To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

It has been a complex few years for the world and for the Walt Disney Company.

When the theme parks closed, the company suffered greatly due to the loss of a major source of income. Things have improved a bit, with officials saying in the past that the “Full-Blown Explosive Pandemic Phase” is over. But, there are still concerns as the counties Disney World is in were moved back into the “high” risk level. So, Could the Disney parks close again? Let’s break it down.

What Was the State of the World When Disney Parks Closed?

When the Disney Parks around the world first closed in early 2020, COVID-19 was still relatively new. At the time, there was no vaccine, and health organizations around the world were trying to learn more about how to best handle the virus.

With all those unknowns, it only took about 3,000 cases of the virus in the U.S. to make the domestic Disney parks close down temporarily. When the closure was first announced it was only supposed to last for two weeks, but as case numbers began to grow, the parks stayed closed for several months. Disney World was ultimately closed for about 4 months while Disneyland Resort was shut down for more than a year.

Click here to see what reopening day was like at Disneyland Resort.

What is the State of the World Now?

Well, if we thought things were interesting back then, we’d be shocked to glimpse into the future and see what they’re like now. Since the time of the park closures, there have been more than 85 million cases in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s over 25% of the country’s population! So, over 1/4 of the people in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19. In fact, over 700,000 new cases have been found in the last week. 

At this time, over 67% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In Florida specifically, over 68% of  the population is fully vaccinated. The state had an average of 10,523 cases per day in the last week, according to the New York Times. Over in California where Disneyland Resort is located, there have been an average of 17,242 cases per day in the last week. 73% of people are fully vaccinated, per California Department of Health data.

At this time, our country is also dealing with subvariants of the Omicron variant, both of which experts have noted are more contagious than the original strain of the virus.

Even though case numbers are much higher than they were with the initial shutdowns in 2020, much of the country has fully reopened and is back to relatively “normal.” Many mask requirements have disappeared, including in Disney World and Disneyland, and testing requirements have even changed for international travel.

Click here to read about a change in CDC testing requirements

What Has Changed Since the Disney Parks Reopened?

Since the domestic Disney parks first began to reopen in July of 2020, there have been quite a few changes in health and safety guidelines. Nowadays, Disney has done away with social distancing and temperature checks, and masks are no longer required anywhere. More attractions and entertainment options have returned in the past few months and capacity restrictions have been relaxed quite a bit.

Many of these safety measures were taken away just as the vaccine started to roll out to the whole population, and things have continued to change rapidly. The Disney park experience is much more full and “normal” now than it was several months ago.

Click here to see the updated mask rules in Disney World

Could the Disney Parks Close Down Again?

We’ve seen some international parks close and reopen throughout the pandemic. In fact, with growing case numbers once again, Hong Kong Disneyland closed down earlier this year, but it has since reopened. Paris Disneyland Paris is open and has relaxed its COVID-19 vaccine requriement, but Shanghai Disney has just recently reopened (but not fully), and has strict guidelines due to rising case numbers. So, could Disney World or Disneyland Resort close once again?

As a note, closures at the international theme parks do not necessarily indicate Disney’s intentions to close the parks. Hong Kong Disneyland is partially owned by the Hong Kong government, Shanghai Disney is partially owned by the Chinese government, and Tokyo Disneyland is owned by Oriental Land Company. These differences in ownership can mean differing responses to health concerns and the closures of the theme parks.

According to the Orange County Register, “Disney’s theme parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai have faced much stricter COVID-19 restrictions than the parks at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. The sharp contrast in COVID-19 restrictions largely has to do with the approaches taken by local governments.”

In the past, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that he wasn’t concerned about variants impacting the parks or causing them to close. Instead, if case numbers continue to grow, it’s more likely that Disney will bring back some of the old health and safety measures. In fact, we saw this in particular when Disney reintroduced indoor mask requirements in 2021.

Even though bringing back mask requirements is a relatively simple change, it would be much more complicated to change capacity limits and bring back social distancing. However, even making these changes (if necessary) wouldn’t cost Disney as much as it would cost to close the parks again. It took the Disney Parks division five quarters to turn a profit again, but the company’s revenue has been growing recently.

So looking at all of this together, Disney will likely do whatever they can to keep the parks open. Disney may make the call to close the parks once again if health measures are deemed insufficient to keep guests and Cast Members safe. That said, there have been a significant spikes in cases in the time since the parks reopened, yet none of the domestic parks have closed again or seen much change in terms of protocols.

According to The Washington Post, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser of U.S. President Biden, indicated that the United States is “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase.” So, that’s good news! Although, only time will tell, but given what we’ve seen in the past two years in Disney World, it seems reasonable to think it would take a pretty significant event to re-close the parks at this point. 

We’ll make sure to keep you updated on any health and safety changes, so stay tuned to DFB as we follow along with all the pandemic and travel news.

Here’s what still hasn’t returned to Disney World