NEWS! California's Orange County Moves From "Minimal" to "Widespread" Health Category

Disneyland Resort has faced an extended closure due to the global health crisis.

Holiday Decorations in Disney California Adventure Park

California Governor Gavin Newsom released theme park reopening guidelines recently. He also implemented a tiered system that ranks each California county according to the spread of illnesses. The theme park guidelines stated that the theme parks were able to reopen when Orange County reached the “Minimal” level. During a conference today, Newsom stated that cases are rising significantly and many counties have moved up a level due to the increase.

Newsom noted that the state of California is “moving backward, not forward.” 40 counties moved backward to a higher tier. This includes Orange County where Disneyland is located. The county was previously at the “Red” stage, which means the risk was at a “substantial” level. The county is now in the “Purple” category which states that Orange County is at the highest “widespread” level.

Newsom Press Conference Slides

The Purple category mandates that all dining be outdoors with modifications and indoor shopping centers can be open at 25% capacity. It’s unclear whether the new categorization will stop Disney from reopening shopping and dining on Buena Vista Street this week. It will, however, further delay the remaining parts of Disneyland and California Adventure from reopening. The county must be lowered two tiers before reopening the parks. We’ll continue to inform readers of updates regarding Disneyland’s reopening.