Disney World Announces Official Reopening Dates
It’s a big day for Walt Disney World, which just announced reopening plans and official opening dates for Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom, followed by Epcot & Hollywood Studios. This came in a comprehensive presentation to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force. In this post, we’ll share the details, including temporary health safety protocol, rules, plans for soft opening opening, guest reservations, and more.
Regular readers of our Walt Disney World Closure & Reopening Updates know we’ve been following these weekly OC task force meetings since they began. It’s been an interesting albeit tedious process. These virtual meetings typically run over an hour, with early ones containing a bunch of nonsense and only a few worthwhile nuggets of info. However, even those provided insight into Walt Disney World’s plans days or weeks prior to the same announcements via Disney’s official channels.
The last couple of weeks, Orange County TV has become must-watch television (well, YouTube–watch for yourself here). It has gone from only a few dozen streaming viewers for each meeting to a few hundred last week to thousands this week. For good reason, as the stakes have gotten higher and the substance of the meetings more compelling…
Last week, the bulk of the meeting was devoted to Universal Orlando Resort’s comprehensive reopening presentation. Executives from Universal highlighted their preventative measures plan and laid out a “guest journey” that would stress the importance of communication, engaging guests and building confidence to encourage visitation.
More significantly, Universal dropped the bombshell announcement that Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay would open for employee previews on June 1 and 2, followed by an Annual Passholder soft opening on June 3 and 4, and then to the general public on June 5, 2020. This accelerated timeline surprised a lot of people, us included.
Although initially rumored to be presenting their own reopening plans at that meeting, both Walt Disney World and SeaWorld waited until this week’s meeting to do the same.
Rumors have since swirled that Disney leadership was caught off-guard by Universal’s announcement. Supposedly, this process has been less collaborative in nature than previous security and health safety plans, which were designed in tandem by the three major players in the Orlando theme park market.
We cannot speak to the veracity of those rumors, but it’s worth noting that Universal Orlando isn’t alone in moving fast. The same day of Universal’s big reveal, Legoland Florida announced it would reopen first on June 1, 2020. Last Friday, FunSpot Orlando announced it had already opened (you read that correctly), and Gatorland followed suit the next day.
Roughly one-dozen area water parks and smaller scale amusement parks or attractions have likewise received approval to open–before the end of this month or first few days of June.
SeaWorld Orlando presented its plans first during this week’s Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force. During this, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment announced a general public reopening date of June 11, 2020 for SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, and Discovery Cove. (With an operational employee appreciation day prior to that.)
SeaWorld also shared specific “enhancements” to park operations, including mandatory masks for guests & employees, physical distancing, temperature screenings, and more. (All pictured above–pretty much identical to what Universal announced last week.) Notably, SeaWorld will not have an advanced reservation system for entering the park–also the same as Universal Orlando.
As for Walt Disney World, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings appeared on CNBC late last week and confirmed that Walt Disney World would submit their proposal and plans this week, which would be scheduled for presentation at today’s task force meeting.
Disney further corroborated this yesterday, with a tweet confirming they would present phased reopening plans today. With SeaWorld’s presentation finished, all eyes turned to Walt Disney World…
Even though we know what health security & safety measures will look like thanks to the opening of Disney Springs (and due to announcements by WDW unions), a number of questions remained to be answered today.
Would Disney present plans for a TBD opening, or reveal a target date as well? Would all parks reopen simultaneously, or just Magic Kingdom at first? What limitations would be placed on park capacity? Would advance registration be required for entry? How would this work for Annual Passholders? What about the two dozen-plus resort hotels? Would Walt Disney World reopen to Florida residents first, or everyone?
Well, we now have answers to these questions. At least, some of them…
Presenting for Disney during the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force was Walt Disney World’s Jim MacPhee, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer. He shared Walt Disney World’s reopening plans, beginning with opening dates.
