Disneyland and California Adventure have been given the green light to reopen as coronavirus cases in California continue to decline. The state’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Mark Ghaly, shared the news on Friday (Mar. 5).
“We feel like now is the appropriate time to begin to reintroduce these activities in some fashion, and in a guarded way, in a slow and steady way,” Ghaly said. Ken Potrock, president of Disneyland Resort, also commented on the state’s decision.
“We are encouraged that theme parks now have a path toward reopening this spring, getting thousands of people back to work, and greatly helping neighboring businesses and our entire community,” Potrock said in a statement to CNN. “With responsible Disney safety protocols already implemented around the world, we can’t wait to welcome our guests back and look forward to sharing an opening date soon.”
Disneyland Resort can reopen as soon as April 1, 2021, thanks to fewer confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County. California manages the spread of coronavirus by using a color-tiered system. Orange County is currently in the purple tier of the system and rapidly heading towards the red tier. Some officials are even confident about the county moving into the orange tier in the months ahead.
Disneyland and California Adventure will be allowed to open at 15 percent capacity. The theme parks are also restricted to California guests, which means out-of-town visitors will need to wait until officials allow full tourism to resume in California.
All Disney parks were closed last year to slow the spread of coronavirus. Disney parks and resorts in Florida reopened at a limited capacity last July. Disneyland and California Adventure have remained closed due to California’s restrictions regarding COVID-19.
State officials also gave the green light for Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm to reopen under the same restrictions as Disneyland and California Adventure.
Photo: Disneyland/Instagram
