As Walt Disney Company Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro has already stated, the company is navigating a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the theme park division financially in 2020.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida began its phased reopening process in July, and all four of the Disney property’s theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — are slowly but surely re-adding Guest experiences that were suspended due to COVID-19.
However, despite increasing capacity at Walt Disney World, Disney still has numerous health and safety measures in place for all theme park and Resort Hotel Guests. These including social distancing protocols, mandatory face masks for anyone aged 2 and up, and contactless interactions with Cast Members whenever possible.
Many Disney Parks fans had hoped that things would return to — at least relative — normalcy by 2021, particularly with the shipment of Pfizer’s first round of COVID-19 vaccines. This does not, however, appear to be the case for special events at Walt Disney World Resort.
A few days ago, Orlando area reporter, Ashley Carter, shared that the Star Wars Rival Run Weekend — slated for April 2021 — has already been canceled onsite at Walt Disney World and will, instead, be fully virtual like it was in 2020.
