WDW COVID-19 Operational Changes- Reservation System-Rope Drop Procedures

[GADisneyDad14]

I’ve been at BLT for a few days, just wanted to add my perspective from a resort, can’t speak to the parks.

I will caveat that it feels very lightly occupied here - like maybe 25% or so (that’s a rough guess). There are other guests around, but not very many.

Cleaning procedures are abundant, particularly around the pool and main entrances. Does that mean someone comes and cleans every surface someone touches? Absolutely not, and if that is one’s expectation level it would be best not to go to WDW (or anywhere) right now as it’s just not practical.

Personally I fall more on the personal accountability end of the spectrum and don’t rely on any business to make me feel or be safe, but after taking it in for a few days my impression is they are putting a lot of time, resources, and prep into cleaning standards/procedures. Honestly more than I expected.

I mean, when is the last time a CM sprayed/wiped down the entire handrail all of the way up any pool slide? How about never. But they’re doing it now with frequency.

How much can all of this keep up when the guest count increases? Hard to say of course. But my initial impression is Disney about the best it can under the difficult circumstances.

 

[yulilin3]

Any idea of what they are using to spray/disinfect the boats?

No clue

Based off of yesterday, what time do you think would be a good time to get to parking lot? I was leaning toward around 8

Yeah, I'm getting there at 8 as well

 

[scrappinginontario]

Where is it shown that masks can be removed for the safari?

 

[Meglen]

Where is it shown that masks can be removed for the safari?

The wdw couple posted a video

 

[penel3]

You have a good point.

Thanks Meglen and I’m sorry if my wording sounded harsh. I hear so much panic in people nowadays, understandably, especially if they have minimal medical background. We need to keep things in perspective. I’m an RN with a Master’s Degree, and CIC (Certified in Infection Control)

 

[Mike1082]

Cleaning procedures are abundant, particularly around the pool and main entrances. Does that mean someone comes and cleans every surface someone touches? Absolutely not, and if that is one’s expectation level it would be best not to go to WDW (or anywhere) right now as it’s just not practical.

Personally I fall more on the personal accountability end of the spectrum and don’t rely on any business to make me feel or be safe, but after taking it in for a few days my impression is they are putting a lot of time, resources, and prep into cleaning standards/procedures. Honestly more than I expected.

This is on par with my observations at Saratoga Springs and Disney Springs last weekend. It was definitely more than I expected as well!

 

[Meglen]

Thanks Meglen and I’m sorry if my wording sounded harsh. I hear so much panic in people nowadays, understandably, especially if they have minimal medical background. We need to keep things in perspective. I’m an RN with a Master’s Degree, and CIC (Certified in Infection Control)

Your knowledge is always welcome. !
I'm not super scared or anything just to me either wash evertime or not at all. Cuz in current form it's not doing much. The hand stations and washrooms should be enough. Im more scared stuff is gonna get worse and than my Dec trip is 100% cancelled since I'm from CT.

 

[mamaofsix]

Disney is doing what is reasonable to minimize risk....the person who decides to attend also takes responsibility. Have you been to the pediatrician lately....waited in the waiting room....I know for a fact that after you left the waiting room, no one sanitized the chair you were sitting in.......nor did they wipe down the chair you sat in within the exam room, they sanitized the exam table, the scale and the items the pediatrician used to examine your child. You couldn’t have been at higher risk anywhere else than a medical facility where people are entering already ill. Do not expect Disney World to sanitize more than a medical facility....let’s be realistic.

Wow, this is really interesting to read, and might give a clue as to why the case numbers are rising so rapidly in the U.S. In Canada right now, it is illegal to even open a theme park and our numbers are so much lower. Perhaps different ideas about what is reasonable or realistic on different sides of the border.

In Ontario where I'm from, absolutely everything you touch is wiped down after you touch it in any sort of medical facility. Even somewhere lower risk than the doctor's office - like the dentist, orthodontist or chiropractor, for example - your waiting room chair is wiped and sanitized after you get up, you are not allowed to touch so much as a door handle - gloved staff or automatic door openers do it for you. If there is no door to a room opening, the opening is covered in plastic and you must walk in elbows first as to not touch this plastic with your hands. Such protocals are standard practice in order for these facilities to remain open. You must wear a mask at all times in these buildings, you cannot use the washroom, etc. etc. And these are the precautions being taken in a province that only sees about 100 new cases per day and often only 2 or 3 deaths per day - sometimes zero.

