Walt Disney World reopened July 11 following a 116-day closure, and after several days of looking at friends’ photos and videos of their return to the “most magical place on earth,” I still don’t want to be there. It’s an unusual feeling for someone who has visited the parks dozens of times in the past decade. I like them so much, I turned my visits into a job.
Theme parks may be a source of existential terror for some, but they’re my happy place. When I need to escape the stresses of work and unplug for a couple days, I disappear into the Disney bubble or take a trip to Hogwarts. But at a time when we all need to get away more than ever, the health crisis surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has added a layer of complexity to these once-carefree visits.
Disney was the last of Central Florida’s theme parks to open its gates—Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and Legoland all reopened in early June—but with Florida’s COVID-19 cases rising, the advice of health experts is to stay away.
“I think this is the wrong time for them to open,” says Dr. Tina Tan, a member of the board of directors for the Infectious Disease Society of America and pediatric infectious disease physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “If it were in an area where you weren’t seeing the surge in the number of COVID cases and everybody behaved and did what they were supposed to do—which is never going to happen—you would have much less of a chance of spread. But now you’re bringing into the equation the fact that the state is probably having the largest concentration of COVID cases in the country.”
The precautions Disney has taken for its parks go above and beyond what’s required by the state of Florida. In addition to limiting capacity through its park pass reservation system and requiring face masks for guests age 2 and up, social distancing markers have been placed in queues throughout the park, and ride vehicles are disinfected every two hours. To encourage guests to keep their masks on while on attractions, Disney is withholding PhotoPass images from guests who appear on camera without their masks.
Most images coming out of Disney World show parks that look nearly deserted compared to a typical summer day—peak season in any other year—but even some locals are uncertain how often they’ll visit.
“It’s a gamble that you make,” says Adriana Redding, an Orlando makeup artist who used to go to the parks weekly. Redding visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom last week during annual passholder previews, knowing attendance would be severely restricted.
“It was my best opportunity to feel as safe as possible,” Redding says. “I feel like I won’t be back to the parks for two or three weeks. I just needed to get it out of my system.”
The decision to stay away from Disney World is simpler for those of us who live out of state.
Erin Cottingham, from Chicago, spent months planning her family’s multi-generational spring break trip to Disney World—the first for her young children. While she initially moved their visit to November, concerns for the health of older family members and the inability to have some of the classic Disney experiences for her children led her to postpone indefinitely, until a vaccine is available.
“It was a big disappointment, having to cancel the trip initially, especially with all the advance planning that goes into it,” Cottingham says. “We were thankfully waiting to tell the kids until right before we left, so the only ones disappointed were the adults.”
I’ve thought a lot about making a trip down to Florida. Even though I’m not yet comfortable getting on a plane for the familiar 90-minute flight to Orlando from my home in North Carolina, driving is feasible. But the nine-hour trip would mean stops at gas stations and rest areas in unknown towns, and a two-week self-imposed quarantine upon returning home.
Inside the parks, my beloved Happily Ever After show has not reopened since fireworks draw a crowd, and there’s no casually strolling through Adventureland eating a Dole Whip float (guests may remove their masks to eat or drink, but should do so seated away from crowds). Some of my favorite attractions, like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Pirates of the Caribbean, are indoors, which adds stress. Enclosed spaces in which air conditioning was once a sanctuary from the Florida heat now pose an additional risk, according to Tan.
“Depending on how those air vents blow, if somebody has COVID and they got the virus in the air, depending on the way the air circulates inside, you can actually spread the virus faster,” she says.
Add in the fact that I’ve barely left the house in four months aside from trips to the grocery store or dog park, and it’s all just overwhelming.
I’m not sure when I’ll feel comfortable returning to the Disney bubble. But until then, there are other travel options to responsibly fill the need to get away. Private rental properties are the best, Tan says, and avoiding crowds is key.
“If someone’s going to travel, they really need to think about traveling as safely as possible and put into practice social distancing, wearing masks, carrying hand sanitizer,” she says. “That’s all been shown to slow the spread of the virus and prevent individuals from getting infected.”
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