When Disneyland reopens on July 17 after nearly four months of closing, park visitors will need healthy reservations, masks and respect for social distance, reinforced by a team of trained workers on the loose.
Apart from the precautions announced over the last few weeks, Anaheim’s popular theme park plan to open its gates has attracted much opposition, including from Disneyland employees who say the reopening is too fast.
A dozen unions representing around 17,000 Disneyland employees wrote to Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday, saying it was still not safe to reopen the park.
In addition, a petition about Change.org calling for a delay in reopening the park until the number of coronavirus infections is reduced. It has been signed by more than 40,000 people, including several Disneyland employees, their family members, and annual permit holders.
The signatories include Marissa Mendez, 27, who works in a retail store at Disneyland Resort and worries that asthma makes her very vulnerable to the corona virus.
“I signed the petition and urged fellow cast members and close friends to do the same for the safety of our guests and cast,” he said in an email interview. “Safety and health are top priorities. The opening not only affected the state of California but also the guests who visited us around the world. “
Trade union coalitions, including those representing musicians and workers in resort hotels and restaurants, said in a letter to the governor that the opening had to be postponed because “there were many questions about safety that Disney had not yet answered.”
Walt Disney Co. have not responded to union requests to frequently test all employees for the new corona virus and to disinfect Disney hotels using “electrostatic” fogging, among other cleaning proposals, said Austin Lynch, committee for Unite Here, Local 11, which represents hospitality workers.
Disneyland maintains its opening plan by registering a number of steps amusement parks are taken to protect guests and employees from viruses, including capacity limits, temperature checks at park entrances, improved cleaning and temporary delays from parades and firework shows that tend to attract many people.
“The safety and well-being of our cast members and guests is at the forefront of our planning, and we hope to continue dialogue with our union on extensive health and safety protocols,” said Disneyland spokeswoman Liz Jaeger, adding that the resort protocol added following guidance from public health officials.
The reopening debate comes as COVID-19 ICU hospitalization in Orange County has jumped 76% in the past six weeks. Despite an increase in hospitalization, Chairman of the Orange County Board of Trustees, Michelle Steel, Wednesday indicated that regional leaders had no plans to stop the reopening plan.
Disney reopens Shanghai Disneyland on May 11 and the shopping and dining district in Orlando, Florida, known as Disney Springs on May 20. Plans have been announced to open Downtown Disney, the shopping district in Anaheim, on July 9 and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on July 11. Hong Kong Disneyland reopens Thursday.
Disneyland representatives declined to say how many visitors would be allowed into the Anaheim park when it opened but said its capacity would be “very limited.”
Disney and other theme park operators rely on a phased reopening plan to give workers time to learn new health protocols and identify problems that can complicate efforts to increase the number of recognized park visitors, according to industry experts.
The biggest challenge is having to remind park visitors to keep their masks and keep social distance, said Bill Coan, chief executive of Itec Entertainment, developer of theme park attractions and shows.
He noted that a small park in Florida, called Gatorland, was commissioned an employee dressed as skunk apes (characters like the legendary Big Foot) to walk around the park, remind people to wash their hands, use a hand sanitizer station and keep a safe distance from each other.
“Someone has to monitor these things, and that means more people or staff,” Coan said.
