Potential Plans for Disney World Phased Reopening
Leaders from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and other Orlando area theme parks met today as part of a subcommittee within the Reopen Florida Task Force to determine how and when to reopen parks and other attractions in the Sunshine State. In this post, we’ll share some ideas discussed, what this could mean for Walt Disney World, and potential impediments to these plans.
The subcommittee that met has been dubbed the “Industry Working Group on Tourism, Construction, Real Estate, Recreation, Retail and Transportation,” and includes executive leadership from a wide range of businesses from theme parks to airlines to retirement communities (yes, really). Of relevance for this blog are two group members: Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro and Universal Orlando CEO John Sprouls.
This meeting comes a few days after Florida beaches began to reopen and 24 hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed that Walt Disney World is “so far ahead of the curve” on reopening and will be “leading the way” in Florida’s plans to begin opening in the coming weeks under the federal government’s Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, a three-phased approach based on the advice of public health experts…
During the tourism portion of the Reopen Florida Task Force meeting, Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro did not speak. However, Universal Orlando CEO John Sprouls did, and he outlined some of plans to reopen Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
This is significant because, as with security, the health protocol plans here are certain to be collaborative in nature. While some diehard fans of both Disney and Universal project their own aspersions and view the companies in an oddly adversarial light, that doesn’t reflect reality.
While competitors, it’s also true that Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando both exist in the same community, and to some degree, indirectly benefit from one another. In the past, we’ve seen identical changes and policies rolled out simultaneously at the two resort complexes, including 5 years ago when both (plus SeaWorld) installed enhanced security infrastructure overnight.
There have been some diverging approaches between the two on the security screening measures (most notably, Universal uses baggage scanners–something we’d love to see Walt Disney World adopt), but there are a lot of practices that are consistent between the two. This is not coincidence. It’s a foregone that Universal and Disney will likewise adopt nearly identical health procedures and protocol for reopening.
Sprouls outlined a number of possibilities, including increased sanitation throughout the parks, increased use of virtual queue systems, encouraging guests to wear face masks, added social-distancing measures, disinfecting attractions throughout the day, increased use of mobile ordering and contactless payment transactions, staggered seating for shows, screening employees daily, and more.
Much of what was mentioned mirrors the possibilities outlined in a Universal Orlando survey sent out over the weekend. Notably, that survey also mentioned suspending parades and nighttime shows, limiting attendance to half of park capacity, and removing 3D glasses from attractions. (Anything that accelerates the abandonment of 3D is welcome in our book!)
He additionally stated that multiple teams are working on a number of different scenarios for reopening protocol. Moreover, that the theme parks will be guided by state and local officials, as well as health officials with the overarching goal to be keeping employees and guests safe.
This all mirrors recent comments from Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger–along with health safety measures that have been floated for Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and what’s currently being rolled out ahead of Shanghai Disneyland’s imminent reopening. (All as previously discussed in our What Operational & Health Safety Changes Will Walt Disney World Make to Reopen? post.)
For both Universal and Disney, there’s the complicating factor of their theme park operations on the West Coast. While Florida is overzealous about reopening its businesses, California Governor Gavin Newsom is striking a much more tentative tone. The two governors are essentially at opposite ends of the spectrum on this, which is noteworthy here.
California’s more cautious approach to resuming normalcy could end up shaping big business behavior nationwide, as has happened with auto emissions and other things. It’ll be interesting to see what California’s economic task force–which counts Disney’s Bob Iger as a member–determines is the best course of action for that state in the coming weeks.
There’s also the potential matter of trepidation on Disney’s part. The state of Florida is offering some degree of cover with this task force and its official recommendations, which could encourage Walt Disney World to resume operations sooner. However, there’s still the reality that “safety” is part of the Disney brand, and reopening prematurely would damage that.
On balance, it’s tough to predict how this will play out and Disney’s position here is unenviable. It’s somewhat difficult to envision Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando reopening while Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood remain closed. Suffice to say, just because DeSantis wants to reopen the state ASAP doesn’t mean that’s the route Disney and Universal will take.
Florida’s eagerness here comes as the local economy has already been decimated by the shutdown. The bulk of Central Florida’s businesses and employees are dependent upon tourism, and the impacts have already been catastrophic. This is not to say that Florida’s plans (whatever they might end up being) are right–just that the state is in a tough spot.
Visit Florida CEO Dana Young stated that hotels in the state have seen a $1.6 billion drop in revenue over the past six weeks, per Spectrum News 13. In order to get tourism numbers back up, people will need to feel that it’s safe to travel. Visit Florida is thus working on a multi-phase campaign, with the first part focused on Florida residents, encouraging them to visit state attractions.
