Disneyland remains closed until further notice.
Corinne Reichert / CNET
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Disney has postponed the reopening of its Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks in Anaheim beyond the scheduled date on July 17. It comes as COVID-19 Cases continue to increase in the state of California. Disney said in a statement on Wednesday that despite the development of health and safety protocols similar to those accepted at its Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Walt Disney World resorts in Florida, California, approval has not been granted.
California will provide theme park reopening guidelines after July 4, Disney said. The tentative reopening date for July 17 will be too early after that.
“We have no choice but to postpone the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we get government officials’ approval,” Disney Parks tweeted. “Once we have a clearer understanding of when policies will be released, we expect to be able to schedule a reopening.”
Disney Parks did not immediately respond to a request for additional comments.
Disneyland announced this two weeks ago it would reopen on July 17th, the park’s 65th anniversary. The theme park was closed on March 15th due to the spread of the corona virus. The gradual reopening should begin on July 9th with the Downtown Disney shopping and restaurant district, followed by the two theme parks Disneyland and California Adventure on July 17th and the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and the Paradise Pier Hotel on July 23rd.
Downtown Disney shopping and dining will continue to reopen on July 9, according to California restaurant and retail store opening guidelines, Disney confirmed on Wednesday. Disney said it has not yet negotiated any agreements with its union so that the performers can work in the theme parks again.
The announcement of the planned reopening of Disneyland was surprising, since according to the California state plan, the “highest risk” venues such as concert halls, convention centers and sports arenas and stadiums can only be reopened when “therapeutics have been developed”.
Disneyland Shanghai reopened on May 11thfollowed by Hong Kong Disneyland on June 18th. Disney plans to reopen Tokyo Disney on July 1, Walt Disney World on July 11th and Disneyland Paris on July 15th.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread rapidly worldwide. According to Johns Hopkins University, there are currently over 9.4 million confirmed cases worldwide with 2.4 million cases and over 121,000 deaths in the United States. A vaccine can only arrive in 2021.
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