Cast members say goodbye as Walt Disney World Closes for coronavirus

Tonight, thousands of guests and cast members gathered at the Magic Kingdom to say goodbye to Walt Disney World for a temporary closure due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro and numerous other characters waved goodbye as The Magic Kingdom closed at 10 p.m. tonight. This weekend has been especially emotional for Disney’s College Program participants as they were suddenly laid off and told to go home to self-quarantine.

The Walt Disney World Resort was the last of the Disney theme parks to close worldwide during this virus outbreak. Disneyland closed days ago and had a similar closing ceremony.

Disneyland and California Adventure are now closed until the end of the month. Here are cast members and characters saying goodbye last night. pic.twitter.com/PkgXz1YoyK

— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) March 14, 2020

At this time thousands of cast members and Disney Parks fans await what will happen next. Walt Disney World and Disneyland currently plan to stay closed until the end of March. But, there is no guaranteed re-opening date.

View this post on Instagram

Love this video from our Disneyland Resort Ambassadors… I had to share. Thanks again to all of our Cast and Guests for an amazing moment last night.  I hope to see you all very soon. @disneylandambassador

A post shared by Rebecca Campbell (@rebeccacampbelldisneyland) on Mar 14, 2020 at 7:31pm PDT

For now, everyone says goodbye to Walt Disney World as the gates close in an effort to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Walt Disney World hotels and Disney Springs remain open.

To keep yourself up to date on Walt Disney World and other theme parks worldwide, follow our regularly updated attractions and parks closure article.