Disney Springs is opening soon, marking the first phase of Disney World’s reopening
Walt Disney World announced that Disney Springs will be seeing a phased reopening starting in mid-May. This comes after Disney reported a $1.4 billion cut in its earnings because of the novel coronavirus and the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland.
On Thursday, Disney said it will be begin the phased reopening of Disney Springs on May 20. Not all of its 104 shops and 64 restaurants will be reopened. Only a limited number of shopping and dining locations that are owned by third-party owners will begin to open during this phase.
The rest of Disney World will remain closed, including hotels and theme parks. Disney did not say which restaurants will reopen.
As of Thursday, the Florida Department of Health has reported 38,828 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as 1,600 deaths. Orange County, where Disney World is located, has seen 1,474 cases and 36 deaths.
Disney is making several safety changes in order to reopen Disney Springs. There will be increased cleaning, cast members and guests must use face coverings and have limited contact between each other.
While it is open, Disney Springs will have limited capacity, parking and operating hours. Disney did not say how many guests will be allowed in or how it will be monitored.
On Tuesday, Disney announced that Shanghai Disneyland Resort in China would reopen Monday, May 11. Disney said the new safety protocols at the park will include limiting attendance and requiring advanced ticketing and reservations; accommodating social distancing in queues, restaurants, rides and other parts of the park; and increased sanitization and disinfection.
Before Shanghai Disneyland saw a full reopening, some of its properties were partially reopened months prior. On March 9, it reopened limited shopping, dining and recreational experiences in Disneytown, Wishing Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel.
Disneytown and Wishing Park are comparable to Disney Springs at Disney World and the Downtown Disney District at Disneyland.
This could mean Disney World in Orlando could be fully reopened in a month or two, like Shanghai Disneyland.
Also on Thursday, Disney World updated its resort operations statement. It now reads, “Upon reopening, theme parks, Disney Resort hotels, restaurants, attractions, experiences and other offerings may be modified and will be limited in capacity and subject to limited availability or closure, based on direction from health experts and government officials to promote physical distancing.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Disney Springs is opening soon, marking the first phase of Disney World’s reopening."
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)