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Credit: DisneyYesterday, it was announced that Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, will become a COVID-19 vaccine super site location.
Related: How a Vaccine Passport May Impact Your Disney, Universal Vacation
This means that Disneyland will become the first large-scale coronavirus vaccine distribution site for Orange County, California. As the Orange County Register reported:
“The Disneyland Resort, the largest employer in the heart of Orange County, has stepped up to host the county’s first Super POD (point-of-dispensing) site – undertaking a monumental task in our vaccination distribution process,” acting Board of Supervisors Chairman Andrew Do said in a news release.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee, whose district includes Disneyland, said his constituents “have been highly impacted by COVID-19. These Super PODs are absolutely critical in stopping this deadly virus.”
Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park remain closed amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, though the Downtown Disney District and the partially open Buena Vista Street area are open to Guests who wish to shop or purchase certain to-go food and beverage items.
The fact that Disneyland is set to serve as a vaccine super site has many Disney Parks fans — and health officials — wondering if Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida could be the next Disney property to offer vaccine distribution.
Related: Does the COVID Vaccine Need Disney More Than Disney Needs It?
The Orlando Sentinel has shared details about the potential for Disney World to serve as the next COVID-19 vaccine super site:
Gov. Ron DeSantis alluded to the possibility of Disney World becoming a distribution site as the workforce becomes the next target to vaccinate after senior citizens.
“You literally could drop a bunch of vaccines at Disney, Orange County Schools, wherever,” DeSantis said last week during a news conference in Longwood. “And they can knock that out pretty quickly. And it’s one dose and done. So I think that makes more sense with essential workers.”
Before the pandemic, Walt Disney World Resort was the largest single-site employer in the country with a workforce of more than 75,000 although it has been hit with massive layoffs last year after the theme parks shut down in March and then reopened in July.
Disney World also has a long history of managing crowds.
Related: California Acquires Pfizer Vaccine, Paving the Way for Disneyland’s Reopening
All of these facts — Disney’s ability to safely and successfully handle crowds, even amid the pandemic, their history of employing a huge percentage of Orange County’s and Osceola County’s workforce, and their general operational efficiency — make Walt Disney World Resort an ideal choice for vaccine distribution.
Currently, the state of Florida is focusing on providing vaccines to those who work in healthcare and those who are age 65 and older. Nothing about Disney’s role in vaccine distribution in Florida has been confirmed by Walt Disney Company officials at this time.
Disney World’s four theme parks — EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom — reopened in mid-July with pandemic protocols in place.
What do you think about the possibility of Walt Disney World Resort serving as a major coronavirus vaccine site?