Disney World Open Hours To Be Shortened Due To Coronavirus Pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing, and so is its far-reaching effects on a number of industries, such as the entertainment industry. One such industry is theme parks, with Disney World having to implement numerous changes to adapt to the new normal.
The Hollywood Reporter says the Florida attraction has shortened the operating hours for all four of its parks, either by an hour or two hours. The move is an added safety measure to ensure that Disney World does not become a hotbed of coronavirus infection.
The operating hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom will be shortened by an hour. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom and Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort will close two hours earlier. The changes will take effect on Sept. 8 and will be in place until the end of October.
Deadline points out that this new measure comes out a month after the Florida theme park was reopened and is on top of earlier measures the attraction had in place. Disney World already had enhanced sanitation and disinfection protocols in place, as well as handwashing stations and temperature checks for staff and visitors alike. Parades and meet-and-greets have also been suspended and the number of visitors limited.
Disney World has even worked to close a loophole park visitors have been using to avoid wearing masks. Since park visitors are allowed to not wear masks when eating or drinking, some have taken to eating and drinking while walking. Disney World has now banned the practice, requiring visitors to be seated if they are to eat or drink.
Ensuring that their theme parks remain open is important to Disney as it brings in a lot of revenue for the company. The coronavirus-induced theme park closures have already cost Disney’s theme park division $3.5 billion. Last year, Disney theme parks pulled in $26 billion in ticket sales and made up 37 percent of the company’s total revenue.
Whether Disney theme parks will continue to remain open in the United States is in question as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage in the country and elsewhere in the world. According to the Aug. 9 update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are now 4,974,959 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. There are now 161,284 people that have died from COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Aug.9 situation report from the World Health Organization pegs the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide at 19,462,112 people. Deaths caused by COVID-19 are now at 722,285 people.