The Walt Disney Company announced on Wednesday plans to begin to reopen gradually some of its parks later in mid-July. The company received an approval by the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force to reopen Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11 and Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. That's more than one month after other Orlando-based parks such as SeaWorld, which is set to open for staff on June 10 and June 11 for the public. According to the plan, the parks will see “substantially lower numbers of guests” when they first open, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday morning. Chapek did not give a specific number for capacity. He just said: “the number of people we put in the park” will be a “function of the six-foot social distancing guidance that we have from the CDC.” The plan also involves temperature checks for guests and employees. Masks will be also required throughout the park for everyone over the age of three. Some Disney attractions that draw large group gatherings like parades and nighttime events, will not return when the parks first reopen. High-touch experiences such as playgrounds and character meet-and-greets will also be temporarily unavailable, according to the plan. Disney still awaits an approval from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
