Walt Disney World's Florida Problem

Good work here. People keep using "Florida can openly safely so Disneyland can too" ignoring how different dynamics in the states. It also illustrates that if we'd had full coordinated efforts months ago, we could have theme parks and movie theaters, etc open and much better numbers.

What also would have helped is governors and certain elected leaders who even when they get Covid themselves don't continue to downplay its dangers and "we can't live in fear." Human stupidity was a factor few of us took into account when this all started.

I'm going to take a wild guess that we will likely not see this site post an article called "Disneyland's California" problem that bashes Governor Newsome in the same light. Nice to see no political bias here, but I digress

@Carlos Quinones - False equivalence. Newsom's team hasn't lied about the pandemic data (as far as we know). DeSantis' administration lied repeatedly.

To quote the Florida newspaper: "Throughout the COVID-19 crisis in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration engaged in a pattern of spin and concealment that misled the public on the gravest health threat the state has ever faced."

Reporting on reality is not political bias. Lying about a deadly pandemic for political gain is political bias (and highly immoral).

@Beacher. I'm not defending DeSantis. He's made his mistakes. But if we call out one why not the other? Wasn't he not practicing what he preaches while many are struggling? Road goes both ways. Oh and Newsome hasn't exactly been transparent on the team that was sent to Orlando to get a perspective on safety precautions. I don't think Newsome is so innocent either but of course crickets from this site

Thanks for the article, Robert. As for CA / Newsom: there have been plenty of articles on this site indicating pros and cons to politics, safety, and Disney Resort or other parks being allowed to open. The articles - as well as comments - have included the comparisons and contrasts between DLR and WDW; how or why museums, zoos, and aquariums have opened but theme parks cannot; and the ridiculousness that dining and shopping can open but rides (especially outdoors) cannot open. Florida and it’s governor created the reasons for critique - no bias required.

Leaders period have to accept their share of criticism, including Governor DeSantis. And although other articles show both the pros and cons as Force500 has referenced, this article in particular is really a complete undressing of the Florida governor. Yet, if you were to really look at the numbers, is Florida really that much worse off than California? And Florida has had much less restriction than California.
My point being is that you can write a similar article about Governor Newsome and his mishaps during this pandemic and its impact on the industry. Fact is there is a bias and that is unfortunate. People go to their politics way too much and will defend or prosecute those that align with their own personal views. Unfortunately that is why you have a lack of progress. No one works together and everyone blames the other side.
Case in point, why can't further stimulus get passed. Because republicans and democrats refuse to give the other side a win. And who pays for this nonsensical bickering...Us.
I respect Mr. Niles opinion and there are some very valid points. However, I feel that although some mishaps are acknowledged here and there (more so from comments than articles), it comes nowhere near the criticism thrown at the republican Florida governor. People have died in California. Businesses are likely to shut down for good. People are leaving the state in droves. There are plenty of problems going on in California that can be directly tied to the Governor's decision making. Florida isn't the only place these things are happening. Yet, we are unlikely to see that kind critique in the form of article referencing California problems. Looking at only a single perspective solely limits any progress.

Ahh yes. Tu quoque. Or shall I say, whataboutism.

@MIkeW Human Stupidity is shining bright with your comment, MIkeW. I'm so tired of hearing, "huurrr if we would have shut down months ago things would be great". How the hell do you know that? We still don't know exactly where the virus came from, how it spreads so quickly, how it affects certain people and not others. I just read several articles today saying that if you have asthma you are less likely to become ill from Covid. What?!? But somehow you, MIkeW, KNOW that we would all be rejoicing and dancing in the streets waving bye bye to the virus. Nonsense. You can't just shut down you fool. People need to eat and go to the grocery store. People need home hospice. Essential work has to get done. Before you spew this utter garbage of a comment, think. Think for a few moments without regurgitating what trash you read from the previous idiot like yourself. Embarrassing.

Thank you, Robert, Mike and Beacher. Thank goodness there's a light at the end of this dark tunnel and new Sheriff in town to police these self-centered charlatans.

@Sammmmmy

I just had to google asthma + COVID after reading that. The articles that popped for me (UPI, WebMD, etc.) are stating that asthma attacks are down during the pandemic. I saw nothing stating that asthma makes you less likely to catch COVID. Perhaps you could share a link?

