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Looks like all our parks are staying open given it’s only an advisory... I’d imagine things get changed to a full on ban pretty soon though.

It's not just the flu though. This doesn't have a vaccine, nor does it have treatments like Tamiflu. So the flu has things that mitigate its potential impacts. This doesn't have those backstops, so it has the potential to overwhelm the healthcare system if allowed to spread quickly, which causes indirect deaths because people with all your regular illnesses and injuries can't get access for proper treatment. It's one of those Y2K bug situations. If we take measures to slow its spread, and we avert a spike, then people will say those measures were over the top because it was a fizzer.

The fairy lights are used consistently. you are forgetting that there are corporate/group events at the park almost every week.

For me the lighting fixtures look ok, but the fairy lights seem somewhat tacky, especially when they're only used for a handful of nights each year. That big white canvas would be great for nighttime projections though...

For anyone interested, this Blooloop editorial from Lance Hart at Screamscape is worth a read: https://blooloop.com/coronavirus-trouble-in-the-amusement-park-industry/

Dammit I was looking forward to watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meet Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan!

I took this about a month ago while picking up one of the brother's from work, they've been stripping the old baldwin apart, fingers crossed these are the first signs of seeing it back on the tracks on day. 👍🏼

Thats complete, they have two plates on the inside, and one on the outside. soo exciting!

Main/Middle Screen is gone!

I agree Skeet. We saw what happened last time parks didn’t heed safety advice. it a stupid short sighted decision imo... from a PR perspective if a cluster begins at a park... they’ll be ruined. I reckon their hands will be forced quick smart...

Some people would say the parks are putting money before guests. Some people would say its the same thing DW did when they killed 4 people.

They are due to be hang back up where they used to be soon, I believe they are getting new audio system including speakers soon

Our DL & DW October Trip is hanging on by a thread. Sorry yours has ended this way.

Those are just the old speakers now stacked up on the ground instead of hung off the screen. Definitely totally wrong for that kind of space.

So it’s been officially announced the Royal Easter show is canceled. Do we think that some Australian theme parks might be next to close down? Luckily for most off our parks bar VRTP and Ardent most are getting ready to close for their winter period anyway and most likely won’t be effected as much.

Sorry but this needs to be highlighted because that's what they are trying to stop. I've read Italy is so overwhelmed that some hospitals will no treat you if you are over 60.

It’s nice to see it once again But also, did they not ever take all these lights down after last years WC

When your market cap is lower than the sum total of your assets - liabilities, and it’s only the start of a major global downturn, I’d be worried. With their current cash on hand + previously negotiated loan/credit facilities they can’t weather this for very long. And what bank is going to bail out a company that’s not even worth the sum of its parts? The last half was dismal for both Main Event and Dreamworld... and that’s without the impact of coronavirus. If they’ve got good insurance then we’ll likely see them shut up shop for a while as we’re starting to see happen around the world. That’s a best case scenario for the short term. First thing to go will be future capex. There goes the five year plan. And you can absolutely bet that there’s very real conversations happening right now about whether the coaster will go ahead this year.

HOLY SHIT. that is all.

ThrillGeek is reporting-

Tell that to the residents of Wuhan. And those coaster parts.

USH has followed suit already. DLR has closed because state government policy has forced them to do so, not because of any misguided concern for health and wellbeing of their guests. Florida will remain open so long as the FL \ US government permits. If the parks issue a 'stand down' they don't even have to pay their full time workers, if its out of their hands. This handy article should explain a lot about how australian workplaces will (or should) handle things... https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/coronavirus-can-my-boss-force-me-to-take-sick-leave/news-story/1dc1e3cc7a2d49b1784a42a03e9822c6

