For three long months, we’ve been awaiting good Disneyland news. It came last week when the park announced plans to reopen Disneyland and California Adventure on July 17th, pending state and local approval. Unfortunately, the statement seems to have raised more questions than answers as passholders and other potential visitors scramble to figure out how park reservations will work, whether their admission media will be valid, and try to determine what the new rules and regulations will be. We’ll take a look at what’s known, as well as share some AMAZING new aerial photos which show work being done right now in the parks!
Plus, we have a reader photo section designed to put a smile on your face, and a reader poll that asks you to weigh in on the question about whether or not Disney should retheme Splash Mountain to remove its connection to Song of the South.
Disneyland Plans July 17 Reopening!
It feels like Disneyland has been closed for a much longer time than it has. The parks shut their gates back on March 14th, but it almost seems like a whole lifetime ago. Part of what makes the three-month closure feel so long is the lack of information shared by Disney. That is, until a few days ago when they announced that the resort would be opening in time to celebrate its 65th anniversary on July 17.
We’d written about the rumors of Disneyland reopening on its anniversary and were thrilled to see it come to fruition. Because Disneyland is significantly smaller than the Walt Disney World resort, the time between the initial announcement and planned opening is shorter than its Floridian counterpart. Disneyland’s opening announcement came June 10, leaving just over a month to prep and get everything ready for its celebration. Although, weirdly enough, there was a Facebook LIVE from one of Disneyland’s unions that same morning that repeatedly stated there was no knowledge about an opening date. According to that video, cast members in certain areas of the park (like custodial and food services) will begin being called back to work approximately three weeks before the opening of the park. It would reason that many cast will begin being called back in the next week or two.
The Disneyland Resort has submitted tentative plans to state and local officials to reopen its theme parks on July 17. Downtown Disney is scheduled to reopen on July 9. On the Hotel side, Disneyland will only be opening two of its three hotels, the Grand Californian and Paradise Pier, on July 23. There’s no mention of the Disneyland Hotel, but since park capacity will be reduced, Disney must feel there’s no need to have a third hotel full of rooms to fill.
What really surprised us about Disney’s announcement was how little information there actually was. Much of the message was reliant on “more information will be available soon” in regards to Disneyland’s safety measures and how guests will be able to visit the park. Here’s some of the important info from the reopening announcement:
- Park access will be limited via a theme park reservation system. All guests, including Passholders, will need to obtain a reservation in advance.
- Theme park reservations will be subject to availability. More details about this new reservation system will be available soon.
- As they did in Florida, a temporary pause will be placed on new ticket sales and Annual Passport sales and renewals. Additional details will be available soon.
- Once approved, the Disneyland Resort will reopen with enhanced health and safety measures. In addition, a Guest Experience Team will be available throughout the parks and Downtown Disney District to assist guests with questions regarding these new policies.
- Certain experiences that draw large group gatherings – such as parades and nighttime spectaculars – will return at a later date. While character meet and greets will be temporarily unavailable, characters will be in the parks in new ways to entertain and delight guests.
- Downtown Disney District will begin reopening on July 9 in line with the state’s reopening guidelines, with its unique variety of shopping and dining experiences, including the flagship World of Disney store. With the health of guests and Disney cast members at the forefront of planning, several operational changes will be implemented based on guidance from health authorities to promote physical distancing and cleanliness throughout the Downtown Disney District.
For a closer look into Disneyland’s reopening, be sure to read the article below:
Josh D’Amaro, the recently promoted Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products had this to share on social media:
Additionally, the new Disneyland Resort President, Ken Potrock, has recently created social media profiles and sent out a welcome message to cast members introducing himself.
The slideshow below is a message Ken shared with cast members last week. He brings up some interesting info, like adjusting staffing levels to comply with physical distancing guidelines and working with unions to responsibly and thoughtfully implement new safety measures for both cast members and guests.
We’ll be watching to see what Ken’s going to do for the parks while he’s in charge of Disneyland. The previous president, Rebecca Campbell, only held the position for 6 months (most of that time while the resort was closed) before changing roles in the company. For more about the changes in Disney Parks leadership, check out the article below:
MAJOR Disney Parks Leadership Changes Announced – Josh D’Amaro Takes Top Spot
Opening Too Soon?