I also re-read MikeW’s comment. “Shut down” is not mentioned, just ‘coordinated efforts’. We are not helpless here. We can do better

“New sheriff in town to police these self centered charlatans”
First of all, he isn’t in town, not yet. Second, what policing will he really do? Not much more than what we have already. Third, we’re not self centered, we just don’t blindly do what people tell us

@Sammmmy: I work for UPS, an essential service, I've seen the effects of shutdowns and also the son of a teaching nurse seeing effects of people dying needlessly. At the least, leaders openly taking the science of it seriously rather than push "It's no big deal" for months would have been so much better to cut the spread down.

No one has a responsibility to ensure others feel safe. Anyone who feels at risk should take all the precautions they feel are necessary- including not going to theme parks. Those who do not feel at risk should be free to do as they choose.

It would have been much more surprising to me if an article came out saying Desantis had told the truth lol. Dude got elected riding the Trump train and now he's on the election fraud bandwagon, what do you expect?

As supplanter said, stay home if you want to live your life in fear! America was founded on values such as personal responsibility, and I'll be damned if one political party wants to control everyone else rather than be responsible for themselves. I have to say as a reader for about a decade now, I'm saddened by your clearly partisan stance Robert. Theme parks used to be my escape from the real world. Now Coronavirus has made every aspect of life political. Calling the virus with 99.97% SURVIVAL rate "DEADLY" in your article is disingenuous to say the least. Is this CNN, or themeparkinsider? Thank God for Governors like Mr. Desantis standing up for individual rights, personal responsibility, and freedom rather than fear porn. Are the laid off cast members in California happy to be "safely at home" (assuming they can afford rent), or would they be better off taking precautions but having a job and making a living? Life must continue, and the vulnerable should be taken care of. The virus is not going anywhere, but thankfully the survival rate is extremely high. Open up and let people be the master of their own self

The facts are Covid is significantly less lethal than the flu for otherwise healthy people under the age of 24. For all those who have likely had Covid it appears to be about twice as lethal as the flu. However, the vast majority of those dying either had significant medical issues or are over 65. The avg age of those who have died is 78. The absolute number of deaths is high relative to the flu because Covid spreads more easily than the avg flu, and many who don't even know they have Covid are spreaders. At this point allowing Covid to spread through the vast majority who will exhibit few symptoms while isolating the vulnerable is the best course of action. Despite a resurgence of cases as high as the original wave, NY and NJ have seen little increase in fatalities. Likely because they now have herd immunity and the vulnerable are taking precautions. Bottom line is Disneyworld should remain open.

We canceled our June trip to WDW because Florida’s Governor is a moron. Robert hit it on the head.

As much as you would think that this is correct, it isn't 100% accurate at all. The flights coming into Florida are full (as an airline employee AND FLORIDA RESIDENT I can attest to this) they are full coming in and just as full going out. I would say that just as many people are looking at any reason to escape the insanity and inaneness of the lockdowns that they are coming down here. There's recently been more flights added to the schedule to accomadate the extra passengers. While I can't speak directly for the theme parks I would say enough don't agree with what Florida is doing wrong to truly negatively impact their businesses moreso than COVID or the restrictions at home.

I would say the requiring of a 2-week quarantine, closing of the international borders, and requiring a COVID test after spending 24hrs in 48 states out of the 50 impacts their business moreso than the handling of COVID. Because just as many people are booking trips for the sweet deals going on as are canceling them.

Man oh man. Where to start with this..

1. I live here in Orlando. Orlando is one of the busiest airports in the country right now for incoming traffic(look it up). Vehicle traffic is also picking up and Disney/Universal have hit capacity multiple times. People clearly feel comfortable coming here..
2. There have been 0, let me repeat that, 0 cases from these parks. We are AP holders for disney and have gone 20+ times post-corona, including multiple times with friends/family. We have not had anyone get sick. The mandates put in work well.
3. While i would agree there are some places in Florida i would avoid, this does not include Orlando. Orlando is built on hospitality. This city has done a great job managing the virus independent from the state. You have to remember there are county and city mandates, not just state.

