Disney heiress Abigail Disney Thursday questioned the Walt Disney company's decision to reopen its theme parks in Florida considering the soaring numbers of coronavirus cases, and while parks in Hong Kong and California have been closed.
"I'm not looking at the same information they're looking at, but given what I do know, I'm confused about how they think they can possibly protect their guests and their employees," Disney, the granddaughter of company co-founder Roy Disney, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" about the decision to reopen the parks near Orlando.
She also said she's worried that opening the parks is putting their employees in a difficult position.
“I certainly know people who work there who are very uncomfortable, who have conditions like asthma and diabetes that put you at high risk, who are literally deciding whether they want to go back to work or buy food,” she said.
The Disney company started the parks' phased reopening this past Saturday, including a mandatory mask policy and temperature screening, as well as capacity restrictions. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopened Saturday, while Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios opened four days later. The parks were among the first to close in mid-March when the pandemic was beginning to grow, but among the last to reopen. Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando both closed around the same time as the Disney parks, but already have been reopened for several weeks.
Disney parks chairman Josh D'Amaro told CNBC last week that there is a "lot of trust" as the parks opened, both from cast members and guests, and "we've got a responsibility to deliver on that trust."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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