Mickey Mouse’s house reopens its doors in Orlando, Florida under security measures and controversies due to the number of covid-19 cases
The magic of Disney and characters like Mickey Mouse and Jack Sparrow shines again in Florida this Saturday with the reopening of two of Orlando’s theme parks, although it does so overshadowed by the growing threat of COVID-19.
Under strict security measures, the doors of Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were opened this Saturday to the general public , while those of EPCOT and Disney Hollywood Studio will do the same on July 15 following "a phased strategy" derived from the experience gained in the parks of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The most staunch fans of the Disney world with an annual pass were able to access the two parks on Thursday, July 9. Before Disney, they opened Universal, SeaWorld and other Orlando theme parks that were closed for more than three months.
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Most of the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom attractions are available to those who comply with measures such as wearing a mask at all times if they are over two years old, do not use cash to pay and undergo temperature controls.
Also, the daily number of visitors is subject to limits.
Restaurants, shops, and transportation within parks, where "cleaning procedures have been increased," also have limited ability to comply with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). from the United States and have physical barriers to protect visitors.
Walt Disney World expects that during the first days the parks will be at maximum capacity established, since last June the tickets for the reopening were sold out a few hours after the reservation system was activated.
One of the novelties of the reopening is the new version of the Epcot International Food & Wine food festival, which will take place from July 15 and will continue during the summer and fall, so that visitors can enjoy food from all over the world. world complying with security measures.
Controversial reopening
Florida is one of the states where COVID-19 has been hitting the hardest since mid-June, with thousands of new cases daily and a spike in deaths, an increase in hospitalizations and a higher percentage of positive cases in tests. .
It is currently the state with the highest number of cases in the entire country (more than 244,000) after New York and California, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (Maryland).
According to official data, there are currently more than 6,000 people admitted to Florida medical centers for COVID-19.
Orange County, where the city of Orlando is located, accumulates a total of 16,148 cases of the disease, of which 78 have been fatal.
68.87% of infections in Orlando have been detected in the last twenty days.
These figures have raised concern in the population and there are already more than 19,000 people who have signed a petition on the MoveOn.org platform to "not open the parks until it is safe", since "the virus has not disappeared in Florida and the situation has worsened. "
"Delaying the reopening is the best option to avoid exposing thousands of theme park employees and their families to the virus. As individuals working in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests. and our colleagues ", argues the campaign.
In addition, the Actors Equity Association, which represents 750 actors who work at Walt Disney World, filed a complaint with the company last Thursday for not responding to the request to test workers for the coronavirus.
DISNEY THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL
Before the pandemic, Orlando’s theme parks had only closed seven times since they were opened in 1971 by major hurricanes such as Irma, Matthew or Floyd and by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
With the reopening of the Disney parks, Orlando becomes the entertainment capital for Americans in a week in which the professional soccer league resumed competition in this city and waiting for the NBA to do the same at the end of the month in the facilities that the parks company has.
Both competitions will be held in the "bubble" created by Disney in the ESPN Wide World Sports complex by means of which they will be isolated and the contact of the players, coaches and other team members with outsiders will be limited as much as possible.
At the moment, two MLS teams will not participate in the tournament, which has already started, due to the high number of positives detected among the players, Nashville SC and FC Dallas, who were withdrawn from the "MLS is Back" tournament with the one that the league intends to end the season.