Walt Disney Co. requested mid-July reopening

dates for its Florida theme parks, a sign of recovery for the state’s tourism

economy and one of the entertainment giant’s most critical businesses.

Disney aims

to open the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11, followed by Epcot and

Hollywood Studios on the 15th. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., meanwhile,

requested a June 11 opening date for its Orlando parks.

The two

theme park operators made the requests to the Orange County Economic Recovery

Task Force, which has been reviewing business reopening plans and making

recommendations to Governor Ron DeSantis. Last week, the panel approved a June

5 opening for Comcast Corp.’s Universal Studios parks.

Theme park operators are taking precautions with

the reopenings, including requiring employees and guests to wear masks and

limiting crowds.

Orlando

is the undisputed theme-park capital of the world, attracting some 75 million

visitors in 2018 and representing more than half of the state’s total tourism.

The Brookings Institution identified the region as one of the most hard hit in

the country by the virus lockdown, with 342,000 jobs at risk. That’s more than a quarter of thearea’s total.

This is a pivotal week for Disney, which has been

pummelled as the virus prompted the shutdown of theme parks, the cancellation

of live sports for its ESPN network and the closing of movie theatres that can

show its films.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to

announce plans later this week to resume TV and film production. Sports

leagues, most recently the National Hockey League, are beginning to announce

plans to resume playing.

Theme parks and consumer products are Disney’s

largest business unit, accounting for 45 per cent of the company’s operating

profit last year. Its domestic theme parks have been shuttered since March due

to the coronavirus. Disney’s first park to close, in Shanghai, reopened on May

11.