People Are Still Traveling to Orlando Despite Pandemic, Orange County Mayor Says

Thinking of heading to Orlando for Thanksgiving or the holiday season?

Magic Kingdom

You may be thinking that the parks will be totally empty given the global pandemic and recommendations that some states have made to limit non-essential travel, but Disney has reported that Thanksgiving week capacity is almost at 100% and now Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings has also indicated that, despite travel warnings, people are still traveling to Orlando.

Walt Disney World actually sits in two counties in Central Florida — Orange County and Osceola County. Earlier today, the Mayor of Orange County — Jerry L. Demings — held a press conference to provide an update on the current situation in the county with COVID-19. During the conference, one reporter asked, if Mayor Demings was concerned about the loss of what the county would normally see in terms of tax revenue and tourism dollars during the holiday season because of the encouragement not to travel if not necessary.

Tomorrowland Crowds

Mayor Demings responded by noting that he thinks “it’s all relative.” According to Demings, “The airport [presumably referring to Orlando International Airport] reported today that within the last few days we’ve had the second busiest airport in the nation.” So, it seems there are still people traveling to Orlando and Mayor Demings said he thinks that they are going to continue to come. This news comes days after one news site reported that Orlando International Airport is expecting a comparatively quiet season.

Orlando International Airport

In terms of Orlando’s theme parks, Demings specifically said, “I believe that our theme parks have put an abundance of protocols in place to open and to provide a place of, I think, relaxation for the American public to be able to do so safely.”

Spaceship Earth

Demings did note that their numbers will be down from where they were last year, but putting it in perspective, he noted that every major metropolitan area has seen an economic downturn due to the pandemic so Orange County is not unique in that regard. But, Mayor Demings noted that he’s optimistic in terms of how they’ve done business and gained general mask compliance with people, that they’ve been relatively successful as a major metropolitan area in not having major double digit increases in COVID-19 cases that other areas are experiencing.

Animal Kingdom Holidays

We noticed some areas getting more crowded in Disney World today as Thanksgiving Day approaches, and we expect we’ll continue to see some large crowds as Christmas and New Years Eve get closer. We’ve also noticed Park Pass Reservations filling up for the rest of 2020, so if you are planning a trip for this year be sure to book your Park Pass Reservation as quickly as possible! We’ll continue to keep you updated throughout Thanksgiving week and the rest of this holiday season with all the latest Disney news, delicious snacks, and more!

Click here to see ALL the places to do Thanksgiving in Disney World this year!

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