It’s hard to know whether one should be impressed or wonder about the mental state of a person that’s visited Disneyland 2,995 days in a row, which is just over 8 years worth of consecutive visits for those that want to do the math. But that run is over, and it might stand for a while to come since just thinking about how much it costs to get into Disneyland at this point is enough to think that the record will remain until someone decides it’s theirs to take. Jennifer Calfas of Time recorded when Huntington Beach resident Jeff Reitz, who has an annual pass to the park, hit the 2,000 mark, but he kept going after that, finding a need to visit the park in order to relax and just enjoy the magic of the place. It’s interesting to find out that he wasn’t going for any record on purpose and that he wasn’t even thinking about what might happen if he was to be noticed for such a thing. But as of now the run has ended since Disneyland has shut down its park and the magic is going to have to wait at this point for a lot of people since the coronavirus is making it necessary to stay away from large gatherings in order to lessen the spread that’s continued to climb as it hit the US in a big way.
Billy Givens of We Got This Covered has gone on to state that while Reitz wasn’t satisfied that he didn’t get to pick how the streak ended, he was also glad that he didn’t have to. Just imagining that many days at Disneyland is enough to give some people a shudder since like it or not, the park is a lot of fun, but it also doesn’t change from day to day. The only thing that does change is the influx of people that come from all parts of the globe to share in the magic and spend a small fortune on tickets, merchandise, shows, food, and other various delights within the park. As of right now it sounds as though the park will be shut down for at least the mandatory two weeks that has been imposed upon a wide number of businesses that deal with mass numbers of people, so as to make certain that the spread of COVID-19 doesn’t get any worse. If things don’t even out however the closure could end up lasting longer, much as it will nationwide. People are still bound to argue over whether the hysteria is reaching critical levels and will only continue to worsen, but at this point there’s no point in bucking the system as people are scared enough.
One major downside of this is that Disney is losing a significant amount of money per day as the parks remain closed, as Trace William Cowen of Complex has written. One might think that a corporation that’s been on a roll as Disney has lately can absorb that kind of loss somehow, but take into account what two weeks will look like while taking such losses. The losses would start to total in the millions very quickly, especially given that Disney is losing revenue by not being able to release Black Widow and other projects that were upcoming. These continued losses will no doubt start to worry investors as they begin to think that the Mouse House might not be able to fully recover from this, but the hope of course is that the virus will be dealt with thanks to social distancing and possibly a vaccine if one can be found soon enough. It’s very easy to say ‘boo hoo’ when thinking that the rich won’t be getting richer, but it’s less easy to think that the people who don’t make the millions will be out of a job and soon enough will need to find something else to support themselves and their families. Think about how many workers Disney employs, and then think of what they’ll be looking at when attempting to earn a paycheck.
This puts the whole thing into perspective really, not to mention Jeff’s record, which he was never trying to accumulate apparently. It’s not exactly fair to downplay his life and his purpose for coming to the park, but the reality is a little too difficult to get away from since it’s there and it’s not bound to be kind when it comes to revealing just how hard it is to take. The COVID-19 virus is acting like a hammerblow to the American way of life in ways that many people have never experienced, and worrying over a record feels a bit silly at this point. It’s a great thing that Jeff enjoys the park that much, as many of us might get tired after the first week, or less.
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