After months of shuttered gates, Disney World theme parks announced that they (along with Animal Kingdom) will be reopening on July 11, according to CNN. The Magic Kingdom's closure left the company with a 91% profit plunge, which ultimately culminated in a $1.4 billon loss across all of its business entities in addition to 70,000 jobs being lost.
Florida's famous Disney World location isn't the first of its parks to open its gates.
All 12 of Disney's parks (which are in in North America, Asia, and Europe) closed at different intervals, with Shanghai being the first to reopen on May 11 after shutting down January 24.
Following Disney World's opening on July 11, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios will open on July 15.
Reopening the park doors signifies a huge "turning point," but Disney announced that its reopening would only be possible with certain precautions.
For one, temperature screenings and face masks will be required to enter the park for employees and guests. There will be an increase in the number of hand sanitizing stations across the park, as well as enabling cashless transactions to reduct contact. All parades, fireworks, and other crowd-creating spectacles will be temporarily suspended in an effort to reduce gatherings.
However, experts say that the park's reopening doesn't necessarily mean that it will stay open.
"The risk is that coronavirus cases pop up again after opening. What do you do then?" Trip Miller, a Disney shareholder and managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners, told CNN. "Additionally, managing cast members' health and keeping adequate staffing is a big challenge. If a Disney cast member contracts the virus, do you shut down the entire park? An area they were in? Do you refund tickets? You just don't want the happiest place on earth to be seen as a dangerous place."
There was also no mention of ticket price reduction.
With so many of Disney's trademark shows and features being temporarily closed, fans were also curious if the price of ticket entrance or packages would be reduced. There also hasn't been a formal update on how the park will be handling dine-in options.
As the news began to circulate on social media, Disney fans expressed varying opinions, but mostly voiced concerns over mandatory face coverings.
"Too risky to open right now and it's no fun with restrictions," wrote one Facebook user.
"I live in Cleveland and I'm ALWAYS hot and can barely breathe when I have a mask on," commented another. "Imagine being in the Florida heat with one on. Nope, I'll pass. I'll wait until everything blows over."
Only time will tell if people will still find Disney World to be the "most magical place on earth."
