Disney World Plans Phased Reopening Beginning July 11

Disney officials unveiled plans today for a phased reopening of the Walt Disney World theme parks, starting with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11 followed by Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios on July 15. The parks have been closed since mid-March due to the (still ongoing) COVID-19 pandemic.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will open July 11.

Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios will open July 15.

Disney presented the proposal to reopen to the Orange County (Florida) Economic Recovery Task Force, which approved the plan. It now goes to the Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and then to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for final approvals.

Safety measures that will be implemented at the parks include:

  • Advanced reservations will be required to enter each park.
  • Face masks will be required for guests and cast members.
  • The max capacity of each park will be reduced, but specific numbers were not disclosed.
  • Disney will increase and encourage opportunities for touch-free payments.
  • Enhanced cleaning procedures along with the addition of hand-sanitizing stations.
  • Crowd-producing events such as parades and fireworks displays will be suspended.
  • “High-touch” areas like character meet-and-greets and playgrounds will be unavailable.

A recent post to the Disney Parks Blog explains that those with existing ticket holders and annual passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before tickets are made available to the general public:

At this time, we are temporarily pausing new ticket sales and Disney Resort hotel reservations so we can focus on guests with existing tickets and reservations (Disney Vacation Club members can still make new reservations). Existing ticket holders and Annual Passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before new tickets are sold; we’ll be reaching out to these guests soon to provide additional details. We will resume new ticket sales and hotel reservations after that period of time.

Disney Parks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel outlined in a blog post earlier this month the health and safety measures we might see in the parks, in addition to phased reopenings of parks:

  • Physical distancing and capacity measures: “managing guest density in queues, restaurants, hotels, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park and across the resort is a major focus”
  • Cleanliness and sanitization: “increased cleaning and disinfection, determining where that should take place (for example, in high-traffic areas), and the cleaning products and processes we’ll use”
  • Screening and prevention support: “enhanced screening procedures and prevention measures, including those related to personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face coverings. Some measures, like adding hand sanitizers and hand washing stations across our resorts, have already been implemented.”
  • Cast training: “emphasizing our strong culture of health and safety amongst our cast members, and will continue to provide new training and reinforcement as we get closer to reopening”

The Disney Springs shopping and entertainment district reopened on May 20.

For more information, visit the travel information page on the Walt Disney World website.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned and check back often as more details become available.

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