Disney World is set to reopen in July with a whole bunch of new security measures due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The Walt Disney theme park plans to reopen the gates to the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida, along with Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT after being closed since mid-March due to the pandemic, per CNN in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: Bob Iger Defends Marvel Franchise After Famous Directors Called Them ‘Despicable’)
“Following the recent reopening of Shanghai Disney Resort and Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort, we’re pleased to share that more Disney magic is coming back,” a statement on the Disney Parks Blog website read. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
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“In preparing to reopen during this unusual time, we have to manage our theme parks in a very different way from what we’ve known before,” the statement went on to explain. “As we begin to reach out to our cast members and call them back to work, they will be focused on operating our parks in a responsible way that continues to give our guests opportunities to create magical Disney memories.”
And those changes include everything from limiting attendance in the park to adhere to social distancing rules to guests undergoing temperature screenings before being able to enter the park.
According to the report:
Employees and guests will be required to wear face coverings and undergo temperature screenings before entering the parks.
Disney will reduce capacity at the parks and the resort will temporarily suspend parades, fireworks and other events that create crowds
The resort will also enable cashless transactions by expanding contactless payments.
Disney will also increase the number of available hand-sanitizing stations.
Some of the parks biggest events that draw the largest crowds “like its parades and nighttime spectaculars” will “return at a later date,” the statement explained with no other information.
The plan to reopen the park, which employs some 70,000 people, was approved Wednesday morning by the Orange County government. It now oly needs approval from Orange County’s mayor and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis before plans to open the gates can happen.
At this point there is still no word when Disney’s Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California, which has also been closed for months due to the coronavirus, will reopen.