HomeDisney NewsWalt Disney World, Orlando Theme Parks May Reopen at Their Own Discression?

Walt Disney World, Orlando Theme Parks May Reopen at Their Own Discression?

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Earlier today the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force met to further discuss plans and guidelines for the business sector. During the meeting they attention turned to theme parks and Chuck Whittall, President of Unicorp led the following discussion in regards to larger theme parks like Universal, Disney and Sea World:

I think based on the conversation with Thomas (Thomas Mazloum, Vice President of Walt Disney World Resort & Transportation) the best way to approach businesses which may very well include: Amway, the Dr. Phillip Performing Arts Center, Disney, Universal and Sea World are to put out something like this:

Theme parks and other venues of that magnitude shall each develop their own specific and unique set of guidelines following the CDC recommendations and using best practices that will protect the life, health, and safety of their employees and guests. They will be permitted to open at their own discretion with their internally determined level of safe capacities throughout the various phases.

Whittall feels that based on what Mayor Demings said about the responsibility the theme parks have shown and what they contribute to the community that it should be “put in their hands, stating:

Ultimately, they’re going to be judged by the marketplace. If guests feel safe, they’ll show up. If they don’t, they’re not….and they will be judged by social media too. That is my thoughts on them. Instead of us trying to write specific guidelines for them we put that in their hands knowing they’ve always done a good job in our community.  He also emphasized the effects of social media on any potential reopenings, claiming that the parks will be “judged” heavily based on what people see and talk about on social media.

Mayor Demings agreed with the idea and added:

You are precisely right. Let me put it this way, when you look at those large theme parks, they’re like cities unto themselves. And so nothing should be done in the way of our recommendations should appear to be punitive towards them, because they as a corporation look within our community and they can see a small business units open and they have something similar, i.e. restaurants, shops and other things that they can open, why wouldn’t they be allowed to open? So I think that when you talk about them you’re not talking about those large entities as if they are one major conglomerate, and they certainly have the ability to be able to phase in opening and I know that they will follow those guidelines because of their corporate responsibility, and potential liability, and exposure. So the language that you’re offering, I believe, is good language. You know, I think the bright minds on the call need to kick it around a bit just to make sure there aren’t any unintended consequences.”

So to paraphrase it all it seems that the task force feels that, theme parks are important to the community (tourism and dollars) and it’s important to get them open as soon as they can, but since they are such large entities that encompass many of the types of businesses they are working on guidelines for: restaurants, hotels, shops, etc., it would make the most sense to let them determine what would work best for them across their own businesses. The mayor is basically saying that they can trust them to adhere to safety guidelines because they don’t want to get sued.

We still don’t have a time frame, but it seems the task force wants to put the responsibility back to the theme parks. Walt Disney World especially is practically it’s own city so they should determine what their own guidelines are.

Stay tuned and we will keep you posted with more information as it becomes available.

You can listen to the Task Force Meeting here.

 


Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.



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