The big news here is that Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will officially reopen to the general public on July 11, 2020. Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot will officially open on July 15, 2020. Prior to these dates, Walt Disney World will host a series of Cast Member previews and soft opening days for select audiences to ramp up operations. The details of these preview days will be announced at a later time.
For the official opening dates, Walt Disney World will employ a new theme park reservation system for visiting, the details of which will also be shared at a future date.
Additionally, Walt Disney World will utilize the above health and safety protocols, including mandatory masks, temperature screenings, physical distancing, enhanced cleaning & sanitation, and the reduction of contact between Cast Members and guests (including encouraging Mobile Ordering, contactless payments, etc.)
We’re not going to linger on any of these details, as this is all pretty much identical to what’s already happening at Disney Springs and what was revealed weeks ago by the Walt Disney World unions.
If you haven’t read our previous posts about the reopening of Disney Springs, here are photos and videos of what it looks like, and here’s what you can expect in terms of temporary health screening & safety requirements.
More significantly, Walt Disney World confirmed that it will temporarily suspend parades, fireworks, and other high-density entertainment during the first phase of its reopening.
Likewise, character meet & greets, playgrounds, water play areas, and other areas where physical distancing is impossible or impractical will be temporarily suspended during phase one.
All of this will be reinforced and effectively conveyed to guests well before they arrive at Walt Disney World via new education, communication, and engagement strategies.
Presumably, this will begin when guests book vacations or, if already booked, via push alerts and email notifications sent to guests. It will continue via the My Disney Experience app, in-park signage, and new Cast Member teams that will communicate with guests.
Walt Disney World concluded its presentation by reiterating some behind the scenes plans taking place to train Cast Members, educate the public, and prepare the parks for their soft opening dates and official reopening dates in July 2020. The approach was described as methodical and deliberate.
This still leaves questions unanswered for anyone contemplating a summer vacation to Walt Disney World. Most notably, they did not address its resort hotels in the presentation, nor did it offer even a vague timeframe as to when the soft openings will begin.
As we’ve said before, Walt Disney World’s two-dozen resorts will likely open in phases. Deluxe Resorts with Disney Vacation Club properties will likely be first, then non-DVC resorts connected to the parks by non-bus transportation (Caribbean Beach, Art of Animation, Pop Century, and Yacht Club), followed by everything else.
The process of hotels reopening could take a few months. There might even be some resorts that don’t reopen this year at all if there’s a lack of demand (think Coronado Springs, the All Stars, Port Orleans Resorts), in which case guests with bookings at those properties would be relocated elsewhere.
UPDATE: Walt Disney World Announced Opening Dates for Hotels & DVC Resorts!
With Walt Disney World starting its official process over a full month after Universal Orlando, it’s entirely possible that the “unofficial” opening will begin far earlier. This could include a few days of Cast Member previews followed by a couple weeks of the soft opening time that targets DVC Members, Annual Passholders, and Florida residents. This is an approach that has previously been discussed during these task force meetings, so it’s not exactly far-fetched.
During a longer preview timeframe, Walt Disney World could refine its approaches and have operations more polished before tourists with vacation packages arrive in full force (well, more like reduced capacity force). This would also give Disney more time to scale up operations, getting some of the hotels open for the bigger mid-July opening. The last few paragraphs here are merely our speculation, not anything discussed during Walt Disney World’s presentation. In any case, we’re expecting a deluge of additional news for Walt Disney World directly via official channels in the near future (possibly later today, possibly when Governor DeSantis approves the plan). We’ll keep you updated once we know more!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be visiting Walt Disney World right away when the parks reopen in July or will you wait? Surprised by the details of Disney’s reopening presentation to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force? Optimistic that things will be “back to normal” at Walt Disney World sooner rather than later? A variety of viewpoints are welcomed here, but we will not tolerate insults, arguing, or politically-charged comments. Don’t ruin a 95% fine comment with an unnecessary cheap shot—that 5% will get it deleted. Additionally, please do not debate the efficacy of masks or other health safety policies–all such comments (for, against, otherwise) will be deleted. Those arguments are played out and isn’t the appropriate forum for that. (Saying you will or will not visit in light of certain measures is fine.)
