Disney CEO Bob Chapek Says Theme Parks Remain Capped at 25% Capacity

[Travisma 1,317]

We went to MK this past Saturday, and EPCOT on Sunday.

The parks definitely were not as crowded as a normal October date, especially EPCOT with Food and Wine going on.

We didn't really have any issued social distancing.  You just have to watch where you're walking and try to anticipate where there will be a clear spot to get past people.

MK we walked around Adventure Land and Frontier Land and caught the Country Bear Show.

Most of the ride times we pretty high on the MDE wait time.  Not sure if that was where all the people were.

It was hot and we didn't feel like waiting on rides so we left to go back and enjoy the condo we rented.  Daughters and granddaughters stayed

No issues with the monorails, one family per seat, and there was a heavy grey vinyl cover above the seat backs making each compartment separate.

It was a pretty warm walk to and from the parking lot.  We were in Scar.

EPCOT wasn't overly crowded.  We walked on to Nemo, maybe 5 minutes from the entrance to getting on the ride.

The LAND boat ride took a little over 5 minutes to get on and that was basically walking the entire time.

Soarin was a 35 minute wait, the MDE said 50 minutes.

We walked as far as England then left.  It was hot and we didn't plan on getting much food or drinks.  My daughters and granddaughter were doing the Ratatouille Scavenger Hunt so they stayed.

That big event hall between Canada and England was open and they had maybe 4 or 5 food vendors in there along with a merchandise stand.

They weren't giving out the little guide books that listed the food vendors.  You're supposed to scan a QR code and download one.

 

Overall we felt safe and will be going back to the parks when we are camping for Halloween

 

 

In an interview with CNBC this evening, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that Disney has kept the capacity at their theme parks, specifically Walt Disney World, capped at 25% of total capacity. Chapek notes that the theme parks are operating on the premise of a 6′ physical distancing restriction, which amounts to a 25% capacity.

Of course, our experience on the ground has been that there are certainly more people in the Walt Disney World theme parks since they reopened in July, but that’s not necessarily the argument here. If capacity is 100,000 guests at Magic Kingdom, that means Chapek is saying that there are less than 25,000 guests in the theme park on any given day. This can be true.

In July, we may have seen less than 10,000 guests in Magic Kingdom on any given day, and while it would be fair to say that there were more than double the guests in the theme parks in October as there were in July, saying that the parks are not welcoming more than 25,000 guests can also be true.

Chapek says that capacity will not be increased until CDC guidelines allow. Disney is managing capacity via the Disney Park Pass reservation system.