We’ve been closely following the discussions going on from the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force in Florida.
Florida-Themed Orange Bird Mural in
Specifically, the Reopening Business workgroup is of interest thanks to the fact that Thomas Mazloum, Disney World senior vice president, is on the committee. They’ve discussed the reopening of the Orlando theme parks several times, and today it came up in conversation once again.
During today’s meetings, the group discussed the reopening of barbershops and salons across the state, when they reached out to Mazloum for comment on the situation at Disney now that there are reservations open in July. He responded saying, “Just because there are reservations open in July, does not mean that we will open in July.”
Harmony Barbershop ©Disney
He continued to echo sentiments of other Disney executives explaining that the driving decision for the reopening will be from the data and the government and health officials (like executive chairman Bob Iger said).
When asked about Shanghai’s reopening, Mazloum expressed that the company is encouraged by what they are seeing Shanghai due to the level of prudence practiced by the company AND guests. Like CEO Bob Chapek, Mazloum called the reopening in Shanghai “a baby step.”
©ShanghaiDisneylandResort on Instagram
The group also discussed some of the current trending data for the state of Florida. The three doctors on call — Dr. Pino, Dr. Brady, and Dr. Ralls — explained that case numbers are trending downward and widespread testing has revealed a trend of 0.3%-3.4% positive cases per day.
They expressed that these numbers are low but they won’t know how things will develop until two weeks post reopening (next Monday). The group also commented on the fact that curfew is ended for the county.
Magic Kingdom
While we don’t know the official opening date for Disney World and Disneyland, we do know that Disney Springs will begin its phased reopening on May 20th. We will continue to follow the workgroups, Mayor Demings’ comments, and the task force as a whole so that we can share the most up-to-date news with you!
Click here to read Bob Chapek’s comments on the future of the Disney parks.
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What do you think of Mazloum’s responses today? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Disney needs to stop being so vague and offer a little openness to consumers that spend thousands of dollars on vacations every year. I know the situation is fluid and changes daily.
But I’m getting annoyed that Disney keeps saying “we don’t know.” Or “just because this is open doesn’t mean the parks will open.”
Well what does it mean then senior Vice President of WDW? I am 100% sure Disney has an idea/game plan on when the parks will open.
I understand it could change. But to ease the minds of guests that have had trips planned for a while, instead of continuing to reschedule, get their hopes up, and only to have their trips cancelled again is getting old.
Long time reader. First time poster. Keep up the great work!