Official: State ‘very close’ to reopening Disneyland
California is “getting very close” to reopening Disneyland, Universal Studios and other theme parks in the state but remains not quite ready to issue COVID-19 health and safety guidelines that would end the sixmonth closure of the major tourist destinations.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly discussed the timeline for issuing theme park reopening guidelines on Tuesday, Sept. 29 during a virtual online news conference.
“We’re getting very close,” Ghaly said during the news conference.
California theme parks closed in mid-March and remain shuttered while they await guidelines for safely reopening from the state.
“We’re working hard to get that out in a responsible way, as soon as possible, so planning can be done by both the counties that are homes to the theme parks, as well as the operators of those theme parks,” Ghaly said during the news conference. “We know that a number of Californians are eager and wondering when that is coming.”
State officials have been promising but not providing theme park guidelines for awhile — much to the frustration of Disney, Knott’s, Legoland and other parks. Newsom said a month ago that he would announce a reopening plan for California theme parks “soon” and said two weeks ago that guidelines would be coming “very, very shortly.”
California theme parks have been left waiting on the sidelines while other segments of the economy have reopened under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s four-tier Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
A growing chorus of theme parks, city leaders, state lawmakers and industry associations have called on Newsom to reopen Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, SeaWorld San Diego, Legoland California and other amusement parks throughout the state.
“We are working with those industries to put out something that is thoughtful, allows us to maintain the rest of our framework in a strong way and really following those principles of slow and stringent to ensure those large activities are done responsibly,” Ghaly said during the news conference.
Ghaly’s statement came on the same day Disney’s theme park division announced the layoff of 28,000 employees at Disneyland and Walt Disney World as the company continues to struggle with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney officials laid part of the blame for the layoffs at the feet of Newsom and his administration’s failure to issue theme park reopening guidelines.
The impact of the pandemic has been “exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen,” Disney parks chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a statement.