Disney California Adventure will open a “limited-time ticketed experience” in mid-March that will mainly include serving guests with food and beverage and operating “carefully crafted entertainment.”
For the 20th anniversary of California Adventure, Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock sent a letter to employees announcing the event. Since the lifting of California’s regional stay-at-home order, nearly 350 workers have returned to work with the reopening of outdoor dining at Downtown Disney restaurants.
Disneyland Reopening
Disneyland Resort officials said the newest attraction at California Adventure, which will be different from a regular visit to the Disney theme parks, will be offered several days per week. There have not yet been exact dates confirmed for the new attractions.
“For those of us who just like to walk around a theme park and not necessarily spend the whole time going on roller coasters, this will be almost the same thing,” Disney historian David Koenig said.
The theme park continues to be on temporary shut down, closing operations of all its rides and attractions at both Anaheim resorts.
Downtown Disney authorities have implemented health guidelines and will continue to be mandated. Officials require temperature checks for arriving guests. Face masks are also required to be worn inside the premises, and social distancing is advised.
“While that is clearly not all we want to accomplish, it’s a start. Teams are working as we speak to start recalling identified Cast in the coming weeks. This past year has presented extraordinary challenges, but that has not curtailed in any way our ability to move forward with a spirit of optimism,” Potrock’s letter said.
Since March 14, 2020, Disney California Adventure Park has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, they were expecting to reopen in July, but the surging COVID-19 cases stopped them short. Last summer, Florida allowed the reopening of its theme parks, with reduced capacity.
Although Florida experienced a more significant increase in COVID-19 cases last summer, compared to California, a more considerable spike was seen in the latter during the winter. The number of cases in both states were similar, counting about 40 infections for every 100,000 residents.
“With hand-washing, with masking, yes, I do think it’s safe,” California Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva said. She also co-sponsored Assembly Bill 240, which aims to place theme parks, including Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, from the yellow tier to the orange tier, placing fewer restrictions.
While it may still be a long time before the theme parks are moved into the less restrictive tier, officials are now closer to reopening attractions and rides than before, ABC7 reported.
We’ve seen it be safe in other places, and after many months — almost a year of being closed — it’s time for us to really look at a pathway to reopening. And this bill is a first step,” Quirck-Silva said.
