Though Universal and Disney rarely cooperate on anything, it looks like when it comes to forming a strategy when it comes to live after the COVID-19 pandemic, these two rivals will have to work together, as executives with Disney and Universal have been appointed to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ task force to reopen Florida’s economy.
Walt Disney World president Josh D’Amaro and Universal Orlando Resort CEO John Sprouls have both joined the committee that will help lead efforts to restart Florida’s economy following impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the state-level task force, on the local level Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has formed an Economic Recovery Task Force with several top members of the theme park community, including Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president of Walt Disney World Resorts and Transportation Operations; Rich Costales, executive vice president of Universal Orlando Resort operations; and Brad Gilmour, vice president of operations at SeaWorld.
Working together to find a new normal
While it might seem strange for so many theme park executives to be working towards a singular goal, many theme parks will face similar challenges in the wake of COVID-19. Reports from Disney and Universal seem to indicate that both parks are exploring how they can reopen with reduced operations, lower capacity on attractions, and potentially required masks and temperature checks.
And of course that is assuming that theme parks can open soon at all. Though it has been reported that Disney was hoping to reopen its theme parks as of June 1st, with Bob Iger recently saying that until there is mass testing, at scale, an opening would be improbable and other analysts stating that it could be 2021 before theme parks could feasibly reopen, there are more questions than answers right now for theme park operations across the state of Florida, which is why these teams working together is so important.
Weighing options
Even if the parks could open sooner rather than later, many wonder about how the guest experience could be affected, and whether or not it would be “worth” it for the theme parks to open. If Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened tomorrow, but had no table service dining, had no fireworks or stage shows, and required guests to wear masks all day, would you still enjoy the experience? What about if you had to wait double the time for experiences like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Toy Story Mania so that the interactive elements of these rides could be sanitized after each guest?This type of situation is a very real one that parks operators are considering, as even if there is a way to open sooner rather than later, the alterations to the guest experience that will be necessary might make them hesitant to pull the trigger and open as soon as possible.
Of course, many are thinking of the theme park workers who have been affected by these closures, who are almost all going without a paycheck right now, which adds another layer of nuance for this team to consider.
While theme park reopenings will certainly be tricky to figure out in the months ahead, hopefully these experts will all be able to craft a strategy that allows business to resume, keeps guests and theme park employees safe, and delivers a positive and memorable experience for visitors.
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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