Disney World’s reopening: Where things stand as Florida Covid-19 cases spike

(CNN) — Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando remains on track for a phased reopening on July 11 even as Florida faces a spike of reported Covid-19 cases recently.

Florida cases rapidly on the rise

Only New York and California have reported more cases than Florida. However, when measured by number of cases per 100,000 people, Florida ranked No. 15 in the United States on Tuesday.

In Orange County, where the Disney parks are located, 14,768 Covid-19 cases have been reported.

What Florida’s governor says

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who quickly approved Disney’s reopening plans back in late May, remains solidly behind the Disney World reopening.

Medial opinion

He cautioned then that people in high-risk groups — the elderly and people with underlying health conditions — should give serious consideration about going in.

He said in the end it’s a risk vs. reward calculation.

You need to ask yourself this: “Is the benefit worth the risk? And there will be a variety of answers to that” depending on your unique situation.

“From increased cleaning and disinfecting across our parks and resorts, to updated health and safety policies, we have reimagined the Disney experience so we can all enjoy the magic responsibly,” the blog said.

“We implemented our health and safety measures after considering the guidance of government and local health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in addition to the U.S. Travel Association and Disney’s team of health experts.”

Measures include limits on the number of people who can enter, temperature checks at the gate and face coverings for people 2 and older.

The blog did not mention the spike in Florida’s Covid-19 cases.

Schedule for Disney World parks

Gone are the days you can decide to go and just show up ready to buy a ticket. Even passholders are finding limits.

Disney World is reopening with only limited park reservations available for people with annual passes or tickets that were purchased before the pandemic. No new tickets are being sold for 2020 right now.

1. Get a valid park admission linked to a Disney account you’ve set up online.
2. Register the members of your party.
3. Select a date and a park to attend.
4. Finally, review and confirm your reservations.

Tremaine booked a vacation package at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge the morning the park announced its reopening. Because she had both park tickets and a hotel reservation, she was able to book opening day reservations for July 11 at the Magic Kingdom.

“Walt Disney World’s reopening has definitely been bumpier than some of the other theme parks, but considering I called the reservation line about 40 times last week before I got through, that isn’t stopping anyone from trying to get there for July 11, no matter how complicated it is,” she said.

“I feel like I’m going to be relearning the entire Disney protocol when I go,” Tremaine said. “There are so many modified experiences, so many restaurants and resorts still closed, so many new ways of doing things, so many changes just to being at the park itself.”

Bottom line to get into a Disney World park during the pandemic: Be patient, be flexible, be persistent, be ready for rules to change.

Disneyland

But on June 24, Disneyland announced it was postponing the reopening amid a more cautious approach in California on the coronavirus, a significant rise in cases by late Jane and pushback from union members,

There’s been no new date set for Disneyland’s reopening.

Disney’s Asia properties

All the parks are operating with safety measures seen in many US parks: Advance ticket booking, mandatory temperature checks, face mask requirements and social distancing in lines and on attractions.

Other Orlando parks

CNN’s Natasha Chen, Lilit Marcus and Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report.