While I don't disagree, the reason I say that is because you wouldn't furlough for a 2 week span. So if they come back early June, that means getting everyone back in, back to speed on training, and replacing anyone that might have gone to work elsewhere, along with replacing any international workers and college programs. Even with scaled back operations of certain rides or closed rides, it might take 2-4 weeks to get back to operational.
COVID-19 & Coasters: Coronavirus Impacts on the Amusement Industry
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While I don't disagree, the reason I say that is because you wouldn't furlough for a 2 week span. So if they come back early June, that means getting everyone back in, back to speed on training, and replacing anyone that might have gone to work elsewhere, along with replacing any international workers and college programs. Even with scaled back operations of certain rides or closed rides, it might take 2-4 weeks to get back to operational.
I’d assume Disney sees a 2 week span as an absolute best case scenario with a low probability of happening. When you don’t know if it will be 2 weeks, 2 months, or longer yet, it’s better to err on the side of caution and stop the financial bleeding.
I see your point, but I think you’re miscalculating things a bit. For one thing, even with employees on the payroll, they’re stuck at home- meaning that training and preparing the park to open isn’t happening anyway. That would have to wait until the country reopens regardless of whether employees are on the payroll or not.
Additionally, I think you overestimate the amount of time it will take time reopen the parks. Most parks’ training certifications are valid for a year - so anyone who was trained before WDW shut down shouldn’t require any new training when they return, sans maybe a brief memory refresher. Most employees should be able to return to business as usual fairly quickly.
Cleaning the parks and setting them back up for guests is likely the bigger challenge, but this is Disney, after all - their crew can redecorate the entire Magic Kingdom from Halloween to Christmas in a single night. I have no doubt that Disney has the resources to get the parks ready to go in a much shorter span than the 2-4 weeks you’ve suggested.
Finally, while some furloughed cast members may find work elsewhere and quit, I doubt this will cause a significant loss of the workforce Disney plans to keep. Keep in mind that millions of people are being furloughed and let go, and very few businesses are hiring right now. I don’t expect there to be many job opportunities to steal away as many of Disney’s workers as you might think.
@Joe and @rswashdc You both make very valid points, but I think that having people furloughed after this long of keeping them around means they are bracing for a much longer time than most think.
As for the cleaning and setup Joe, that's under regular times they can do things like that. This is a little bit of a different circumstance, because if they open but there's still some sort of social distancing going on, it's going to be hard to move as fast as they do when it's likely a cast of thousands working to change things over.
As for the cleaning and setup Joe, that's under regular times they can do things like that. This is a little bit of a different circumstance, because if they open but there's still some sort of social distancing going on, it's going to be hard to move as fast as they do when it's likely a cast of thousands working to change things over.
@warfelg I agree with about how social distancing might complicate cleanup, but I also think you’re overestimating how complicated cleanup will be. It shouldn’t take much more than blowing away leaves and power washing everything. At most, it should be a few days’ work per park, and could probably happen before Disney is ready to open to guests anyway.
To your first point, you haven’t really given any reason why you think furloughing means the parks anticipate a much longer closure. My initial point was it’s likely just a cost-cutting decision while the parks aren’t generating revenue.
To your first point, you haven’t really given any reason why you think furloughing means the parks anticipate a much longer closure. My initial point was it’s likely just a cost-cutting decision while the parks aren’t generating revenue.
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And clean and dust store interiors, clean and sanitize food stations, and sanitize high touch surfaces.
I did give a reason. Across the country companies waited on furloughing in case it was short. I think at this point if they thought it was going to be another week or two, they might not go to this measure. I think seeing plenty of big events closing up for much later in the summer makes them think its going to be a longer haul than anticipated.
Something else to keep in mind: I'm of the opinion that WDW will pursue a staggered reopening at this point with different parks and resorts reopening at different times. That would massively reduce the employee surge required to get things up and running again.
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Keep in mind that re-opening the parks is more than just cleaning and re-onboarding eveyone furloughed. It’s also implementing significant social distancing and sanitization protocols into operations for the foreseeable future. That could take a handful of days of training and implementation alone, with no guidebook to go by.
There's going to be quite a bit of things that are different if they open with social distancing still in place. I think there might be certain unavoidable things like bag checks having to be done the way they have before with the stick to search around unless they go bagless or clear bags only for a while (FWIW many sporting venues went clear bags only to not slow lines with bag checks).
Maybe time of entry tickets or really long and wide queues going back all the way to the trams and England lot respectively.
