Parades, close-ups with Mickey out as Disney World reopens

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Forget about up-close “meet-and-greet" sessions with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck when Walt Disney World parks reopen. There will be no firework shows or parades — those would draw too many people together — and both visitors and employees will be getting temperature checks when they enter.

Despite a huge surge of Floridians testing positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks, two of Disney World's four parks are reopening Saturday. When they do, visitors to “The Most Magical Place on Earth” will find new rules in place.

Everyone has to wear a mask and maintain social distance. No hopping between parks is allowed, for the time being, and visitors will need reservations to enter. Disney employees won’t be allowed to take photos of visitors in front of Cinderella's Castle since it involves touching the tourists' cameras.

“That is a very different Disney World than the one you worked at back in March, and that is because of the need for safety," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here! Local 362, told his members in a recent Facebook discussion.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will reopen on July 11. Disney World's other two parks, Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, will welcome back guests four days later. All of the parks closed in mid-March in an effort to stop the virus's spread. Disney World's crosstown rivals, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando, also closed in March but have been back open for several weeks after instituting similar rules to protect employees and customers from the virus.

Also this month, the NBA and MLS are restarting their seasons at Disney World, which has a massive sports complex featuring multiple playing arenas.

Disney has been opening back up its parks around the globe for the past two months. In May, the company opened Disney Springs, a...