I would likewise be as uncomfortable as the person you were responding to. Watching the cast member previews and seeing that masks are not required on the safari and there are barriers between seats - that's a huge red flag. With no masks, it would have been better for them to leave the safari as open air than to put up barriers. The barriers will catch and stop airborne germs easily, putting the next group at high risk. If they're only being wiped down every 2 hours and no one's wearing masks - yikes. In a state with such high case numbers, I think it's reasonable to be worried about that. It should be wiped down between every group.

 

[penel3]

Wow, this is really interesting to read, and might give a clue as to why the case numbers are rising so rapidly in the U.S. In Canada right now, it is illegal to even open a theme park and our numbers are so much lower. Perhaps different ideas about what is reasonable or realistic on different sides of the border.

In Ontario where I'm from, absolutely everything you touch is wiped down after you touch it in any sort of medical facility. Even somewhere lower risk than the doctor's office - like the dentist, orthodontist or chiropractor, for example - your waiting room chair is wiped and sanitized after you get up, you are not allowed to touch so much as a door handle - gloved staff or automatic door openers do it for you. If there is no door to a room opening, the opening is covered in plastic and you must walk in elbows first as to not touch this plastic with your hands. Such protocals are standard practice in order for these facilities to remain open. You must wear a mask at all times in these buildings, you cannot use the washroom, etc. etc. And these are the precautions being taken in a province that only sees about 100 new cases per day and often only 2 or 3 deaths per day - sometimes zero.

I would likewise be as uncomfortable as the person you were responding to. Watching the cast member previews and seeing that masks are not required on the safari and there are barriers between seats - that's a huge red flag. With no masks, it would have been better for them to leave the safari as open air than to put up barriers. The barriers will catch and stop airborne germs easily, putting the next group at high risk. If they're only being wiped down every 2 hours and no one's wearing masks - yikes. In a state with such high case numbers, I think it's reasonable to be worried about that. It should be wiped down between every group.

I think it is wonderful that you are experiencing this type of infection control in your medical facility....that is not what the Government of Canada has issued for

Infection prevention and control for COVID-19: Interim guidance for outpatient and ambulatory care settings:
Environmental cleaning and disinfection

Increased frequency of cleaning high-touch surfaces in patient exam rooms and any central areas is important for controlling the spread of microorganisms. Environmental disinfectants used should be classed as hospital-grade, registered in Canada with a Drug Identification Number (DIN), and labelled as effective for both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.

• Patient exam rooms and all central areas should be kept free of clutter to facilitate cleaning
• All patient exam room surfaces that are considered "high-touch" (e.g., examination tables/bed, bedrails, bedside table, chair arms, charting desks or tables, touch screens, keyboards, handwashing sink handles) should be cleaned and disinfected between every patient
• Hospital-grade ready-to-use disinfectant wipes with the recommended contact time should be used to disinfect smaller patient care equipment (e.g., blood pressure cuffs, electronic thermometers, oximeters, stethoscopes) after each use
• All central area surfaces that are considered "high-touch" (e.g., telephone, chair arms, door handles and buttons, light switches, handwashing sink, bathroom sink, toilet and toilet handles, grab bars, outside of paper towel dispensers) should be cleaned and disinfected a minimum of twice daily and when soiled
• Cleaning and disinfection should be performed at least once per day on all low-touch surfaces (e.g., shelves, chairs or benches, windowsills, headwall units, overbed light fixtures, message or white boards, outside of sharps containers)
• Surfaces that are visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids should be cleaned and disinfected immediately
• Floors and walls should be kept visibly clean and free of spills, dust and debris

 

[mamaofsix]

I think it is wonderful that you are experiencing this type of infection control in your medical facility....that is not what the Government of Canada has issued for

Infection prevention and control for COVID-19: Interim guidance for outpatient and ambulatory care settings:
Environmental cleaning and disinfection

Increased frequency of cleaning high-touch surfaces in patient exam rooms and any central areas is important for controlling the spread of microorganisms. Environmental disinfectants used should be classed as hospital-grade, registered in Canada with a Drug Identification Number (DIN), and labelled as effective for both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.

