Much of Walt Disney World Resort reopened over the weekend and enthusiasts flocked to the park, which closed for months, all while Florida set a one-day record of showed cases of the new coronavirus.
Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomed visitors on Saturday morning, and many sought to return to the popular Orlando destination for the first time since mid-March, when it was forced to close due to the pandemic.
Videos and images posted on social media and broadcast on local news showed that new fitness and protection measures, such as the requirement to wear a mask, did not deter visitors to the park. When visitors returned to the park, the state reported that a record 15,299 new cases of coronavirus showed Sunday, the highest overall ever recorded in a U.S. state. Florida has so far reported nearly 270,000 cases of the new coronavirus, guilty of COVID-19, and more than 4,200 deaths from the disease.
It is not known how many other people went to the park this weekend. Guests needed a reservation and a ticket. It is assumed that the participation ceiling did not exceed 30, consistent with the percentage of the average daily figure. According to the park’s application, no waiting time seemed to exceed one hour over the weekend, which is probably the result of the fact that far fewer people can access the social distance with the maximum possible productivity. The popular top ride of the weekend Splash Mountain, which still waits between 30 and forty-five minutes, according to the app. However, the management broke for a short time on Sunday morning and visitors had to be evacuated. But it worked again in the afternoon. It questioned whether Splash Mountain would reopen last month after Disney announced plans to rename the attraction amid a renewed protest over its links to the debatable Song of the South.
The rest of Disney World, EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, will reopen on Wednesday. Walt Disney Co. has been putting in place a plan to reopen Florida Park since last month. But the reopening was not without repression and clamor, which continued over the weekend with a video made and shared through Disney on social media in which they mocked and criticized. The video, which featured several Disney World workers saying “Welcome Back” among the park’s plans, changed through some to include music from horror films, adding The Shining. In another modified edition of the video, voices of masked workers were heard, all with the caution of staying away.
The warning continues: “There is an inherent threat of exposure to COVID-19 in any public position where other people are present. COVID-19 is an incredibly contagious disease that can lead to serious illness and death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older people and visitors with underlying medical situations are especially vulnerable. By visiting Walt Disney World Resort, you voluntarily assume all threats related to exposure to COVID-19. Help yourself stay healthy.”
On July 6, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis subsidized the reopening of Disney World, saying it had no consideration because the theme park was giving a “safety award.” “Disney, I have no doubt, it will be an environment,” he said. “I think where you start to see the spread is only in social conditions where other people let their guard down. Usually like a personal party or something.
In California, Downtown Disney’s grocery shopping and dining district reopened last week. The rest of the Anaheim station will close indefinitely in the middle of the state’s virus alert.
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