disco2000

Nah...you have to use Soak City provided flotation devices

Next we will see 30-foot separation instead of 6 feet if this doesn't get under control....and all outside activities stopped. Imagine how far this would travel in a breeze if it goes 27 feet airborne inside... https://news.yahoo.com/6-feet-enough-social-distancing-045728930.html

As of March 20th they were still in construction...now granted things change fast in today's environment. https://midhudsonnews.com/2020/03/20/construction-continues-at-legoland/ And using that same logic, regardless of the reason for delaying opening, whether it was pushed a month because of construction delays or because of the virus, the fact of the matter is they determined not opening at all this year makes the most sense from a health perspective...and a financial perspective...and Disney and CF and others will likely be following suit... The fact that they specifically referenced this virus as the reason and not hiding behind "construction delays" speaks volumes of the company...they could have simply gone with construction delays and chose not to..

Interesting...usually once one makes an announcement of that magnitude, the rest will follow suit. Ohio led the way with closing schools and many states started following.. This makes it easy for them as they now don't have to deal with people requesting partial refunds by opening later, etc. Their policy can simply be your 2020 pass is now valid for 2021...Of course people will still complain, and this is a new park so the existing customer base from that park perspective isn't there, but as of I have said, in instances like this and season passes, etc., sometimes sitting out a year to open makes the most sense financially... CF renewal passes were bought to provide revenue for operating expenses over a 12 month period, not 18 months or whatever the extended time would be if they open this year and say that 2020 passes are good this year and the rest of 2021...

So far that combo is looking promising in the individuals that have tried it. The biggest issue the medical community is trying to determine is were those people on the mend anyway or did it help. But the more pressing issue is there is not the stockpile of that drug and now people that have been prescribed that for years for lupus or RA or any of the other approved uses now cannot get it because the supply is gone...so even if it is determined to be a cure, the supply is very limited, but hopefully they can ramp up and produce it.! You underestimate the power of the enthusiast

