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Friday, June 5, 2020

The Gist

SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove in Orlando set to reopen on June 11

Posted By Matthew Moyer on Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 3:03 PM

click to enlarge

Photo via SeaWorld

Orlando's SeaWorld has announced an official reopening date after closing due to coronavirus concerns in March, and, ready or not, it's happening next week.

SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove will all reopen next Thursday, June 11, but with new guidelines and rules in place to hopefully assure the safety of park visitors and employees.

It won't just be a matter of just walking in on that Thursday, reservations beforehand are required in light of the new limited attendance capacity guidelines. Reservations open Monday, June 8, online. Additional safety rules include requiring park guests to wear face masks, new physical distancing protocols and sanitizing regimens, switching over to contactless payments, and temperature checks required of both park guests and attendees before entering.

SeaWorld presented this reopening plan to Gov. DeSantis a week ago – after first being getting the nod from the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force and Mayor Jerry Demings – and he quickly approved it.

Interim SeaWorld CEO Marc Swanson reiterated the work that went into these new policies in a statement:

“We thank Governor DeSantis, Orange County Mayor Demings, Orlando Mayor Dyer, and the members of the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force for their support of tourism in Central Florida as we prepare to reopen our Orlando parks to the public on June 11. Over the past two months, we have worked with state and local health officials, third party medical and epidemiology experts, and attraction industry leaders to enhance our strict health, safety, and cleanliness standards. We are committed to the health and safety of our guests, employees, and animals in our care, and will continue to follow the guidance of health officials as conditions evolve.”

Universal Orlando is the first of the major area attractions to reopen, throwing open the doors to its theme parks and water park today. Walt Disney World has so far not announced any reopening date, though Disney Springs undertook a phased reopening in late May.

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Tags: Orlando, coronavirus, COVID-19, Orange County Florida, public health, safety, seaworld, aquatica, discovery cove, tourism, reopening, theme parks, Image

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