It’s no secret that Disney has been getting more and more impatient with government officials in California, going as far as to release a statement last week blasting officials from keeping Disneyland from reopening. And now it looks like this pressure may be paying off, as Disney has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, September 22 that could include news of a reopening at Disneyland Resort in California.
Though not specifically stated, this press conference is being held to provide an “update on parks and resort operations around the world during the pandemic” and includes a panel of Disney executives from both Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort, and will end with remarks from Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro.
Ever since Walt Disney World’s own reopening, Disneyland Resort has been preparing for their own potential reopening, installing plexiglass barriers and hand sanitizing stations in attraction queues and putting up physical distancing signage. And while there are sure to be some procedures and re-trainings for Cast Members to go through before the park can welcome guests, it looks like Disneyland is basically ready to open as soon as the announcement is made, which means we could likely see an October reopening for Disneyland Resort at tomorrow’s press conference.
Disneyland Resort will also almost certainly see some new procedures in place during a reopening as well, as we’d expect MaxPass/FastPass to to be suspended (similar to the procedure at Walt Disney World) and some high profile attractions (like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) requiring virtual queue passes to experience. In addition we would not expect nighttime spectaculars like Fantasmic to return during the reopening phase.
Of course, this is all speculation for now but with this press conference happening tomorrow and Disney putting a lot of pressure on the local government officials in California, is seems almost certain that we will be hearing about Disneyland’s long-awaited reopening tomorrow.
