Just came back from Disney Springs' reopening today, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not sure if this is the appropriate section of the forum to post on, but I think it leads to a broader discussion about people acting problematic amidst the pandemic once the parks reopen.
Essentially, my girlfriend and I were curious to go to Disney Springs and see how things were handled. We arrived in the Orange parking garage and were greeted by cast members and health officials. It was great to see that despite being promoted, Josh D'amaro was still there greeting guests and the people taking temperature screenings were employs of Advent Health, rather than Disney cast members. A number of social distancing measures were put into place, but it very much seems to be a "learn as they go" type situation. Initially for open restaurants such as Chicken Guy, there were very long lines and not enough markers to keep proper distancing. People followed the markers when they got to them, but hardly did so when the markers were not present. Walking around, we decided to go eat at Earl of Sandwich, assuming that because it was in the back of Disney Springs, that it would likely be less crowded. This was not the case, but we decided to wait anyways.
This essentially is where the problem started. We were waiting in line, maintaining a respectful distance from others, when a woman and her party walked up behind us. Her kids went off the find a table and she and her husband decided it was necessary, amongst a pandemic and clear social guidelines, to stand only a few inches behind us. When we turned around and asked her to back up, she got angry and defensive, muttering along the lines of "this is ridiculous" and "there's no tape anyways" to her husband. When a Disney cast member nearby came to ask her how she was doing, she replied "good, not great" in a poor attempt to gain sympathy for her self-induced victimization. I don't recall the exact words of the cast member or the conversation she had with the woman, but it was done in a passive-aggressive but just nice enough to meet Disney standards tone.
Another issue we experienced, came not just from the woman, but a few others as well. Because dining is at limited capacity, there are of course fewer tables available. Since there was a long line and fewer tables, capacity was filling up quickly, and it's extremely unfair for the people who were waiting in line first, not to be able to get a table because others decided to take one before even getting into line. During normal park operations, this happens all the time and isn't really a big deal because capacity usually is just fine, but here it could potentially be problematic for those who arrived first. Granted, once we left, we could see that the line wasn't nearly as long, and that the initial crowds we saw likely won't be as large over the coming days, but the issue of people's lack of consideration still stands.
I think that if issues like this are present on opening day of Disney Springs, how will parks look once they reopen? Will we see a "one warning and then you're out" policy like Costco, or will Disney be more lenient to "preserve" the guest experience? Often times, disruptive people are not confronted because it is more effort than it is worth, but will this change during the pandemic? Can people who flagrantly skirt the rules and cause unnecessary issues really be tolerated? I think it will be interesting to see once things start to resume.
Essentially, my girlfriend and I were curious to go to Disney Springs and see how things were handled. We arrived in the Orange parking garage and were greeted by cast members and health officials. It was great to see that despite being promoted, Josh D'amaro was still there greeting guests and the people taking temperature screenings were employs of Advent Health, rather than Disney cast members. A number of social distancing measures were put into place, but it very much seems to be a "learn as they go" type situation. Initially for open restaurants such as Chicken Guy, there were very long lines and not enough markers to keep proper distancing. People followed the markers when they got to them, but hardly did so when the markers were not present. Walking around, we decided to go eat at Earl of Sandwich, assuming that because it was in the back of Disney Springs, that it would likely be less crowded. This was not the case, but we decided to wait anyways.
This essentially is where the problem started. We were waiting in line, maintaining a respectful distance from others, when a woman and her party walked up behind us. Her kids went off the find a table and she and her husband decided it was necessary, amongst a pandemic and clear social guidelines, to stand only a few inches behind us. When we turned around and asked her to back up, she got angry and defensive, muttering along the lines of "this is ridiculous" and "there's no tape anyways" to her husband. When a Disney cast member nearby came to ask her how she was doing, she replied "good, not great" in a poor attempt to gain sympathy for her self-induced victimization. I don't recall the exact words of the cast member or the conversation she had with the woman, but it was done in a passive-aggressive but just nice enough to meet Disney standards tone.
Another issue we experienced, came not just from the woman, but a few others as well. Because dining is at limited capacity, there are of course fewer tables available. Since there was a long line and fewer tables, capacity was filling up quickly, and it's extremely unfair for the people who were waiting in line first, not to be able to get a table because others decided to take one before even getting into line. During normal park operations, this happens all the time and isn't really a big deal because capacity usually is just fine, but here it could potentially be problematic for those who arrived first. Granted, once we left, we could see that the line wasn't nearly as long, and that the initial crowds we saw likely won't be as large over the coming days, but the issue of people's lack of consideration still stands.
I think that if issues like this are present on opening day of Disney Springs, how will parks look once they reopen? Will we see a "one warning and then you're out" policy like Costco, or will Disney be more lenient to "preserve" the guest experience? Often times, disruptive people are not confronted because it is more effort than it is worth, but will this change during the pandemic? Can people who flagrantly skirt the rules and cause unnecessary issues really be tolerated? I think it will be interesting to see once things start to resume.
