Bits and Pieces

I have been gathering little bits and pieces of information about what is and might be going on here in Central Florida. Remember, there has been no official word on when Walt Disney World will open again. What I am sharing here is instead mostly information that has been shared on local news, which I have been watching constantly.

Here in Central Florida, we have two task forces that could affect Walt Disney World. One of those is for Orange County, and the other for the whole state. The state task force I believe is meeting daily, while the Orange County one is meeting on Wednesdays. (If Osceola County has a similar task force I haven’t heard about it.) You have probably heard that areas should reopen in three phases. The theme parks locally are being mentioned as part of the Phase Three reopening. It’s been reported that the area might have a three week (or more) period between phases, not the two weeks that are part of the main recommendation.

While no one at Disney has said much about what social distancing might look like at the theme parks, the same isn’t true about nearby Universal Orlando Resort. They have released some of the ways that they are thinking of keeping guests safe once they do reopen. These are not yet policy, everything is still in the talking stage. The first change could be daily temperature checks for all Team Members. They may also be required to wear masks while working. There will be enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of the rides.

There has been a lot of talk about procedures that could come into play once the parks do reopen. There could be more virtual queues. Mobile Ordering most likely will be required, at least for a little while. There has been talk of staggering seats on rides so that two people will not be next to each other. On the news they showed a device that looked kind of like a metal detector, but it is for checking body temperatures. These are all speculation.

There’s one other bit of local news that I want to share that doesn’t directly affect the theme parks. It was reported this morning that the “cruise industry” is looking to reopen in July. That’s an aim-for, not anything set in stone. The story was talking about the industry as a whole, Disney Cruise Line was not mentioned.

Now time for my personal opinion. I do think that is a good chance that we will see different levels of opening. Since restaurants will be included in Phase One, there is a possibility that the restaurants at Disney Springs could reopen before the theme parks. The hotels could as well, since they closed later than the parks. There is also a rumor that when the parks do open again, they will at first gear things towards locals. I have no idea how much of that rumor is wishful thinking.

As I’ve told you before, Shanghai Disney Resort is something that we need to keep an eye on. The park remains closed, but some areas outside of the parks have reopened. I’ve heard unconfirmed reports that rehearsals for the parade have started up. Also in China, the Fantawild Parks have started to accept guests or will soon accept guests again, depending on the park. The picture above shows how to social distance on a roller coaster. You can find more Fantawild information and more pictures here. We have a long way to go, but each day we’re getting close to some semblance of normalcy, even in an unnormal place like Central Florida.