- Joined
- Dec 17, 1999
Hi John,
Most importantly I am happy to have had an actual reply, and not had my message deleted. We all have our opinions, and what I wrote is mine, of course.
I have been watching all of the content that DIS Unplugged puts out for the last few years and love everything you guys do! In addition I am very much aware of the negative resort & dining reviews etc. COVID-19 however is a completely new, dangerous and unprecedented circumstance. Florida (as well as the rest of the USA) is in absolute shambles regarding the approach set out to combat it. It is far more worse in the States now then it ever was in the early spring, anywhere in the world.
Everything really should be completely locked down (I know, political) for the safety of everyone. Disney being open right now (in addition to almost everything else) looks REALLY bad. Just because it is open, doesn't mean it is safe. 4% of people who have contracted COVID-19 in the USA have passed away.
What's my point is outlining everything that everyone should already know.....It is worse there now then it ever has been ANYWHERE in the world. When we began this in March all of you were committed to staying the course until cases counts dropped etc. That has not happened. But now that Disney opens, everyone is first in line. Everything is getting worse literally daily, what's changed?
For context, I live in Canada. In total, country wide, 110,000 confirmed cases. If I applied the population (The U.S.A. has approx 8.6x more people then Canada) math, by comparison Canada would only have had (hypothetically) approx 946,000 confirmed cases, with a completely flattened curve. The States, 3.5 million active cases, and with a curve heading straight upwards.
Bringing this back to my point about Dreams, I think considering what is happening down there, travelling should be at the bottom of peoples to-do lists.
Please! I love all of you guys! Please don't put yourself at risk. Stay at home whenever possible. What I am seeing happen in the U.S.A. right now completely breaks my heart!
I don't disagree with you on the severity of the current state of COVID-19 especially in Florida. I also don't disagree with you that more extreme measures should be implemented to stop the spread of the virus. What I do disagree with is your between-the-lines implication that our going to the parks and subsequent coverage is strictly to bring in business to the Travel Agency. You might not be saying those exact words but it is what you are putting out - and I am highly offended by this.
No one who works for the company has been told they have to go to a theme park to cover it...period. You will see that several of our staff have not been in a park or on Disney property at all. That is solely their choice and I respect that. No one is in jeopardy of losing their job if they do not go to a theme park, resort of restaurant. Others are going and creating content solely of their own free will.
Not that it's anyone's business but we have managed to keep a full staff at full pay during this difficult time and I see no reason that we would have to lay anyone off or cut salaries in the near future. If this continues into fall/winter that may change but for right now I've worked very hard to keep us fully staffed and everyone working.
You like to bring up the fact that in March we said we weren't going to go to a theme park during COVID-19. Can't we change our minds? Can't we use current data and advise of healthcare professionals to determine when/if/how we feel safe in going to a park?
If you watch the Dreams show about Kevin and my visit to the MK last Thursday you'll see how much thought and preparation we put into going. It was not a decision we made lightly and we reevaluated at every step. Ultimately we found the steps Disney took and what they implemented along with our own precautions made us feel safe while being there.
Once again I can't believe I have to say this but at no time did we say that everyone should come back to Disney. As a matter-of-fact we have said and continue to say that everyone has to make their own decision as we did. Kevin even said on that show that while he felt safe that day he doesn't see going back until their is a major improvement with COVID-19. How is that telling people to come to Disney?
Several folks have decided to lecture me on the fact that our visit was different because we're AP holders who live locally. Yes, that's true but it doesn't change our opinion of if we felt safe that day or not.
And one final point I would like to make. I don't agree that we have to shut down everything to defeat the virus. I do feel a lot of the country, especially Florida, opened too soon and in an unsafe way and should roll back some of the openings (and maybe Disney is one of them) but I think there are ways to open back up safely. Other countries and even other states have proven this to be the case.
Wouldn't it be great if Walt Disney World proved that it's possible to open up safely if you take the proper precautions? Wouldn't it be great if WDW showed that if everyone wore a mask, properly socially distanced, practiced good hygiene and willfully looked out for everyone's health that we could return to the things we love safely?
Kevin and I have returned to self-isolation since we went to the park that day and plan to stay that way for a full 14-days. We hope we didn't catch the virus but if we did we want to ensure we don't give it to anyone else. It's all part of the idea that if we can follow some basic rules we can beat the virus through science, diligence, logic and compassion towards others.
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