According to reports by NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor, each team that has made it past the first round of playoffs will be allowed to reserve up to 17 rooms for guests at Walt Disney World.
With dozens of rooms already being allocated to players and staff per team, this additional 136 rooms will limit availability at Walt Disney World as the parks are in the beginning stages of reopening. The second round of the playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports is slated to start around September 1, 2020, approximately 7 weeks after the parks reopen at Walt Disney World.
With there already being a potential shortage of rooms due to the multiple month closure of DVC resorts, this poses an interesting challenge to Walt Disney World to accommodate any guests wishing to stay at the resort. Disney also announced today that guests wishing to dine at the resort must have a hotel reservation, putting an additional premium on having a reservation.
In addition, any player that leaves the “Orlando campus” (i.e. ESPN Wide World of Sports and other approved areas at Walt Disney World) will be subjected to a 10-14 mandatory self-quarantine. They will also see their pay reduced for any games this makes them miss as well as enhanced testing measures to ensure player safety.
Read more about the NBA’s plans to restart the season in August at Walt Disney World here.