• Patient exam rooms and all central areas should be kept free of clutter to facilitate cleaning
• All patient exam room surfaces that are considered "high-touch" (e.g., examination tables/bed, bedrails, bedside table, chair arms, charting desks or tables, touch screens, keyboards, handwashing sink handles) should be cleaned and disinfected between every patient
• Hospital-grade ready-to-use disinfectant wipes with the recommended contact time should be used to disinfect smaller patient care equipment (e.g., blood pressure cuffs, electronic thermometers, oximeters, stethoscopes) after each use
• All central area surfaces that are considered "high-touch" (e.g., telephone, chair arms, door handles and buttons, light switches, handwashing sink, bathroom sink, toilet and toilet handles, grab bars, outside of paper towel dispensers) should be cleaned and disinfected a minimum of twice daily and when soiled
• Cleaning and disinfection should be performed at least once per day on all low-touch surfaces (e.g., shelves, chairs or benches, windowsills, headwall units, overbed light fixtures, message or white boards, outside of sharps containers)
• Surfaces that are visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids should be cleaned and disinfected immediately
• Floors and walls should be kept visibly clean and free of spills, dust and debris

These are the rules for Canada in general that must be followed at a minimum in all provinces. Even our Atlantic Provinces, that have had close to zero cases in the past month, must follow them. Our rules for re-opening facilities in Ontario, which I was listing, are much stricter. It's not just my personal experiences in my facilities - the protocols are identical throughout the province. As you know, we have universal healthcare so our facilities must all follow a certain standard of practice. Much different from the U.S.

Either way, it is pretty shocking for someone outside of the U.S. to watch what's happening in Florida. When living in a Province that has low cases and isn't even opening playgrounds or indoor restaurants yet, it's hard to believe that Florida would be welcoming tens of thousands of guests to a theme park each day. I love Disney and see that they really are trying hard, but I don't think it's unreasonable to criticize some of their practices. I'm sure as the weeks go by they will be changing some of their rules - hopefully insisting on masks during the Safari being one of them, lol.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-...viders-including-dentists-to-reopen-1.4957541

 

[puffkin]

More and more guidance is coming out that this isn't really a surface virus, but more related to aerosol droplets. But its still good practice for wiping down/sanitizing and using good hand hygiene for not just COVID but any other "ickies" out there. Anyone else still cringe when they see the meme of the little girl licking the metal handrail at Disney?!?! But ultimately if Disney is taking reasonable measures, the rest falls on the guests.

We are going in a few weeks, and it saddens me to see the picture of the crowds posted at the SDMT, but I also know that a single snapshot can be taken well out of context. By most other first hand accounts (and most of what I have seen at the other park down the street over the last month) things have been running well. My family has talked about it, and if we come across a crowd or an area of the park where people are not following the rules (masks) or social distancing, we will simply avoid that area and move on. This just happened to us locally (a large group came in while we were waiting for ice cream without masks which are required here and we got out of line and left). Some of the responsibility does fall on the guest, and in the ice cream situation I didn't expect the 16 year old workers that are paid $8 an hour to be able to enforce the rules so I did the responsible thing and left.

 

[lostinlakes]

Disney is doing what is reasonable to minimize risk....the person who decides to attend also takes responsibility. Have you been to the pediatrician lately....waited in the waiting room....I know for a fact that after you left the waiting room, no one sanitized the chair you were sitting in.......nor did they wipe down the chair you sat in within the exam room, they sanitized the exam table, the scale and the items the pediatrician used to examine your child. You couldn’t have been at higher risk anywhere else than a medical facility where people are entering already ill. Do not expect Disney World to sanitize more than a medical facility....let’s be realistic.

Interesting take. I work in primary care and we wipe down every seat in our waiting room when a patient gets up, sanitize every room between patients, every counter at check out between patients, and every machine and tool used between every patient. No one wants to keep patients safer than medical professionals. We just wish our patients were as safe.

 

[sponica]

@GADisneyDad14 my concern is never about Disney's methods, they know they can't drop the ball here....part of me would love to see the complex so empty if I could safely get there (toooo many forms of transportation to take for my comfort right now)

Now the morons of the world who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze....

 

[penel3]

These are the rules for Canada in general that must be followed at a minimum. Our rules for re-opening facilities in ONTARIO, which I was listing, are much stricter. Ontario currently has the highest number of daily cases, though much much lower than any U.S. state. Every Ontario facility, even paramedical like a dentist, optometrist, or massage therapist, must follow the more specific guidelines or risk being shut down.