While the reopening of Disneyland is exciting, not everyone is quite as enthralled. Now that California is in Stage 3 of the roadmap to reopening, it means that higher-risk businesses can reopen under new safety guidelines. You can now visit the gym, get your hair cut, enjoy a drink at the bar, and in some cases attend school. But theme parks are known to draw larger crowds on a daily basis and aren’t always viewed as the pinnacle of sanitation. However, by capping attendance and embracing new policies for public health and safety, theme parks are expected to reopen in Stage 3.
There’s a trending petition on Change.org asking Disneyland to push back it’s opening due to fears of a potential coronavirus outbreak. The petition has over 33,000 signatures and it’s continuing to grow. After Orange County’s chief health officer, Dr. Nichole Quick, resigned from her position this week after receiving death threats due to her guidance on continuing to wear face coverings, the public mindset of wearing masks has waned significantly in the area.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles and other local communities are experiencing a spike in infections which has many questioning if some reopenings may need to be reversed.
The Guardian reports that nine California counties are seeing a spike in new coronavirus cases or hospitalizations – nearly half of all residents of the state live in one of those counties. Further: “The rising concern in California comes as 21 US states reported weekly increases in new cases of Covid-19, with Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posting rises of 40% or higher. Arizona, which was among the first states to reopen mid-May, this week reactivated its emergency plan for medical facilities.”
With Disneyland’s proposed reopening still one full month away, there is a chance that the rising tide of new infections, and a growing lack of concern by many citizens to abide by safety precautions, may force Disneyland to remain closed either voluntarily or by state order. We are keeping a very close eye on this situation.
We’ve Got Reservations about Reservations
One of the ways that Disneyland’s reopening is mirroring Disney World is through the use of a reservation system for park entry. How that system will work is currently unknown. But Disneyland did use a system to do something very similar for the month-long preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge last year.
However, unlike Disney World, Disneyland has a gigantic local passholder base. Throw all those with valid single-day, multi-day, or promotional tickets into the mix with nearly one million passholders, and it’s quite clear that demand will vastly outweigh the extremely limited park capacity.
Passholders pay varying amounts for their passes for different levels of access to the theme parks. The top-level pass allows 365 days of access (excluding special ticketed events) for a cool $1450. By switching to a reservation-based system, while additionally capping attendance to allow for social distancing, there’s most certainly going to be passholders who will not be able to access the benefits for which they paid. Yes, the terms and conditions of their AP contract state that Disneyland can revoke access at any given time, but that’s reserved for rare situations, not months of denied access.
Worse, many families have a range of pass types and expiration dates. Because passes are so expensive, it’s common for families to gift passes as birthday presents. Since Disneyland isn’t renewing passes right now, that means that many families will find themselves with some members of the household valid, and some unable to renew.
We’re definitely in one of those rare, unprecedented (gosh, I’ve never had to use that word as much as I have in the last three months) times, but Disneyland should offer passholders the ability to void their contracts if they feel Disney has not upheld their end of the contract for theme park access. The reservation system is something that we’re avidly watching on both the Disneyland and WDW fronts. But with reopening just a month away, it’s time for Disneyland to share a bit more info.
More Openings to Note
Disneyland isn’t the only California theme park preparing to open. Now that the guidelines for public safety have been relaxed a bit, other major attractions are hoping to open as early as this weekend! Here’s an overview of upcoming theme parks and attractions you’ll be able to visit in the near future.
Universal Studios Hollywood is aiming for a July 1 reopening. USH has already presented a plan for reopening to the Economic Resiliency Task Force of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in early June, and is awaiting state approval. Universal’s CityWalk had a surprise reopening last week on June 10. Similarly, Six Flags Magic Mountian (which worked with Universal on the presented reopening plan) and other LA county amusement parks are also looking to open July 1.
Further down south, the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park are preparing to open this weekend! The two animal-centric attractions are set to open June 20 with new safety guidelines. We’re hoping to take a trip down to San Diego this weekend to see the updates.
The other major theme parks in San Diego, SeaWorld and LEGOLAND, are targeting a July 1st opening (that seems to be a popular date).
For more information about more California attractions reopening, read the article below.
