Disney World finally set their proposal for opening to Orange County today and it included a few surprises. First off they will open the parks in a staggered fashion with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening on July 11th, Epcot and Hollywood Studios will follow with an opening date of July 15th. The parks will have limited capacity and will implement a reservation system that was not clarified during the live feed.
Safety measures
With the opening comes a number of safety precautions that go beyond the limited capacity. There will be some of the things that they are already doing at Springs which include face coverings, social distancing, mobile pay usage and wiping down high volume areas. Other announced changes will be no parades, shows, fireworks, playgrounds, water effects or character meet and greets. There will also be limited capacity for transportation as well, but that was not specified. Disney will also have increased sanitation areas and will promote the use of mobile pay and the use of magic bands for purchases to decrease contact between guests and cast members.
This will be a very different Disney World than what we are used to and I am sure this will have a big impact on when people plan to get back to the parks. The lack of fireworks, parades and characters may just be too much for your average Disney fan to stomach. I will still go and experience Disney in an entirely new way. Make sure to tune into the Behind the Ears podcast every Wednesday night as we discuss these changes and how they effect all of us.
Who will get in?
According to Disney, existing ticket holders and Annual Passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before new tickets are sold; they will be reaching out to those guests soon to provide additional details. They will resume new ticket sales and hotel reservations after that period of time. Theme park reservations will be limited due to attendance limitations and will be subject to availability. More details about this new reservation system will be available soon.