Over the past two days, almost every theme park inside the United States and several internationally have closed for the next two weeks in an unprecedented move to combat the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. And while these closures are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, there have been some interesting side effects resulting from these sudden closures.
1. Walt Disney World extends annual pass expiration dates
Walt Disney World is closed as of March 16th, and will be closed at least two weeks, through the end of the month. And because of the extended closure, Disney has announced that annual passholders will have their pass expiration date extended by the number of days that the park is closed.
2. Disneyland donates unused food
Disneyland announced its own closure this week, and is also expected to be shuttered through the end of the month. And because the closure was so sudden, Disneyland was left with lots of extra inventory for their restaurants. Fortunately, Disney has announced that they will be donating excess inventory of dairy, fruit, vegetables, packaged goods and banquet meals to Second Harvest Food Bank, whose mission is to end hunger in Orange County.
3. Universal Orlando Resort calls Team Members in to work
Universal Orlando Resort has said that they will pay Team Members during their parks closure and while many assumed that meant that Team Members would stay home while the parks were shuttered, the Orlando Sentinel reports that Universal employees will still be expected to show up to work at empty theme parks in costume while this closure is ongoing. It is not known exactly what these Team Members will be doing in empty parks, but we’d guess maybe they’ll be lending a hand with cleaning efforts, restocking stores, or perhaps even helping out with calls from guests who need to reschedule vacations.
Since this news broke, Universal has reached out and clarified that they are “evaluating” which Team Members will be called in to work, and which can work from home.
4. Frozen 2 debuts on Disney+ three months early
Disney’s Frozen 2 was set to make its streaming debut in the US and Canada on June 26, 2020, with everyone gathering around the TV during self-isolation Disney has decided to release this film early on March 15th!
As of right now, the majority of theme parks in the United States are planning on reopening at the end of the month, but of course this situation is evolving daily so we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
As we’ve said previously, there is no way to know exactly how long theme parks will be dealing with the effects of Coronavirus, but while this situation is continuing, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