The only major CA theme park that hasn’t publicly announced plans about reopening is Knott’s Berry Farm. For the time being, the Knott’s Marketplace, the park’s shopping and dining plaza, has been gradually reopening. While the Chicken-To-Go window, Bakery and Berry Market have been open for a month now, almost all of the other shops and food establishments are either open now or will be by the end of the week. We took a trip to Knott’s this week, and there’s a lot going on. For more info about updates to Knott’s (including a buy-one-get-one-free deal for funnel cakes!), check out the article below:
Knott’s Update: New Signs of Life – Fried Chicken, Funnel Cakes, and Super K
Hong Kong Disneyland – News at Last!
Late yesterday (for us in the US, at least), there was a reopening announcement from Hong Kong Disneyland, that closed at the end of January. The park will be reopening at breakneck speed just three days from now, June 18! It will have safety measures similar to Shanghai Disneyland, such as temperature screening and wearing a face mask while visiting, and will also require a reservation to visit up to seven days in advance. Magic Access members (passholders to that park) will be given priority access for booking reservations.
At this time, only Toyko Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris haven’t announced reopening plans. Considering that there are now more parks open or planned to reopen, it won’t be too much longer until all the Disney Parks worldwide are operating again.
Walt Disney World in Florida is rapidly approaching its July 11 (Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom) and 15 (EPCOT & Disney’s Hollywood Studios) reopening. And next week, Disney Vacation Club properties and the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will begin to reopen to both DVC members and guests (starting June 22). Additionally, Disney Vacation Club properties in Vero Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, will reopen beginning today. For more information about the reopening of Disney World, please read the article below.
Disney World Update: Everything We Know About the Reopening of the Parks
One Noticeable Cancellation
Amid all of the reopenings, there’s been one major cancellation that was supposed to take place in a few months in Anaheim. Star Wars Celebration was supposed to occur this August, but it has been canceled for this year…and rescheduled for 2022! Those with tickets to this year can either choose from a refund or use their admission for the rescheduled event.
Disneyland From Above
We have a treat for you today. We take a walk around the perimeter of the Disneyland Resort and then take to the sky to show you what’s being done in preparation for your return!
The resort is still closed, for now, but on July 9th the gates will be opened once more and Downtown Disney will begin the phased reopening of the resort.
Now, let’s lift-off . . . destination . . . The Happiest Place on Earth . . .
Meet Me On Main Street
No guests, no horse-drawn trolleys, just wide open pavement from train station to castle . . .
While many of the gardens in the park were dug up, you can see a bright ring of blue delphiniums in one of the Town Square gardens.
At the other end of Main Street, there’s work on either side of the Central Hub. Those big red and green trucks are finishing up a pathway expansion into Frontierland.
Tomorrowland
This view of the land of Tomorrow will have you longing to return to Disneyland. Subs and Autopia cars are parked, awaiting guests.
But many real cars are parked backstage as workers begin to return to the resort.
Fantasyland
There are a couple of stalled projects in Fantasyland.
The Carrousel and Snow White are both under major refurbishment and have been since well before the park shut down. We hope that both can be finished up before the park reopens. The Carrousel should be the easiest of the two to wrap up. But Snow White is a more involved project as some of the interior scenes are swapped out and altered for a new happy ending to the attraction. Additional lighting will brighten up some of the other scenes. The exterior of the building is also being refurbished to look less scary.
A lack of work equipment here has us wondering if crews have returned to these attractions yet. With the park closed to guests, there’s no need for work trucks to be hidden away during the day.
ToonTown
The biggest project in the park is the construction of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway behind ToonTown. Work has resumed and you can see equipment parked throughout the construction site. You can also see someone hosing off a section of ToonTown near the bandstand.
We aren’t sure what the rib-like plastic and dirt section is all about. Anyone know?
Nothing we can see in Galaxy’s Edge, but we’ll include it here anyway:
New Orleans Square
I love this shot of New Orleans Square. First, you can see just how huge the show buildings are for Pirates of the Caribbean, and how relatively small the intricate guest area is on the park side of the land.
But it’s the Haunted Mansion refurbishment that we are most curious about. The attraction closed after the Christmas season for an extended refurbishment and to remove the Holiday overlay. But 6 months later, it’s still shrouded in scaffolds. Because of the attraction’s high capacity, it would be much appreciated in those early days of park operation when social distancing and sanitation procedures will have all attractions operating at much less than their maximum guest counts.
Yes . . . we know what you see in the bottom of that photo above. We’ll get to that in just a moment . . .
