Shanghai Disneyland reopens at 30% capacity as visitors arrive in masks.
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: A Whole New World, the hit song from Walt Disney Co’s film Aladdin, played in the background as visitors stood in front of Shanghai Disneyland waiting for it to reopen yesterday after an almost fourmonth coronavirus shutdown.
Yao Yao, a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher wearing a Minnie Mouse costume, arrived at 8.30 a.m. and was among people waiting about six feet (two metres) apart for entry.
To reach the gates of Shanghai Disneyland, guests had to pass through body temperature checks and show that their health status has been confirmed using a smartphone app for tracking infected persons. Masks were mandatory, despite the muggy 23 degree Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit) weather.
The reopening is one of the largest test cases yet of whether mass gatherings can take place safely amid the virus pandemic.
As a marching band welcomed visitors to the Shanghai park, authorities around the world are facing rising pressure to end lockdowns and revive economies slammed by the global outbreak that has killed more than a quarter million people and infected four million.
Disney is struggling to recoup earnings at its theme park and film businesses pummeled by the virus crisis, while China’s government is grappling with the challenges of incrementally reopening the country.
Parks, factories and restaurants in cities and countries around the world are reopening under rules to keep customers and workers apart amid the threat of second waves and flare-ups of the virus.
“Simply walking in the park will make me forget anything unhappy,” said Yao, who has an annual pass.
Disney is limiting access to the Shanghai park to a fifth of normal capacity, below the government-mandated 30%, during the initial reopening phase.
Visitors to the $5.5 billion theme park yesterday had relatively short waits for rides. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction, for example, had a maximum of five minutes standing in line mid-morning, according to an app that tracks waits at the park. The longest line for a ride at the time was 20 minutes, according to the app.
In the afternoon, some lines started to stretch to 30 minutes, maximum.
On a typical spring day under normal conditions, visitors might wait more than one hour for the most popular attractions.
The Disney World shop, which sells toys and T-shirts, required use of hand sanitiser to enter, and had few shoppers. Popcorn and chicken wing stands were open, though fewer than on a normal day.
Live theatre shows, areas where children would come into close contact, such as water play spots, and parades have been suspended during the initial reopening to avoid raising infection risks.
Demand for opening day tickets was “quite strong,” albeit for tightly limited admissions, said Ron Merriman, managing director of theme park consultants MR ProFun China.
“The real test will come as those capacity limits are eased and the calendar moves into what is typically the critical peak summer season,” he said in an interview. “But I am very optimistic about the park’s prospects for passing that test.”
Shanghai Disneyland was the first of the entertainment giant’s parks to close on Jan 25 as the coronavirus began to spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan, 520 miles (840 kilometers) west of the country’s business capital.
While Disney is keeping its US, Hong Kong and Paris parks closed, the company said last week it would open a limited number of shops and restaurants in its Disney Springs mall outside its resorts in Orlando, Florida, on May 20.
Tickets to Shanghai Disneyland during the initial reopening phase are 399 yuan ($56) for regular days, and 499 yuan for weekends.