Disneyland, California, has been closed since March 2020.
Corinne Reichert/CNETDisneyland is expected to reopen next month after California issued new guidance on theme parks. Under the new rules, as of April 1, theme parks may open if they're located in a county in the "red" tier. It comes after Disneyland closed its gates more than a year ago due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. For the first time in its 65-year history, the iconic California theme park initially shut down for a month on March 12 -- and then remained closed.
Disneyland Resort became a coronavirus vaccine site instead of a theme park destination in early 2021. The Toy Story parking lot began serving as Orange County's first vaccine super site on Jan. 14. Disneyland Resort had "stepped up" to host mass vaccine distribution and would be "absolutely critical in stopping this deadly virus," the county said.
Here's the latest on when California Adventure and Disneyland will fully reopen, and why they haven't while most of Disney's other global theme parks, including Walt Disney World on the opposite coast of the US, have.
Disneyland expected to reopen late April
Under the new guidance issued March 5, Disneyland will be able to reopen if Orange County is in the red, or "substantial," tier as of April 1. Under this tier, counties can have up to 7 new daily cases per 100,000 people and positive test rates of up to 8% -- and as of March 9, 2021, Orange County is sitting at 6 new coronavirus cases per day per 100,000 people, with a 3.2% positive rate on test results.
Those numbers began plummeting six weeks ago; Orange County was sitting at 99.7 cases per 100,000 people on Jan. 19.
Following the surprise news, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said March 9 that it will "take some time" to get Disneyland ready to reopen. "This includes recalling more than 10,000 furloughed cast and retraining them to be able to operate according to the state of California's new requirements," he said.
Chapek hopes to reopen Disneyland by late April.
While the county remains in the red tier, the park will have a maximum capacity of 15%, with no indoor dining allowed. Guests must also stick to small groups with a maximum of 10 people, and all ticket sales must be done online. Only people from California will be allowed inside the park.
Once Orange County reaches the orange tier, Disneyland will be capped at 25% capacity, while the yellow tier will see a 35% capacity permitted as well as a 25% indoor capacity. All three tiers allow for only California visitors to Disneyland.
Disneyland had initially announced an optimistic reopening date of July 17, 2020, its 65th anniversary. It was forced to backtrack on those plans when California declined to issue theme park guidance. The state revealed its initial theme park reopening guidelines on Oct. 20, which wouldn't have allowed the park to open until it was in the yellow tier, with fewer than 1 daily case per 100,000 people and a 2% positive test rate.
California Adventure sold out on event tickets
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of California Adventure, Disneyland announced "A Touch of Disney" on Feb. 24 -- a limited capacity ticketed event that will take place starting March 18 at California Adventure. Tickets cost $75, with the event running Thursdays through Mondays from noon to 8 p.m. The ticket includes parking, unlimited PhotoPass photos, and a $25 dining card toward your food and nonalcoholic drinks. No rides will be open.
Tickets for A Touch of Disney went on sale March 4, but were sold out in less than a day despite Disney adding another two weeks to its event calendar due to high demand. "The queue to purchase tickets has closed as there are no additional tickets for sale at this time," Disney said Friday. But you can keep checking back for more tickets to be "released on a rolling basis until the experience ends."
A Touch of Disney will include food and beverages, Disney characters, merchandise and photo locations. The event coincides with the usual timing of California Adventure's annual food and wine festival, and will reportedly allow around 1,000 employees to come back to work. The new Avengers Campus will be the only area of the park not open during the event.
As well as reopening food locations like Smokejumpers Grill, Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats, Award Wieners and Cocina Cucamonga, California Adventure will have six "seasonal" marketplaces for more snack choices. You can also book a table at Carthay Circle Lounge and Lamplight Lounge. Disney will even bring some of the food items usually only found at Disneyland over to California Adventure, including the Dole Whip from the Tiki Room and the Monte Cristo sandwich from New Orleans Square.
Characters across the park will include Mickey Mouse, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Joy and Sadness.
The main street area of California Adventure theme park initially reopened on Nov. 19, including Buena Vista Street and parts of Hollywood Land, for dining and shopping. California Adventure's current reopening includes all stores in Buena Vista Street, as well as dining locations like the Carthay Circle Lounge, Smokejumper's Grill, Award Wieners, Starbucks and carts for churros and popcorn. Those areas will close down to the general public during the ticketed event.
Disney has yet to announce whether it's planning to similarly reopen the shopping and dining locations along Main Street USA in Disneyland.
Downtown Disney is open
The Downtown Disney shopping and dining area reopened six months ago on July 9 in line with California's restaurant and retail opening guidelines.
Between December 2020 and January 2021, Orange County was subject to strict stay-at-home orders due to ICU capacity falling below 15%. Restaurants were forced to close in Downtown Disney and California Adventure, but Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the lockdown orders Jan. 25.
Currently, all dining and shopping locations in Downtown Disney are open, apart from locations in the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. To visit Downtown Disney, you can only park in the Simba parking lot, and must undergo a temperature screening, wear a face covering and maintain social distancing. The area is open daily from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., or 9 p.m. on Saturdays.
Disney opened a new Star Wars Trading Post in Downtown Disney in mid-February so you can get your Star Wars merchandise fix while Galaxy's Edge is closed.
Disneyland cancels and refunds annual passes
Disneyland announced Jan. 14 that it'll be canceling its annual passholder program for now.
"Due to the continued uncertainty of the pandemic and limitations around the reopening of our California theme parks, we will be issuing appropriate refunds for eligible Disneyland Resort Annual Passports and sunsetting the current program," Disneyland President Ken Potrock said in a statement.
Disneyland is "developing new membership offerings" for when it reopens. Those who held an active annual pass as of March 14, 2020, are now called "Legacy Passholders" and will continue getting discounts for now when shopping or dining at Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street in California Adventure. Legacy Passholders will also get early access to the new Star Wars store and Wanda Vision photo op, both of which are coming to Downtown Disney soon.
Why was Disney World allowed to reopen in 2020?
Disney was permitted to reopen the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios in July last year due to Florida's less-strict state and local guidelines.
The Orlando Disney parks have social distancing and wellness measures, including temperature screenings, wearing masks, keeping guests six feet apart while lining up for attractions and a guest reservation system to limit capacity. Fireworks have also been suspended.
Disney Springs shopping and dining area reopened on May 20 with limited parking, fewer entrances, temperature screening before entry, masks required, physically distanced lines and barriers, reduced hours, no entertainment and more sanitization and disinfectant. Disney-owned stores and restaurants in Disney Springs began reopening May 27.
Layoffs across the US theme parks business
Vacationers aren't the only ones affected by Disneyland's continuing closure. Disney announced on Sept. 29 that it would lay off 28,000 US employees, citing reduced capacity at its theme parks due to social distancing requirements, as well as California's "unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen."
In an SEC filing on Nov. 26, Disney revealed it would be laying off an additional 4,000 employees, for 32,000 total.
Disneyland reached an agreement with 11 unions representing its workers as of Oct. 14, according to the Orange County Register, so that it's ready to open immediately as soon as permitted. The California Health and Human Services Agency reportedly sent state health officials to assess Disney World in Florida during the first week of October, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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