It’s a new world at Disney World

Visitors at reopening have to wear masks but don’t fight crowds

ORLANDO, Fla. — After 117 days, Disney World was back open Saturday to the general public after the coronavirus pandemic swiftly shut down the tourism capital of the planet.

People who snagged advance reservations in addition to tickets or annual passes could visit the Magic Kingdom or the Animal Kingdom on Saturday.

“Disney World is a world very different than the one that closed back in March,” said Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. “Going to Disney World for that experience in the past was so fundamentally defined by the very things that now have to be regulated.”

Disney loyalists won’t line up to get the best view of the daily Magic Kingdom parade. Guests can only see a lone float or a marching band spontaneously travel around the route as entertainment.

And kids can’t hug Mickey Mouse.

The one word that many people associate with Disney World is also gone — crowds. No long lines were weaving through the ride queues. No more bodies will be jammed together to see the fireworks, which won’t be set off, either.

Visitors are required to wear a face mask,and people with temperatures 100.4 or above will not be allowed into the parks.