MICKEY Mouse, Pluto, the Fairy Godmother and other Walt Disney favorites were still dishing out kisses, handshakes and high-fives at the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, despite the flu virus alert gripping the United States. At the world famous Florida theme park, which is run by Walt Disney Co and visited by millions each year, enthusiastic crowds filled the avenues and rides, apparently unworried by the warnings of a possible pandemic. At the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, one mother pressed her baby's face into the costumed character Pluto's furry snout for a kiss. Other youngsters continued to snuggle up to various other Disney characters and share “high-fives,” while fidgety kids slid their hands along the rope lines while waiting to get on the rides. Among the crowds were the Jansens from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. They said they were not worried about bringing their 2-year-old and 7-year-old children to the Magic Kingdom. “There's no concern for us. We always go to the big public places with the kids,” said Ed Jansen. “Just like any Dutch man or Dutch woman, we have both feet on the floor. We're not a panicked people.” Despite some official fears that crowded venues could increase contagion risk, there were no visible extraordinary precautionary measures in place at Disney's Magic Kingdom. Trash sweepers, as usual, swept up bits of garbage almost before they touched ground, but they did not appear to be doing any extra disinfecting or unusual cleaning. Disney ‘monitoring situation' The Walt Disney Co. has maintained a tight-lipped stance about the flu alert, wary of any news that could trouble its carefully crafted guest experience at the world's largest theme park. Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger in Orlando told Reuters this week, “We're not really talking about it,” declining to say whether any special health measures were being taken. After the meeting with Orange County Health Director Dr. Kevin Sherin, Disney representative Mike Griffin said the company was “monitoring the situation.” Universal Orlando is co-owned by the Blackstone Group and NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co. Most visitors seemed determined not to let the alarm over the spreading flu virus spoil their family fun. “We come from a tropical island and we have many kinds of fevers,” said Puerto Rican retiree Luis Larregoity and his wife Miriam Cruz. Ann Genthner, a grandmother from Boston visiting the Magic Kingdom with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, said she hadn't bothered to follow the news about the flu.
