Editor’s Note — Julie Tremaine entered the Magic Kingdom just just after 9 a.m. Saturday for CNN. She’s an award-winning food items and travel author, and her work seems in Journey + Leisure and Forbes among the many others. Go through her at
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Orange County, Florida (CNN) — The hold out is around.
Right after closing mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic, Walt Disney Earth Vacation resort has formally reopened two of its 4 parks — Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. (Epcot and Hollywood Studios are set to reopen Wednesday).
In excess of the earlier 7 days, all eyes have been on Disney Globe as it well prepared for its reopening — a person day shy of four months considering the fact that it shut.
With Florida’s latest surge in Covid-19 infections, some have questioned irrespective of whether the park should really have postponed opening working day. But on Saturday morning, thousands of supporters walked by means of the gate to be among the the 1st to reenter the Magic Kingdom.
The park they walked back into, nevertheless, is not the identical park they still left.
Outdated vs. new Magic Kingdom
Visitors end to take a selfie at Magic Kingdom on Saturday.
Kent Phillips/Disney
The old park thrived on amount, cramming as several persons as feasible into trip queues and fulfilling people who lined up early in the morning with coveted boarding passes to journey Star Wars: Increase of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
That park would enable you operate up to Mickey and hug him, even with no distinct plan of who had just accomplished the exact detail or when that match had very last been cleaned. That park failed to have to worry about regardless of whether the invisible spray from anyone screaming with delight on a roller coaster would unintentionally infect the human being in the next seat.
This new park is unique.
The most important change: group dimensions. Disney isn’t going to launch attendance numbers, but The New York Times estimated that the park would make it possible for fewer than 50 percent of its capability in the park to start out.
Initial detail you may detect about the new look — it really is not crowded in the Magic Kingdom.
Julie Tremaine for CNN
As of July 10, Disney had achieved its highest reservations for Magic Kingdom park tickets for opening day.
Here is what we’re seeing so considerably:
Temperature and bag checks
All company will be required to endure temperature screenings ahead of getting into a concept park at Walt Disney Globe Resort.
David Roark/Walt Disney Globe Vacation resort
For the reopening, just about every guest is essential to have his or her temperature checked, not at the park gate, but to get on the transportation that delivers you to the park. The process is speedy and simple.
Bag checks have been minimized as significantly as attainable. Beforehand, each bag was carefully searched. Now, company are questioned to eliminate any big steel objects from their baggage, then carry these luggage by way of metallic detectors.
Performances and solid users
Mickey Mouse will star in the “Mickey and Good friends Cavalcade” when Magic Kingdom Park reopens as common parades are on short term hiatus
Olga Thompson/Walt Disney Environment Resort
An additional huge variance: performances. Nearly all of them have been briefly suspended, even a lot of of the outdoor demonstrates these kinds of as the Dapper Dans, a barbershop quartet that performs up and down Principal Street United states.
Character satisfy-and-greets have been stopped, replaced with fall-in appearances from people that are unannounced and, without a established routine, will not likely draw the exact same crowds.
At 12:30 p.m., a socially distanced, scaled-back again parade arrived by means of the park.
Instead of float soon after float, with dancers and performers in in between, three floats arrived by in brief succession.
The to start with: Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald. The 2nd: Tinkerbell, sitting on best of an great upper body of pirate treasure. The 3rd: Clarabelle and Goofy.
Friends wave as the “Mickey and Good friends Cavalcade” passes by on Key Road Usa on Saturday.
Kent Phillips/Disney
Each was surrounded by a team of solid associates waving and energetically shouting to people as they passed by.
Performing it this way assures crowds is not going to variety, and folks would not stand in a person spot anticipating the up coming float to arrive by.
When it does, it truly is a shock — and from the exhilaration of the people today observing, a quite pleasurable a single.
A phrase from the chairman
Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Park, Ordeals and Solutions, produced an Instagram post of an “incredible early morning” with cast associates in advance of the reopening.
Cast members, Disney’s time period for their workforce, informed CNN Vacation they are genuinely fired up to have the park again up and functioning. Dozens of them lined the sidewalks of Primary Avenue, waving at and greeting guests as they arrived in.
“We are just [as] thrilled to be listed here as you are, it’s possible even extra energized,” just one reported as she was welcoming individuals in. “I cried on the way to operate currently. I have cried a several occasions this early morning.”
Of training course, she said all this by means of a mask.
Even even though there are Mickey, Goofy and Child Yoda masks accessible for invest in, individuals masks are however tricky to wear in 89 diploma weather and 68% humidity.
Right up until Friday, neck gaiters had been allowed at Disney Springs. On the reopening of the parks, though, masks have to affix guiding the ears, building gaiters out of date.
“We come all the time,” reported an annual passholder on the Monorail, riding into the park, “but it can be just about having the exciting out of it.”
CNN’s Natasha Chen contributed to this report.