I urge this author and the ones reading this to DO RESEARCH. As someone who actually lives in Orlando and visits the parks often this article is absolute nonsense.

Let me get this straight, you seem to argue that Florida should have implemented contact tracing in order to prove the claim that their covid numbers are low. Has contact tracing been done in other states? I haven't heard it being done in California, where cases are now spiking. The theme parks are controlled spaces where measures are taken seriously.

It may be true that people are vulnerable outside of the parks, but California has taken serious measures across the board, but yet again, cases are currently spiking. We need to accurately target the causes of the spread. It may be family gatherings where people let their guard down. But the science doesn't seem to blame controlled environments like theme parks.

If family gatherings and other gatherings where people don't take things seriously are the cause of the spread, the answer is not banning gatherings, but to educate people of the real threat.

Make commercials, make public services announcements, tell people of the real cause - talking or singing forcefully, or coughing or sneezing without masks. If this includes eating at the same table or within close proximity of other parties, then separate those parties. Lockdowns protect the lowest common denominator, but it also harms the society at large.

Ok. First of all, any newspaper that says this is the worst health issue in Florida history has no credibility. They haven't researched anything beyond their own birth year which makes them easily dismissed. The Yellow Fever epidemic was easily the worst health crisis Florida has faced. Not COVID-19. Next, do a deep dive into Florida's numbers and you find that half of all the cases in the state come from Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, with the other half coming from the other 64 counties. Disney is not in the three hotspot counties. Also, tens of thousands of scientists, doctors and public health officials have signed on to the Great Barrington Declaration (gbdeclaration.org) which backs the DeSantis view over the Yahoo/Newsom view. Furthermore, California, with all their mandates, still have a higher infection rate than does Florida which suggests their approach isn't working. So why does Yahoo insist on doubling down on a failed policy?

@Jess787: 1.52 million deaths worldwide (and counting) in less than a year is "no big deal?"

How about talk to the states where hospitals are running out of ICU beds and say to them "no big deal?"

I feel I agree with @ckorlando33.

Mr. Niles is highly critical of Gov. DeSantis but provides minimal citation to policies or results of the policies to support his claim that Florida's governor has "zero credibility in addressing the covid disaster." I disagree.

Let's take a look at the raw statistics. Today's statistics (http://www.worldometers.info) will show that Florida's reported cases per million is right in the middle of the number for states in the United States at #25. That hardly seems like a state performing with "zero credibility." In fact it seems Florida is doing... about average. Yet about average is an important statistic in a state that has has no lockdowns, does not have a statewide mask mandate, is the home of Florida Man, has many businesses back in business and is the home to the world's best theme parks.

Governor DeSantis should be commended on his bravery on keeping the state open in the face of a media storm. While the virus has severe risks to many, the risks of a complete economic collapse also are just as dire to the community. Perhaps also, consider that all the "action" of people working to "slow the spread" may not be effective anyway. Compare Gov. DeSantis to Gov. Newsome who has had California locked down for months and now is entering another lockdown period. All with masks. Yet, case rates are still rising in California. Does any of this work?

On personal note, I've been to Universal Studios with my family a number of times since those parks have reopened. I'm proud to support an essential industry in Florida and happy for all the jobs that remain to the cast members of both parks. I still haven't gotten sick and its not for lack of effort on my children's behalf and their generally terrible sanitization habits. Kids are gross.

I've been reading Mr. Niles' webpage during this entire pandemic with sadness. I am assuming he has a wide readership and hope he understands that his borderline hysterical editorials potentially have an impact on lives. Particularly the lives and livelihoods of those cast members who are laid off or terminated due to his surely well intended but seriously uninformed commentary. While I consider him a highly qualified writer on theme park entertainment directing readers to "go-to" lunch restaurants at a park, his leaps into virology, economics and political policy are damaging to the very parks and people who operate them that he holds so dear.

Stay in your lane is too trite a thing to say here to Mr. Niles because I believe he truly is well intentioned and his writing reflects what he believes is best for the greater good. However, as the saying goes to road to hell is paved with such intentions.

