Disney CEO Bob Chapek says the Happiest Place on Earth is aiming to reopen by late April. Chapek released a statement following a virtual conference with Disney officials to discuss reopening strategy Tuesday morning. He noted in the statement that the park plans to recall around 10,000 employees that have been previously furloughed for most of the last year.
“Here in California, we’re encouraged by the positive trends we’re seeing and we’re hopeful they’ll continue to improve and we’ll be able to reopen our Parks to guests with limited capacity by late April,” Chapek said in a statement.
This announcement comes days after Governor Gavin Newsom updated state guidelines for reopening, allowing theme parks to reopen at limited capacity in a phased reopening by April 1st. In order for Disneyland to meet those requirements, Orange County will have to meet the state guidelines within the tiered reopening plans. When that county gets to the red tier status, they can allow for 15% capacity into the park. Once it reaches orange tier, that capacity increases to 25% into the park.
“The fact is it will take some time to get them ready for our guests — this includes recalling more than 10,000 furloughed Cast and retraining them to be able to operate according to the State of California’s new requirements,” Chapek said in the statement. “I am pleased to say the response has been great thus far, our Cast Members are excited to get back to work.”
Theme park rides and indoor dining are still restricted under the new guidance and there has been no update in what exactly Disneyland will be reopening. The new announcement from Chapek is noting however, they plan to start reopening both Disneyland and California Adventure parks, both of which closed last March to help slow the spread of the virus.