Walt Disney World and Universal Studios will be closing for the rest of the month beginning Sunday, March 15 due to the increasing concerns of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
UPDATE: SeaWorld has also announced all park closures effective Monday, March 16 through the end of the month. The company will continue to pay its full-time employees during this period. According to a park update released on March 13, “During this time, essential personnel, including animal care experts, will continue to look after the health, safety and nutritional needs of the animals in our care. Our animal rescue and rehabilitation operations will also continue to operate.”
Disney World has only closed briefly due to forecasted hurricanes and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in the close to 50 years that the park has been open. Locals understand when Disney World closes, something major is the cause of it. The four Disney World parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom) will shut down, but visitors and residents alike can still expect the Disney hotels and Disney Springs to remain open, until further notice.
UPDATE: Disney’s company-owned stores at Disney Springs will close beginning Tuesday, March 17 and all Disney-owned hotels will shut down Friday, March 20. The CDC now says gatherings of 50 or more people should be avoided.
Once the major park known for its mouse mascot made the announcement, Universal quickly followed suit with similar remarks. Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure will also close Sunday and are likely to remain closed through the rest of March. However, like Disney, Universal hotels and CityWalk will continue operating as normal.
Disneyland also announced its closure earlier on March 12.
“In an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of our theme parks,” read a statement from Disney. “We will continue to stay in close contact with appropriate officials and health experts.”
Beginning Saturday, all new departures on the Disney Cruise Line will be suspended.
With closures all around, some may wonder if Disney’s employees will be without a paycheck for the rest of the month, but fear no more. Disney World’s theme park employees will indeed continue to get paid while the park is closed. Those in other areas of the company have been asked to work remotely.
Universal has also stated that its employees with hourly schedules will receive pay for their scheduled work through the end of the month.
“It’s the right thing to do. Safety and health comes first. Revenue and profit comes second,” said Dennis Speigel, president of the International Theme Park Services.
UPDATE: Bill Davis, Universal Orlando Resort’s president and COO has since issued a statement asking front-of-house leaders to identify essential work and assign it accordingly, while all other team members will not have to report to work during the park closures. The back-of-house leaders will need to identify those teams that can work remotely.
For those who have scheduled their Disney vacation, the company is temporarily waiving the $50 change fee, for those who booked their packages directly through Disney or with its network travel agents, to postpone their trip to later in the year. This does not apply for those who booked through a third-party agency.
This time in March is normally a very busy and critical time for the parks as schools release for spring break and festivals and events such as Mardi Gras at Universal were previously scheduled. After all, Disney World is the vacation capital of the world.
At this point, all other Disney parks across the world have shut down.
The time to reopen the parks will come with many challenges, but Disney and Universal have stressed that the decision to close is meant to ensure the safety of the employees and guests.
UPDATE AS OF APRIL 18, 2020: Universal Orlando will remain closed through MAY 31. This includes Islands of Adventure and the CityWalk attractions.
Check back for updates.
