When will Disney reopen?
The Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks have closed temporarily in an effort to help stop the spread of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19. But when will the Disney theme parks reopen?
Disney has announced officially that the parks will be closed through the end March, and both Disney World and Disneyland have published operating hours for the parks starting April 1. However, Disney always says that its operating hours and schedule are subject to change.
That might come into play because the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that organizers cancel all public gatherings of 10 or more people for eight weeks, starting March 15. If Disney were to abide by that recommendation, the parks could not open until May 10 at the earliest. However, Disney has made no official announcement yet to confirm that the parks will remain closed after March 31.
Disney is extending all annual passes at Disneyland and Walt Disney World by the number of days the pass was valid during the closure period. Walt Disney World also is extending the "valid use" period for unused days on multi-day tickets until December 15, 2020. Florida Resident "Discover Disney" tickets now may be used through July 31.
At Disneyland, Southern California Resident Tickets's valid use will be extended by the number of days that the parks are closed. Unused multi-day tickets may be used there until January 12, 2022.
You can see the resorts' official announcements on their websites: Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
We will update this article as the situation changes. In the meantime, here's how to make Epcot's Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup:
Replies (4)
Cedar Fair today announced that their parks (including Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island) would open in "mid-May" at the earliest.
I cannot imagine Disneyland opening six weeks before Knott's in the current public health environment.
Given the current restrictions in California, any opening before late April is pretty much off the table, and I think even that is optimistic. I've been anticipating a closure of approximately two months, so I'm thinking second half of May is likely. Unlike some of the pessimists, I think the chances of remaining closed beyond the beginning of June are very slim...unless the outbreak gets much, much worse, there's going to be so much political, social, and economic pressure by that point to reopen that it will likely be nearly impossible to continue mandatory closures. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the place takes 2-4 weeks to get back to 100% once a reopening happens.
Florida will likely follow a similar timetable, though given that the state has looser restrictions it's possible reopening there could be delayed if the virus remains a threat for longer there. I could also see Disney doing a phased reopening of WDW if travel restrictions remain in place, which could mean limited operations throughout the summer and a full reopening in the fall.
The problem with reopening everything is that the virus will spread again. June 1 would be an extremely early timeline to be honest. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better but going back to normal will make it get that much worse again. Until there are drugs that can control it... which there might already be... or a vaccine, which will take 18 months to get to market, The world is going to be a different place. That doesn't mean we will all be quarantined for 18 months but school is done for the year and anything prior to September will be very ambitious. Regional parks will likely lose most or all of their season. We are at the beginning here in North America and please don't look to China and their reduction in cases as China has a lot more control over their population and can and will do what they need to in a situation like this. Something North American and European governments can not and will not do.
I certainly hope I am wrong and like with any other crisis we don't know what tomorrow might bring. If they can use some of the potential Malaria and HIV drugs on a wide scale we might be able to control this until a vaccine is ready which would be amazing. We saw peak Oil become a thing of the past through Fracking. This could be over quickly as well if we can find something to beat it. Humans are an inventive bunch and hopefully, we find a way to kick this things butt ASAP. Stay safe everyone.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
I would say Late April/Early May at the earliest