It's an empty world after all
Two more Walt Disney World theme parks in Florida reopened on Wednesday. At Hollywood Studios, the Star Wars land and the new Mickey Mouse ride were popular, and Epcot had treats for foodies at a mini festival. Similar to the opening last Saturday of Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, crowds were light by design and everyone was wearing face masks. Pictures posted on social media showed parks that look fairly empty for what would have been the height of vacation season. Before visitors can even consider going to a Disney World park, they will need a date-specific park reservation, made through disneyworld.com, in addition to their tickets or annual passes. Many days in July are already sold out.
Tampa Bay Times
It's up to you, New York
A two-day spike in COVID-19 cases last weekend was just barely enough to land Minnesota on New York state's travel restriction list. Now visitors from Minnesota must fill out health forms or pay a $2,000 fine, and must voluntarily quarantine themselves for 14 days upon arriving in New York. New York's approach is to restrict travelers from any state in which the seven-day average of new cases exceeds 10 per 100,000 people per day. New York reviews states' COVID-19 rates every Monday, meaning Minnesota could be removed from the restriction list this week. The city of Chicago also has enacted travel restrictions, but with a higher threshold of 15 cases per day per 100,000 people.
Jeremy Olson
Ship museum is back
Duluth's floating maritime museum, the retired freighter William A. Irvin, has reopened to the public after nearly three years away and with new pandemic restrictions in tow. Masks and gloves are required during all tours, which take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September. (Masks are now required in all public indoor spaces in Duluth.) Self-directed tours are restricted to "closely connected" groups with staff aboard to point visitors in the right direction. Launched in 1937 and in service for more than 40 years, the Irvin was once the flagship of U.S. Steel's Great Lakes fleet.