Part of Visit Florida’s push will involve encouraging Floridians to support local businesses by taking an in-state vacation. This should mesh with the Reopen Florida Task Force’s plans for a gradual and careful reopening that will entail first reopening to Florida residents, then national visitors, followed by international guests.
While this phased approach to reopening the Walt Disney World theme parks has not yet been cemented (far from it), it certainly makes sense. Moreover, it would offer more latitude in a slower rollout of rides, shows, and other offerings (even potentially a phased opening of the parks themselves).
Once in a lifetime or other infrequent Walt Disney World guests are less forgiving (we’re trying to put that diplomatically), but the stakes are lower with Floridians. There’s less of a cost for locals in visiting Walt Disney World. Many are Annual Passholders and those who aren’t don’t have to book airfare, stay in a hotel, etc–many will be happy just to get out of the house and have a public space to walk around.
By contrast, tourists are spending thousands of dollars for their vacations, and may be less receptive to parades, fireworks, attractions, etc., not happening. We’ve already heard from a ton of readers who have expressed similar sentiment. We can’t blame them given the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation, but we all also have to accept the reality that things are going to be a bit different (mild understatement) for a while.
Reopening to locals first with all of the modified health safety procedures would allow Walt Disney World something of a “soft opening” period for the resort complex as a whole. During that time, Disney could test and adjust its new protocol, see what works and doesn’t, and slowly ramp up operations.
When and how long such a “soft opening” would last before welcoming out of state tourists to Walt Disney World is anyone’s guess at this point. However, we likely won’t have to speculate for too long, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants a plan submitted to him by the end of this week. We’ll keep you posted as to how the reopening plan shapes up at that point (for a heads up when that happens, subscribe to our free email newsletter).
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
What do you think of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort reopening to Floridians before out of state or international tourists? Which of the health security screenings and protocol do you think will come to fruition when the parks reopen? Are you anticipating modified operations—including the elimination of entertainment and reduced ride capacity? Do you expect a phased opening of the parks & resorts? Will you immediately book a trip, or wait until everything is back up and running, and things have returned to normal? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We are a party of 12 booked in Aug. Even if the park reopens by then, we are growing reluctant about keeping our reservations for this year. 3 in our party are over 70 and two are under 10, so nearly half our group is high risk. Right now, the only thing that’s hard is that we purchased tickets through the Navy Base, and they are non-refundable…so we would be out more than 1700 dollars if they aren’t extended another year. We’ll go regardless, but that would be a hard pill to swallow after months without employment. k
I’m not American, don’t care about your president but so tired of hearing about people and their problem with him. You don’t like him, then vote next election. If you lose, you lose. Quit complaining, you are not the only people in the world.
My hopes are somewhat selfish. I am going to WDW with my family and my wonderful Mother-in-Law. She was on the first trip I took my then 3 yr old daughter(Now 20) on. Whatever I need to do to be safe, I will do. If it means my Memory Maker is me in a mask the whole time, then so be it. I was at WDW right after 9/11 and they were on top of it. What makes the quarantine bearable is knowing that I will be baking in the Fl sun in July, visiting Mr. Mickey Mouse and the rest of the gang.
I am hoping to go in November. I haven’t been in years. I couldn’t care less about the parades and fireworks, but the attractions really need to be open, and it can’t be restricted to Florida residents. The real hope is that far fewer people than normal are there by choice, and it can be an amazing low crowd experience.
Hear hear! Mental health, domestic abuse, substance abuse, suicides, bankruptcies … all things that are not being taken into account. We risk our lives everyday by going outside (and by also staying inside) for various reasons, even before Covid-19. We need to consider all factors in this, not just one side of it. Listening to doctors is great, but doctors are not economists or mental health counselors (my dr sucks at mental health)- and vice versa. we need a well-rounded panel of experts from all areas to come together.
Practicing common sense – staying home when ill, washing hands, etc) is a good practice for life in general. And with the knowledge that this has been more widespread that thought, tells us the that severity of this virus and the casualty rate is decreasing. The media will highlight the scary stories but there are always scary stories, with or without the virus.
i, for one, am looking very forward to returning to WDW in the hopefully near future. Breathing causes 100% death in all cases, so i’m going to enjoy life while I still can.
If you are Floridians & have park passports, would you be able to bring out of state company?
@Belinda Crum
Nothing has been decided. Any answer would be a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical postulation.
How about a definite “Maybe!”
Actually, it’s not breathing that causes death. Breathing indicates life.
While staying home when ill is a good practice, how many of us have traveled or even visited WDW when we had a slight cold? It’s not so black-and-white. People who have paid thousands for their trip won’t stay in the hotel if they have mild symptoms.
