Disney World: cinderella in mask times

Visitors entering and exiting the 'Millennium Falcon' attraction following the reopening of Disney World last July Orlando Sentinel / TNS via Getty Images

The streets are cut by the parade. An extensive carriage appears with women dressed as Cinderella, Brave, Jasmine ... greeting the children from above. The princesses do not wear a mask to show their huge smiles as movie music blasts through the speakers. For an instant, viewers inhabit a world where the coronavirus does not exist. Until the show is over. When the characters leave, they reveal the “closed” signs that hang from most of the neighborhood's shops and restaurants with late 19th-century facades. And the magical melody is replaced by warning messages about the unrestricted use of the mask. It is a Saturday of a pandemic summer and visitors to Disney World seek to forget about the health crisis in the amusement parks of Orlando, Florida, one of the epicenters of infections in the United States, with more than half a million cases.

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A month ago, Disney World, the magnet for tourists of all ages, decided to reopen its doors. The decision came after nearly four months of closure and after The World Disney Company lost nearly $ 5 billion in one quarter. Directors have acknowledged that they are receiving fewer people than expected because cancellations have increased as numbers worsen in the southern state. Last week he chained four days of record daily deaths and this Tuesday he again surpassed it with 276 deaths. But, for executives at Florida's largest employer, the show must go on.

During the quarter ending in June, Disney laid off about 100,000 employees, cut executive salaries by as much as 50%, and secured a $ 5 billion (about 4.23 billion euros) line of credit to inject liquidity. The company also suspended the 700 million allocated to expansion expenses in its theme parks in the United States.

The company has already laid off 100,000 employees

Despite the company's disappointment, cars form long lines early in the morning to find a place to park in the Magic Kingdom. Visitors of all ages are off, but mainly families with children. The classic Mickey Mouse headbands and hats are now joined by Disney character masks sold at venues. Before entering any of the four theme parks, travelers must undergo a temperature check. A giant poster recalls that they assume the risk of being exposed to "a virus that can cause death." And now yes, have fun!

All nine members of the family wear the same red T-shirt with the phrase "Happy Birthday Amber" printed in black. Susana, 47, leads the squad. Try to mobilize the scattered group to a place to eat in the Magic Kingdom. She states that she is not nervous about the coronavirus. "They are lying, they are inflating the numbers," he posits. "I don't think the mask will work either," adds the woman, who works in a dentist's office. It never occurred to them to cancel the trip organized from last year to honor two-year-old Amber, even though half the group, including her elderly mother, had to fly from New Jersey.

In Disney World parks, social distance is a fantasy. In the rows there are stickers on the road that indicate where each person should be located, but if those behind do not respect it, there is no way to get away. They also did not consider that in the main attractions, such as the Haunted House, the demand is so great that the queue reaches beyond the stickers and crowds occur.

Virtual queue

Universal Studios, the park dedicated to Disney's film industry competition, took a more practical move. For the most sought-after games, you can only do “virtual queue” with the mobile application. You must be at the door at the time of booking. For this, two things must happen: reserve a space —only three hours a day— and that the mobile has charge to show the code. However, once inside attractions like Revenge of the Mummy, where it's dark, closeness with strangers is inevitable.

Susan and Richard Prendergast, both 36, traveled from Kansas City to Florida. They feel safe inside parks, "even more than in a store, which seems more dangerous," says Richard. When they return to their city they say that they will take the test and avoid seeing their elderly relatives for two weeks. "For children there is nothing to worry about," the man adds, citing what she was told at a Missouri health center.

The total number of cases in children under 17 in Florida rose from 16,797 on July 9 to 39,735 on August 9, a rise of 137%, according to the state Department of Health. The couple's sense of trust is shared by Brad Parks, 37, who brought his 60-year-old parents to the Magic Kingdom. "I feel safer here than in the supermarket," he says, defending that he trusts the security measures that Disney has adopted to reopen.

As soon as people set foot outside the park, after enduring 10 hours outdoors with temperature peaks of 35 degrees, they tear off their masks. They walk free, close to each other. They return to their normality.