Walt Disney World Resort announces its new Park Pass system, which will be used when parks reopen next month. Disney parks worldwide have been closed since March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This includes both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland in California. Luckily, both are hoping to reopen next month, with Disney World planning on July 11 and Disneyland July 17. However, Disneyland may have a harder time of it due to cases spiking in California. Some visitors have even petitioned Disney to delay Disneyland's reopening, with many saying it's simply too soon.
Disney has been very open about the measures that will be in place when Disney World and Disneyland reopen. Disney World, for example, will first open only Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, before adding EPCOT and Hollywood Studios a few days later. The resort is also temporarily stopping parades, character meet and greets, and similar attractions. Earlier this week, Disney World also announced it was canceling its Halloween event, which typically draws massive crowds.
Perhaps the biggest safety measure Disney will be implementing involves park attendance. When Disney World's reopening was announced, the company mentioned a new reservation system was on the way. Now, that system has been revealed. Announced by Walt Disney World Resort's Manager of Communications Avery Maehrer on the official Disney Parks Blog, the online Disney Park Pass system will allow guests to reserve days to visit the parks. However, the announcement notes that "park reservations are limited in number and subject to availability." Additionally, "visiting more than one park per day will be temporarily unavailable," which may be a disappointment to visitors who enjoy the Park Hopper option.
Though the new Park Pass system will make for a different Disney World experience, it seems like the most effective way to regulate attendance. However, at this point, it's impossible to know if guests will run into issues using the system, or exactly how many people will be allowed to make reservations each day. It seems likely Disney will be cautious and start with a small number of guests before slowly increasing. The number of visitors able to enter will probably vary by park. EPCOT, for example, may allow for more people, as it's large and fairly spread out. However, a park like Animal Kingdom is smaller and can easily become congested.
Hopefully, as Disney World gets closer to its reopening date, more information about attendance numbers will be revealed. At the very least, Disney fans should be relieved the company has a solid plan in place to manage park attendance. Some still may not feel safe heading to Walt Disney World Resort in the coming months, but at least Disney has a system ready for those who do.
Source: Disney Parks Blog
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June 22, 2020 at 05:09AM
