Earlier this month, experts were estimating that Walt Disney World in Orlando would not be opening again until at least the beginning of 2021. However, with last month’s announcement that Universal Orlando would begin opening on June 5th of this year and Legoland Florida opening on June 1st, it was only a matter of time until Disney made an announcement. That announcement came today.
Parts of the Disney Springs shopping and dining area already started to re-open last week and some Disney Vacation Club properties in Vero Beach, Fla. and Hilton Head, S.C. are set to open on June 15th with the Fort Wilderness resort and Campground starting its re-open on June 22nd.
According to the plan submitted to local government officials, Disney World plans to start by re-opening Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11 before also opening EPCOT and Hollywood Studios on July 15. Along with a yet to be announced reduced park capacity, park attendees will have their temperatures taken upon entering the parks, will be subjected to enforced social distancing, will be required to wear masks, and will be able to wash their hands or visit sanitization stations all over the park.
The park’s high-touch experiences,” like character meet-and-greets, parades, and other crowd-attracting events will remain shut-down until further notice.
Our only question about this plan is the temperature taking. You are going to have people coming out to the parks in the middle of a Florida summer. The ambient temperature could be anywhere from 90-100 degrees. It will be curious to see how that kind of weather messes with the accuracy of the thermometers.