I understand what you are telling me, although, I have just spent 30 minutes trying to research and validate what you are writing. Unfortunately, the Ontario Ministry of Health, Ministry of Long Term Care, as well as the Public Health Ontario website links me back to the guidance via the Government of Canada that I referenced, aside from this one little blurb from Ontario Ministry of Health COVID-19 Guidance: Independent Health Facilities Version 4 – June 19, 2020

"25. After every patient visit, whether the patient is symptomatic or not, patient contact surfaces (i.e., areas within 2 metres of the patient) should be disinfected as soon as possible. Treatment areas, including all horizontal surfaces, and any equipment used on the patient (e.g., exam table, thermometer, BP cuff) should be cleaned and disinfected before another patient is brought into the treatment area or used on another patient. Refer to PIDAC’s Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning for Prevention and Control in All Health Care Settings for more information about environmental cleaning.” The PIDAC is general cleaning practice (pre-covid).

Can you PM me the link for what you are referencing, such as the no touching doors, no use of washrooms, room opening covered in plastic if no door, immediate cleaning of chair as soon as patient gets out of it? As a highly regarded medical professional, I only state and support what I am able to validate. I would greatly respect validation of your statements. And I am sure the moderators would prefer we take this into our own private message thread. Thanks so much!

 

[osufeth24]

@GADisneyDad14 my concern is never about Disney's methods, they know they can't drop the ball here....part of me would love to see the complex so empty if I could safely get there (toooo many forms of transportation to take for my comfort right now)

Now the morons of the world who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze....

haha, if there;s one good thing I hope that comes out of this, is that people will be more aware about being sanitary (but I doubt it).

 

[penel3]

Interesting take. I work in primary care and we wipe down every seat in our waiting room when a patient gets up, sanitize every room between patients, every counter at check out between patients, and every machine and tool used between every patient. No one wants to keep patients safer than medical professionals. We just wish our patients were as safe.

That's wonderful!! I would love to have you work where I practice.....now, can you take a look at the product you are using? See what the surface time requirement is for full disinfection.

 

[Chris Ehlers]

Anyone with recommendations on who to watch Vlog/stream today?

 

[penel3]

haha, if there;s one good thing I hope that comes out of this, is that people will be more aware about being sanitary (but I doubt it).

Ditto!!! how many times have you observed people only 'rinsing' their hands after using a public bathroom!!!!!!!!! Freaking disgusting, and now we have people expecting the sanitizing police to come out and protect us??????????? Really??? Take some ownership

 

[mamaofsix]

I understand what you are telling me, although, I have just spent 30 minutes trying to research and validate what you are writing. Unfortunately, the Ontario Ministry of Health, Ministry of Long Term Care, as well as the Public Health Ontario website links me back to the guidance via the Government of Canada that I referenced, aside from this one little blurb from Ontario Ministry of Health COVID-19 Guidance: Independent Health Facilities Version 4 – June 19, 2020

"25. After every patient visit, whether the patient is symptomatic or not, patient contact surfaces (i.e., areas within 2 metres of the patient) should be disinfected as soon as possible. Treatment areas, including all horizontal surfaces, and any equipment used on the patient (e.g., exam table, thermometer, BP cuff) should be cleaned and disinfected before another patient is brought into the treatment area or used on another patient. Refer to PIDAC’s Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning for Prevention and Control in All Health Care Settings for more information about environmental cleaning.” The PIDAC is general cleaning practice (pre-covid).

Can you PM me the link for what you are referencing, such as the no touching doors, no use of washrooms, room opening covered in plastic if no door, immediate cleaning of chair as soon as patient gets out of it? As a highly regarded medical professional, I only state and support what I am able to validate. I would greatly respect validation of your statements. And I am sure the moderators would prefer we take this into our own private message thread. Thanks so much!

For sure. The files are hard to find online because they were sent directly to medical professionals from the gov't, not really put out on a website. Message Sent.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

@GADisneyDad14 Now the morons of the world who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze....

Yes, I was shocked when I read in a post someone saying that they only take off theer mask while eating/drinking or for a sneezing fit!!!! That’s the most important time to leave your mask on!! SMH