Today was the official reopening of the Buena Vista Street area of Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort, and as expected, crowd levels were high as guests began lining up as early as 5:00 AM to be among the first to check out this partially reopened park. However, despite lots of interest early in the day, Disney was able to efficiently move guests through the mobile waiting list, with most seeing a wait of under an hour before being able to visit the reopened portions of the park.
Once guests were able to get inside the reopened park, many were surprised to find that it wasn’t just Buena Vista Street that was open, but also portions of Grizzly Peak and Hollywood Land have been made available as well. Though there are of course no attractions open, there are plenty of outdoor seating areas that have been added to the park (including one in front of the Soarin’ attraction) so that guests who are visiting can socially distance while grabbing a bite to eat or taking a break from shopping.
As you might expect, the park has plenty of holiday decorations up, and Christmas music is playing non-stop to keep the good spirit going. Disney has also provided some opportunities for guests to take holiday photos in the park (while wearing masks of course) in front of both the recently-refurbished Storytellers statue as well as the iconic Red Car Trolley as well.
And though there are lines for photo ops, shopping, and even dining, it looks like Cast Members have been able to manage crowds enough to ensure physical distancing while keeping lines orderly and waits as short as possible. And though the park’s flagship dining establishment Carthay Circle Restaurant only took walk-up reservations for a few minutes before spots for their al fresco dining filled up for the day, other establishments in the park like Smokejumpers Grill and Award Wieners are offering mobile order walk-up service throughout the day (albeit with a limited menu). There are also an increased number of outdoor vending carts in guest areas serving Disneyland favorites like churros, popcorn, turkey legs, and even Angry Dogs.
Despite a large influx of guests and some long lines, it seems like the first day of partial operation for Disney California Adventure has been a rousing success, with guests easily complying with the rules and Cast Members making sure that operations run as smoothly as possible. Though we’ll have to wait until 2021 to see this park return to full operation, it is great to see Disney California Adventure safely welcoming guests back in this limited capacity.
