The parks and hotels at Disneyland and Walt Disney World may still be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Disney Springs is officially open for (partial) business as of Wednesday morning.
Disney Springs is a non-ticketed, open-air shopping section of Walt Disney World in Florida that contains both Disney owned and subcontracted shops and restaurants. Its partial reopening is currently restricted to subcontracted shops, with all company properties like the Disney Store remaining closed for another week.
The partial reopening came with a series of new rules for the shopping area, including mandatory face coverings for all guests, a temperature check at the gate (anyone with a body temperature of 100.4 or above is denied entry along with their entire party), and hand sanitizing and washing stations throughout Disney Springs.
In the first few hours of opening, guests at Disney Springs appeared to be maintaining social distance in accordance with markers placed on the floor, especially in the lines that formed to eat at some of its more popular restaurants. Photos and videos on Twitter show scattered crowds in the morning to early afternoon.
There was also a small crowd of people waiting to enter Disney Springs before it opened, but everyone appeared to keep their distance there as well.
The partial reopening of Disney Springs is the first in a series of phases for reopening the Walt Disney World. Phase 2 will be reopening the Disney properties at the park on May 27th, while later phases including the reopening of any hotels, resorts, or theme parks are still unknown and subject to the company’s discretion. For those waiting for the theme parks to reopen…well, there’s always Disney’s virtual roller coasters.