About a year after Disneyland California closed its gates amid the coronavirus pandemic threat, the theme park is finally planning to open for a limited-time experience next month.
On Monday, the resort’s president, Ken Potrock, announced plans in a letter sent to workers in honor of California Adventure’s 20th anniversary. While the theme park is not yet able to legally open all of its services and attractions, workers will be able to serve food and beverages, merchandise, and COVID-19 safe entertainment experiences.
Disneyland Reopening
About 1,000 employees of the theme park will be back on their jobs of serving guests after the recent reopening of outdoor dining in Downtown Disney.
“With limited capacity and enhanced health and safety measures in place, guests once again will get to step into a magical Disney environment – an environment that will provide memorable and fun experiences our guests are craving,” said Potrock.
Theme park officials expect to open California Adventure to the public several days a week, first reopening in mid-March. Many are hopeful that the park’s reopening signals the beginning of recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, CNN reported.
Last November, Disney authorities told the Securities and Exchange Commission that it planned to lay off about 32,000 of its workers due to the pandemic by the end of March. Disney shut down 12 of its theme parks worldwide in the early stages of the pandemic. However, some of its branches, including Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, have since reopened.
California State Governor Gavin Newsom has been pressured by Disneyland’s Unions to allow the parks to reopen. The plan to allow the parks to serve guests again will be given a limited capacity restriction only once Orange County records a lower number of positive cases.
Potrock considered the reopening of the California Adventure Park a “very special opportunity that speaks to our top priorities: getting more Cast Members back to work and engaging with our guests in different and relevant ways.”