Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are expected to remain closed for more than a year and not reopen until late March or early April, while California theme parks remain closed under state guidelines, according to Disney officials.
“Our current expectation is that Disneyland and Disneyland Paris will be closed for the entire second quarter,” said Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer.
McCarthy commented on the continued closure of Disney’s Anaheim theme parks during a conference call with analysts on Thursday, February 11. Disney’s second quarter typically ends between March 28 and April 2.
SEE TOO: Redefining Disneyland’s annual pass program would be “heresy” before the pandemic, says Disney CEO
Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and other California theme parks closed in mid-March and are not expected to return to full operation until spring or summer in accordance with state-issued COVID-19 health and safety reopening guidelines.
“It is hard to believe that almost a year has passed since the start of the pandemic, which continues to negatively impact our company’s operations,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
Disney’s theme parks in Florida, Japan and Shanghai remain open after the prolonged closure of the coronavirus. Disneyland Paris will reopen on April 2 “if conditions permit,” according to the park’s website.
“In terms of the outlook for the parks for the rest of the year and the capacity, this will really be determined by the population’s vaccination rate,” Chapek said in the conference call. “This seems to be the biggest lever we can have to take the parks that are currently limited in capacity and increase it or open the parks that are currently closed.”
More than 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered at the Disneyland super site that opened in mid-January, Chapek said.
SEE TOO: How Disney Imagineering turned Rainforest Cafe into a rebel Star Wars base in Downtown Disney
Hong Kong government officials announced that theme parks and other entertainment venues could reopen with COVID-19 health and safety restrictions on February 18, Reuters reported.
“We hope to be able to reopen Hong Kong Disneyland during the quarter,” McCarthy said in the conference call.
Disneyland’s continued closure until late March or early April correlates with the first possible date that California theme parks can reopen under state guidelines.
California officials issued separate reopening guidelines for small and large theme parks under Governor Gavin Newsom’s project for a safer economy. Small theme parks with a capacity of less than 15,000 visitors can reopen at level 3 orange / moderate, while large theme parks can return at level 4 yellow / minimum.
Orange County – home to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure – is currently at the most restrictive purple / generalized risk level 1.
SEE TOO: When can Disneyland reopen? The answer comes with a huge asterisk
California’s theme parks may reopen in six weeks if the counties in which they reside can reach the less restrictive yellow / minimum level 4 – but that’s a huge if. At the moment, California’s theme parks may reopen in late March.
A six-week schedule for reopening Disneyland is just the best scenario and highly unlikely – but it offers the first possible date when the park can reopen according to state guidelines.