NEWS: Universal Orlando CEO Discusses Possibility of Screenings and Virtual Lines Upon Reopening

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the formation of the Re-Open Florida Task Force, a committee tasked with finding the best options for re-opening Florida during the global health crisis. The group includes includes several theme park representatives, such as Josh D’Amaro, President of Walt Disney World.

Also included on the task force is Josh Sprouls, CEO of Universal Orlando Resort. In today’s Re-Open Florida Task Force meeting, Sprouls spoke to measure that Universal has looked into implementing upon reopening, and ones he believes other theme parks should consider as well.

On the April 22nd call, Josh Sprouls stated that he didn’t know when Universal Orlando, or other Universal parks, would reopen to guests. However, he did open up on measures that the company was looking into going forward, including daily temperature screenings for team members, as well as significantly increased sanitation practices.

Sproul stated that they were “looking to health officials” for appropriate protocol on how to reduce the risk of sick guests entering the park. Additionally, he discussed some measures that were being considered.

He discussed wanting to implement a greater use of the parks’ technologies that are already in place, such as mobile pay and mobile ordering, in an effort to reduce unnecessary surface contact points.

Along that same line of thought, he stated that they were looking to potentially increase the amount of rides with virtual lines, which would help to not only decrease time spent in line, but also break up large groups from being in the same space. He also mentioned the possibility of using outdoor queues for rides, with staggered seating on the attractions themselves.

Overall, Sprouls anticipates a slow ramp up to reopening, noting the potential for reopening with a capped attendance to discourage large crowds, and then slowly increasing that number as the park regains confidence.

While Josh D’Amaro did not speak on the call in regards to Disney, Governor Ron DeSantis has tasked the committee with bringing recommendations for Florida tourism’s reopening, including the theme parks, by the end of this week, so we expect we should hear contributions from Disney World in the near future.

We will continue to bring you updates about the Orlando theme parks as we learn more.