Disney World reopened nearly a month ago, and most Disney theme parks around the globe have also reopened after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
One that hasn’t: Disneyland.
And Anaheim Park, California, is unlikely to reopen soon. California leads the country in coronavirus cases, more than 550,000 on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins data, and state officials are not in a position to allow theme parks to reopen.
“Theme parks cannot open in California at this time, under existing public fitness ordinances,” said Kate Folmar, spokesperson for California Health and Human Services. “We will continue to review fitness knowledge to determine when and how theme parks might reopen with a minor threat to staff and visitors.”
Disneyland is awaiting the recommendation of state officials and the company has provided additional details.
The park was scheduled to reopen on July 17, but this was discontinued as the coronavirus instances increased.
Anaheim and neighboring Orange County are in the early stages of the third phase (of four) of their reapture plan. Rules published in the city mean disneyland Resort hotels, shops, restaurants and theme parks will open in stages between stages 2, 3 and 4, however, no date has been set for theme parks.
However, a reopening may be imaginable this year. Cedar Fair, owner of Disneyland’s rival in Orange County, Knott’s Berry Farm, said Tuesday that “it will remain in preparedness while park teams continue to discuss the option of opening with the government.”
Disney World in Florida reopened its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks on July 11, followed by Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios on July 15. Its complexes began to reopen in June, many remain closed.
Parks require visitors to wear masks and meet social distance requirements. They have canceled occasions such as parades, fireworks and their gigantic Halloween birthday party that draws giant crowds and closed draws involving person-to-person contact.
Disney executives conceded in a quarterly earnings presentation Wednesday that Disney World hasn’t drawn the attendance they expected, even accounting for the reduced capacity. They noted a drop-off in visitors coming from out of state. Air travel is nowhere close to what it was before the pandemic, and many states have imposed quarantine requirements on people traveling back from states that are coronavirus hot spots. And Disney posted scaled-back operating hours at the Magic Kingdom and several other Florida theme parks over the weekend.
Florida is catching up with California in coronavirus cases, with more than 525,000 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins’ knowledge.
J.d. O’Connor, an associate professor of film arts at the University of Southern California and an expert at Disney, said Disney World relies more on long-haul travelers who book electronic flights and rental cars and stay at Disney hotels. Disneyland attracts more Southern Californians, who drive but don’t spend the night
“Disney World welcomes fewer people within 3 hours of driving than Disneyland,” O’Connor said, which can give Disneyland an edge over its Florida counterpart when it reopens.
O’Connor, who last week finished a summer course on Disney, said Disney was very interconnected.
When the company works at full throttle, he says, the videos take others to the parks. The parks, in turn, are built on the content produced through the studies, which had to be closed for many of the same reasons.
Disney is looking very closely at what’s happening in Florida, O’Connor said, as well as its parks around the world. He calls Disney World “a great prototype of what it’s like to be open during a pandemic” and predicts that the company will apply the classes it learns in California.
You’ll also take a look to see what happens once schools in Orange County, California, reopen with students in class. Orange County is on the state’s watch list, which means schools should not receive immediate instruction in person.
If the coronavirus instances do not reappear after the start of the new year, this may also be just a sign that Disneyland will likely reopen soon.
“It would be if all goes well, ” said O’Connor.
Disney produces videos and television systems and operates cruise ships and hotels. However, their theme parks make great profits.
On Wednesday, Disney reported its earnings for April, May and June. The numbers were not pretty. The company posted a nearly $5 billion loss for the quarter, including a $2 billion loss in its parks, experiences and products segment.
Disney World and Disneyland, the cruise lines and resort hotels were all shuttered for the entirety of the quarter. Its cruise operations remain shut down, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extending its March no-sail order through Sept. 30.
Returning to the balance of the operation would possibly take some time.
“It will be at least a year of very high numbers, ” said O’Connor.