NEWS: Here's What Was Discussed at Florida's Orange County Task Force Meeting Today

Last week, we brought you updates from the Re-Open Florida Task Force, who discussed the best guidelines for reopening the businesses of Florida, including the theme parks in Orlando

Earlier today, the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force met, discussing a wide overview of guidelines being looked at for industries including the theme parks of Orlando. The task force includes representatives from the Orlando theme parks, including Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president of Walt Disney World Resorts and Transportation Operations.

After their initial meeting that touched on the guidelines being considered for reopening industries such as the Orlando theme parks, the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force met again today to discuss the reopening of Orange County businesses at large. You can watch the meeting in full at Full Task Force on Orange TV, but here were a few takeaways!

Tomorrow, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to give an update regarding a reopening date for Florida, with guidelines done in cooperation with the Reopen Florida Task Force that Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro was a part of.

The Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force will look to the guidelines presented by Governor DeSantis tomorrow, with a goal to have their own guidelines for reopening businesses in Orange County by the end of this week.

On the topic of theme parks, Thomas Mazloum, Disney Senior Vice President of Resort & Transportation operations, and member of the task force, provided clarification on the presentation from this morning. Specifically, Mazloum wanted to clarify that reopening guidelines that were presented at this morning’s meeting “do not constitute” recommendations for the reopening of Walt Disney World, but instead were just starting points for a discussion.

Chuck Whitall, who is President of Unicorp National Development and subcommittee leader for the task force, spoke specifically to the theme parks as well. He believes that Universal Orlando, Disney World, and SeaWorld (all of whom have representatives on the task force) should come up with their own protocol together on how best to reopen the theme parks, as he believes that they are “the experts” on the subject.

Continuing on the topic of theme parks, Mayor Jerry Demings spoke to theme parks perhaps starting to reopen in phases, with “smaller components” first opening before leading up to the parks’ themselves opening. He also commended theme parks for making the “right decision at the right time” thus far, noting that he has confidence in their abilities as they have showed that they put their guests’ safety as a top priority.

We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ remarks tomorrow, as well as another meeting from the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force.