ORLANDO -- "The Most Magical Place on
Earth" has reopened after nearly four months with new rules in place to
help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom
are reopening Saturday, while Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios will follow
four days later.
"It's the chance to come back and be in the
magic," said Diane Watkins, a preschool teacher from Helena, Alabama, who
visits the park about eight times a year. "Hot or not, mask or not, we're
just happy to be here. I feel like everybody here is in the same frame of mind.
Everybody is just so excited to be here."
Watkins said that when she and her 16-year-old daughter
walked into the Magic Kingdom on Saturday morning, then saw all the cast
members lined up and clapping on Main Street, she cried.
"It was very emotional," she said.
The reopening comes as a huge surge of Floridians
have tested positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks. On Saturday,
there were about 10,000 new cases reported, according to state statistics. Many
cities and counties around the state have recently reinstated restrictions that
had been lifted in May, when cases seemed to drop.
All of Disney's Orlando parks closed in mid-March in
an effort to stop the virus's spread. Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando
closed around the same time but reopened several weeks ago after instituting
similar rules to protect employees and customers from the virus.
Lori Lovell of Evansville, Indiana, strolled around
Frontierland on Saturday morning with friends.
"I have missed coming here. It just feels
really good to be back. This is where I've made so many memories. It's kind of
our second home. Not being able to come here was hard."
Disney's new rules include mandatory masks and
social distancing. Visitors will need reservations to enter a park, and they
won't be allowed to hop between parks. Both visitors and employees will receive
temperature checks when they enter. Fireworks shows and parades have been
suspended to prevent drawing too many people together.
Park-goers say that nearly everyone in sight wore
masks on Saturday morning. Capacity is nowhere near where it is under normal
circumstances, they said.
"I've been here on spring breaks where you can
barely walk around. The walkways are very wide open," said Lovell.
There were lots of hand sanitizer stations around,
and people were respecting the physical distancing cues and guidelines. Since
the park is at lower capacity, there was only a five-minute wait for the
popular Buzz Lightyear ride -- normally it's about 90 minutes, Watkins said.
Some attractions and dining areas aren't yet open.
Another change: visitors can't hug and greet the costumed Disney characters.
Instead, the characters are in "cavalcades," or motorcades, as they
make their way through the park.
Disney has been opening its parks back up around the
globe for the past two months. In May, the company opened Disney Springs, a
complex of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues in Lake Buena Vista.
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