Disney World Reopening Update: More Cancellations & June Opening for Universal!
In this Walt Disney World reopening update, we’ll cover the latest meeting by the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force (which includes a bombshell from Universal Orlando), what came from VP Pence’s meeting with Florida’s hospitality and tourism leaders, and more. It’s been a busy couple of days, so let’s get started!
This was the first meeting of the task force since Governor Ron DeSantis held his press conference last week announcing that Florida would enter “Full Phase 1” of reopening the state’s economy. At that time, DeSantis also indicated that theme parks in Florida could submit their detailed reopening plans (which would require a target opening date) for review and approval.
In the lead-up to today’s Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force meeting, a few Orlando journalists tweeted reports that Walt Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld would all be presenting their plans, including proposed reopening dates. This was quickly picked up by CNBC and immediately caused a spike in share prices of the Walt Disney Company’s stock. A rep for Disney corrected this–but then further reports emerged that maybe they’d be presenting…
Suffice to say, yesterday was a whirlwind day. In addition to this roller coaster of reveals and walk-backs about whether Walt Disney World would present its target opening date and plans at the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force meeting, there was also the successful reopening of Disney Springs, plus Vice President Pence’s meeting in Florida, which was attended by representatives from Disney.
Before we get to the good news, let’s start with the bad: more cancellations for Walt Disney World reservations. The second week of June 2020 is now officially out; park hours have been removed from the calendar and cancellation emails have now gone out to those with vacation arrival dates between June 7 and 13, 2020.
This is consistent with Walt Disney World’s standard practice of week by week rolling cancellations. As with all email notifications from Walt Disney World, it’s entirely possible not everyone impacted received one—either check your spam folder or attempt to view the reservation directly on My Disney Experience if you didn’t get an email but should have.
It also squares with Walt Disney World Delaying New Reservations Until July 1, 2020. At this point, it seems like all of the parks and resorts being operational in June is a long shot. It’s entirely possible we’ll see a phased reopening beginning next month given Universal’s bombshell announcement at today’s Orange County Economic Task Force meeting (see below), but the entirety of Walt Disney World being up and running before July still seems like a long-shot.
On the plus side, the reopening of Disney Springs was largely successful. While there were a couple of odd occurrences, the consensus of social media reports was that crowds were far lower than anticipated and the experience was generally pleasant and smooth (despite the heat and humidity).
We were actually shocked to see so many photos of Disney Springs almost entirely devoid of crowds. We expected pent-up demand to last through (at least) the holiday weekend, especially with no turnstiles acting as a monetary barrier to entry. As we noted previously, concerns about crowds were our main motivation for staying home.
Also yesterday was Vice President Mike Pence’s meeting with Governor Ron DeSantis and executives from Florida’s hospitality and tourism businesses. Per media reports, Walt Disney World advised the vice president that they are considering reopening the parks with a 20-30% cap on attendance.
If Disney Springs is any indication, organic demand may limit the number of guests at or below those levels. We’ve been pretty consistent in our belief that the parks would reopen to a short period of pent-up demand from locals before seeing a lull due to a lack of tourists (resulting from a mix of the lag between booking trips and actually traveling, unemployment & economic uncertainty, and lack of demand for a “compromised” guest experience).
The non-existent crowds at Disney Springs has us wondering whether even our pessimistic projections for Walt Disney World’s theme parks are inflated? Perhaps the safety measures and reduced entertainment will significantly suppress demand, even among locals?
Next, let’s jump to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force meeting (watch here), where John Sprouls, Chief Administrative Officer, and Rich Costales, Executive Vice President of Resort Operations at Universal Orlando presented the reopening plan for their theme parks, which will begin in early June 2020 in a phased soft opening.
Even if you have zero interest whatsoever in Universal, this is HUGE NEWS! The health protocol plans here are certain to be collaborative in nature between Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World. While some diehard fans of both companies project their own aspersions and view the competitors in an oddly adversarial light, that doesn’t reflect reality.