See my post on page 26 for a more detailed break down of how this may play out... As I mentioned way earlier in this thread, this thread more than any really starts to give a glimpse as to the age range of the poster. I don't mean that good or bad (because there are pro's and con's to both), but the older posters on this thread have experience and history as part of their reasoning, whereas a teenager doesn't (and I know there are exceptions in both instances as I know people in their 50s that still believe KI will open mid-May and I know people in their 20s saying this season is done). None of us on here lived thru something like this and the closest thing would be the 1918 pandemic. But many on here lived through 9/11 and the Cincinnati riots of 2001 and have a glimpse at, albeit much different, at how things can play out... Last I checked, this is a thread about the Impact of the Coronavirus on Theme Parks. We have posters, such as myself, that have given detail and explanation and reasoning as to why we think the season is a either a wash or a very late opening. These include, and not limited to (you have time on your hands go back and re-read this thread!): We did not lock down like some of the most restrictive countries. See my post on page 28 for comparisons. The curve lines reflect this. Those same countries are now experiencing the second wave. We will have the second wave and it could be worse than the first given we are not as strict as those that are now in that phase. Some parks in Japan that had more restrictive measures started to re-open and then re-closed. 1918 Pandemic had three waves - Spring 1918, Fall 1918, and Spring 1919. Travel was a lot different then and it still couldn't be contained. The second wave was the deadliest of the three waves. K-12 will probably be done with in-person rest of school year. Many are contingency planning for not returning to in-person in the fall for next school year either. Universities have already contingency planned for remote learning in the fall. We are starting to see some already go to remote learning for Summer Semester. Major sporting events done. No spring college sports. NBA has said they will scrap season if they cannot resume by August. Olympics postponed until next year. PGA Golf tournaments have not resumed - daily attendance at an event would be a busy day attendance at KI. Wimbledon will probably officially announce tomorrow they are postponing until next year. NFL industry experts believing their season is not gonna happen. NFL stadiums being used as hospitals. Golf courses in several states are closed - cannot get much more social distancing outdoors than golf. Many state parks are closed. Outdoor playgrounds in Ohio are closed. All the other sports. Major movie releases have been pushed back a whole year. Reasoning why there will be a date (and probably earlier than most would expect), where financially it doesn't make sense to open a regional park. Disney and Universal have closed indefinitely. For remaining employees, Disney is paying thru mid-April, but they have basically let everyone go. Architect departments - gone. Construction departments - gone. Imagineering - gone. They are a big enough company to weather this storm if they believed they would re-open this year. Some of the shuttered departments could continue and have plans in place to entice people back with new attractions and such and they are not doing that... Disney bigwigs either are now not taking a salary or anywhere from a 30%-50% pay cut. One thing bigwigs don't do is cut their own pay unless they feel this is a long-term shut-down. Even when companies were going through financial and legal and regulatory trouble, the CEO's still kept their pay, got bonuses, and raises... Latest total number of deaths estimated for US are somewhere around 120,000 deaths. We are currently around 3,600 deaths. Largest daily count by any country is under 1,000 deaths (somewhere in the 800-900 range) and US current max day is 560 deaths. I suspect the USA will exceed 1,000 daily deaths, but for argument sake, let's assume 1,000 deaths/day. So doing the math, it would be around 120 days (4 months) to reach 120,000 deaths at 1,000 deaths per day. Obviously the count will go higher at it's peak, but we should assume close to 4 months from now before things start to loosen up... None of the modeling and predictions are accounting for the second wave - and it will happen. Restrictions will slowly be lifted, wait two weeks and re-assess. Amusement/leisure type activities will be some of the last to open. Listening to the science and advice of experts on this situation. Overall sense from industry in what they are doing not in what they are saying. Interpolating from all of this and our own life experiences. And then we have those that think an opening is imminent. Their reasons include, but not limited to: The parks are still selling passes and daily admission tickets (again only revenue stream right now). Disney started to allow bookings beginning June 1st (even though the already refunded through June 30th) and are offering free dining (again only revenue stream). The websites show a mid-May opening (only a place holder and probably more to do with stock market price - KD still shows a mid-May opening BTW despite Governor stay at home order thru June 10th). KI is opening a new coaster (not a valid reason). They have to open (why?). They wouldn't screw the enthusiasts over like that (why). Now the fact of the matter is none of us know for sure. Maybe an existing drug is on the market that we will find cures it and is readily available and all this changes. Maybe this virus that some people say is man-made has an expiration date of April 30th. Maybe everyone starts to take this seriously and not hold coronavirus parties and lick toilet seats and actually self isolates and this thing simply disappears as there is no new host for it to go to and infect. But if we have to follow the wait for a vaccine route, this current situation is likely to continue in some form or fashion for the next 18 months...and everything will not open at once during that time frame...

A media outlet feels this very concern over their early reporting and the liability that may now cause.... https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-reportedly-fears-early-114530961.html

Internal email obtained by the newspaper where Miami University of Ohio is contingency planning for the idea that classes will not resume in-person in the fall... https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/03/30/coronavirus-miami-prepares-possible-budget-woes-extended-closure/2933473001/ Theme Parks have to be planning for that same contingency that they will not re-open this year... especially since the big cheese just took a pay cut... https://thedisinsider.com/2020/03/30/bob-iger-will-forgo-his-salary-fellow-disney-execs-to-take-pay-cuts/

That is some visual access:

Kings Dominion website still shows a mid-May opening....is that some good news Have you noticed a decrease in traffic going to/from work?

They can continue to go to DC and swim in the Senator pool and workout in the gym and have lunch with everyone...

Kentucky Governor signed an order today restricting travel out of state. His order on out-of-state travel includes several exceptions. It doesn’t apply to Kentuckians going to other states for work; to get food, medicine and other necessities; for health-care visits; to care for a loved one; or if a court requires the travel. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/30/kentucky-governor-advises-residents-not-travel-outside-kentucky/5091119002/

I saw an article over the weekend about how much "fun" cruise ship employees have that would be totally inappropriate to post here...if you know what I mean LOL...

