California may let Disneyland resume by April
Print Edition
California health officials set new rules that would allow Disneyland and other theme parks, stadiums and outdoor entertainment venues to reopen as early as April 1, after a closure of nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the return of Mickey Mouse to the “Happiest Place on Earth” and live spectators to the California ball parks of America’s favorite pastime still come with major caveats.
Theme and amusement parks would be permitted to restart on April 1 with severely limited capacity.
But only if the counties where they operate are removed from the “purple” tier of California’s color-coded COVID-19 restrictions. Purple is the most stringent classification.
Masks and other safety measures would still be required, and the parks initially would be open only to state residents. Attendance would range from 15 percent to 35 percent of normal capacity.
Outdoor stadiums, ball parks and performance arenas would also be allowed to welcome back live audiences starting April 1, although at a fraction of maximum seating and subject to the same tiered system of constraints.
Opening day turnouts for Major League Baseball games would be muted affairs in Southern California, with no more than 100 spectators allowed in venues located in purple-zoned counties.
That would include the stadiums of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres and the Anaheim Angels. San Francisco and Oakland, home of the Giants and the Athletics, respectively, are currently designated red, which would limit seating to 20 percent capacity.
The changes in California, the US epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic during a year-end holiday surge of cases that strained health-care systems to the breaking point, come as the rate of infections across the country has slowed and vaccinations are on the rise.
But state health officials have charted a cautious reopening approach even as Governor Gavin Newsom has come under mounting political pressure, including the threat of a recall election, to relax restrictions on the state’s social and economic life.
Anaheim-based Disneyland lies in the heart of Orange County, which like neighboring Los Angeles and San Diego counties, has remained purple for months.
On Thursday, Newsom announced a “modest loosening” of tier definitions by factoring in the increasing vaccinations within vulnerable communities.
This would allow counties designated purple, for example, to progress more quickly to the red tier, where amusement and theme parks were previously ordered closed.
Friday’s announcement means theme parks in red-zoned counties could reopen at 15 percent capacity on April 1.
The less restrictive orange and yellow tiers would allow reopenings at 25 percent and 35 percent capacity, respectively.
Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort, said in a statement that the decision meant “getting thousands of people back to work and greatly helping neighboring businesses and our entire community.”
But it remained unclear if rising vaccinations and falling COVID infection rates would go far enough for Anaheim to reach red by the first of next month.
And Potrock did not give a date for a Disneyland reopening.
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