In response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Disney previously announced the closure of all its parks worldwide, effective as of today, March 16th. This morning, Disney has provided a new update on the operations of more of its properties.
In a statement from the Walt Disney World website, Disney writes,
In line with state and federal guidance, in an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and cast members we are proceeding with the closure of all Disney stores in North America, beginning March 17. Guests continue to visit shopDisney.com.
Disney will also be closing all of its owned and operated locations at Downtown Disney in Anaheim and Disney Springs in Orlando, beginning March 17. Individual tenants will make decisions on whether to continue or adjust operations.
Additionally, Disney owned and operated hotels at Walt Disney World Resort and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort will close at 5pm on Friday, March 20. This will give Guests the ability to make other arrangements.
We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain regular contact with the appropriate officials and health experts.
This tells us that all first-party Disney locations at Disney Springs and Downtown Disney will close, including World of Disney, Marketplace Co-Op, and the newly opened NBA Experience. This also includes all first-party Disney stores around the country.
Few third-party locations have provided details on their continuing operating hours. Some larger tenants, like AMC Theaters have announced their policy for their stores nation-wide. We suggest doing your own research into locations you may need to visit during this time.
We will continue to post updates on the operations of the parks as they are announced.