We have a trip planned over the next few months and I want to be wise with my family’s health.
Do not like some of the suggested changes in Disney. Why should just people from Florida, if it ok for me to travel why keep me out. I have a trip scheduled for early June for my entire family. At my age it will be my last one. If the parades and shows are canceled it sure limits what a lot of people can do. And for the prices I am paying I don’t want to be told we only can ride the rides. What about character reviews ? I guess they will be eliminated because the charters have to stay so far away. Looks to me like I have been to Disney World for the last time
None of this has been decided. Be calm.
I don’t mind any changes they need to make for safety. What I would mind is being asked to pay full price for less offerings. If there are no fireworks, no parades, etc, then their operational costs, labor costs are lower. Ticket prices should reflect that. I have an AP that’s good for another 9 months (and counting), and I would love love love to use it, but the rest of my party does not. We’re not first timers, and could enjoy a modified park experience. But I’m not paying $100+ per day per person for it. Give me a reason to make the trek.
Having said that, though, if you ended up making reports like last fall with EMH and low crowds, I would pay full price if it looked like I would have fewer guests to contend with. And I don’t even mean that from a health perspective.
No way Disney will open just for Floridians.
Can you imagine Disney canceling someone’s vacation they planned 6 months ago with fast passes and dining and gave that spot to a same day booking Floridian? How would they justify that? Especially people who have had to rebook to June or a July already. It would be a PR nightmare.
A Win/Win Solution! Game Changer
We don’t have to choose. I have an idea for how they can reopen the parks with social distancing AND still have shows and parades. Along the parade route stamp cute little Mickeys on the ground 10 ft apart. Same for the fireworks viewing area. Every family (up to 6) must stand or sit together on a Mickey. Kids would love it and it would be a fun and safe way to add Disney Magic while social distancing. It will make the experience more fun too because people won’t be so squeezed together!
The point is only families need to distance from other families, not each individual. So at a reduced capacity it is 100% doable if the fam is grouped together.
Not to be a buzz kill. But I think realistically, we all know there is no way 5 families would follow those rules, let alone thousand s of families.
I feel that Disney along with all the other Parks should wait at this time.. Has Florida hit it’s Peak yet!! Visitors will never stop coming . Watch our Covid 19 numbers and if in June we are doing good have a July 4 th Celebration with a Soft Opening of Floridians. Then gradually bring back our out of State Visitors. And even though it might be a HIPPA violation with taking temps etc. of visitors we will be trying to protect them and us.. Just my opinion. Have a Magical Day
To which “peak” are you referring? If you are talking about infections, serologic tests in NY show that 21% of New Yorkers have antibodies. A Stanford study in California has shown about the same out there. This means two things. First, the mortality rate for the virus is far lower than assumed and that there are lots of asymptomatic carriers throughout the country.
Here, as they say, is another “fun fact.” No one actually knows what the “real” mortality rate for Coronavirus is because there is no standard way of determining what constitutes a death from same. For instance, in NY and PA, if someone dies of a massive coronary and has tested, even postmortem, positive for the virus, guess what they died of?
Jack, I just watched a news report that stated the CDC is instructing Doctors to fill out cause of death as Covid-19 even if what killed the person was a heart attack, respiratory failure, or any other condition. This means that most likely the Covid-19 death numbers are massively inflated.
Same happened in Italy and they are now going back and modifying the death certificates. By the way thank you for your service. My Dad was a WWII vet.
@Wolvrrine
My dad too. Enlisted on the Monday after Pearl and was first in with th Marines on Guadalcanal.
Anyway yeah. If you couple that with the VERY recent random blood tests in NY they are now assuming over two million undiagnosed asymptomatic carriers in NYC alone! That shoves the mortality rate well under 1 percent and throws a rather large monkey wrench into how bad this disease is generally. In short, two million people in NYC alone had either no or such mild symptoms that they just took two asprin and carried on. Of course this doesn’t mesh well with the narrative that the talking heads and the morality police are peddling.
Wolverine, that is a scary and unacceptable practice skewing data, to be sure!
Jack, agree on that. Careless manipulation of data is not good, and makes it even more difficult for average people to gauge their real risk in trip planning. It hurts us all.
Apparently, Jack, some folks don’t even believe in referring to this virus by its name. Talk about manipulation…
@Mrnico
Yes it does hurt us, but we’re also old enough to realize that people and organizations have agendas and to them, the means justify the ends.
