Will Disney World's Reservation System and Safety Measures Be Long Term? Here's What the CEO Had to Say.

It’s been a wild year for Disney World and the other Disney theme parks.

Cinderella Castle

Disney World first closed a little more than a year ago and then reopened in July with new health and safety measures. As part of these changes, we’ve seen the addition of temperature checks, mask mandates, social distancing, and the Disney Park Pass reservation system. These additions have been allowing Disney World to operate safely during the pandemic, but will they stick around later on?

In an interview with Bloomberg today, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek was asked that very question. And from what he had to say, we didn’t really get a straight answer.

©Bloomberg via Getty Images

He began by discussing the new measures coming to Disneyland Resort for the reopening, including a specific mention of the reservation system. He noted that some of these measures (such as the Disney Park Pass system) have actually made guest satisfaction at Walt Disney World higher than it was pre-pandemic. He commented on these satisfaction ratings, saying “we’ve learned to operate under constraints, all the time by delivering the great, safe Disney magic that you expect.”

Animal Kingdom

Chapek then went on to acknowledge the capacity limits and how difficult it has been to operate with those in the parks. He noted that they’ve had cases where the demand was greater than the number of people they were actually able to accommodate. Because of these tight constraints, he believes that there will be a reemergence scenario where “magic is going to be even greater for our guests when they do come back to our parks.”

Hollywood Studios

There was no specific mention of how long these health and safety measures will stick around, but it seems that Disney is looking forward to a day where they can at least lighten up on the capacity limits to get more people into the parks. We have heard from Disney in the past that capacity limits are affected by vaccination rate, so it’s possible we’ll see some changes in the future as more people get vaccinated.

EPCOT

We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for any more news or details on this subject, and we’ll keep you updated on any changes in health and safety measures. Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news!