Disney Springs Sets Date For Phased Reopening; Disneyland Resort Pushes Reservations To July

Denise Petski
·2 min read

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Disney said Thursday that Disney Springs, part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL, will begin a phased reopening May 20 as coronavirus-related restrictions begin to ease.

According to the Disney Parks Blog, “a limited number of shopping and dining experiences that are owned by third-party operating participants will begin to open during this initial phase. The rest of Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed, including theme parks and resort hotels.”

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Disney Springs is part of an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the resort near Orlando.

Disney says the reopening process will be in accordance with guidelines established by government and health officials. During the initial opening phase, Disney Springs says it will have limitations on capacity, parking and operating hours. Enhanced safety measures will be employed, “including increased cleaning procedures, the use of appropriate face coverings by both Cast Members and Guests, limited-contact Guest Services and additional safety training for Cast Members.”

The changes are in line with recommendations issued last month by the Orange County (FL) Economic Task Force for a phased approach to reopening the parks.

Additionally, Disneyland in Anaheim has pushed back the date it will begin accepting reservations for the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand California Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. The park said it now will accept reservations on July 1 or later. The previous date was June 1. According to the Disneyland website, dining reservations and bookable merchandise experiences at the Disneyland resort are also unavailable until the Anaheim parks set a reopening date.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure closed on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A reopening date has not yet been announced.

Today’s news comes after Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call Wednesday that it plans to open its Shanghai Disneyland theme park on May 11. The property was the first park to be shut down as the coronavirus began spreading from China to the rest of the world.

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