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.)
Well, now I don’t feel so bad about canceling our reservations for the week of July 4th, since they’re not officially opening until July 11th. Disney would have dropped them anyway. But now it’s confirmed– masks will be mandatory, and this breaks my heart. No WDW for us until that changes. Not going to spend THAT much money to breathe my own hot sweaty carbon dioxide through a damp mask in brutal heat/humidity. Best of luck to those who are willing to try. This life-long heat-adapted Floridian opts out with a heavy heart and a pit in my stomach. 🙁
What happens to people who have park hopper tickets? If guests have to reserve entrance to the parks then it kind of defeats the purpose of a park hopper. Will there be refunds for park hoppers?
Admit it Tom, you started this whole website with the goal of listening to loooong city council meetings, right? 🙂 Kidding of course, I really appreciate the updates and the lighter topics you’ve been including as well, especially the rankings of all the rides, even if you did have Toy Story Mania ranked way too low 🙂
Great article! I was booked to go in April which as we know did not happen. I spent 2 hours on the phone with a Reservation Specialist back in April rescheduling. The reason it was so long is that I asked for everything I could think of. I got the free meal plan, upgraded from Swan to BC, and extended 2 days for only an extra $800. We are scheduled to go in September now, so hoping things have smoothed out but the crowds are still low….
Any thoughts on when Christmas party tickets will go on sale? We are booked for the week before Thanksgiving at Wilderness campground. Wondering if you would like to speculate on that being open? Do you think, since we have had tickets for 6 months with our package, it will be a first come first served for being able to enter the parks?
What is the Christmas party except crowds, parades, character meetings, shows, fireworks and everything they can’t have right now. I think they are going to have to reimagine the parties first.
We were to go in April but of course that did not happen… We are booked for the first week in October!!!
I haven’t seen any mention of 3D glasses – as used in Mickey’s Philharmagic or Flight of Passage … any thoughts? Has Universal addressed it? They use them extensively.
They get sanitized between uses. You’re good.
I heard that at universal team members will hand them to you versus you grabbing them from a bin yourself.
No, we will NOT be among those who do the early return to the parks. As a matter of fact, as seniors with annual passes on the monthly payment plan, we would appreciate the option to cancel the rest of our contract for this year or, at the very least, to move the rest of the payments and our access to 2021. Our reluctance to return right now is for health reasons, but I would guess there are many passholders who are unemployed right now who could really use the financial relief of either of these options.
Long time reader, first time commenter. First, thank you for all the amazing work you do on this site. As for the announcement: We had a trip planned for Aug 2-7 and canceled immediately when this news broke. My wife and I are medical professionals with 22+ combined years of experience. We have spent the majority of that time in the lab, specifically working in an area that deals with the immune system. While we understand Disney’s decision on requiring masks from their perspective, we see no legitimate medical reason to require them and actually feel it does more harm than good, which is a much larger conversation. No hard feelings though. We make one yearly trip to Disney as that’s all the time and money we can spare. Considering the mask requirement and postponing of character meet and greets (we have a 5 year old daughter) and fireworks, it was an easy decision for us to cancel our trip (though we are hoping things are back to normal in the fall, in which case we will go then). It is exciting they are opening though, and I’m excited for each of you who will be able to attend!
Medical professional as well and 100% agree. Thanks for the post.
Nurse for 10 years working with auto immune disease patients, totally agree with you. I’ve been sicker wearing my mask every day for 10 hours than I’ve been the whole time I’ve been a nurse.
Thank you for this post. This is how I feel as well. No medical history as a professional, but have lived in a hospital for a month watching my son go through Chemo and a bone marrow transplant. (he is healthy and doing great now) But agree about the masks and how much sicker they make people due to the germs it holds. Not once, even at my sons most vulnerable/sickest moment, did his doctors ever come in with a mask as healthy individuals. It just is not sanitary and I do hope Disney moves quickly from mandatory masks to recommend or optional.
Only a lowly veterinarian here, but I’ve gone through what studies are out there and agree the whole cloth mask thing has little to nothing to support it from a scienctific basis. And I can also tell you that fully 50% of my clients are wearing them incorrectly to start with, so I can’t imagine the laypeople at Disney will be any different. And yeah, having to wear one at work in a relatively climate controlled environment and struggling, there’s no way I could do so in heat and humidity. And my kid sweats at the drop of a hat, so I’d probably need 3 masks a day just to change out for the saturation. We were thinking if goimg next year, but we’ll see how this plays out. Hopefully by then, the realization will occur that it’s not necessary and just work on other factors.
