Disney World slammed for holding 'farewell' party before shutdown
Express News
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Published on Mar 16, 2020
Disney World has been slammed for holding a huge 'farewell' party with hundreds of visitors before the park shuts over coronavirus fears.Critics included Abigail Disney, the grand daughter of Walt Disney Co's co-founder Roy Disney. Disney shut its flagship theme park resort in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday night as the country tackles the spread of coronavirus, which has killed 69 and infected 3,774 in the US alone.Florida currently has around 130 of those cases. Ms Disney wrote 'are you f** kidding me' in response to pictures of massive crowds at Sunday night's showing of 'Happily Ever After', a fireworks show in Florida's Magic Kingdom. The deadly bug - which has killed 6,000 people and infected more than 169,000 worldwide - has forced the closure of all Disney parks in the US, Europe and Asia.Last night's celebrations were held in Magic Kingdom in the Orlando resort which had 20 million visitors in 2018 making it the most-visited theme park in the world.Walt Disney World News Today - who are unaffiliated with the actual resort - first shared the images of the night with the caption: 'A whole cast of characters, from Mary Poppins, to Stitch and even Cinderella were at the special farewell at the Magic Kingdom.' Share this article Share People flocked to Twitter to slam the park.Nicole wrote: 'Disney was irresponsible for doing this, they should've closed Friday morning.'John Iglesias added: 'It’s irresponsible. I just can’t believe we can’t come together on something so basic.'And Peter Crowley added: 'This irresponsibility is disgusting. If Florida's healthcare system is overwhelmed, Mickey will have blood on his gloves.' Disney World has been approached for comment. It comes as Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure both shut their gates on Saturday morning and remained shuttered at least through the end of the month, the company said.The move comes as leadership change leaves investors unsure of the company's long term potential. After 15 years, Bob Iger announced the decision to step back and handed over the reins to Bob Chapek. Its stock has fallen 28 per cent since the leadership change was announced.Disney said that there have been no reported cases of coronavirus at Disneyland Resort, but that the parks were being shut down in accordance with an executive order from California Governor Gavin Newsom banning large public gatherings.Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are next door to each other in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim.It will only be the sixth time in history that Disneyland Park has made an unscheduled closure.The resort says hotels will remain open until Monday so guests can make travel arrangements.