COVID-19 Testing Requirements CHANGING for International Travel

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to change and develop, AllEars will be bringing you the latest relevant news that could affect a theme park visit.

In Orange County’s 2022 State of the County Address today, Mayor Demings reported that Orlando welcomed 59.3 million visitors in the past year. This still isn’t quite up to the pre-pandemic tourism numbers that Florida is used to, but it’s an improvement from the past couple of years.

Tourism is up!

Now, a recent change by the Biden administration could lead to an even bigger increase in tourism for the state and particularly for Disney World and Universal Orlando. Both theme parks have been reporting rising numbers for international tourism, and it’s possible that those numbers will climb even higher now!

On Friday, June 10th, the Biden administration announced that the US Centers for Disease Control is going to lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the US. International visitors will no longer be required to present a negative test before coming into the US.

Orlando International Airport

This change officially goes into effect at 12AM on Sunday, June 12th. White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz tweeted the announcement.

According to CNN, the travel industry has “lobbied against [the COVID-19 restrictions] for months.” The CDC recently determined that the restrictions are “no longer necessary, based on the science and data.” Lawmakers from both political parties have also pushed for the requirements to be removed.

MCO

This change will last for 90 days, at which point the CDC will reassess the situation and decide if restrictions are once again necessary. More restrictions could be reinstated at that point if COVID-19 cases in the US rise dramatically or if a dangerous new variant is detected.

Airport

With fewer restrictions on international travel, we could see a significant rise in tourism in Central Florida. The summer travel season is upon us, which means a LOT of people are flocking to Disney World and Universal Orlando for summer break.

Summer crowds in Disney World

We’ve already seen wait times increasing for Disney World rides recently. If you’re visiting the parks this summer, be prepared to face some big crowds. But don’t worry — you can still have an awesome vacation! We’ve got plenty of tips for how to beat the crowds in Disney World.

Check out our BEST tips for conquering Disney World’s most CROWDED days.

We’ll continue to keep an eye on the crowds and wait times, so stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest updates!

Click here to learn more about Florida’s increase in tourism. 

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Are you heading to Disney World this summer? Let us know in the comments.

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2 Replies to “COVID-19 Testing Requirements CHANGING for International Travel”

  1. What international travellers need is certainty to give them the confidence to go ahead and book. All this cynical message seems to say is that there can be certainty for those prepared to plough their dollars into the summer tourist season, but anyone else after had better watch out for a reversal of the rules! That’s not certainty for international travellers who frequently will make flight and other reservations several months ahead to keep those costs contained!

  2. We were just there 3 weeks ago and I want to go again!! It’s not too early to book for August 2022 is it?