According to sources, Disneyland is internally targeting a reopening of their theme parks on Monday, September 28th.
The Disneyland Resort theme parks have been closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and while all of the other Disney theme parks around the world have reopened, Disneyland remained closed due to state of California regulations. As a point of clarity, Hong Kong Disneyland was open for a month before being shut down again by government regulations.
Back to Disneyland. BlogMickey.com has learned that Disneyland has been internally targeting a September 28th reopening after failing to get the necessary government approval to hit their previously announced July 17th reopening date. With Orange County removed from the state watchlist recently, Disneyland was feeling confident with their late-September date, but Governor Gavin Newsom introduced yet another set of reopening guidelines this past Friday. The new system was implemented to give the state a bit more power over the counties to prevent another premature reopening of certain business types, Newsom said.
Disneyland is said to be pushing ahead with the September 28th timeline, and in press conference from Friday Newsom said that the state is “actively” working with Disneyland and other theme parks in what the governor is calling a “very dynamic conversation”. Newsom said that discussions on reopening theme parks is forthcoming and said that he would hold meetings with the theme parks late on Friday.
Disneyland has announced the cancellation of reservations through September 12th as of publish time. During the COVID-19 closure, Disneyland has announced rolling cancellations of reservations on Thursdays. Disneyland did not make an announcement this past Thursday, breaking a month-long chain of announcements.
In a recent interview with the Dow Report, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro said that Disneyland is “ready to reopen” as soon as the state of California releases guidelines and sets a date for the theme parks to reopen. In a recent roundtable in Florida, Walt Disney World Chief Operating Officer Jim MacPhee said that Disneyland “has been ready to roll since July”. The Walt Disney Company has repeatedly put the onus on the state since the announcement that they wouldn’t hit the previously announced July 17th reopening date.
Disney has had experience with operating theme parks in this “new normal” since they reopened Shanghai Disneyland on May 11th. Disney’s biggest test to date has been the reopening of the massive Walt Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida where state and local officials say there have been no COVID-19 outbreaks linked to the Disney World theme parks or resorts. Disney has also been able to successfully operate the NBA bubble where no players have tested positive since play resumed in late July.
There is no doubt that Disney has shown that they are able to operate in a safe and responsible manner given that the United States is still actively dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is important to note that the September 28th rumored reopening date is unofficial and should be treated as such unless and until Disneyland makes an official statement.
When will DISNEY LAND WILL OPEN??
Keep it closed till January. Disney is non easential. Health before wealth not wealth before health. Its corporate greed. Shame on disney
Tell that to the 20,000 employees. Their jobs are essential to them. There is no reason why you can’t have both health and wealth unless you’re just unwilling to wear a mask and wash your hands.
You and many others seem to think January is some magical date. It will open soon. This is when the theme parks start suing to open.
How dare people that want to live their lives right now
I want Disneyland to reopen already!! Enough waiting! 😭😭😭😭😭😡😡😡😡😡
That is ridiculous – if they take all the precautions that Florida is taking – there is no reason why people can’t get back to their jobs even at a very reduced number of hours because of limitations on attendance and families can’t get back to having just a small amount of fun and normalcy.
I don’t want to live like this anymore. I suffer from depression. There are people with depression that is way worse than mine. Going to do fun things is a part of my happiness. There is always an inherent rush of getting sick when you go somewhere like this but I don’t want to live in a bubble!
Coronavirus is here to stay. Open the parks and be smart about PPE. If you don’t open the parks people will be put out onto the street since they have no jobs, no money, and no healthcare and are gonna be slowly bled out.
There’s not gonna be a silver bullet. It’s going to be a suite of tools and methods to get over this coronavirus.
Opening the parks is the smartest thing to do for everyone.
Heath or wealth was never at Disneyland resort the cast members know more about this virus now than at the beginning so don’t live in the basement come out of your shell and do what we do best take care of our guest experiences TCB take care of business.
Joyce first off there is more than 20,000 CM’s so your number is off. And as far as reopening the 12 major Unions representing those thousands of Cast Members is still wanting to keep the park closed. For example Local 11 is still negotiating Mandatory Covid 19 testing for all CM’s . Worker return and retention for those that can’t return safely. Electrostatic cleaning and UV. And many other things we are still far apart on.
We want to go back to work. To us we are essential workers we need to support our families to.
Ok kiddies listen up. Opening a park isn’t just that easy. I work in the theme park industry in California (KBF and DLR) and we are under far more scrutiny than any other state by far. Here’s the real deal… If they want to open by that date, the state needs to hit certain metrics. Beyond that, they have to recall cast and then have to wait 7 days from the date of call till the first shift per negotiated times by the unions. Then training, cleaning, and restocking begin. Keep in mind the parks haven’t been fully cleaned in months at this point. Another point of note is that not all cast will be brought back immediately. Certain locations will open while others stay shuttered and pretty much nothing but higher seniority cast will be back. Think probably in the neighborhood of 30% return rate. It’s gonna be sticky for awhile.
There’s also the email which the company dispatched last week stating that they expect closure beyond 6 months from April 19, 2020. That would land them with a proposed recall and begin to opening in mid October at the earliest. That notice went out to tons of positions and not just park level, but even up to warehouse level and beyond. Now why in the world would they have done that if they’ve been targeting late September all along. Look at facts and try to stop believing every single rumor out there. Disney isn’t essential and those who perpetuate rumors such as this blog need to stop. Wait till an official announcement from the company and then you’ll know.
Just open!!
I’ll say let the Disney reopens for everyone at Disneyland including me missing Disney everybody missing going to Disney I would think people should have fun a Disney but we are still pandemic they shouldn’t reopen for next year of January but we could sill wear a mask a Disney we wanted back Disney some people doesn’t wanna wait for next year….
Open up already. This closure is unreasonable and to the point of lunacy! People need to make a living and live their lives. We have learned enough about the virus and now take the necessary precautions- that will HAVE to be good enough! You can’t stay closed forever and live in a bubble.
Life is risk. If going to a theme park is an acceptable risk to you, by all means go. There is no way Disney or anyone else can guarantee someones safety. They can do everything they can as far as social distancing, cleaning and masks. I live in Orlando, and you are at risk just getting groceries. Life goes on
I want the Governor to say *no* to Disneyland. I don’t want him to agree to open it…. ever. Why? Because if Disney -finally- sues to re-open, and wins, which they will, we are all free. The gyms, the arcades, the skating rinks, the gymnasium, the dance studios will all be able to say that keeping them closed is capricious. I do not understand why Disney is being stopped from opening. They have proven they can safely opening internationally and in Florida. They have many outdoor rides, attractions, etc. They can keep the smaller indoor areas closed if there is a concern. They should have been allowed to open in July. But maybe it will help the rest of us.