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The Reopening of Walt Disney World
I’m a big Disney fan. My mom took me for my first trip to Walt Disney World for my fifth birthday, in August of 1972. The Magic Kingdom hadn’t been open a year yet at that point (and for you young people, there was ONLY the Magic Kingdom — Epcot Center didn’t open until 1982, Disney-MGM Studios until 1989, and Animal Kingdom until 1998). And yes, I realize that the names of two of the parks are different now — but that’s what they were called when they opened.
It was a shock, although not completely unexpected, when they decided to shut down because of the pandemic in March of this year. My friends and I all wondered when they would reopen, and what things would be like.
The planned reopening of the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11, and EPCOT and Hollywood Studios on July 15 has me cautiously excited.
Disney is doing everything they can to protect all Guests. They have implemented a “park reservation” system, whereby a Guest must have a park reservation in addition to their ticket in order to enter a park. They are requiring Guests and Cast Members to wear masks. They have suspended park-hopping. And they are capping the number of Guests allowed in each park each day.
I’ll be watching closely to see how it goes. I have a trip planned for November. Fingers crossed that I’m still able to go.