RN here with public health- infectious disease background. Totally agree with the mask fallacy. But I am sure the lawyers recommended this one. My guess is once people start dropping like flies. The lawyers will recommend a different path
Yeah, I’m going to go with the CDC on this one. Thanks though!
Aaron, awesome that you are following CDC guidelines. Their current recommendations list face covers as voluntary, so I agree we should be following them as should Disney: voluntary use of masks for everyone. If you are too scared to leave home without it, stay home or wear one. If you do not want to wear one, don’t. Since Disney is taking the choice away from us, we have chosen not to go for now. If you feel differently, good for you and whoever else chooses to go. I am happy for you that you’ll be able to go. No sarcasm.
Thanks for the update Brickers.
Disney has made our decision easy to make. Face diapers, stand here-not-there, limited dining and entertainment…not how our family will choose to spend our disposable income.
Going ahead and cancelling 2 APs and our September vacation package.
Keep on the lookout, there will be a nice Brunch at the Top 10:30 am 9/13 table for 6 dining reservation come open.
It was a nice run Disney, but we have come to an impasse as far as our family is concerned.
Good luck all!
Same. We planned on going mid-December. Unless Disney is back to “normal” procedures, then we will not be going. Initially, I was concerned that upon reopening, Disney would be swamped with visitors who missed several months of vacation opportunity. I see now the issue is not going to be the crowds, but the fear-driven health protocols. One day this too shall pass. That’s when I’ll go back to Disney.
There are dates for hotels in website. Hotels open July 11. DVC on June 22.
I can’t see myself visiting during this time period most specifically because the mask requirement. Not because the efficacy, but because how brutally uncomfortable it is wearing them over your face in that Florida heat! I couldn’t begin to imagine trying to keep the pace of a typical Disney vacation (especially with kids!) while wearing a suffocating piece of fabric over our faces. Yea, we will wait.
I would put odds on that myself, wife, and daughter will be going during this limited capacity phase. As AP, and living just over an hr away in Tampa, we will take advantage of the low crowds and wear the masks til we are truly sick of them and then head home or whatever, but that is a luxury that the majority do not have.
At the same time, I’m right there with those that are out of state, and/or paying a ton of money for that special Disney experience, which this current description will not be. It will be curious to see how this progresses moving forward, as there are so many factors that will impact future decisions and actions.
It is also a moment, hopefully, to reflect with my daughter that at 7yrs old just how truly blessed she is to have been able to go, and do so many things at Disney that other ppl may never get to, or not nearly as frequently. the last one being Xmas at Disney.
Everyone stay safe, and hopefully we will all get to do our thing at Disney sooner rather than later.
Most people who understand that this pandemic is nowhere close to over will not spend thousands to visit the best viral dissemination venue ever devised, not until the pandemic has truly subsided and/or a safe and effective vaccine is available. Many of those who do go will be of the mindset that the whole thing is a hoax, or a plot to curtail their freedoms, or at any rate their personal wants will seem more important to them than the greater good of society and those most at risk.
I guarantee the parks will be filled with people who yank off their masks as soon as they get past security at the entrances. Visiting WDW will be the cause of further spread of COVID-19; some people will become very sick and rack up huge medical bills and have permanent organ damage; some will die.
But by all means, think of the fun you’ll have, not the risk you’ll pose to others by having visited. That’s your right, right?
Nailed it. The level of entitlement and selfishness in this country is mind boggling.
Who told you my plan?
Or have already had it
This is the best post I have seen on here in awhile. The truth is that Disney is opening up too early. I understand why but that doesn’t make it safe. And I totally agree with the people that don’t want to spend the money right now because so many things will not be operating or closed. I have a trip booked for mid-December and I am afraid that may even be too soon for me. Plus I have to fly out of a major international airport (DFW) which I think may scare me more than going to the parks.
Let’s all hope that we get some therapeutics and a vaccine soon so we can go back safely and enjoy Disney as it should be enjoyed.
