’s another to miss it because you are being responsible during a global catastrophe and the multinational entertainment conglomerate really wants you to risk your life and the lives of those around you to help their bottom line.

Yeah that’s not going to happen. There is literally no difference to them being currently open and having HHN in September/October. I work in healthcare and am a big proponent of mask wearing and limiting exposure to others, but Universal has done a great job in their openings. They will likely do the same thing with HHN.

 

[darkridelover]

Yeah that’s not going to happen. There is literally no difference to them being currently open and having HHN in September/October. I work in healthcare and am a big proponent of mask wearing and limiting exposure to others, but Universal has done a great job in their openings. They will likely do the same thing with HHN.

They've done a good job on the Guest side of things .

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yeah that’s not going to happen. There is literally no difference to them being currently open and having HHN in September/October. I work in healthcare and am a big proponent of mask wearing and limiting exposure to others, but Universal has done a great job in their openings. They will likely do the same thing with HHN.

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.

 

[TheGentTrent]

I was actually thinking about the future of HHN, and an idea popped into my head.

I get that it’s way too early to even be talking about HHN 2021 when 2020’s event is still a couple of months away. But, should we get through this year, would it be prudent to just do a repeat of everything for next year?

Howl O Scream has gotten away with barely changing houses and scare zones for decades now and they never seem to have trouble getting people to come visit (at least in Tampa). Yes, the die-hard fans would be upset over no new stuff, but I still think it would be a fair approach.

This year’s event will be completely unlike any we’ve had in recent times. No doubt about it. Scare zones as we know them will not exist and houses won’t be as in-your-face as we’re used to.

God willing, we won’t have to worry about social distancing, masks, or anything like that in September 2021. And if we do have a vaccine by then, maybe we could finally see all the houses and zones as they were initially intended before the pandemic struck. It would also give apprehensive fans more time to experience an event they’re probably gut-punched to miss this year.

The only problem would be renegotiating contracts with the IP holders over a year’s extension. Hopefully they would be a little flexible considering how this has completely upturned the world on its head. That, and you’d have to change the anniversary houses (even though, 31 is a key Halloween number).

 

[HandsomePete]

Are the traffic arms always up? This isn't really a Covid era question but one for in general.

Usually no. Or if they are it’s temporary, ie not your entire vacation.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I really think Uni may be shocked by the amount of fan goodwill they burn by plowing ahead with HHN.

It’s one thing to miss a non-repeatable event because you have personal reasons for not being able to attend. It’s another to miss it because you are being responsible during a global catastrophe and the multinational entertainment conglomerate really wants you to risk your life and the lives of those around you to help their bottom line.

If they make you wear masks then why would anyone be mad?

 

[Casper Gutman]

If they make you wear masks then why would anyone be mad?

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.

 

[tielo]

... and the multinational entertainment conglomerate really wants you to risk your life and the lives of those around you to help their bottom line.

Do you really think they actually want that?
And beyond that it's your own responsibility. You are not forced to go there, no one is. But as far as I know the many tenth of thousands of corona cases that popped up in Florida the last few days aren't related to Universal Studios Resort.
You also don't know how Universal is going to organize the event so it would be smart to wait and see how they are going to do this (if it actually is going to happen) and than react.

 

[darkridelover]

Do you really think they actually want that?
And beyond that it's your own responsibility. You are not forced to go there, no one is. But as far as I know the many tenth of thousands of corona cases that popped up in Florida the last few days aren't related to Universal Studios Resort.
You also don't know how Universal is going to organize the event so it would be smart to wait and see how they are going to do this (if it actually is going to happen) and than react.

Yes, that is exactly what all businesses are doing. Putting people in harms way for the bottom line. I'm not talking about the guests either. By opening up, all businesses have put their employees at risk. And on that end, yes they've contributed to the number of cases. Mostly because of close quarter working conditions, break rooms, and working around guests who constantly do things that put their lives at risk. Workers ARE FORCED to go back to work or lose their job. But no one is asking about the workers.

There are currently no federal laws that impose a legal obligation on employers to report cases of COVID-19 in the workplace.

 

[HungUpOnThemeParks]

1st. They are going to have HHN (at least that's what it seems like right now). Can we stop with the "well it's irresponsible" because it literally does not matter. Nothing you say or do is going to stop it from happening as long as they are following the CDC guidelines, which they are. It's doing nothing productive aside from making people feel bad for wanting to go. Yes, Universal can get people sick. Yes, other guests can get people sick. The bottom line though is that when you walk into Universal you have singed a legal contract saying that you know the risks of going here.

2nd. Universal DOES NOT CARE that you weren't able to go see the event this year, no matter the reason. They still are going to have HHN for years to come, and complaining about not being able to see certain properties isn't gonna bring them back anytime soon. It's not gonna stop fans from coming either, especially after having a year without it.

3rd. CAN WE STOP WITH THE POLITICS

 

[darkridelover]

1st. They are going to have HHN (at least that's what it seems like right now). Can we stop with the "well it's irresponsible" because it literally does not matter. Nothing you say or do is going to stop it from happening as long as they are following the CDC guidelines, which they are. It's doing nothing productive aside from making people feel bad for wanting to go. Yes, Universal can get people sick. Yes, other guests can get people sick. The bottom line though is that when you walk into Universal you have singed a legal contract saying that you know the risks of going here.

2nd. Universal DOES NOT CARE that you weren't able to go see the event this year, no matter the reason. They still are going to have HHN for years to come, and complaining about not being able to see certain properties isn't gonna bring them back anytime soon. It's not gonna stop fans from coming either, especially after having a year without it.

3rd. CAN WE STOP WITH THE POLITICS

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.

 

[Tbad556]

1st. They are going to have HHN (at least that's what it seems like right now). Can we stop with the "well it's irresponsible" because it literally does not matter. Nothing you say or do is going to stop it from happening as long as they are following the CDC guidelines, which they are. It's doing nothing productive aside from making people feel bad for wanting to go. Yes, Universal can get people sick. Yes, other guests can get people sick. The bottom line though is that when you walk into Universal you have singed a legal contract saying that you know the risks of going here.

2nd. Universal DOES NOT CARE that you weren't able to go see the event this year, no matter the reason. They still are going to have HHN for years to come, and complaining about not being able to see certain properties isn't gonna bring them back anytime soon. It's not gonna stop fans from coming either, especially after having a year without it.

3rd. CAN WE STOP WITH THE POLITICS

This is literally the thread to discuss the effects of COVID on the parks. This is where the topic is relevant. If you strictly want to talk about HHN30, go to the relevant thread.

Just because we know the risks doesn't mean it's acceptable. We're reaching dangerous levels of ignorance here continuing on the way we are. I have TM/CM friends that I'm genuinely worried about at this point. It's ridiculous that we're the epicenter of the country at this point and continuing on like all is normal.

And I'm not seeing any political discussion on the past page even?