Universal Studios will present a reopening plan to the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force Thursday.
WMFE was able to confirm Universal will submit a plan. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that other large theme parks will also present.
"Only Universal will be presenting tomorrow," wrote Orange County Public Information Officer Despina McLaughlin.
The news comes as an Orange County task force is recommending that ten smaller tourist attractions be allowed to reopen. Several of the attractions said they could open today if allowed, and could hire more than 1,000 employees back if allowed to open.
The attractions include Gatorland, FunSpot, Wonderworks and K1 Speed. The businesses submitted plans showing how they would sanitize attractions, use face masks and temperature checks, and operate at no more than half capacity.
Chuck Whittall, a developer on the committee, said he would rather have the county approve guidelines – and not have to certify that each individual attraction’s plan meets the criteria.
“I just think you’re going to see an uproar from all those other ones if these eight are able to open and they’re not considered just because they’re not involved in this process,” Whittall said.
The reopening plans would still need approval from the full Economic Recovery Task Force, which is meeting Thursday. They would also need approval from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The attractions looking to open are:
- Nona Adventure Park, the inflatable water park in Lake Nona, requesting a May 20 opening
- K1 Speed Orlando, an indoor go-cart racing track requesting a May 22 reopening.
- FACE Amusement, owner of Arcade City Icon Park and 7-D Dark Ride Adventure Icon Park, requesting a May 21 reopening. FACE Amusement has more than 200 employees
- Gatorland, the 110-acre theme park and wildlife preserve, is requesting a May 23 opening. It has 190 employees.
- Icon Park, the 20-acre site that’s home to the 400-foot tall Icon Wheel, better known as the Orlando Eye, and Madame Tussauds Wax museum. It wants to open June 3.
- Fun Spot America, a 15-acre park with roller coasters and go-carts, wants to open May 22. It has about 400 employees.
- Wonderworks, the upside building on International Drive, which would hire back 100 employees in Florida.
- Magical Midway Thrill Park, which features go-karts and bumper cars. It wants to open May 22 and has 40 to 50 employees.
- The Orlando Slingshot, which is a separate company on the same property, also wants to open May 22. It has about 20 employees.
- Orlando Starflyer wants to open May 22, and has 25 to 30 employees. Magical Midway Thrill Park, Orlando Slingshot and Orlando Starflyer are all owned by Ritchie Armstrong.
