NEWS! California State Officials Will Visit Disneyland Resort This Week!

The Disneyland Resort has officially been closed for seven months, with no reopening date announced at this time. As the closures continue, things have been rather tumultuous between the Anaheim resort (along with the rest of the theme park industry) and the state of California.

Disneyland Health and Safety Measures

Governor Gavin Newsom noted in a recent news conference that there was “no hurry” to release the theme park guidelines need to allow those businesses to reopen. This week, however, he announced that he would be sending teams to tour “larger theme parks” in the state.

Orange County Register has reported that those site visits will take place this week, with state officials visiting both Disneyland as well as Universal Studios Hollywood.

Universal Studios Hollywood

They will also be visiting Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, which would likely fall into a smaller theme park category that both Governor Newsom and California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly made a distinction of this week.

Gavin Newsom ©(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

According to California Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson Kate Folmar, Governor Newsom also sent teams on unannounced trips to Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, although neither Newsom nor Dr. Ghaly would confirm those exact theme parks when asked by reporters this week. Folmar noted in an email, “We sent health officials to open and operating theme parks out of state last week, independently of operators, to assess the health safeguards in practice.”

Disney California Adventure Health and Safety Signs

California Attractions and Parks Association executive director Erin Guerrero responded to the news that Newsom was sending teams on site visits by saying, “We applaud the governor for accepting our invitation to visit California’s iconic parks and we are eager to work together so theme parks can reopen responsibly and soon. Doing so will allow tens of thousands of people to get back to work and provide a much-needed jump start for local and state economies that have been decimated by the shutdown.”

Disneyland Park Social Distancing Markers

It looks like a major step in the right direction, but until the industry guidelines are agreed upon and released, Disneyland cannot move forward with reopening plans. We will continue to keep a watchful eye on news from the Disneyland Resort and the state of California in the coming weeks!