As the novel coronavirus continues to slam the nation, some states are still beginning to reopen in phases. As we enter into full-season summer, people are likely especially eager to get out and do something. As just announced, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure intend to reopen on July 17, pending state and local government approval. Disneyland would join Disney World in Florida, as well as several other Florida theme parks and Disney locations around the world, as reported by BuzzFeed News. How would this work, given that coronavirus numbers are still rising across the country? Let’s look at the details below.
As some background, in the United States, Disney’s theme parks have been closed since mid-March. Since then, Shanghai Disneyland reopened in May, with coronavirus safety precautions, including plastic gloves for rides, face masks for all guests and workers, and limiting the number of people in the park.
The biggest changes for Disneyland’s reopening in California are pretty expected at this stage in COVID-19 response. For example, meet-and-greets with characters, parades, and popular night shows will be canceled. Those cancellations, plus reservations ahead of time instead of buying a ticket at the door and a limited overall capacity in the park, are the official changes so far.
As previously covered at Daily Kos, Disney World in Florida also wanted to reopen the parks in mid-July. For Disney World, guests will need to wear face masks; have their temperatures taken before entering the park; and make reservations instead of buying tickets at the door. There will be no character meet-and-greets, and a limited amount of people in the park at once.
In the Florida location, this involves reopening two major parks (Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom), with Hollywood Studios and Epcot Park following a few days later. There will reportedly be considerable changes in the name of keeping down crowd sizes, which will mean no fireworks or parades; empty seats on rides; virtual ordering options for food; and requiring face masks.
In Florida, Universal Studios began reopening on June 5. Also in Orlando, SeaWorld reopened on June 11. Both parks included similar safety measures as proposed at Disney locations, like limited capacities, wearing masks, extra stations for hand sanitizer and hand-washing, and screening customers and workers.
As for the coronavirus? The pandemic is far from over, even if Donald Trump wants to pretend otherwise. While it’s understandable that people may be getting stir-crazy, infection numbers continue to rise in the U.S. It’s also important to remember that some of our most vulnerable populations never got a real chance to self-isolate or get a break from potential exposure, like essential workers, for example, and those whose jobs or obligations can’t be performed from home. There are also long-term, structural issues that make some populations, such as Black Americans and people with disabilities, particularly vulnerable to the virus, and that hasn’t gone away just because people are itching to get a summer vacation on the calendar.