Bummed…I had the perfect trip planned for July 5-12 🙁 Still, I’m just thrilled that things are looking up. I have a second trip planned for December. Fingers crossed for the full experience in December.
Sorry, it’s 82 degrees where I live now and wearing a mask is uncomfortable and makes me want to touch my face MORE because it’s so hot. There is NO way I will ever go to Disney and wear a mask when it’s 90 degrees and humid.
My Disney days are done until this nonsense is over.
Ditto
Don’t blame you one bit.
Back in the olden days I lived and worked healthcare in SW FL, and wore a mask a large portion of the day. But inside the AC.
I just can’t do it. (Not to mention the fact that the “scientists and experts” can’t agree as to their efficacy AND the way they’re telling us to wear them goes against everything we were taught in school.
To me, it sounds like Disney was pushed to reopen earlier than they wanted because of the early reopening of other theme parks. I think Disney was unprepared to present their plan so soon.
With all those limitations and considering my anxiety level about getting sick (I’m not one of the 99% who would survive), I’ll stay home. Plus, with the many restrictions and eliminations, it would never feel like a real Disney vacation, at least not like one I’ve ever experienced.
I can see where locals would be interested in visiting their favorite theme parks though, even for a short while. However, based upon your report of Ghost Town Disney Springs Tom, I have to wonder if even the locals would be willing to deal with all of the new and uncomfortable mumbo jumbo rules. Guess we’ll see.
Unfortunately this is how it has to be. We NEED to protect the vulnerable from this and allow the other 99% to go back to normal life. We simply cannot hide from this forever. Like I said in my other post, it’s 82 degrees where I live now and wearing a mask is uncomfortable and makes me want to touch my face MORE because it’s so hot. There is NO way I will ever go to Disney and wear a mask when it’s 90 degrees and humid.
My Disney days are done until this nonsense is over.
Stay safe Barbara.
We are local and we are not going. We used to go twice a month on Sundays. We Miss it. We love the restaurants, we love the rides. We will have to wait though our favorites are Haunted Mansion (crowding in the stretch room), Buzz Lightyear (communal lasers, eesh), Sanna (no outdoor seating), and the parties (communal snack bins, fireworks, special characters) so we’re out for awhile. I hope they make it through with out too many budget cuts.
I’d also accept heavily discounted party tickets if they replaced the entertainment they can’t have. We’ll see.
i think disney’s plan of july is much more sensible than universal’s june plan. june seems too early. and as far as locals, there really aren’t many locals per say that aren’t disney cast members. it depends on how far out you consider “local”. if the surrounding areas mainly are made up of furloughed cms, are they really interested in hanging out at disney springs? probably not. i doubt the lack of attendance has much specifically to do with the rules in place.
Is there any speculation on how long these safety protocols will last? We rebooked our April vacation to August. We may have to postpone it again. Wearing a mask isn’t a deal-breaker, but not ideal. However, no parades and no shoes, etc,. Why pay that amount of money for only half of an experience? In addition, the resort we are scheduled to stay in, probably won’t open.
Unfortunately, we will not go back to Disney World until they remove the mandatory face mask policy.
Wait until people start passing out wearing these things and Disney starts realizing the liability that could go along with that. Will you have to swim with a mask as well at the waterparks/resort pools?
This is not going to work.
I agree…Florida summers are oppressive enough – they will have issues with heat stroke, and asthma-related accidents, with their guests, if they maintain through the summer…it would remain that way up until October.
I’m definitely disappointed in how vague Disney has been and continues to be. I’m an AP and it takes some planning on even a Disney experts part. The vagueness with the soft openings, capacity, and resorts doesn’t help with our faith in Disney especially when Universal came out so strong and clear. This may be my first negative post about Disney but I really expected clearer more precise communication and earlier open dates. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to which is why the vagueness puzzles me.
