‘Stay at home’: Disney resort reopening video mocked on social media as coronavirus cases surge

Walt Disney World Resort reopened its gates in Florida despite record numbers of coronavirus deaths in US state

Walt Disney World Resort in Florida has been mocked online after releasing a video of staff at the park saying “welcome home” while wearing masks.

The film was uploaded to social media to coincide with the reopening of the resort on 11 July, despite a surge in coronavirus cases across the US state.

Social media users edited the clip in various ways to suggest that now was not the most responsible time to reopen the theme park.

One user tweeted a version of the video where they had edited the audio so that Disney employees appeared to be saying “stay at home” instead of “welcome home”, a feat made easier by the fact that everyone in it is wearing a mask over their mouth.

Other users put the clip to different soundtracks, including horror film The Thing, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and the opening music from Downton Abbey.

“Reopening #disneyworld in the midst of all the spikes is sketchy,” wrote Twitter user Jowal. “Having people who have covid but are asymptomatic would bring The Thing levels of distrust lol So @DisneyParks I fixed your ad.”

Many of the comments made in response to Disney’s original video on Instagram express concern that the park has reopened.

“People before profit, shame on you,” reads one; another says: “Are your corporate office staffers still working from home? Then your parks shouldn’t be open. The reopening endangers the communities surrounding the parks, your staff and also makes a false sense of safety for the guests.”

Florida set a new national record for the largest daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the US on Sunday 12 July.

The day after Disney World opened, the state recorded 15,299 new Covid-19 cases, bringing Florida up to a total of 269,811, with more than 4,000 deaths.

The Independent has asked Disney World Resort for comment.