Just a few days after we first started hearing news about Cast Members reporting for work and using parking garages at Disney Springs, it has been announced that on May 20, 2020, the shopping and entertainment district will be beginning the first phase of its reopening, following the guidance of government and health officials.
No Disney-owned shops or restaurants
Disney has confirmed that during this initial reopening there will only be a limited number of shopping and dining experiences open that are owned by third-party operating participants. That means places like World of Disney, The Ganachery, D-Luxe Burger, and all other Disney-owned establishments, will remain closed at this time.
While we don’t know exactly which establishments will be a part of this initial wave of reopenings we expect a full list of participating retailers and restaurants to be provided as we get closer to the May 20th reopening date.
Masks will be used, sanitation will be increased and capacity will be limited
Disney has said that they will be reopening gradually and implementing enhanced safety measures, including increased cleaning procedures, the use of facemasks by both employees and guests, limited-contact guest services and additional safety training for cast members. Though we’re not sure right now if facemasks will be voluntary or strongly encouraged, we should know more in the coming weeks about what guests who visit this shopping and entertainment venue can expect.
In addition, Disney Springs will have limitations on capacity, parking and operating hours, though it hasn’t been specified how these capacity caps will be measured or enforced.
Entertainment venues will not reopen at this time
Though many of the third party retailers and restaurants will reopen on May 20th, the many entertainment venues at Disney Springs, including the House of Blues, Cirque du Soleil, and AMC theater will not reopen with the rest of the third-party retailers.
Disney-owned and operated locations may open soon
If all goes well during this partial reopening, we’d expect Disney to begin putting their Cast Members back to work at Disney owned and operated locations like World of Disney, Tren-D, the Marketplace Co-Op, and more.
Down the street, Universal Orlando Resort has not made an official statement about the status of Universal CityWalk, but it looks like employees at several CityWalk locations, including Starbucks and Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville have been notified that these locations, along with other CityWalk restaurants will be reopening on May 11, 2020 so we’d expect an official announcement confirming this in the VERY near future.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all theme park fans should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
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