Disney, SeaWorld to Present Florida Theme-Park Reopening Plans

(Bloomberg) -- Florida’s mighty theme-park industry is slowly cranking open its gates.

Walt Disney Co. and SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. will be the next two operators to present their reopening plans to the Orange County task force charged with bringing the region’s tourist economy back following a more than two-month closing due to the coronavirus.

Comcast Corp.’s Universal Studios parks have already requested and won the right to reopen to the general public on June 5. Legoland, a unit of Merlin Entertainments Ltd., said it will open June 1.

Orlando is the undisputed theme-park capital of the world, attracting over 75 million visitors in 2018, or more than half of all tourism to the state.

Disney and Universal have already opened the malls outside their resorts, much as Disney did in Shanghai. The company’s theme park there reopened with limits on attendance and other precautions on May 11.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.