Disney World sets reopening date but some park features will disappear - 9Travel

Disney World will reopen its gates, ending a multi-month closure of the park that left the Walt Disney Company reeling.

The Disney theme park, which employs some 70,000 people, plans to begin a phased reopening on July 11 for its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks and July 15 for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, the company said on Wednesday.

Disney has invested billions of dollars in its theme park business, opening Star Wars-themed lands in Florida and California last year and building new rides like "Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.".

Reopening Disney World is a significant cultural and business endeavour for the company.

"The theme parks define Disney for millions of its fans around the world," Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, told CNN Business.

The grand reopening of the park is a big deal for Disney and the entire global tourism industry.

Getting Disney World back to business presents risks, both financially and in terms of public health, according to Trip Miller, a Disney shareholder and managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners?

The opening of Disney World is also a big test for Disney's new CEO Bob Chapek, who before taking over for Bob Iger in February, was the former head of Disney's parks and resorts division