As you might’ve noticed, the reopening health screening procedures and policies at Universal’s CityWalk and Disney Springs were nearly identical–right down to policies and the specific verbiage on the on the liability disclaimer warnings at the two resorts. While CityWalk opened a week earlier than Disney Springs, we would expect similar timing and policies when it comes to the respective theme parks.
In other words, if Universal is opening at the beginning of June 2020, it’s almost certain that Walt Disney World will begin reopening around the same time or shortly thereafter. There are obviously other variables at play, but it’s not as if Universal’s parks will reopen in June 2020 and Walt Disney World will wait until January 2021. Early July for WDW is now the pessimistic prediction, with the more optimistic scenario being that Magic Kingdom (and maybe 1-2 other parks) opens a week or two after Universal.
Universal Orlando’s plan is to open Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, and Volcano Bay to team members on June 1 and 2, followed by Annual Passholders on June 3 and 4, and then to the general public on June 5, 2020.
During the presentation, Universal’s executives laid out a “guest journey” (above) that would stress the importance of communication, engaging guests and building confidence to encourage visitation.
Next up, Universal highlighted their preventative measures plan (above), which was put together with government and health official input, consumer research, competitive benchmarking, scenario planning, and demand modeling.
Significantly, Universal stated that masks will be required at all times for employees and guests. They indicated that if a guest arrives without a mask, Universal would provide a disposable mask free of charge.
Other modified practices are identified above, including the elimination of single rider lines, character meet & greets, and parades. Another noteworthy thing is that 3D attractions will still be operational (contrary to rumors), with glasses for those attractions handed out individually.
Universal indicated that social distancing signage and graphics have already been installed throughout both parks (above) so guests know where to stand and where to avoid.
This is similar to what can be found throughout CityWalk (Walt Disney World has a comparable version of the same at Disney Springs).
Following the presentation by the Universal executives, a presentation was made by local health officials who did a field inspection of Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida earlier today.
In summary, the Orange County health officials team had no concerns about Universal’s plan. From there, the full Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force voted on the plan (with Walt Disney World and other ‘conflicted’ members recusing themselves), approving the plan and essentially giving it the green light to proceed to Governor DeSantis.
Given that Governor DeSantis has repeatedly expressed an eagerness to reopen Florida’s theme parks and other attractions, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will approve of these plans and the June reopening date. (In fact, it’s likely that Universal executives discussed this yesterday before publicly unveiling the plan.)
It’s also noteworthy that Universal Orlando’s plan only addressed the theme parks and not the resorts. However, it is possible to book hotel stays at Universal Orlando beginning June 2, 2020. It’s unclear whether that’s intentional and the hotels simply were not mentioned during the presentation, or an error.
As we’ve stated previously, we think it’s plausible for Walt Disney World’s theme parks to begin reopening before the hotels, which could then follow in waves. Central Florida locals can sustain theme parks (to a degree) and help get the ball rolling there, whereas they will not sustain two dozen-plus hotels. Tourists will take some time to return for a variety of reasons, the most noteworthy of which is that there’s a lag time between booking a trip and actually traveling.
Above is a look at the tentative reopening dates of other Central Florida attractions. Local health officials also conducted field inspections of most or all of these amusement parks and attractions today (May 21, 2020).
During the task force meeting, neither SeaWorld nor Walt Disney World presented reopening plans. It was previously reported that both parks (in addition to Universal) had prepared plans for the review of Mayor Demings, but he didn’t mention that on the call. Moreover, Walt Disney World’s (newly-promoted) President of Signature Experiences Thomas Mazloum did not speak on the call. Regardless, the news that Universal Orlando will be reopening at the beginning of June 2020, and we’re consequently now much more optimistic that Walt Disney World will begin greeting guests before July 2020!
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 Universal Orlando when those two parks reopen in June, or will you wait? Surprised to see Universal’s three parks reopening at the same time Walt Disney World is cancelling vacation packages? Optimistic that the WDW parks and/or resorts will reopen in July? We welcome a variety of viewpoints here, and will not delete anything on opinion alone. However, 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 incessantly harp on the same point across multiple comments. Respectfully share your opinion and move along.
