NEWS! California Mayors Ask Governor Newsom To Allow Theme Parks to Reopen in Orange Tier

Recently, the state of California released the long-awaited theme park reopening guidelines. The guidance places the reopening of large parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood in the least restrictive Yellow tier, meaning it could take months before guests are back in the parks.

Disneyland

In response to these guidelines, several California mayors have come together and co-signed a letter that calls on the Governor to modify the guidance and allow large theme parks to reopen in an earlier tier.

According to Orange County Register, eight mayors from the state of California signed a letter asking Governor Gavin Newsom to modify the state guidelines, re-assigning large theme parks to reopen in the Orange tier rather than the Yellow Tier.

California’s reopening tiers (source: covid19.ca.gov)

The letter states, “We are concerned that the state’s guidelines would push reopening of large theme parks up to a year out, which would have significant negative impacts on hundreds of thousands of jobs, thousands of small businesses and billions in operating revenue for our cities.”

Health and safety signage outside California Adventure

The mayors that signed the letter include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu. The letter was released by California Attractions and Parks Association, the organization that represents the theme parks across the state.

Disney California Adventure

Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu has already been outwardly against these highly restrictive reopening guidelines, saying that not allowing Disneyland to reopen until Tier 4 “would wipe out jobs in our city and destroy lives.”

Source: City of Anaheim

As of this writing, Orange County, where Disneyland resides, is still in the Red “Substantial” tier. In the meantime, Disneyland is preparing to reopen a portion of one of its parks for shopping and dining. This month, Buena Vista Street in Disney California Adventure will reopen as an extension of Downtown Disney, which has been open for guests since July.