CORRECTION: This article was updated December 31, 2020 to show that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed an emergency executive order in early December, not late November, to give strike teams the authority to fine businesses for not following basic coronavirus safety guidelines.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida’s theme parks remain conspicuous on social media for creativity, cool rides, and crowds.

It’s the crowds that prompt some observers to look twice.

What You Need To Know

  • Social media posts prompt concern about large crowds at theme parks amid pandemic

  • Disney, SeaWorld, Universal Studios say they’re adhering to CDC guidelines

  • Leader of strike teams says county will "keep tabs” on theme parks, other businesses

“Whoa!” “Why” and “Tsk tsk tsk,” wrote Twitter users in response to a video that purportedly showed lines of people packed into the entrance area of Universal Orlando on Monday.

Tim Boldig, who leads Orange County’s so-called business-compliance strike teams, said Wednesday that the theme parks have done “a really good job” on coronavirus safety guidelines. He also said that the county continues to “keep tabs” on them as part of its crackdown on businesses to stay in or get in compliance.

Boldig spoke as Universal Orlando Resort announced that Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure had reached capacity Wednesday, as it had every day since December 27.

Social media posts, meanwhile, continued to question social distancing at Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal Orlando.

Boldig didn’t specify any plans to intensify strike-team efforts during New Year’s Eve or during the holiday weekend. But he did say that “we’ve made it a point that our strike teams come unannounced, so we may or may not be where you think (we) are. We’ll continue to keep doing unannounced visits from that standpoint.”

Regarding New Year’s, he said, “certainly there’s a concern anytime you get in a holiday period and you might get gatherings of people, especially in tighter quarters.”

Orange County initiated its strike teams in July. In early December, Mayor Jerry Demings signed an emergency executive order that gave the strike teams authority to fine businesses for not following basic safety guidelines.

Guidelines call for businesses to require employees to wear face covering while indoors, to practice social distancing, and to post coronavirus safety guidance and markings.

“Facial covering is the biggest issue that we seem to have,” Boldig said about Orange County businesses in general.

The strike teams have visited numerous Orlando-area theme parks since August and have issued no fines or warnings, according to a spreadsheet that the county shared with Spectrum News.

The spreadsheet shows SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Disney Springs, and Magic Kingdom Park among various theme parks that it lists in compliance. The strike teams haven’t visited any major theme parks since November, according to the spreadsheet.

Boldig said the theme parks “do a really good job of trying to make sure that they keep the environment safe for their patrons.” Officials also point out that the strike teams have visited 6,017 Orange County businesses and that the county maintains a 99% compliance rate.

A SeaWorld spokeswoman wrote in an email to Spectrum News that the theme park continues to “adhere to all CDC recommended guidelines” and to “control capacity limits with our daily reservation system.”

A Universal Orlando spokesman said theme park officials are managing “park attendance and access to our attractions” and “doing the best we can during a busy holiday period, while making sure we do not compromise our strict protocols.”

A Disney World spokeswoman shared a series of steps that the company has taken to promote health and safety of its workers and visitors. She also pointed out that Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, said during a recent coronavirus news update that county health officials aren’t concerned about large parks because of their open space.

Yet social media continues to raise concerns, including a Tuesday tweet that showed riders occupying almost all seats on Disney’s Expedition Everest. In response to a complaint from a Twitter user about Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings replied: “Thank you for informing us. We have notified our strike team for them to further investigate. …”

Orange County spokeswoman Despina McLaughlin told Spectrum News in an email Wednesday that strike teams would “continue to follow-up on these observations/complaints and plan to revisit all of the area’s attractions (big and small) in the near future.”