Theme park experts weigh in on Phase 3 of reopening

Florida enters Phase 3 of reopening: What it means?

On Friday, Gov. DeSantis said Florida will enter Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan effective immediately.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Even though theme parks could now return to business as usual, experts said that doesn't mean they would. According to the state's reopening guidelines, when it came to theme parks, Phase 3 meant that they "may return to normal operations with limited social distancing protocols."

That wording seemed a little odd to theme park experts like Seth Kubersky, who publishes TheUnofficialGuides.com. “I don't believe that they've defined what is 'normal operations' or 'limited social distancing,'” Kubersky said.

Kubersky said the parks were going to do what they thought was best.

“They've been taking the lead themselves in coming up with safety procedures and not relying on what the state dictates up until now.”

Matt Roseboom, editor of Attractions Magazine, said if anything, theme parks had a huge investment in playing it safe.

“I don't see them going all out and saying 'Ok, we're back to normal!' It's going to be a while before they feel comfortable enough to ease those, and I think they will ease those rules slowly,” he said.

Roseboom said the last thing they wanted were any infections being traced back to them.

“I don't think they want to risk any outbreaks happening at the theme parks.”

Kubersky said it was even possible that when it came to tourism, moving to Phase 3 might scare visitors away.

“Sending the signal that we are not taking social distancing seriously or that Florida is a free-for-all is maybe not the right message you want to send,” he said.

We've reached out to the theme parks and haven't heard back, yet.

The analysts said it may take a combination of very low infection rates, advances in testing technology and a vaccine before Florida’s theme parks go back to "business as usual."