ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney World is now accepting reservations beginning July 1, according to the company's website.
The theme parks and hotels have all been closed since mid-March. Last week, the company announced that Disney Springs would begin a phased reopening May 20.
Even though you're able to make reservations beginning in July, Disney has not announced plans for reopening its parks at this time.
Shanghai Disneyland reopened on Monday with social distancing guidelines and other restrictions in place. The reopening of the park, which welcomes nearly 18 million visitors a year, could give some insight on how major theme parks in the U.S. could reopen.
Steven Cahall, a Wells Fargo securities analyst, previously said he expects no attendance for the rest of the fiscal year, and parks working at a 50% capacity in fiscal 2021.
“Until the time at which there is significantly improved testing and/or a widely available vaccine it’s tough for us to imagine long lines for Rise of the Resistance, no matter how much folks might want to go to WDW deep down,” Cahall wrote.
Last week, Disney's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel wrote a post on the park's blog and shared an update on what to expect as the parks prepare to reopen.
According to Hymel, the park is exploring:
- Phased reopening: We’re looking at all of our locations and how best to begin the reopening process, including a gradual reopening and/or partial reopening of certain locations. For example, the opening of retail and dining locations prior to the opening of our theme parks.
- Physical distancing and capacity measures: As you can imagine, managing guest density in queues, restaurants, hotels, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park and across the resort is a major focus, as we implement physical distancing guidelines based on guidance from health authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and appropriate government agencies. This will likely include implementation of guest capacity measures to comply with state and federal guidelines. We’re also exploring ways to use technology to aid us in these efforts, like with our Play Disney Parks App and through virtual queues at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
- Cleanliness and sanitization: We’re planning 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: We’ll follow guidance from the government and the medical community regarding 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: We’re further 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.
Click here to read her full post.
This story was originally published by staff at WFTS.
