Last week, the Re-Open Florida Task Force, which included Josh D’Amaro, President of Walt Disney World, met daily to come up with recommendations for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on the state’s reopening.
Yesterday, Governor DeSantis shared that the state (with the exception of several southeastern counties) would be entering “phase one” of reopening starting on May 4th. Today, the recommendations that the Re-Open Florida Task Force sent to the governor were shared to the public.
During phase one, which will begin on May 4th, the theme parks are not able to re-open. Instead, the first phase will see a more gradual approach, starting with allowing retail stores and restaurants to open with 25% capacity. According to the Re-Open Florida Task Force report sent to the governor’s office, the members of the task force seemed to agree that theme park re-opening should not happen during this phase.
Instead, they recommended that theme park re-openings should begin starting in phase two. Specifically, the recommendation report states that “theme parks may consider re-opening with capacity limited, strict social distancing, and proper measures to clean and disinfect.”
From there, the recommendations for phase three would include theme parks returning to “normal operations with limited social distancing protocols.”
These recommendations largely line up with ideas that have been brought up in the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force as well, with discussion turning to the theme parks in the task force’s meeting earlier this week.
Currently, no timeline has been given for entering specific phases, with Governor DeSantis stating in a press conference that timing would be driven by data and “does not need to take months.”
It is important to note that, while the Re-Open Florida Task Force did have members representing the theme parks, including Disney World, there has been no official word from the theme parks as for re-opening dates or procedures. Currently, Disney World is still listed as closed until further notice, and recently have begun cancelling reservations into mid and late May. While these recommendations were outlined in a report to the governor, they do not represent the specific guidelines of the Orlando theme parks.
We will continue to bring updates from Florida on their re-opening, along with updates from the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force who are still meeting daily.
Want to learn more about the Disney Parks closures?
- The Disney Parks Closures: Here's Everything We Know
- Here's Everything That Disney World is Refunding Due to the Temporary Closure
- Here's Everything That Disneyland is Refunding Due to the Temporary Closures
- Here's Everything That the Disney Cruise Line is Refunding Due to Suspended Itineraries
- Should I Cancel My Disney Trip? Taking a Closer Look at Our Most FAQ
- Flattening the Curve: Why Disney is Closing Everything
- All the Times That Disney World and Disneyland Have Closed Throughout History
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I hope when Disney reopens, they will not freeze out people who are 65 and older. Bob Iger himself is 69. There are many of us who are members of DVC . We are robust , mobile people who can stand and walk on our own two feet. We can even run! I don’t want to get a memo “out of an abundance of caution, we are keeping you out of our parks. For your own safety.” Please consider taking temperatures at the bag line. That would make sense. Masks would be optional. Can you imagine how hot it would be? Millions of people have put their index finger on the device that lets you in! I’m betting not many people disinfected their hands immediately after. We have survived! We will survive! People who are frail, or who have ill health, are actively ill should not be admitted. That only makes sense. Let’s face it, some Park visitors cough their head off. I try not to breathe in when they are next to me! Common sense will guide us. Not hysteria.
Anyone traveling from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or New Orleans to any Florida destination will be required to self-quarantine upon arrival for up to 14 days. That needs to change before you’ll see anything close to normal numbers in the parks or on cruises.
Hello John, Richard here. It is my understanding that when they do reopen the parks they will only allow Florida residents in first and for how long I don’t know. They don’t intend to get to “normal” anytime soon even after reopening.
Please don’t assume because you see a New York plate that the car is from the hardest hit area that is NYC! Those of us who live in the suburbs and rural areas of Upstate and Western New York are not the hardest hit.
I live in Western NY and I’ve given up explaining that we’re not NYC.