Disneyland, other California theme parks prepare for reopening
LOS ANGELES — The assassination of President Kennedy led Disneyland to close for a day in 1963. Universal Studios Hollywood closed just long enough to complete safety inspections after the Northridge earthquake struck in 1994.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shut California’s largest theme parks for more than a year, creating an unprecedented challenge for the operators of Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other parks who are now scrambling to prepare to reopen under more relaxed safety protocols issued by the state.
It’s a big job: They must prepare dozens of attractions for daily use, rehire and train thousands of workers, and adopt a slew of new safety protocols that in many cases dramatically alter how attractions will operate and how visitors will be expected to behave.
“It’s like turning an aircraft carrier,” said Scott Strobl, senior vice president of operations at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Making the challenge even more difficult: Park officials are not sure whether the state will release detailed safety protocols that affect which attractions can open, which need to be altered before they are available to visitors and which must remain offline for now.
Disney is preparing a range of game plans as it awaits a response from the state, said Kris Theiler, vice president of the Disneyland Park.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California public health officials announced this month that with the rollout of vaccines and the drop in new COVID-19 cases, the state would allow theme parks to reopen ear
lier than previously anticipated. Parks in counties with low enough coronavirus transmission can open as early as April 1.
The state has offered only a handful of guidelines: All park visitors must be California residents and wear masks, indoor dining is prohibited, and workers must be tested weekly for the coronavirus. For parks in counties in the second-most-restrictive tier of the state’s four-category reopening road map — the tier currently including Los Angeles and Orange counties — total park attendance will be capped at 15% of capacity, and parks’ individual indoor attractions will be limited to a maximum 15% capacity with time restrictions.
Before the state unveiled the more relaxed reopening plans, a coalition of California theme parks proposed more detailed guidelines to the state. The ideas included limiting riders on attractions and limiting the time that parkgoers are crowded together in attractions and queues. Some of the guidelines proposed by the California Attractions and Parks Assn. were based on protocols adopted at theme parks that are already open in Florida, Europe and Asia.
Theme park executives say they are assuming the state will accept those guidelines or make only minor adjustments.
“We have some foundational points that we are working on,” Strobl said.
Only weeks remain to nail down the details and get everyone ready.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek announced Wednesday that the theme parks at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim will reopen April 30. Disney parks in Florida, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong are already open.
Universal Studios Hollywood is expected to open in late April, and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park sometime in May. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia has yet to announce a reopening date. Disney and Universal Studios Hollywood officials said single-day ticket prices at their parks are expected to be in line with last year’s prices.
The biggest challenge will be rehiring thousands of workers and training them on the safety guidelines they must follow and on ways to enforce safety protocols among parkgoers, theme park executives and union leaders say.