Today we are covering Walt Disney World’s plans for reopening as presented today to Florida’s Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force. The phased reopening is proposed to start with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11th followed by Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT on July 15th.

Proposed safety measures for the opening include limiting guest capacity in the theme parks with a new guest theme park reservation system among other protocols. The limited capacity in the park will help to accomplish physical distancing between guests, and Walt Disney World will also rely on its cast members to help implement these new measures.

Jim MacPhee, Senior Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World, presented the plans to the Task Force, sharing the following: “Cast Members will be trained to positively encourage guests to practice the correct behaviors and demonstrate them themselves.”

And one of the ways that will be accomplished is through something called Social Distancing Squads — a dedicated team of “highly energetic cast members” (also referred to as Safety Ambassadors) who will be present in every park.

The theme parks will not actually deliver the debut of the Social Distancing Squads to Walt Disney World. A Squad has been present in Disney Springs since its reopening, and Jim MacPhee shared that the team has been “a huge hit” with guests.

Additionally, he stated: “As always, our exceptional cast members will engage with our guests to make the experience as real and as magical as possible.” 

We will continue to keep you posted on these and other safety measures proposed for the reopening of Walt Disney World as this story continues to develop. To learn more about the current status of Disney parks and destinations around the globe, you can visit any of the links below.

What do you think about the Social Distancing Squad in the parks? Please let us know with a comment!