@wolverine. The cdc has not. Not told any doctors to make a cause of death covid 19. Most of the time. They’re writing pneumonia. ESP if the covid 19 test is sent and there’s no results because we don’t know. So the counts are under counted. I’m an er nurse and. 6 patients died Tuesday in less than 8 hrs. This is not the flu. And yes numbers are not accurate. But due to undercounting. Especially all the deaths at home where people were either not seeking medical help. And or not tested because they weren’t admitted to the hospital. It’s very reckless of people who are. Not in the know. Not just. Wolverine. But. Anyone. To go around and say. How things are safe for others.
@Mrnico
You mean like Lyme? MERS? SARS? Ebola? Aids? those? It’s probable that they don’t even realize what those names stand for, but given how our education system has been intellectually disemboweled I’m not surprised. Nobody asks questions anymore. Nobody challenges anyone or anything. If I had a buck for every time we got into debates with our professors or every night we stayed up in the dorms arguing about everything and anything I’d be able to buy the new McLaren I want for cash!
Well Jack specifically anything listing the point of origin seems to disappear as if that’s allegedly some kind of indictment. But they’re not trying to rename the Spanish Flu…yet. So in spite of claiming to not want any part of discussion to be political, they are in fact making it so.
LIZ, I’ve watched a few news specials where doctors specifically read the CDC recommendations on filling out Death reports for Covid. They were concerned and not following the recommendations of the CDC. You may not be experiencing it but it’s happening.
Hello Tom, thank you very much for all your posts!!! they are super helpful!!. We are chileans but living in Orlando for this year. AP for both parks and we will definitely go as soon as they open and the “Soft Opening” seems ok for us, and we can test the new protocols. I am already teaching my kids (10-13) to live in “Coronavirus Mode” because it is the way is going to be for a long time. Half of my family already got the virus back in Chile and did pretty good… and lots of us are going to get it if not everybody in a long term situation…anyway, I posted mostly to say THANK YOU and that we as AP are “in” 😉
So is it fair to cancel people who are not Floridians that booked their vacations months ago?
I understand safety is #1 top priority but to wear a face mask in Florida in 90 degree days is not feasible at all. Not possible. I live in SW Florida and there is no way that would work.
There needs to be other ideas to come up with.
My July trip is already booked… from Michigan. My Disney for my Birthiversary, just like each of the last 8 years.
My husband and I are pass holders for Universal and were there the last day before they closed. We are also 65 and would love to be there when they open for Floridians.
Not completely unprecedented time as there was a pandemic in 1918. It lasted 2 years. 500 million people, a third of the population at the time, caught it and 50 million people died from it. The population was much lower than now and there was much less travel and less crowding ( no concerts or theme parks or subways) but it spread enough to kill 50 million people anyway. This virus is all over the planet now. Who knows how long it will last or how many people this Pandemic will kill. Should be much more concerning than a trip to a theme park. Just my opinion. I truly hope you all stay healthy.
@MD
The real answer is eventual herd immunity but nobody wants to hear that. Besides, all of the “experts” don’t want to say it because, in my opinion, they would seem unable to control it, not so “expert” after all, and they know that people want to be BSed into believing there IS a sure-fire cure. And they know that they can get away with it because people would rather listen to “experts” and talking heads than do their own research. .
I love 3-D
Mu thoughts are you should remain closed or the rest of the year
One case and law suits not good
No parades no Crowds no shows no glasses to watch shows
Waiting on line no cruise ships entering
No buffets
Why would people take that chance
I am scared o take my grandkids even though I promised them
We have a trip planned in August and so far the only suggestion I’ve heard from Bob Iger that I’m not on board with is temperature checks. That’s a HIPAA violation and any good HR department will suggest to him that if they implement that they’re opening themselves up for a slew of lawsuits.
It is not a HIPAA violation. They are not recording or accessing any of your private medical records/data. They are simply reading temperatures and saying yes or no to entrance upon that result. This is already being done across the globe in numerous settings, from manufacturing facilities to healthcare facilities to government facilities. People may not like it, but it’s not a violation. This is likely a part of our new normal, at least for the interim. I don’t like taking my shoes off at the airport, but it is what it is.
Temperature checks are perfectly ok to do, BUT they will not catch even 1/2 of the infected people who may try to enter the parks. I like the description used in a previous blog post, “Health Security Theater.”
You mean in your opinion, right? Opinions are fine until we turn them into “facts,” and the fact is that we will have a rebound no mater, a vaccine is more than likely not going to be 100 percent effective, people are STILL dying despite our best efforts at lockdown and any one person’s idea of unity is usually “You gotta think like me because I’m right. Meanwhile we really have no solution to this that is acceptable to everyone, therefore, by definition, anyone who disagrees with you is being “divisive.”
Have yourself a Disney Day!
I forgot to say that we are from out of state going to Florida around close to end of May for our supposed vacation. I feel like we can’t go because of coronavirus. But my husband is worried about us getting refunded for our stay.