NEWS! Florida Will Move to Phase Three of Reopening, Lifting Restrictions on Restaurant Capacity

Today, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hosted a news conference where he announced the state of Florida will advance to Phase Three of reopening, effective immediately.

Perhaps the biggest change that the state will see in Phase Three is that reopening restrictions on restaurants will be lifted.

In Phase Three, restaurants may operate at a minimum of 50% capacity, effectively allowing the businesses to operate at full capacity. Before, restaurants were allowed to open both outdoor and indoor operations with limited capacity in place.

In addition, all bars, pubs, and nightclubs that earn at least 50% of their sales from alcohol could also operate at full capacity with limited social distancing protocols.

We may start to see restaurants and bars at Disney World increase capacity in the near future, but since the lifted restriction in Phase Three is not a mandate, we could still see the restaurants operate at a lower capacity closer to 50%. However, since Phase Three specifically states a “minimum” of 50% capacity, local governments would need state approval if they wish to operate their restaurants at a lower capacity.

Phase Three also directly addresses theme park capacity. Back when the Re-Open Florida Task Force recommended that theme parks reopen in Phase Two, we pointed out that in their recommendations, Phase Three included verbiage on how theme parks could return to normal operations with limited social distancing protocols.

Phase Two, on the other hand, specifically mentions “capacity limits,” indicating that theme parks like Disney Would may be able to lift their capacity limitations that are currently in place, if they so choose.

The order to move into Phase Three applies to all counties throughout the state, including counties in South Florida who have been reopening at a slower pace initially due to the impact of the pandemic.

Have you visited Disney World since the parks reopened? Let us know in the comments!

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