Orange County California has been in the “Purple” tier of California’s Blueprint for reopening. At that level, mostly essential businesses and outdoor activities were allowed, but no theme parks.
Today, the state moved Orange County from the Purple to the Red tier. At the new level, indoor dining and movie theaters may return at 25% capacity, among other things.
For Disneyland, this means that the restaurants of Downtown Disney can reopen some of their indoor dining space. That’s much needed in the high heat we’ve been having lately. It may also mean a slight increase in the number of guests allowed inside Downtown Disney as a whole.
San Diego had moved to the Red Tier last week, which allowed LEGOLAND’s SeaLife Aquarium to reopen and SeaWorld added three indoor animal walk-through attractions to their current “Zoo Days” festival. While we still await state guidance on theme parks, we do think that’s coming VERY soon and could allow the immeadiate reopening of some park activities at 25% capacity as aquariums, zoos, and museums are allowed to operate in the Red zones.
The use of seatbelts, lap bars, and other items that need to be touched (such as blasters on Buzz Lightyear, or spinning wheels on the Tea Cups) may force rides into a less restrictive tier, but parks should be allowed to reopen for walk-through experiences, dining, and shopping in the Red tier in our opinion as they are no less safe than shopping malls.
When might Orange County reach the less restrictive Orange Tier? It will take a minimum 3 weeks. A county must remain at its assigned tier for at least 3 weeks before being able to move to a less restrictive tier. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s requirements for at least two weeks. But a county will be moved back to a more restrictive tier if they fail to meet their current tier’s status for two weeks in a row. Each county’s data will be reevaluated every Tuesday.
Los Angeles remains at the most restrictive Purple Tier, but both San Diego and Orange County are now at the less restrictive Red “Substantial” tier.
However, even at the most restrictive level, the state now allows all retail (with restrictions), outdoor dining, outdoor experiences at zoos, and certain outdoor activities at family entertainment centers (like Boomers and Castle Park).
With San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, SeaWorld, SeaLife Aquarium, museums, hair salons, and even tattoo parlors now open, it’s going to be hard for the state to keep traditional theme parks closed for much longer.
Disney Booking Deals!
Theme parks are reopening, and whether you are ready to travel yet or not, there’s no better time to lock in low rates on future travel. But waiting on hold and not knowing what questions to ask isn’t the magical part of a vacation. That’s why MiceChat has partnered with Get Away Today to handle all the difficult stuff for you . . . all for no extra cost. That’s right, they do all the work and it doesn’t cost you extra.
Our travel partners at Get Away Today are here to help you with your theme park booking and rescheduling plans. There are currently specials on both Disneyland and WDW Bookings with layaway options that allow you to put a small amount down for future travel.
Price Protection – If a better special comes out after you have booked, you’ll get the better deal.
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Layaway Plans – Lock in your 2020 or 2021 Walt Disney World 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
- We are expecting high call volume as Disney resumes hotel bookings and tickets sales. So, please fill out our request form and a vacation advisor will call you back: Vacation Information Request Form HERE
Let’s Hear From You
Given the new information, when do you think Disneyland will reopen? What capacity and attraction limitations do you expect will be imposed upon the theme park industry at each tier?
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