CoVID-19 has turned the world on it's head. After shutting down many industries in the United States in March, some businesses are slowly returning to form. Disney took a world wide hit and is in the process of reopening all of their parks.
This post will be specific to Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. It has been broken down into multiple categories and the newest information will be in red to highlight. Please let us know on Facebook if you have any specific questions that we can answer.
Parks
We currently have opening dates for the 4 theme parks.
Magic Kingdom - July 11th, 2020
Animal Kingdom - July 11th, 2020
Hollywood Studios - July 15th, 2020
EPCOT - July 15th, 2020
All parks will have reduced hours each day.
Extra Magic Hours have been temporarily suspended.
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 7pm
EPCOT: 11am – 9pm
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 10am – 8pm
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 8am – 6pm
There will be a park preview period for Annual Pass Holders - Information has not been sent out for specifics. Additionally, APHs will be limiting the total number of reservation days they can hold at one time.
There has been no information concerning the opening of the 2 water parks.
Disney Springs is open and businesses have been opening at their own discretion. Currently, about 90% of the businesses are open in some capacity. For more information, check out the Disney Springs website. Restaurants accepting reservations can be found on the Dining page for Disney World and Open Table.
New Procedures to Combat CoVID-19
Disney has laid out new procedures for the safety of guests and staff.
To enter a park, both a park reservation and valid admission for the same park on the same date is required.
Park Reservations: Initially, park attendance will be managed through a new park reservation system. To enter a park, both a park reservation and valid admission for the same park on the same date is required. This system has yet to be rolled out and will be offered to guests with resort and park tickets already purchased.
This will limit the number of people in the park to meet capacity requirements set up by Disney.
New Ticket Sales: At this time, new ticket sales are temporarily paused. Existing ticket holders and Annual Passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before new tickets are sold. Additional details will be shared with these Guests soon. New ticket sales will resume after that period of time.
Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and Cast Members; temperature screenings are required in some locations
Fully cover an individual’s nose and mouth and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
Be secured with ties or ear loops
Be made of breathable material, either disposable or reusable
Costume masks are not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn
Temperature screenings will be performed on all guests and staff prior to entering park or Disney Springs
Guests with a temperature greater than 100.4F will be directed to another area (Cooling Area) for rescreening and assistance.
Guests that continue to read a temperature greater than 100.4F will be denied entry to the park or Disney Springs along with their entire party.
Disney is currently testing new bag scanning technology at the Disney Springs Lime Garage.
Some experiences—including theme parks—may be modified or unavailable to allow for physical distancing and limited contact
There will be no fireworks or parades
No Character meet and greets
Photopass photographers will not take pictures with guest devices
Park Hopping Suspended (Disney has confirmed 1 park reservation per day)
There is currently no FastPass+ reservation system. Both queue lines (FastPass and Stand By) will be used to promote social distancing.
Pin trading will be conducted on pin boards and cast members will not have them on their lanyards.
Signage and Ground Markings:
Directional signage and ground markings have been installed throughout Walt Disney World Resort to help Guests better navigate common areas while practicing physical distancing.
Physical Barriers:
Physical barriers have been added in select places where it is difficult to maintain strict physical distancing guidelines. These may be visible in areas around cash registers or at Guest Relations, for example, to help ensure proper distances between people.
Cashless Transactions:
At this time, it is recommended all Guests use cashless payment options, including debit cards, credit cards and Disney Gift Cards. Guests can also opt for contactless payment options—such as mobile wallets—or use cash to purchase a Disney Gift Card at Guest Relations and select merchandise locations. Disney Resort hotel Guests can also use MagicBands to charge their purchase to their Disney Resort hotel folio.
Resort Hotels
The hotels at Walt Disney World will be opening in a staggered way. Currently Disney is not accepting new reservations at their hotels.
June 22nd - Many of the DVC properties on resort property will be opening. These include:
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney’s Riviera Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Animal Kingdom - Jambo House has now confirmed it will not open on 6/22/2020
A few hotels are being mentioned in talks with the NBA as a housing site for players and staff. Also being considered is Animal Kingdom Lodge, Coronado Springs, and the 4 Seasons Orlando. They are slated to be using the rooms through the middle of October.
Update: The NBA players and Staff will be housed at the Gran Destino Tower, Grand Floridian, and Yacht Club.
There is currently no opening date for the other resort hotels, but we are beginning to receive confirmations for stays the week of park opening. When Disney confirms that these hotels will be open, we will list them with opening dates.
Other impacts to hotels:
Major League Soccer will be housing their players and staff at the Swan and Dolphin Hotels. These hotels will be used through the end of August for their play.
Disney is currently sending emails to guests with reservations through July 11th asking for them to confirm, cancel, or modify it by June 25th.
Pools will be open, as long as, the hotel is open. Masks will not be required for guests that are in the pool, but will be required on the pool deck.
Dining
Let's start with the good news. Dining is available on site. All dining reservations were canceled prior to June, but some areas are accepting new reservations. The reservation window has been shortened to 60 days.
Most restaurants at Disney Springs are open and accepting reservations.
Restaurants in the resort hotels are currently closed. Reservations for resort restaurants can be made by guests staying in Disney hotels for June 22nd through July 10th starting on June 18th by phone only.
Disney has implemented online check-in at table service restaurants that can be accessed through the My Disney Experience app. (Details on the Disney website here)
There is a group that will be opening on 6/22/2020
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