admin ORLANDO, FLA – Disney World, the most magical place on the land has reopened after nearly four months with new rules in place to help avoid the spread of COVID-19.
On Saturday, Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are reopening and Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will follow four days later.
“It’s the chance to come back and be in the magic, Hot or not, mask or not, we’re just happy to be here. I feel like everybody here is in the same frame of mind. Everybody is just so excited to be here,” said Diane Watkins, a preschool teacher from Helena, Alabama, who visits the park about eight times a year.
The reopening comes as a huge surge of Floridians have tested positive for the new coronavirus in current weeks. There were about 10,000 new cases reported on Saturday, according to state statistics. Many cities and counties around the state have recently put back restrictions that had been lifted in May, when cases seemed to drop.
All of Disney’s Orlando parks closed in middle of the March in an effort to avoid the virus’s spread. Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando closed around the same time but reopened several weeks ago after instituting similar rules to protect employees and customers from the virus.
On Saturday, Lori Lovell of Evansville, Indiana, walked around Frontierland morning with friends.
“I have missed coming here. It just feels really good to be back. This is where I’ve made so many memories. It’s kind of our second home. Not being able to come here was hard,” said Lori.
Disney’s new rules include compulsory masks and social distancing. Visitors will need reservations to arrive in a park, and they won’t be permitted to hop between parks. For visitors and employees temperature checks will be taken when they enter. Fireworks shows and parades have been suspended to avoid drawing too many people together.
Nearly everyone in sight wore masks on Saturday morning. Capacity is nowhere near where it is under normal circumstances, according to Park-goers.
“I’ve been here on spring breaks where you can barely walk around. The walkways are very wide open,” stated Lovell.
Watkins said that there were lots of hand sanitizer stations around, and people were respecting the physical distancing cues and guidelines. Since the park is at lower capacity, there was only a five-minute wait for the popular Buzz Lightyear ride — normally it’s about 90 minutes.
Some attractions and dining areas aren’t open until now. Also, visitors can’t hug and greet the costumed Disney characters. Instead, the characters are in “cavalcades,” or motorcades, as they make their way through the park. Disney has been opening its parks back up globally for the past two months. In May, the company unlocked Disney Springs, a complex of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues in Lake Buena Vista.
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