So since we now have a "close" state with a CF park in it that has an extended stay at home order, let's break down what this really means. Virginia has a stay at home order in effect until June 10th. It bans any gatherings inside or outside of more than 10 people. They took the step of even including religion settings in the ban... Realistically Kings Dominion will not be able to start training until after June 10th. It would be problematic to try before then and comply with Orders. Doesn't mean they couldn't, but training that amount of people take time. Because of this, the earliest we would see Kings Dominion open would probably be the July 4th holiday...maybe a week or two earlier as they would have had some training already, but unlikely...and even then, they will probably still have to comply with some social distancing measures... And of course these means that this Order isn't extended or further restrictions put in place... Previous CF announcement was they would make up the days this year they were closed this year... With a July 4th weekend opening...how could KD extend operating days enough to make up for all that lost time based on their previously published 2020 calendar...and have it be meaningful days that people would be able to get to and would want... If they open, I see most if not all shows and entertainment not happening...and then take all the complaints from people... And what if the second wave comes (which is likely to happen)...closures start all over... We really need to prepare for the idea that CF will not open this year...or if they do...that the second wave will cancel Haunt and/or Winterfest... If you were a betting person, money would be on the second coronavirus wave coming and shutting things down again...just like we are starting to see in China and Japan...

I know lol I was being sarcastic thus the .. ...just trying to dispel and add credible reasons why that just because a park like Disney has started to accept reservations doesn't mean they will open then or that CF states a mid-May opening...they need to get the all clear by government first and foremost...and these restrictions are popping up and being extended daily...

Here you go... https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2020/03/30/stay-at-home-order-issued-for-all-virginia-as-coronavirus-cases-grow/ But wait, Kings Dominion still states on their webpage a mid-May opening

And just like that, there goes Kings Dominion opening mid-May... and Busch Gardens... and lots of other attractions...

Keep in mind that announcement does say subject to change and did come out one day after they announced closed indefinitely... so maybe different marketing arms prepared different things....and this is a way to bring in revenue (deposit) and lock in a future revenue stream while they are closed... I wouldn't read anything into these announcements given all the current uncertainty. These are simply ways to manage stock expectations best they can... And Ohio schools now remote learning thru at least end of April...

I believe so, just as some other regional parks in Japan started to re-open while Disney and Universal there remain shuttered with no date given... Disney and Universal have other revenue sources to remain a functioning company that simply shut down a branch of their business...the regional ones do not...SEAS media unit isn't like an ABC lol.. This goes on for too long and you may get another media group that might snatch up a regional at a great price and get into that game to further market movies once this is all over....imagine Paramount purchasing Cedar Fair....or Universal to spread their footprint...

If the local government pays Disney to re-open and agrees to be part of the lawsuit when someone sues Disney for getting Corona because they opened too early, then yeah they may....but even then they may not...Disney gets sued enough for things that were clearly guest error; they will not take a chance on something this global... Disney will not re-open until this is mitigated - the harm to their reputation of a media exploit of tracing hundreds or thousands of cases back to them isn't worth it - if they lose the international destination status they are done...Disney would not survive as a regional attraction with it's current model... Disney isn't like a regional chain. Yeah it is hurting them without it being open, but Disney has other sources of revenue to get by with movies, streaming, TV stations, etc. Completing shutting down their amusement parks and letting all the employees go just means that source of income and expense goes away. They have other viable options for revenue to still exist as a company. What does CF have - sell more passes while they are closed...heck they aren't even earning interest on investments at this point... The chains have to re-open earlier than a Disney because they cannot afford to sit it out any longer than possible. Disney is a different animal and can wait it out... The only way the cruise industry survives at this point is to turn them into floating hospitals and then long after this is gone, the government bails them out....Without a bailout they cannot survive.

I agree...just thinking of ways they can add days the longer this goes...and at some point, even adding days will be mathematically impossible...but whatever days they do add, there will be people that it doesn't work for...

Love the optimism! I have a feeling the Florida parks will stay closed a lot longer than the regional chain parks...Disney has let too many full-timers go which I think indicates they are closed a long time and given their international destination status, I do not see them opening up until either a vaccine is available or this thing is somehow wiped clean...

Or do they try adding weeknight to Haunt...they tried Thursdays early on, but they were all washouts due to weather and they never tried again...this may be the year IF they re-open this year...

Are we surprised... https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/liberty-university-students-coronavirus-symptoms-spring-break-233555754.html

And I have mentioned this before elsewhere - for the most part our members have been very civil in their discussions - most are what-if's and disappointments compared to a true rant. Not a lot of true ranting here as can be seen on other platforms!