NEWS! Anaheim Mayor Discusses Push for State Reopening Guidelines for Disneyland

Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu recently discussed the desire for the state to issue theme park reopening plans, namely for Disneyland.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

According to the Voice of OC, questions received by the city officials were mostly centered on a $6.5 million dollar bailout for the advertising bureau, Visit Anaheim, and reopening guidelines for Disneyland Resort.

Visit Anaheim is responsible for marketing theme parks, venues, and entertainment businesses in Anaheim, California. The tourism company took a big loss when the global health crisis began. As a result, California used the Convention Center reserves then later dipped into Coronavirus relief money to bailout Visit Anaheim. Deputy City Manager Greg Garcia told the press that the money was used for “some basic marketing to keep things in place.” Originally, the funding was labeled as “urgent.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom ©(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

Sidhu claimed that the push to reopen Disneyland is for the “hundreds of small businesses, tens of thousands of jobs” and also to make up for the $100 million deficit that Anaheim has faced. To reopen, official theme park reopening regulations must be established. These guidelines will be created by Governor Newsom, but he hasn’t announced these plans as of yet.

Mayor Harry Sidhu at a 2019 City Council Meeting ©Voice of OC

At the last minute, Councilmen Jose Morena asked Sidhu if he or city officials had guidelines for other industries outside of Disneyland like the convention center and the two Anaheim sports venues. Sidhu asked Moreno to refer to a previous recording then cut the meeting short for a 10-minute break. No specific guidelines for any entertainment venues were mentioned during this meeting. We’ll continue to follow press conferences and city meetings to learn more about the reopening of Disneyland.