Disney World Streamers Attend Reopening Despite Concerning Symptoms

A YouTuber livestreamed her trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, as the park re-opened this weekend, even as she and a companion developed coronavirus-like symptoms in real-time. The YouTube channel “That Crazy Disney Lady” was live nearly six hours on Friday and nearly five more on Saturday. As the journey went on, its subjects began experiencing coughs, shortness of breath and severe vomiting. The streamers returned to the park anyway, dismissing the possibility that they had caught COVID-19.

Disney World re-opened this weekend with coronavirus safety measures in place — visitors are required to wear masks, to stay six feet apart and are forbidden from hugging performers. Still, many people voiced concerns that the park would amplify the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and “That Crazy Disney Lady’s” livestream seemed to confirm their worst fears in real-time. After their first day in the park, one of the hosts — Robin — visited first aid with her symptoms, which seemed severe to many viewers. She then returned to the park the following morning, attributing her condition to a food allergy.

“She was super sick y’all,” one of the women said, indicating her friend walking through a gift shop right beside her. Robin said with a laugh: “They didn’t want me to leave!” The first aid nurses reportedly urged Robin to go to the hospital, but she refused.

Still, the women insisted that none of them had COVID-19 and threatened to ban any viewers who suggested they did. Another popular YouTuber and theme park enthusiast, Jenny Nicholson, shared a clip from their stream on Twitter (without calling the channel out by name), asserting that this proved that theme parks should not be open. In response, “That Crazy Disney Lady” lashed out at Nicholson and urged her viewers to go report Nicholson’s content en masse in the hopes of having her banned.

“I am jealous lol I wish I was at Disney world,” Nicholson tweeted, “but I’m not because we’re in a pandemic.”

Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom re-opened this weekend, and other sections of the park are scheduled to open up in on Saturday. Florida has been one of the most eager states to re-open throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and it is now showing some concerning statistics when it comes to the virus.

Florida reported 11,433 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, and 435 new hospitalizations, according to a report by NBC News. That same day, the U.S. hit an unsettling new milestone, recording 70,000 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day. Experts say that social distancing and avoiding crowded public places is still the most important step to slowing the spread of the virus and staying healthy.