California Governor Is in No Hurry to Reopen Disneyland
Courtesy of movieweb.com:
California Governor Gavin Newsom is in no hurry to reopen Disneyland. The Governor has apparently changed his mind since the middle of September, where he said that California theme parks would be opening “soon.” Disneyland, along with all of the other theme parks in the state, have been shut down since the middle of March. Disney just laid off 28,000 employees, due to the situation being “exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen,” according to Disney’s head of parks Josh D’Amaro.
Walt Disney World in Florida has been open for months now. However, they have not been seeing the large crowds that they were expecting. Even with limited capacity, the park has not hit target numbers and is shortening its hours of operation this month. Disneyland remains closed and it looks like it will be that way a bit longer. California Governor Gavin Newsom had this to say earlier this week.
“We’re going to be led by a health first framework and we’re going to be stubborn about it. That’s our commitment. That’s our resolve. While we feel there’s no hurry putting out guidelines we’re continuing to work with the industry.”
Back in September, Gavin Newsom said, “announcements soon on theme parks and amusement parks.” He went on to say that he will be “making public the fruits of those negotiations very, very shortly.” The public health crisis seems to change on a daily basis, especially in the large state of California, where some counties have been able to relax restrictions, which includes Orange County, where Disneyland is located. However, since the park is centrally located, it sees local visitors on a daily basis, some of which only have to drive 30 minute to an hour to get there.
The California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) has been urging Gavin Newsom to reopen all of the theme parks in California for the past few months. With spikes showing up all over the country, even in places like New York who had it under control, Governor Newsom isn’t taking any chances. For now, people who want somewhat of a Disney experience have been visiting Downtown Disney or flying out to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World.
For now, it looks like it is going to be a bit longer before Disneyland can open their doors, even though they claim that they have had their safety protocols in place since July and are ready to go. Some have speculated that the iconic theme park won’t open up again until after the new year, so it might be a lot longer than anyone was originally expecting. With that being said, there are more than a few who agree with Newsom and believe that the park should stay closed until it is safe to reopen again. You can watch the press conference with Gavin Newsom above, thanks to the KRCA News YouTube channel.