Frontierland
The wild west has never been so quiet. . . except for some exciting activity on the Rivers of America . . .
The Fantasmic fountains were being tested during our flyover. While we don’t expect Fantasmic to run again for months, it is possible that the fountains might run from time to time here and also in the World of Color lagoon for visual interest. Universal Orlando has been doing the same in their lagoon.
If you look closely at the middle of the image below, you’ll see one tall fake tree which is a bluer color than all the other trees. It is held aloft by a lime green tower. This is the terminus of the Tinker Bell wire that spans the park from the Matterhorn to Big Thunder Mountain. In days gone by, I’d watch fireworks from Big Thunder Trail just so I could watch Tinker Bell slide (and sometimes smash) into a mattress at the top of this tower. She’d then be quickly lowered to ground level, a cloak would be wrapped around her, and she’d exit across the Big Thunder Trail as the few of us who had gathered applauded her acrobatic achievement.
DCA
Our journey took us over Disneyland this time around. But you can see in this one image of Disney California Adventure that there are plenty of cars parked backstage, and most of the ground in Avengers Campus is still dirt. You can also spot Food and Wine Festival booths still on the parade route.
I Love to Laugh! – MiceChat Reader Photos
With so much happening in the world, it’s important to take a deep breath and find something to smile about. This week, we asked the MiceChat Facebook group to share something about the Disneyland Resort that makes them laugh or smile – like a favorite ride, a funny bit of merchandise, or a funny character moment that they’re particularly fond of. We hope that these images will add a bit of cheer to your day.
Jungle Cruise never fails to crack me up! I sure miss all those bad puns and visual gags.
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Thank you to everyone who participated in this week’s reader section, we really love the photos you’ve been sharing. To see all of the photos from this week’s theme and to join a community of fellow Disney fans, be sure to check out the MiceChat Facebook group – HERE!
Retheme Splash Mountain?
There’s been a lot of discussion this past week about Disney’s problematic Song of the South and the attraction inspired by it, Splash Mountain. As a growing movement to end systemic racism sweeps the globe, calls to retheme Splash Mountain, possibly to Disney’s Princess and the Frog, have gained international attention as well and has even spawned a Change.org petition.
The retheme of a Disney attraction isn’t a new concept. The popular Tower of Terror ride at California Adventure was converted to Guardians of the Galaxy after a short 6 month retheme project. The unpopular Superstar Limo ride in the same park was successfully changed to Monsters Inc. Other Disney parks have rethemed attractions in recent years as well. So we know it can be done successfully.
While there’s much nostalgia that surrounds any popular Disney attraction, is the time right to end the theme park connection with a film that even The Disney Company hasn’t shown since the early ’80s? We’ve included a poll below to judge your general reaction.
(PLEASE NOTE: We appreciate you keeping comments respectful and to not engage in any racist rhetoric, hostility, threats, or other heated dialog in the reader section below).
Make Future Magic
Theme parks will reopen, and there’s no better time to lock in low rates on future travel. Special comeback rates are now available at some of your favorite theme park hotels – discounted up to $100 off their regular nightly rates.
Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you with your theme park shutdown concerns and rescheduling plans. We know you’re as uncertain about the future as we are. That’s why Get Away Today is offering the most flexible Disney travel options available:
Price Protection – If a better special comes out after you have booked, you’ll get the better deal.
Peace of Mind – Make hotel changes, reschedule dates, drop nights, change ticket vouchers and more, as many times as you’d like for a small, one-time fee.
Layaway Plan – Lock in your 2020 or 2021 Disneyland Resort vacation for just $175 down. By booking early, you secure your availability and have the flexibility to pay as you go. Make as many interest-free payments as you’d like, whenever you’d like, with final payment due just seven days prior to travel.
Give your family something to look forward to:
Visit Get Away Today HERE Or fill out a request form and they’ll call you back: Vacation Information Request Form HERE
Let’s Hear From You!
Are you happy Disneyland aiming for a July 17th reopening? Are you worried about the spike in coronavirus cases in counties and states nearest Disneyland? Are you a passholder with a unique circumstance that might prevent some of your family members from being able to try for a Disneyland reservation? Do you have a favorite thing in the parks that makes you smile or laugh? And what should be done with Splash Mountain? We appreciate your thoughtful comments below.
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