They are vague because it’s high stakes. It would be worse to promise something they can’t deliver. They are tempering expectations. If you go in July you are going to be part of the social experiment. The experience will be tweaked depending on that.
It’s not so much about guest safety as CM safety. *You* don’t have to go if you don’t want to; CMs don’t have that choice.
I mean if you go now it’s because you have a blog/vlog or are there out of curiosity/historical value. It’s going to be different.
Two adults and no kids it might be fun or novel, but if you are there for the rides then Universal is a better bet.
No characters is a deal breaker because our little is too little for most rides. Before we had her I would have been there in a second with a camera to get post apocalyptic Disney pictures. It’s going to be something.
When you go please let us know how they do the stretch rooms at Haunted Mansion
Have reservations starting August 8, with park hopper tickets. Wonder if park hopping will be allowed??!
I am curious what Tom or others think. I feel like these restrictions they are opening up with and temporary suspending the entertainment are in fact very temporary (even the mask wearing). I feel like this is a great way for Disney to reduce capacity without having to try to hard. I suspect Disney in all reality does not want people flocking to Disney from all over the country right away. I think once Disney has the “okay” from the state and health officials to go back to being as crowded as they can get it, we will see all of these restrictions lift. They must know on some level more people than not will not spend the type of money on a Disney vacation to walk around in masks all day and not get the full experience. Yes you will have the die hard fans and many locals within driving distance going and taking advantage of the low capacity, but apart from that many non-frequent visitors, once a year visitors or the once in a lifetime folks from what I am seeing and reading are not willing to shell out the money for a vacation at Disney and have to wear masks, etc. Time will tell but with Disney using the terminology temporary themselves, I feel we will see the restrictions lift sooner than later.
We won’t see the restrictions lift for a very very long time. Either ticket prices will be discounted or Disney will come up with new entertainment options for the stuff they had to cut.
There is no short way out of this unfortunately because you consider if there is a vaccine the majority of guests (from all over the world) would have to have had it to prevent an outbreak at the park (remember the measles outbreak?). That’s millions of doses.
So maybe herd immunity but that’s achieved by 70% of the population having had the disease and recovered. That’s 5 years potentially (from scientists).
So…it will be interesting to see how Disney adapts. I think the masks outside thing will die first because local Floridians don’t wear them outside. We do indoors but not outdoors. I could see being handed a clean disposable mask before indoor attractions.
That makes sense to me. Indoors for Masks with AC is far more do-able than outside in the heat/rain and other elements of Florida. The CDC has already stated outside is the safest place for reduce spread of the virus. Its the tight indoor spaces that tend to be the issue. I do wonder how they will enforce or lack there of. I personally will not go back until the mask restrictions lift, even if that means next year, as I have a little one (3) who I know will never cooperate and wear a mask inside or out for any length of time. I know many other people in that same boat that wont go back. I think Disney will have to make some choices once they get the go ahead to have people back. Some theme parks are not requiring them at all and other places like Orlando International Airport are strongly encouraging them, but not requiring them. I feel like Disney will move to that model sooner than later once they get the all clear to do so. Move to a model that says masks are recommended versus mandatory.
So conflicted. We rebooked our annual April trip to August but just not sure if we will actually go. Could really, really use some Disney Magic these days, but I’m unsure if I want to spend thousands of dollars for a partial experience. The masks don’t bother me one bit – I’m in the Northeast and we are required to wear them everywhere already. (They really are not bad once you get used to them… ) Just not sure if I want to wait till we can get the full Disney experience with park hopping and parades, fireworks and pools or get in a trip in whatever form they are offering before the dreaded second wave that I fear will keep us all home this winter.