We’re scheduled to go Sept 8-14. I think it will be open but am unsure if I’m willing to part with thousands for $$$ for an experience that may not be what we had in the past. I’m curious to see what character meet and greets will be like, parades, character dining and if any attractions aren’t available. My daughter’s favorite thing is to meet the princesses and I think this may be unavailable or only available from a distance.
wondering what it will be like end of October, got tickets for the Halloween partyMa
How will bags be screened at UO? I hope WDW follows UO and adds X-Ray machines to have a touch-less bag check experience? It’s amazed me how non-hygienic the process has been.
Appreciate you always incisive updates.
Hey Tom, I totally agree it will be easier for WDW to limit attendance and implement new procedures based on no resort openings. My question is do you think they will phase in the resort openings or announce a date where all resorts open and thus reservations are still good (July-August)? I could see them offering 1-2 resorts by category initially but of course all of this hinges on demand.
My guess would be phased in.
1) Every resort with DVC
2) Epcot, MK & Skyliner resorts that don’t have DVC
3) Everything else
I could also see a couple of resorts not opening to the public until 2021 (especially if Coronado becomes the venue of choice for the NBA and other leagues).
Well this is certainly good news. Our res are June 27 to July 6 but would be cool if started July 1. We’re driving down from NY so will go and see how it works with face masks. If heat and masks turn out to be too much we can just drive back home.
Tom the BIG question is if you drive down from NY do you have to self quarantine for 14 days first? Is there a way they could check that and keep us out of the Parks?
We are planning a trip from NY as well (though later in the year) & I’ve wondered the same thing.
We’re headed down on June 29th – July 6th (hopefully), also from NY. My hope is that if the resorts are open, quarantine restriction on NYers will be lifted by then (especially as I’m in a part of the state that’s not anywhere near the tristate area and where the outbreak has been minimal).
Wondering the same thing here. Planning on flying in from South Jersey. We have reservations in mid-July and also September. I guess we will wait and see. We’ve been doing a lot of that lately. *sigh*
I am interested also. I think that is still in effect as of right now. We are from NY also. Anyone have an update?
According to visit Florida website, yes quarantine order is still in effect as of today, and doesn’t matter how you arriving, still quarantine required for 14 days, and Specifically talks about roadside checkpoints. It is not just for people flying from those states. It is about where you are from.
Keep checking that website before you travel to see if it gets lifted.
No way to guess when it will be lifted while those states are still hot spots.
From what I’ve read in a few groups, mandatory masks are a big deterrent.
Yep! And lack of entertainment. I think if we just be patient all of these safeguards will be lifted. They kind of have to do it in the beginning. I firmly believe they will drop the mask thing soon.
We have a reservation for Sept. 5 – 12 but we are coming from the west coast. What is your guess as to how things will be by then? I just don’t want to spend the money and only get a half experience as far as no shows and no fireworks and long lines and issues with dinner reservations. Love WDW but very torn as far as what to do.
We have reservations for mid September as well. If masks are mandatory we are out. Half the experience is to see your children’s faces of excitement. Not going to drop 6-grand and have to suffer through the heat with masks. I get all the protection etc… but the line has to get drawn somewhere.
I think this is happy news! I can’t wait for pics of people having fun while being responsible too. And one thing I found by watching a video of Disney Springs, was that even with the face masks on, I could still see the smile in their eyes. I’m hoping if everyone can just hang in there, we’ll get through this and never take for granted what we have in the US, especially on that wonderful day when covid19 is behind us. So many caring people who help when they can. Thanks Tom for the happy news! Nearer to my part of the country, we have the Creation Museum, the Ark and Holiday World- all of which will be opening too in June and July. One question, have you heard any news about bag scanners? I read the editorial on WDWNT news and I think many people really are hoping they switch to those. Do you think they will?
