Disney World's reopening trailer gets an appropriately snarky response
If you're going to re-open one of the world's most popular theme parks during a pandemic, and in a U.S. state that is currently considered a hot spot, you're going to get dragged for it.
That's the response greeting Disney on Saturday as company leadership moved forward with a plan to fling open the doors to the some Florida parks, come hell or COVID-19. All the protective measures in the world can't keep park guests safe from an illness that has led to bans on large gatherings of people worldwide.
Predictably, Disney's mask-laden trailer released to hype the reopening of Orlando's Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom was met with scorn and snark on Twitter.
You May Also Like
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Reports from the ground post-opening aren't terribly encouraging either. It doesn't mean that people aren't having fun, but it does speak to the challenge of maintaining social distancing in an entertainment venue that is literally built to cram as many people as possible together.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Thankfully, the crowds do seem fairly small, beyond bottlenecks like the one described above.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Look. I get it. Lockdown months have been hard. And Disney World employs thousands of people, many of whom haven't been able to report for work since the parks all shut down in March. Those people need their incomes back.
That's balanced against concerns over how Disney corporate is handling the re-opening. Just in the past two weeks, the company not only stuck by its plan to re-open, it did so in the midst of a report revealing that returning workers aren't being tested for COVID-19.
Many people seem to feel that any protective measures at all still don't go far enough. Enforcing a mask requirement helps plenty (please wear a mask when you leave the house!), but things like that and social distancing are only deterrents. They don't fix the problem.
You want to show your support for Disney? Then respect the challenges park employees face as they return to their jobs and stay at home. Watch Hamilton on Disney+. And plan to vote in November, because the USA's bumbling response to this pandemic isn't going to change unless there's a power shift in Washington, D.C.
Topics Disney
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