It’s kind of interesting that this opening date is right at the end of when the larger pass holder discount expired (7/12). So any of us who booked with the larger discount will now have our reservations cancelled and have to rebook. I wonder if more discounts will be forthcoming or if this is one way of helping with crowd control.
The earliest I might feel comfortable visiting the parks is next spring, and that’s depending on how things go this summer/fall/winter. I’m sufficiently old that I fall into the “high risk” group in a few months, so I’m willing to be patient.
Hi Tom,
I read your blog voraciously, and I appreciate all the hard work you put in to bring us this info. I know you’re busy, but it would mean the world to me if you have two minutes to share your thoughts on:
1) Was there any word on whether no character meet-n-greets includes character meals and if no large gathering entertainment includes things like Festival of the Lion King, Indiana Jones show, etc.?
2) How long do you think it will be before fireworks and parades start resuming?
3) How long do you think masks will be required?
I realize that the last 2 would be pure speculation, but I greatly respect your opinion and would love to know your thoughts. Those are deal breakers for when my family will go, and I am curious to hear your predictions.
Talk about bad luck my reservations are July 10th -July 16th at The Contemporary and i have been on hold for 25 minutes so far to get it moved back a few days. Would love to go but now have more questions than before such as which restaurants and which hotels would be open by then surely you would think Contemporary would be open ,tom would like your best guess ! unlucky in Mississippi!
Do we know how long phase one will last ? Do you think fireworks will be back by December ? Thank you for your work during the closure !
It depends. If case counts go up, we’ll go back to lockdown.
I wouldn’t count on them back during cold & flu season. Simply because people will be a little bit sick and not realize it’s covid and accidentally spread it.
Do you think most people get a slight cough, no fever and think “this is the beginning of something serious” probably not.
Love, love, love all things Disney. We have been visiting annually for the past 6 years and have stayed in value and moderate resorts. We finally booked a stay in a deluxe resort for September. If all the restrictions are still in place we will probably cancel. I love that Disney wsnts to keep guests safe but it is too expensive for us not to be able to meet and greet, see parades, fireworks, and use the pools (some of our favorite things to do). We will be so sad if we feel the need to cancel. Maybe end up going in 2021?
I’m in the same boat as you. I definitely respect their desire to keep us all safe but to not have character meet and greets and parades and fireworks kills some of the magic for me. If I am paying that much money, I want it all. If I was someone who could afford to go all the time or I was local/lived closer, I’d be happy to support them in this endeavor but I can’t justify it financially otherwise. I do hope that everyone that is able to go has a blast and a magical time.
I’d go for a significant discount without all these things. It really looks like we aren’t getting that huge discount.
We had a trip booked for July 15th to stay for one week. But we do not want to have to wear face masks and we want the full experience for our children’s first time visiting. We will reschedule for next year
We had to cancel our May trip. We would absolutely consider going in mid October, only if parades, fireworks and resorts and their pools will be open. Otherwise it definitely wouldn’t be worth spending all that money, including airline tickets to go for a fraction of the experience. Also, masks in the heat are awful. It might be worth waiting until there’s a vaccine for Covid. If such a thing ever becomes available!
I fully support the restrictions they need to put in place to re-open, but I’ll wait. Already pushed from March, to June, to July, and finally cancelled. Even though the July dates are after the newly announced opening time, I just don’t think it would be fun. At this point, that probably means another year, but that’s okay.
Many WDW tickets have a specific use date attached. It will be interesting to see if this counts as a reservation to attend the parks or if a separate reservation will be required. I don’t have a lot of faith in Disney IT, so I would assume it will be separate systems. It would be very frustrating if you are unable to get a reservation within the time frame of your date specific tickets.
This is the thing that I am waiting to hear about. In early January I purchased 5 day park hoppers that are only valid for the last week of September. To further complicate things, I bought them from one of the discount ticket sellers. Luckily I’ve still got time to gather information before I need to weigh options or make changes. God bless the July guinea pigs, y’all stay safe out there.