I'm planning on heading that way myself later in the year. The current itinerary that i'm working on is as follows: Charlotte, NC - Carowinds (My first visit) - Highlights - Fury 325, Copperhead Strike, Intimidator Pigeon Forge, TN - Dollywood (My first visit) - Highlights - Lightning Rod, Wild Eagle, Thunderhead Orlando, FL - Disney MK, AK, Epcot, HS - Highlights - Expedition Everest (Amazing!) a bit disappointed i'll miss GotG Orlando, FL - Universal IoA, Studios - Highlights - Hulk (Awesome!), Hagrid's, The Mummy (We got stuck on this last time for a few hours) Orlando, FL - Seaworld (My first visit) - Highlights - Kracken, Manta, Mako Tampa, FL - Busch Gardens - Highlights - IRON GWAZI (This will be my entire trip highlight!), Cheetah Hunt, Montu Winter Haven, FL - Legoland (My first visit) Highlight - Lego Atlanta, GE - Six Flags Over Georgia (My first visit) - Highlights - Blue Hawk (Apparently is really good now after the refurb), Superman, Twisted Cyclone I don't drive when in the USA, for personal reasons, so I generally make my way around with Amtrak (Trains) and Greyhound (Buses). It's cheap (Amtrak tickets are as low as $6 one way), but not always at convenient times. For example when I caught the train to Cedar Point it leaves Cleveland at 2am and gets into Sandusky at 4.30am, but only cost me $6. The 2 tricky parks to get to on my trip using Amtrak/Greyhound are Dollywood and Legoland as neither are really serviced well by public transport (It also looks like the shuttle bus between Legoland and Orlando has been ceased as I can no longer find it on their website). Knoxville is closest to Dollywood and it only looks like a $40 Uber (According to the app) so that may be the way to go there. All up (assuming there are not closures) I'll visit 12 parks with a total of 73 coasters. Having already been to some of the parks though my coaster count will only go up by about 50. I'll be over there for about 4 weeks and it is actually not costing as much as I thought, at the moment i'm looking at about $7,500 for the lot. My biggest tip would be to check the parks opening days and times first. I'm planning on a later trip (Sept-Oct) so many of the parks are beginning to wind down for the winter, Six Flags will only be open on weekends, Legoland is closed on Wednesdays, Dollywood closes on Tuesday and Thursdays etc. etc. I would also recommend checking to see which parks are owned by the same company as @colonelbmx said as it is sometimes cheaper to buy a season pass to parks rather than individual tickets, when I did my first USA trip we bought Six Flags ($69.99 for SP vs. $38.00 - $73.00 for a day ticket depending on how you book) and Cedar Fair ($129.00 vs. $49.99 for a day ticket). As we visited a number of parks across both chains and visited for a number of days each we got so much more value buying the season passes. My biggest Disney tip as a former cast member is: When you first enter head to the RIGHT and go past Tomorrowland then start making your way around the park in an anticlockwise direction finishing up in Tomorrowland. You tend to find when people first enter Disneyland (Any of them) they tend to head to the left and move around the park clockwise OR head straight to Space Mountain. The best time to hit the biggest attractions (Space Mountain, BTRR, PotC, Splash Mountain) is during parades/fireworks/lightshows.

^ Big & costly move by Disney right there! After reading the latest micechat report only yesterday there was speculation that the Park would close temporarily, now it's happening. A good time to get those refurbs worked on! At least till the end of March at this stage but I am sure that date will likely be extended. Also what about WDW, business as usual? I wonder if other Parks like Universal will follow suit? Also for our Parks here in OZ? Our Gold Coast Parks alone hire thousands of People, most on Casual & PPT low award wages. How much support would our Parks get from #Scottyfrommarketing's stimulus package? Even if they do get support, what's to say Operator's don't just pocket the cash & give their staff jack shit? Spoke too soon, now Universal Hollywood - credit Micechat.. The health and safety of our team members and guests is always our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution and in response to the guidance provided by the California Department of Public Health, Universal Studios Hollywood will temporarily close beginning Saturday, March 14. The theme park anticipates reopening on March 28 as we continue to monitor the situation. Universal CityWalk will remain open. We will provide timely updates as conditions evolve.

Lucky it's not powered by steam is all I am saying.

Sixflags get a season pass they work all parks across the USA saves money plus get a few deals. Cedar point is worth the trip amazing park in an amazing location and there are plenty of other parks with in a few hours drive they make the trip worth it. Disneyland/california I did in 3 days by myself with a hopper ticket and I did everything including the kids rides except character breaky the hopper ticket is worth it, as above some shows are only on some nights so you might find your self changing parks purely for one show at night or extend hours. I went right at the end of November typically quiet time if your going in peak times you may want an extra day. Universal La you could probably miss if your doing universal/islands its a far better park and nearly everything thats in La is in Florida plus mush mush more. Disneyworld took me 5 days and I got to see/do everything just, again in off peak and no kids but I did all the kiddie stuff. If your not staying at a Disney hotel it can be hard as all other hotels are a good 10 - 15 min drive and hotel shuttles suck their unreliable times all over the shop and sometimes their full so you have to wait for the next one. We just hired a car after the first day parking is better then in La so wasn't an issue. Busch Gardens Tampa is also worth the trip from DW, Sea world Orlando is the one you want to see even tho San Diego was the more famous one. Don't forget Cyclone in New York for a trip through history, Nickelodeon universe just opened, Six flags Great Adventure is a 3 hours drive also Dorney Park and Hershey park all of these are worth it. RCDB is great for seeing whats close by some other parks may have something thats of interest too, What ever you end up doing I'm jealous been a couple years since I got out of Aus