Furloughing is just a way to keep your employees while not having to pay them. I would say that the only reason WDW kept their cast paid for the past month was because they weren't certain if this would blow over fairly soon. However, things have changed and this has gone on for about a month. I think there is a realization that this may continue for another month or two. In that effort, I think the furloughs are the first part of the plan to reduce as much cost as possible and then start to focus on how to operate with no profit flowing in.
As for reopening, it is pretty cloudy to truly determine what will happen, but there are things to consider as far as the setup goes. I would be confident that it may take one or two days at most to ready the parks as far as the standard cleaning goes. At this point, their food supply has been reduced to items that don't expire or have a very long shelf life, if everything isn't already gone. Restocking food will take some time. Shops may have packed up inventory, or secured the more valuable items. This may require a full and complete inventory of every item as well as resetting store displays. Another things to consider is the actual cleaning itself. Standard cleaning measure may not be so standard anymore. They may have to go through and sterilize entire shops, restaurants, bathrooms, etc.
As far as training is considered, there shouldn't be extensive training. The most in-depth training needed, would likely be on how they implementsocial physical distancing into the theme park/resort environment. As well as any significant changes to cleaning procedures. Depending on the location, the cleaning procedures shouldn't be difficult to train, but the physical distancing will vary and for some areas will require some reimagineering on how the task is performed. For example, security bag inspections. Some places use sticks, others just use hands. The problem is regardless of a stick or gloves, etc. germs will still easily be spread from bag to bag, and those measures only truly protect the actual employee not the guest. Parks may very well have to switch to x-ray screenings for bags. It is a system that doesn't involve touching unless a suspicious item is viewed on a screen. This would require extensive training and retrofitting into existing park design.
All I can say for sure, is that until there is some expectation/trust that a healthy environment can be ensured, things will not be pleasant. I can only believe that this pandemic will change our lives much like the 9/11 attacks. In response to such a crisis, new measures were implemented over night. It took awhile for those measures to be common-place in society such as tighter security inspections. I can only imagine the same for tighter health requirements.
As for reopening, it is pretty cloudy to truly determine what will happen, but there are things to consider as far as the setup goes. I would be confident that it may take one or two days at most to ready the parks as far as the standard cleaning goes. At this point, their food supply has been reduced to items that don't expire or have a very long shelf life, if everything isn't already gone. Restocking food will take some time. Shops may have packed up inventory, or secured the more valuable items. This may require a full and complete inventory of every item as well as resetting store displays. Another things to consider is the actual cleaning itself. Standard cleaning measure may not be so standard anymore. They may have to go through and sterilize entire shops, restaurants, bathrooms, etc.
As far as training is considered, there shouldn't be extensive training. The most in-depth training needed, would likely be on how they implement
All I can say for sure, is that until there is some expectation/trust that a healthy environment can be ensured, things will not be pleasant. I can only believe that this pandemic will change our lives much like the 9/11 attacks. In response to such a crisis, new measures were implemented over night. It took awhile for those measures to be common-place in society such as tighter security inspections. I can only imagine the same for tighter health requirements.
Remember the above when Sea World announces its decision to take itself private and fragment into a large quantity of tiny, independently owned and operating units:
Sea World Killarney
Sea World Rhinefeld
Sea World Williamsburg Parking Lots
Sea World Kennels International
Sea World Mach Tower Maintenance
etc.
Looks like all Cedar Fair 2020 season passes have been extended thru 2021..
www.visitkingsisland.com
Kings Island Amusement Park | Coronavirus Update
The latest updates regarding Kings Island Amusement park. Please visit our website to stay informed with the latest information available.
www.visitkingsisland.com
Feel free to move this into the political thread if necessary, but I just sat through Trump’s very long list of companies that he’s working with during the COVID-19 crisis and none of them (at least what I heard) were in the amusement industry. Does that bother anyone else? It seems like they’re not getting much help.
This is why BGW tweeted #FakeNews that one time. They're trying to get on his good side in case something like this happened.
I guess it didn't work...
I wouldn't worry about it. He named a bunch of companies that were supposedly going to help with testing, etc. Most were never called back, etc. Some were actually surprised. And, considering the largest two amusement firms (Comcast and Disney) have Democratic heads, he wasn't going to call on them.
Follow-up article regarding California...
'Negligible' Chance for Mass Gatherings in California This Summer
In his daily online address to the state, Governor Gavin Newsom today detailed six criteria that state leaders will be watching to decide when to begin to modify California's stay-at-home order. The Governor did not mention theme parks specifically during his remarks, but did address mass...
www.themeparkinsider.com