Florida Governor Invites Theme Parks to Submit Reopening Plans
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced the next steps in the state's reopening plan, and this time he's directly addressing theme parks.
"Parks can submit reopening plans to the state," the governor said today during a press conference. "They should identify the date certain that they believe that they could resume safe operations. They have to provide how they're going to do it: how they're going to accommodate the guests, how they're going to protect the staff, and then they need to have an endorsement from the relevant official in their locality - Orange County Mayor, wherever you're wherever you're talking about."
To be honest, I'm not sure what the news is here, exactly. Theme park resorts, such as Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, always were going to need government approval to reopen, as would any business in the state dealing with stay-at-home orders. The governor seems to be implying that theme parks won't be reopened under a blanket order - such as the one he made today reopening gyms next Monday - but instead will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Whether that means parks can open sooner than they might have before today's announcement is unclear. The governor said today that restaurants and retail businesses soon can start serving up to 50 percent of their capacity, as the state moves to its "full phase one" of reopening. Movie theaters remain closed, however, although the governor is encouraging closed-door sporting events to resume in the state, even inviting teams based in other states to resume play or training in Florida.
Universal Orlando yesterday reopened a few locations in its CityWalk dining and shopping area, while Walt Disney World is preparing for the first step in its phased reopening of Disney Springs on May 20. Universal has said that its parks will remain closed through at least the end of the month, while Disney has provided no timeline, though Disney is not taking reservations for any stays starting before July 1.
For people visiting CityWalk, Universal is requiring that all visitors wear facemasks and pass a temperature screening before entering. Universal is also advising visitors to maintain six feet of social distancing from other parties and to wash their hands frequently. Walt Disney World is planning similar restrictions when it reopens, according to information on its official blog, an interview with CEO Bob Chapek, and a new agreement with its labor unions.
Disney has reopened its Shanghai Disneyland park with new operating procedures, though the rest of Disney's (and Universal's) theme parks worldwide remain closed. A few European parks are reopening later this month, and in the United States, Indiana's Holiday World has announced a June return. All parks are using some or all among a variety of new procedures - including advanced reservations, virtual queues, and contactless payments, as well as masks, temperature checks, and enhanced sanitation - as they look to protect and reassure visitors.
So having the plans that the governor asked for today should not be a problem for Florida's theme parks. The remaining issue is that proposed reopening date. First, how long will it take for parks to recall their employees, restock, and restart operations? Then, when do the parks believe that enough visitors would be willing to return to make it worth their investment to reopen?
Disney and Universal have been surveying guests about their potential return, and traffic data from the reopenings of CityWalk and Disney Springs should provide additional guidance. Whenever the parks choose to reopen, it appears certain that a reopening will come in phases, starting with limited operations both to test new procedures and to match what many industry insiders expect will be limited demand, as international borders remain closed and many Americans choose to protect themselves by remaining home as much as they can while this pandemic continues.
Replies (9)
That gets me thinking back to that SeaWorld call last week, when the interim CEO said they were good to go because their attendance was typically so low that everyone was practicing social distancing anyway.
Hey, whatever works for you, I guess.
I can tell you first hand that, at least for SeaWorld on non-Saturdays or holidays, he is entirely correct!
Well, my motorcycle mechanic will testify I’m not great on the mechanical side of things. However, I do know he’s told me to check the greasing of the chain after wet weather. I can’t see a Roller Coaster chain bring too different.
I’m not sure it’s right to say “they’re more prone to breakdown after non use”, probably more the minor thing that you inspect for and check every day haven’t been checked. That means rather than have 1 minor issue Or perished but if rubber maybe a day that gets quickly fixed, you get a few of them. For less than daily checks there might be several of these now overdue.
I think what's missing is the California counterparts have smaller walking areas and tighter spaces. Some of the rides have big queues however, Disneyland may have to limit crowd capacity in each of the areas of the park. Not exciting. You cannot have 20,000 people with 20,000 people in Galaxies Edge. you have 5 central entry points into the lands and would have to disperse crowd appropriately.
To me it's a logistical nightmare.
Add to that, the restrooms are going to have more frequent and intensive cleaning and closure/maintenance cycles. I hope when they submit plans, they have good plans regarding restrooms. I know I keep banging that drum but to me, its the big one that no one seems to talk about.
@davedisney I get what you are saying, I do, however the rules have to be stricter for the restrooms. They are public enemy #1. The restroom monitors have to unsure that everyone is wearing a mask, hard to do when they go in a restroom stall. Any airborne particles that make it to the floor are then tracked out on peoples shoes that are then transfer to ride vehicles that people sometimes touch with hands and feet. (Which is why they have to wipe down the ride vehicles)
The rest room is a small enclosed area (air conditioned area) where this can concentrate. It's not just the mask, the mask can help prevent the spread of molecules, this can enter through your eyes.
Great article today from the post regarding restrooms
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-reopen-bathrooms/2020/05/18/a6ed57fc-93ba-11ea-82b4-c8db161ff6e5_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most
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Notable add to this, Robert - small parks in Orlando, including Fun Spot America, have sent letters to the Orange County Mayor's office requesting they be included in Phase 2 of the Florida re-opening plan rather than Phase 3, which presumably includes the larger parks like Disney, Universal, and the SeaWorld chain parks. The Kissimmee location (which is in more right-wing Osceola county rather than Orange) was even cycling attractions yesterday, per Twitter reports.
The rationale is that they are far smaller operations and thus less complicated and less risky than the bigger parks. I'm not sure whether or not they'll be successful, but DeSantis is politically incentivized to open as much as possible, so I'm guessing we may see Fun Spot and others like the I-Drive attractions and Gatorland lead the way on a Florida re-opening timeline.