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Written by Ricardo Waddell Lewis on 12/07/2020
As Disney reopened their premier theme park, Walt Disney World, today in Florida amid exploding coronavirus numbers, social media immediately took the entertainment conglomerate to task by criticizing the decision to resume theme parks operations, calling it premature and risky.
Florida has now seen more than 250,000 total cases of confirmed coronavirus cases and has tallied more than 300 deaths in the last three days, with 11,000 new cases reported on today’s park reopening day.
I can’t say how utterly disappointed I am in Disneythey cater to Families and CHILDREN! At what point do they stop with money making and look after the families with CHILDREN?!
Disney World reopens to the general public amid Florida’s surge in virus cases https://t.co/8EbU6EsU29— sweet bee 🌊 (@tdillner) July 12, 2020
I love Disney World SO MUCH but man it should NOT be open right now 🤦🏼♀️
— Allison Rancour (@AllisonRancour) July 12, 2020
Disney World, which had been shuttered for nearly four months, follows the May reopening of Shanghai Disneyland with safety precautions and strict social distancing rules.
Theme parks journalist Carlye Wisel visited the Disney World today an pointed out that proper social distancing guidelines quickly fell apart when visitors entered the park.
haven’t even made it in the gate yet and my heart is pounding out of my chest.
just had to squeeze past a lane of opposite traffic while there’s this densely packed line for guest services.
this is unacceptable — and I haven’t even made it into the park yet. pic.twitter.com/GTzsAjRlD2
— 🍭 carlye wisel (@carlyewisel) July 11, 2020
A Twitter user compared a photo of socially-distancing cast members released by Disney Parks before the opening and a photo from inside Disney World today.
Other early visitors were just happy to be back in the park after the long shutdown.
Some social media users took aim at the cheery “Welcome Back” videos Disney put out ahead of its world resort’s reopening. Remixing the park footage with eerie music, including the opening theme from horror classic The Shining, they reimagined Disney’s reopening as a sign of a dystopian present. See the pair of Disney videos and their dark counterparts.
