Is Walt Disney World Safe from the Coronavirus
Coronavirus continues to accelerate its spread. There is a lot of information out there designed to shape your opinions of its dangers. The biggest thing I’ve seen is comparative numbers intended to downplay the fatality rate of the Coronavirus. Lots of opinion articles will use large numbers and unrelated statistics to make Coronavirus appear relatively negligible. Although I express some opinions below, I encourage you to make up your own mind about this virus using only facts. Read this if you have approaching vacation plans. It relates to the dangers of the Coronavirus at Walt Disney World.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus (CoV) is an aggressively contagious type of pneumonia. The disease can be lethal in up to 4% of those who contract the virus (according to early data extracted from the CDC). What’s alarming about the Coronavirus is not the mortality rate alone, but how easily and quickly the virus spread while undetected. You are contagious during the two week incubation period of the disease. That means that by the time you exhibit symptoms, you have already been in contact with potentially thousands of other people. Those people could contract it from you and not have any clue about it for at least another two weeks.
That’s why it’s so dangerous and it’s why containment is so important. Even if you think it’s worth the risk, the more the virus spreads, the higher the death toll. You could make the case that it doesn’t matter how low the mortality rate is or how likely you are to die from it. In my opinion, if you put yourself at risk, you are part of the acceleration process of a disease that is killing thousands of people and spreading at a frightening rate. Keep in mind, the data is only coming from cases we know of. How many people refuse to be seen, or test for the coronavirus.
Is Disney World Safe from the Coronavirus?
There is no official data about the Coronavirus in Florida. So we can’t know if anyone has contracted or spread the Coronavirus at Walt Disney World. However, the parks and resorts in Orlando are far from safe. Florida conveniently has no tests for the Coronavirus. That means that even people in Florida who have symptoms can’t confirm officially that that’s what they have. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to find that sketchy.
Disney has closed down three of it’s four international resorts. All of the Asia parks are shut down. The Tokyo resort is expected to reopen in March, while the two China resorts remain TBD. Needless to say, now that the Coronavirus has made it to Europe and the United States, Walt Disney World is at extremely high risk. Air travel alone, airports full of international travelers increase the risk of contracting the virus. You could have a great Walt Disney World vacation and never know you had it until you got home. All that time you have been exposed to thousands of other guests. It’s not only possible, but it’s also likely that this has already happened. But so far, there are no official reports coming from Florida. Meanwhile, everyone arrives at their home cities unaware until it’s too late.
Should I Go on My Walt Disney World Vacation?
As bad as it is to cancel a trip, especially to Walt Disney World, you should not risk it in my opinion. Coronavirus is more than likely already present there and those parks, however, sanitary can’t keep up with the volume of disease spreading guests. I personally have seen that people don’t even cover their mouths when they cough anymore. People aren’t careful, so it’s up to you to protect yourself and your family. Try to slow down the spread in your own community by staying home.
Fortunately, Disney understands the situation and they are allowing guests to cancel their trips pursuant to their emergency policy regarding hurricanes. If you have a vacation planned soon, you should contact Guest Relations as long as the potential for Coronavirus at Walt Disney World continues.