Agreed, for all intents and purposes, "delays at ports" and "increased inspections" are really just two sides of the same coin. I dunno why you would split hairs over the difference. It's a weird hill to die on. Even if the coaster track isn't undergoing increased inspections and gets waved through, its still stuck in line behind the stuff that is?

Correction: I made two factual comments which you did not agree with because your personal opinions were different.

Well done MW! Now please give that facade some love - after decades covered, I can still see the brick slot just above the Planet where Lasers projected for those once epic parade's/light shows. All the same, this is such a great improvement.. Please keep it up!

Ah, the classic can't refute that eventually turns to being pedantic about specifics. To be fair, I should have expected it on here

Just in case anyone is wondering, the orange is normally electrical, white is for data/comms cable, blue for water. Most of the locator company's use these three colours as standard with storm water and drains being a random colour. The markings will normally show the size of the conduit, the numbers and the depth to the top of the conduit. The more I look at some of the photos closely, the green could be fibre optic cables but only a guess. Hope that helps...

However, we have two possible causes here - virus, or inquest. The stocks dropped mostly since the inquest findings were handed down, with virus impacts being felt in some way for the past month. It's at least arguable its unrelated No, however, from what I have read about Corona, it is more easily transmitted, which fudges the numbers of mortality. If 1 in 10 dies of corona, and 1 in 5 dies of the flu, the flu seems worse - but if 1 person gives the flu to 1.5 people on average, and one person gives corona to 2.5 people, then you end up with patient zero infecting more people, leading to more dead. ***Disclaimer - I don't have official numbers, and didn't have time to find them, so this is all just to demonstrate the difference between mortality rate and transmission rates, using the above *completely made up* infection rates. Based on those *completely made up rates* the first person to die is in the third transmission step of corona, but the fourth transmission step of the flu. By the 10th transmission step, almost 1500 would die by corona, and only 35 by the flu. This is also assisted by the fact that we have strains of the flu every year, usually with only minor changes, so many of them have vaccinations ready, or that can be rapidly adjusted to suit. We know when the flu arrives - usually winter time, and we all get jabs and have posters and ads and signs reminding people to practice good hygiene. We also have governments that report health scares quickly, and listen to doctors, and act quickly and proactively to implement controls...

Finally got the chance to drive the hour and a half to Northam and ride the slides. It’s a really nice new aquatic centre that replaces the old Olympic Pool on the other side of town. It’s $5 for pool entry for adults and another $5 for a 2 hour session on the slides. The weather in Perth has been awful this past week, so the sun actually turned up, today, and there was a top of 27 degrees. The water isn’t heated, so this temperature was just fine. We arrived just after the start of the morning two hour slide session(10-12 and 2-4pm on weekends) and I wouldn’t have seen more than 5 people on the slides and probably another ten in the rest of the pool complex. The four slides come off a three storey tower and thankfully they all land into the shallow splash pool from the same direction. There’s a small kids slide on the first floor. A light blue/teal open slide on the second floor, and darker blue and light green enclosed slides from the third floor. The young staff were helpful, chatty and relaxed. The blue slides are the quickest, faster than the Gold Rush at Outback Splash. The green slide was wider, like it was meant for tubes, and runs out of puff just before the end. There’s definitely more to do here if you’re a single rider than Outback Splash. The slide tower is pretty narrow, but does the job. The enclosed tubes have a decent length of time in the dark. The tower is surrounded by a lovely little native garden and there are plenty of shaded areas for families to gather. The whole complex looks pristine and puts the rest of Northam to shame. It’s got a lot going for it, considering its price point. The local community should be very happy with this investment.

Attention to detail by their marketing team leaves a little to be desired...

Oh if I’d already booked and didn’t care about DL I’d still sure as hell be going. The hysteria is ridiculous and now with everything being cancelled and shut I think is over the top. It’s just the flu, have good hygiene and like you normally would with the flu, stay home and get better. I expect The Easter Show will now also end up being cancelled this year.