Though local leaders in both California and Florida are currently discussing when (and under what conditions) Disney theme parks can reopen in the United States, Disney has confirmed that Shanghai Disneyland theme park will officially reopen after the successful phased reopening of Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Lumiere’s Kitchen (which is a Character Dining location).
And now it has been confirmed that a reopening of Shanghai Disneyland will be coming next week, but with some big changes.
Shanghai Disneyland to begin welcoming guests once again on May 11, 2020
It was confirmed in an earnings call on May 5, 2020 that Shanghai Disneyland theme park will be the first Disney park worldwide to reopen its gates, and will begin welcoming guests once again on May 11, 2020 with significant social distancing measures in place. These new measures have been extensively tested and are fairly varied but are in line with some of the ideas proposed by both Disney and Universal Parks in the US.
Limited attendance and appointment arrival times
Though no details have been made available yet, Disney has confirmed that when it reopens Shanghai Disneyland, they will only be allowing a certain percentage of guests into the park at a time via a staggered arrival appointment reservation system.
In addition, the total number of guests allowed into the park during a regular operational day will be reduced, as strict attendance caps will be put in place before the theme park officially opens. These attendance caps will be set low when the park first opens, and gradually rise over the coming weeks and months to the 30% attendance cap (24,000 guests) currently set by the government
And once guests are actually in the park, the experience will be a lot different, with new policies in place with regard to facemasks for guests, attraction experiences, and more
Social distancing and health measures will be enforced
When guests arrive at Shanghai Disneyland theme park, their health status will be checked using an app called Alipay, which assigns each user a color code (green, yellow or red) that indicates their health status. Every guest entering Shanghai Disney Resort will be required to present their Shanghai QR Code upon entry, and only guests with a green Shanghai QR Code will be allowed to visit the resort.
In addition to the health history screenings, touchless temperature checks will happen at the entrance of the theme park, and any guest with a reading that does not fall in the accepted range will not be able to enter.
In addition, all guests must wear a mask during their entire visit to the theme park (except when dining), and the park will be enforcing social distancing by taping spacers to the floor in queues that will separate parties from each other while they are waiting for attractions. Cast Members will also all wear masks, except for Face Characters, who will only meet guests from a distance.
Inside attractions, seating on rides will be such that every other seat will be empty so that guests will be able to maintain social distance while experiencing attractions. We don’t know for sure, but another social distancing measure that was tested several weeks ago was staggered seating at indoor theaters so that guests are not too close to one another.
Right now it looks like Shanghai Disney Resort could be something of a test case for theme park reopenings, as this type of restricted entry and phased reopening may serve as a model for other Disney theme parks around the world if it ends up being successful. While Shanghai Disney Resort may have fewer parks than Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort, we may see a similar phased rollout with retail locations like Disney Springs and Downtown Disney reopening first, followed by hotels, and then eventually theme parks, all while implementing light social distancing practices.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all theme park fans should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
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