Mike said: “Many of those who do go will be of the mindset that the whole thing is a hoax, or a plot to curtail their freedoms, or at any rate their personal wants will seem more important to them than the greater good of society and those most at risk.”
Mike, you seem to forget WDW is a publicly accessible THEME PARK. It is NOT an institution for protecting and rehabilitating our most vulnerable, frail, or immunocompromised,
If someone is a high-risk patient, they have NO BUSINESS being at a THEME PARK, especially during a pandemic.
WDW is what it is– a public venue. Even in good years, people get sick. Kids lick hand rails, stick fingers in their mouths and noses, and eat food they dropped on the ground. Unwashed hands touch everything, and then eat hot dogs, chips, and other concessions. People sneeze and cough. It just so happens that THIS year we have an extra nasty virus on top of the usual contagions.
Those who cannot afford to be exposed should not attend. Don’t impose masks on tens of thousands, for the sake of dozens or hundreds.
Sick, frail, vulnerable– please plan your vacations to WDW after a vaccine is available.
Um, what?!?! Mike, you seem like a gloom, doom, & despair kind of person. Listen, if you are concerned about living your life based on OTHER people’s vulnerabilities, knock yourself out. Most people would think it absurd to live their lives based around medical conditions they don’t have and yet that’s what you’re (strongly) advocating here. The medically fragile need to stay home & “stay safe”, while the rest of the healthy world will go out, contract diseases, & recover. The vulnerable ones won’t have to worry at all about contracting deadly diseases because they’ll be locked in their own self made prisons and simply die of something else…because, you know…everyone dies.
Were it me at the helm of this transition, I would be doing a similar timeline but for very different reasons posited here. WDW is going to be losing money this year. It’s just too expensive to operate, and too expensive to go for a lot of people to accept a contracted experience. Therefore, I would be looking at this as a marketing expense.
I also want to maintain the political good will of the bill paying guest and state/local officials, so I want to set a date in the distant but reasonable future so show that a major revenue generator is coming back on line. But I have an out.
Since I’m doing this as a marketing expense, I can’t afford for us to bring cast and guests back too soon and become a hotbed of infection that gets carried back around the world. So I let other resorts go first, and I see what the possibly premature reopenings by various governors yields. If it’s safe, great! That’s what we want. If sars-cov-2 boomerangs, which it very well may do, I can keep my resorts closed, ready to fight another day.
Jump the gun and all you’re left with is a huge marketing expense telling people to stay away – we’re just a money hungry corporate machine.
I’m perfectly okay with wearing a mask but no fireworks, no character meet and greets, no playgrounds, no water features??? I completely understand the reasoning but man, what a buzz kill.
If Disney world does open in July are the extending the tickets ? And how far out ? Cause mine have dates on them but I want to go later
I booked July 7-11 to take advantage of my son’s birthday and free dining. Since now it is officially not possible to go I wonder if Disney will let us rebook and keep free dining????
I had to rebook my June trip after I had gotten the free dining from rebooking my May trip. I did not get to carry the free dining from June to July. I was told they no longer offer the free dining option. The only discount available was the Fun & Sun. Sorry!
They’ll let you rebook but I would bet money that you lose the free dining.
Do you know when phase 2 is? When parades will start back up?
*Nobody* knows the answer to that question (not even Disney). It will depend on the pandemic situation cooling off to the point that social distancing rules can be relaxed. Until it is deemed “safe” for strangers to stand should-to-shoulder again, there won’t be parades or fireworks in the parks.
I think without saying it Disney is making this a phased reopening for locals with tickets and Disney Annual passholders. They know that passholders are already invested and the restrictions will mitigate the crowds for now. I wish everyone the best of luck with their future plans and I think we all hope that things will go back to normal, no one wants their children’s future to wear masks and not enjoy high-5ing the characters.
Hi, I have a trip booked from the UK for September 9th 2020. I know you cannot give a confirmed answer but what do you think Disney will look like by then? Will firework displays and parades by in play again and do you think face masks will still be a mandatory requirement?
Nothing will change by September. Masks will still be required, parades & fireworks will still be dark. Parades & fireworks won’t come back until it’s again considered “safe” for stangers to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. We’ll get there some day soon, but not by September.
They won’t be ramping down restrictions as cold and flu season starts, that’s a safe bet.