The Trump morons are still denying Covid and the idiot himself has engrossed himself in wanna -be dictator shenanigans too busy to deal with one of the country’s biggest disasters in modern times. . I’m sure every single country including China and Russia are all in on the conspiracy too - yeah right. It’ll go away miraculously, believe me, it will really the most beautiful thing, you’ll see- ????? Leadership.

Desantis may have been too reckless and Newsom too careful but since there has been no national leadership this is what you can expect.

I have to agree with @Tiptop22. The issue with governors is that there has never been anything close to logical leadership on this from the highest levels. Again, our President got Covid himself and brushed it off as "no big deal" and that was months after the entire mess started. When he clearly had no plan or any way to deal with it, that left the governors to implement their own measures to varying degrees. Some sort of regular message and coordinated efforts would have been far better than the "state by state" handling that aided the spread.

People choosing to continue to live their lives are not ignoring the pandemic. They simply want to be able to keep their sanity and maintain some sort of normalcy while this is going on. The “Trump morons” that folks love to reference are just not scared of their own shadow simply feel they would rather take a chance on catching a virus with a 98% survival rate than have their livelihood obliterated by unemployment and mental distress that some so called “leaders” are demanding. People love to reference the president as a dictator yet it seems as if the ones ordering mandates and forcing people indoors like a dictator would are the ones following these strong leftist beliefs. If you think they really are asking you to do this because they care you’re truly kidding yourself. Why are leftist leaders allowed to simply enjoy their lives while everyone else has to lock it down. California has a much bigger problem. Florida is great and I am glad to be here. I am writing this message from the beautiful walkways of Epcot. I would rather take a risk here than stay locked down on the west coast. My opinion of course

Blah blah blah Carlos - yes the trump morons continue to prove it “not scared of their own shadow” - the virus has no shadow and certainly when you’re 6 feet under neither will you! No one wants a lockdown we all want to get through it in the smartest and least impacting way but the national leadership is one SNL skit after another. Leadership means we had testing everywhere at anytime and real time, research teams to wade through the potential treatments instead of promoting Dr Bombay witch potions, encouraging people to social distance, wear masks and do the right thing instead of having narcissistic rallies and demeaning those that didn’t. Showing empathy for those that didn’t make it and working with the rest of the states and entire world to learn and share information that would be helpful. I’m sick of the rationalization from the trump cult that a portion of our society is disposable and we are not intelligent enough to try to save people and economic lives at the same time.

OH PLEASE!

First let's make note of the headline of this article: "Walt Disney World's Florida Problem". Once again Disney is presented as the one with the problem even though the body of the article discusses Disney and Universal.

Nice.

Robert Niles: "Part of Disney's and Universal's case for visiting their theme parks during this pandemic has been to note that no outbreaks have been traced to exposure in the Central Florida parks. Many people have looked at that statement with skepticism, given the lack of comprehensive contact tracing across the United States."

I Respond: Define "many". Because "many" people will arrive at Universal and Disney's parks today and tomorrow and every day the parks are open and operating. Absent the quantification of the word "many" in your assertion, I would have the audacity to assert that the thousands (or is it miilions) of guests that have visited the parks since they re-opened (people who realize they are risking their health and the health of their families) represent a far more substantial public perspective.

Robert Niles: "The hard truth is that we do not know whether people have caught Covid-19 when visiting or working at the Orlando-area theme parks or not. And that undercuts Disney's and Universal's campaigns to build public trust in their safety efforts."

Me (Another way to write that same sentence): "The hard truth is that we do not know whether people have caught Covid-19 when visiting or working at the Orlando-area theme parks or not. And that undercuts arguments made by others that Disney and Universal have not implemented adequate safety plans."

I am not offering this post as an effort to claim people SHOULD go to the Florida parks. Nor am I claiming that there will NEVER be a COVID-19 cluster rising out of either the Disney or Universal parks. But it's articles like this one that spin only one side of the argument and then singles out one theme park operator in its headline, that should be called out.

An informed public deserves better.

esmartin who writes: "I've been reading Mr. Niles' webpage during this entire pandemic with sadness."

Me: Pound sand you TOTAL FRAUD. You just joined the site yesterday. Which Tallahassee suburb do you reside in? And does the jackass who calls himself a governor sign your paycheck?

"Bravery"? Give me a break!

SMH