On the heels of Walt Disney World’s theme park reopening happening between July 11-14th, Disneyland has announced that it too will be reopening in July, with several phases announced. The Downtown Disney shopping district will be the first to reopen on July 9th, and then a little over a week later on July 17th, both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will reopen. Finally, on July 23, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel will reopen.
New restrictions at Disneyland will be similar to Walt Disney World
Like Walt Disney World, the Disneyland Resort will manage park attendance and capacity through a new theme park reservation system that will require all guests, including Annual Passholders, to obtain a reservation for park entry in advance. Disneyland has also announced that new ticket sales and Annual Passport sales and renewals have been halted as well.
Another restriction that mirror’s Walt Disney World is the cancellation of all parades, nighttime spectaculars and character meet and greets at Disneyland Resort until further notice.
The only substantial deviation right now between Disneyland’s and Walt Disney World’s reopening plans is that Downtown Disney District will reopen all at once on July 9 with all locations, including the flagship World of Disney store, open for guests.
No news about masks or temperature checks, yet
Interestingly, no news about required masks or temperature checks has been shared, but Disney has said that additional information on enhanced health and safety measures and operational changes for Disneyland Resort will be shared soon, pending governmental approval of the reopening plan. We’d imagine temperature checks and masks will eventually be required, but again, nothing has been confirmed just yet.
Is Disneyland Resort Opening too soon?
Of course, this new reopening plan is a bit of a surprise as earlier this year California Governor Gavin Newsom set out some very strict social distancing guidelines for the state, which effectively bans large gatherings (like those you would see at a theme park) until there is a reliable treatment or vaccine for COVID-19. And with California recording at least 2,000 new coronavirus cases per day (and no treatment or vaccine in sight) it seems like a strange time to announce a reopening.
However, it looks like Disney has once again given themselves plenty of time to plan in advance for this reopening, as we’re still just under six weeks away from Disneyland Resort’s full reopening, which gives them some flexibility if plans change.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all travelers 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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