We are going June 12 to 21. Will give wearing a mask a try. Would much rather not wear a mask. Maybe try Universal 1st or maybe a smaller park. If wearing a mask to much for my family. Will hold on to Disney tickets and try later in year or another year. Definitely think if characters meets, parades, and shows will not be happening some money or type of refund should be given. Was definitely included in price when purchased tickets.
I was happy to see that Universal has a plan for Volcano Bay as I thought that the water parks might not be as easy to Covidtise for re-opening. Reducing the number of rafts will help, but I still think that Social Distancing expectations will need to go out the window once you step into a Lazy River. I not anti-mask, but I honestly don’t know how they are going to work at a water park. Somebody is going to have to invent one for water parks as the one’s that I wear are going to start to sag in less time than it takes to go down Summit Plummet.
It’s my understanding that once masks get wet they are no longer effective.
@Mickey 1928
Yes. Carry backups in Ziplock bags.
Great news! Glad to see this moving in the right direction. We just moved our June 13 trip out to July 25. Fingers crossed that all works out! If all parades, character meet and greets, character meals, etc. aren’t available and we aren’t offered a discount, we likely will still cancel but I’m holding out hope! We also booked a December trip just in case but that just might be during wave 2 of this thing! Also, I think you meant “masks” and not “guests” in your paragraph above. 🙂
Agree that things should be discounted, even if slightly, as a show of good faith. If you are cancelling attractions, shows, character meet and greets, etc. it’s only fair to not require people to pay the same amount of $ for the vacation they had originally had planned.
If you could somehow get in with a 20% crowd that’d be worth wearing a mask or walking on your hands the entire time.
Agree. I do not look forward to wearing a mask and may cancel the trip because of that. However, if they can greatly reduce crowds, leave attractions and shows open, the mask wearing seems a lot more doable. 🙂
Universal Orlando Targets June 5 for Theme Park Reopening
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-orlando-targets-june-5-theme-park-reopening-1295507
I hate masks. Don’t wear them at all at home. But, darned if it didn’t cross my mind as well. Haha
sorry! That reply was for Alan
I don’t see how Disney can have huge attendance at reopening if 1) resorts aren’t open and 2) unemployment is so high. 20-30% sounds about right.
Based on some of the passholder groups I am in, I think a lot of people are waiting for the Disney owned stores to open at Springs before they go. I think there is a possibility for a much bigger crown surge after that happens on the 27th. Will be interesting to see if that’s the case!
Agree, don’t know that many people will show up for half capacity stores. When all open, it will undoubtedly get a bit more crowded. Also, not many want to show up the first day and worry about possible crowds either.
I thought the same thing!
What will it be like in November?
Generally colder.
We are AP holders from NJ. Our reservations are for June 28-July 10, but not sure if it will be cancelled. Each week it gets closer to our dates.
I’ll be interested to see how people drink Starbucks or eat Mickey pretzels without masks …perhaps there will be designated areas for this?
That’s exactly what I was wondering if they considered that many businesses at Disney springs are restaurants. How do you eat with a mask on.
We are scheduled to visit Disney at the end of September. I’m hoping this « mask » stuff will be lifted by then. It’s too hot for them. Mask most likely won’t stay on while enjoying rides either.
We received notice today that our trip scheduled for June 12 to June 20 has been canceled.
That’s too bad. 🙁 We have June 22nd as a check in date. I was trying to hold out hope that we might have a chance. We need to decide if we should make the final payment in 2 days or just cancel.
Tom, my June 1-5 ASM reservations are still in MDE. My ADRs were cancelled. What does this mean to you, under the new circumstances?
TIA!
The processing of cancellations has been hit or miss–we had reservations that weren’t cancelled until we were supposed to check-in. Unfortunately, I think your hotel reservation will still end up being cancelled.
My money is still on July.
Early in the article you say late June is unlikely and even July might be overly optimistic, but then later on it says that July is pessimistic and WDW opening a couple weeks after UO could be expected. Safe to say I’m a little confused about the two statements so which is more likely to be accurate?
Sorry for the confusion. That part of the article was written after WDW sent out today’s ‘cancellation batch’ but before the task force meeting started. I’ve updated the post accordingly.