Chairman of the Disney parks, Josh D’amaro has said that when the time comes, Disneyland is ready to open their gates and welcome guests back to Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom, according to USA Today.
What’s Happening:
- On Sunday, Orange County, CA was removed from the State’s watchlist for extensive monitoring due to an increase in Coronavirus cases.
- According to the City of Anaheim’s website, there are no immediate changes for its business reopening plan. Anaheim is in Stage 3 of reopening, and that stage excludes theme parks, not just Disneyland. Theme parks can open in Stage 4, which the city only states will be read for in the "coming months.”
- Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has told the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association Roger Dow that as soon as a date and those guidelines are set, “I can tell you, we are ready.”
- Disneyland was originally set to reopen on the park’s 65th anniversary, July 17th of this year. However, due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the state of California, the State’s governor scaled back reopening plans, including theme parks like Disneyland.
- Walt Disney World in Florida was permitted to and began a phased reopening in July. D’Amaro also mentioned that new protocols and procedures that are implemented at Walt Disney World, such as mobile ordering and cashless payments, may last longer than the Coronavirus, saying “These are things that are helping us now, but I think they’re here to stay.”
- Even though Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and the hotels of the Disneyland resort remain closed at this time, the popular Downtown Disney District is open as a shopping and dining destination and remains a popular offering even without the parks in operation.