Disneyland included in California’s new amusement park guidelines

Disneyland fans voiced mixed reactions to California’s new April 1 reopening guidelines. DANIEL PEARSON, Staff Photographer

Amusement parks are slated to open across the state April 1 after the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced updates March 5 to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Disneyland is one of many amongst theme parks and sports venues set to resume operations next month after being closed for over a year due to the ongoing pandemic. 

The sustained closure of California amusement parks differentiated from other states, such as Florida, where parks have been open since July 11 with limited capacity and COVID-19 safety protocols. As the region has now entered the red, “substantial” tier of the Orange County COVID-19 dashboard, California parks are now able to follow suit, assuming they function at 15% of full capacity, enforce mask-wearing and take proper health precautions. Although these new guidelines are meant to protect employees and guests, there is an ongoing disagreement between those who think entertainment venues are opening prematurely and those who think these guidelines are long overdue.

“I will wait until the mask mandate is lifted and everyone is vaccinated before I go back to the park,” said Jessica Goldfisher, a senior business administration major at Chapman and former Disneyland cast member.

Sam Borthwick, a sophomore theater performance major at Chapman and a self-described Disney fanatic, serves as the vice president of Club 55, Chapman’s official Disney club. Both she and Kaylee Snow, president of Club 55 and a junior communication studies major, agreed the club will hold off on planning any in-person gatherings at Disneyland until they deem it safer to do so. The two are excited at the prospect of returning safely to the Anaheim theme park, but until then, club events will remain virtual entirely until Chapman grants them permission to do otherwise.

“Many Disney fanatics think the true ‘Disney magic’ is worth the wait,” Borthwick said. “Disneyland is not Disneyland without its entertainment value.” 

 Despite many thinking these new measures are premature, others are eager for amusement parks to reopen, particularly the employees affected by the closure of entertainment venues during the pandemic. 

Grant Richardson, a junior finance major at Pepperdine University, began working at Disneyland in 2017 and furloughed March 14, 2020, from his guest relations position. Richardson explained that the debate over an appropriate reopening timeline has been a point of contention for cast members and guests in the Southern California area since the summer.  

“The park should have opened back in July,” Richardson said. “It should have closed again when we were experiencing those cases in November, December and January and reopened slowly and carefully afterwards.”

Jose Martinez, a Disneyland cast member, created a petition directed toward Newsom in July, when parks remained closed in California. The petition argues a full lockdown is unnecessary as long as Disneyland ensures a mask ordinance, similar to its sister park Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and enforces social distancing and sanitization protocols. Martinez outlined a dire “need” for 28,000 cast members out of a job to return to work. Disneyland in particular saw over 17,000 more employee layoffs than at Walt Disney World.  

Goldfisher said she can empathize with both sides of the issue, but ultimately safety should be the highest priority. 

“I love Disneyland,” Goldfisher said. “But, unfortunately people are dying. Theme parks do not need to be open right now.”