Why is Disneyland Still Closed?
While we don't often talk about the other Disney parks outside of Walt Disney World in this blog, there has been an interesting situation during this pandemic. While Walt Disney World has been able to re-open and, more interestingly, stay open despite the pandemic only getting worse in Florida, over in California Disneyland shuttered and has stayed shuttered now for almost a year. Why?
To understand the answer, you first have to understand how the United States responded to the pandemic. Largely, that response has been left to each of our 50 states to figure out and control on their own. This is why even crossing state lines during the pandemic can be dicey. One state might allow free travel in and out while another might impose a 10 day quarantine on all visitors, while yet a third might have no restrictions on most visitors unless they come from a handful of other states in which case it might be a 14 day quarantine. It is downright hard to keep up with.
So, let's look first at Florida, where Walt Disney World has been able to re-open and stay open.
The Situation in Florida
Walt Disney World closed on March 16, 2020. It was the seventh time since the park opened that it had to close. It did so other times for the remainder of the day on 9/11 and due to hurricanes. However, unlike Disneyland, Walt Disney World was able to begin a phased re-opening in July of 2020 and has somehow miraculously stayed open since. We'll examine a few of the reasons why this was possible below, but perhaps foremost, we need to talk about Florida and Florida's "response" to the pandemic. Even as Walt Disney World opened in July, the sunbelt, including Florida, was at the beginning of the summer surge of 2020. Case loads increased first in Southern states and then swept north. Perhaps the heat was driving those in the South inside into air conditioning.... no one can really say what happened, but despite the surge, the parks re-opened. And that's not something you're likely to see happen in California.
Not to say the parks didn't put forward extreme precautions, at least at first. Masks and temperature checks are required, as is social distancing. Parks are deep cleaned frequently, and park reservations are required. And right now, Walt Disney World is still operating at about a 33% capacity (which, let's not play games here, is still a lot of people since we are talking 33% of peak capacity - think Christmas Day and the parks are closing capacity and then cut that by 1/3.)
While some shops, restaurants, and attractions are temporarily closed, and there are no parades, fireworks, or character meets right now, it's important to note that even indoor attractions are open and while at first they opened with social distancing in place, now some attractions are seeing every available seat filled.
To editorialize just a bit, I would feel safer at Walt Disney World than I would at, say, the Orlando International Airport. I truly believe Cast is doing everything they possibly can to keep guests safe, even when it makes them uncomfortable to do so. But, let's just say, Florida is making it easy to walk the line, and walk the line is exactly what any corporation would do.
Meanwhile in California...
So that's Florida. Now, let's turn our attention to California where Disneyland has been closed since March 12, 2020. Unfortunately, Disneyland will likely be closed or several months. This is due to the nature of the park, how it is currently being used, and the guidance that California has issued for re-opening.
Let's start with how the very nature of Disneyland is different than Walt Disney World. To compare, it might be helpful to look at history. The COVID 19 pandemic is the third time in history Disneyland has closed. The other two times were in 1963 due to the assassination of President John F Kennedy and on September 11, 2001 due to the events of 9/11.
One factor to consider in why Disneyland remains closed is the lack of luxury of space. At Disneyland, the public is literally across the street from the park. A freeway is mere blocks away. A person could park their car on the street outside with a view of the matterhorn. In a very real sense, Disneyland is wedged smack in the middle of a bustling city. Walt Disney World on the other hand has no city within sight unless you look really hard across Bay Lake. You cannot approach the entrance to a park without having gone through security a long way away from the entrance. This both protects Walt Disney World to some extent from certain types of terror attacks, but affords Walt Disney World the ability to create larger spaces and to expand, which at Disneyland tons of attractions are packed into a rather small area. To put it very plainly, social distancing at Disneyland is not going to be as possible as it is at Walt Disney World.
Add to that how the park is being used right now.... or perhaps we should say the parking lot. Yes, the parking lot of Disneyland has been turned into one of the nations largest COVID vaccination sites. Which is, to be honest, pretty genius. But it also might mean that while the very large population of Orange County California still experiences demand for the vaccine, this site will be in operation. Vaccine clinic = no guest parking.
Finally, let's visit the guidelines. Even if the vaccine clinic was removed and social distancing was somehow figured out, there are the very strict guidelines in California dictating when a theme park can open. Here are the criteria that must be met before theme parks can even begin to open in California:
There must be less than 1 daily case per 100,000 residents.
There must be a less than 2 percent positivity rate in COVID tests.
The above two criteria signify orange county is in the yellow tier.
Upon initial re-opening, capacity will be limited to 25% and park reservations will be required.
It is possible that only outdoor attractions will be allowed to open.
It is also possible, given other restrictions in California, that the park will only open to locals.
It should be noted a bill was put before the California assembly requesting theme parks be allowed to reopen under less restrictive circumstances of 3.9 cases per 100,000 and a 4.9% positivity rate on tests (which is the orange tier).
Right now, Orange county California has regressed from the red tier to the purple tier and has 29.4 new case per day per 100,000 and a 9.4% test positivity rate. And while that's really bad news, there is a brighter side. Downtown Disney, and parts of Disney California Adventure have been allowed to reopen for reserved dining and shopping only. Disney also hints that there will be ticketed events in March to mark Disney California Adventure's anniversary where a limited number of guests will used a timed ticket system to be permitted in for dining, shopping, and entertainment (no rides).
We want people to be careful, but we also hope Disneyland opens soon. The best possible scenario is virus cases go down as people get vaccinated, which would allow Disneyland to re-open safely. Let's hope that's the case! Until next time...
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