Walt Disney World Could Be Announcing Reopening Date This Week
Walt Disney World could be close to revealing a date to reopen its magical gates. The world's largest theme park resort has submitted plans to Orange County detailing how it will handle the crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG. So far, Disney has kept its reopening plans under wraps.
Because it takes guest relations seriously, Disney has been meticulously planning on how it will operate its parks while preventing an outbreak of COVID-19.
Walt Disney World was the first major theme park located in Florida that shut down due to the pandemic, closing down its operations back on March 17.
Since then, thousands of its employees, or cast members, have been granted a leave of absence and the parks have remained eerily empty.
However, the news of the park's reopening plans and a potential reopening date may have given some of their waiting cast members hope that they can again spread the Disney magic to guests.
To get a glimpse into how Walt Disney World could look during the pandemic, one has to look at what Disney incorporated when it reopened Disneyland Shanghai recently.
The China-based Disney park revealed in a press release that it will require all of its cast members to wear masks, check guests for fevers, put up signage reminding guests to social distance themselves and their parties, and cap the capacity of its park.
"To them, it represents some semblance of normal," Bob Chapek, Disney's CEO, told CNBC recently.
Those same measures could soon be coming to Orlando's resort as well, providing some reassurance to visitors that its theme parks will be safe to visit soon.
Walt Disney World recently took the first steps when it partially reopened Disney Springs on May 20.
Florida's theme parks are beginning to submit their reopening plans and announced dates. Universal Orlando was the first major park to get the green light to reopen, as its resort will start welcoming guests again on June 5.
Legoland Florida in nearby Winter Haven will reopen on June 1, and SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay have mentioned they would like to reopen in June as well, according to WPTV, although there is no word yet if SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park's parent company, has submitted plans to reopen yet.
