Orange County, Florida Mayor Jerry Demings submitted a letter this morning to Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving his support to Universal Orlando’s plans to reopen its theme parks.
In the attached letter, Demings writes that an on-site inspection of safety procedures and protocols was conducted by a team of medical doctors and senior members of the Planning, Development and Environmental Services Department from both Orange County and the Florida Department of Health.
Universal Orlando has presented a plan to begin a phased reopening of its theme parks on June 1, initially only for its own team members.
Here are some details on their reopening plan:
- On June 3 and June 4, Universal hopes to invite guests such as annual passholders, with an opening to the public on June 5.
- John Sprouls, Universal Orlando chief executive officer, and Rich Costales, Universal Orlando executive vice president of resort operations, said all guests will be required to wear face masks and go through temperature screenings to enter the parks.
- One disposable face mask will be provided for free to guests who did not bring their own.
DeSantis said Wednesday regarding theme park reopening proposals, "Obviously I want to get to yes, so I think if you work with your local [officials], you'll be in pretty good shape."
Universal has theme parks in Orlando, Los Angeles, Japan and Singapore, all of which are temporarily closed. However, the CityWalk portion of Universal Orlando -- featuring shops and dining -- partially reopened on May 14.
