The Disneyland Resort, closed since mid-march to help stem the spread of the corona virus, is preparing to reopen in time to celebrate the 65th birthday of the park. What is called the happiest place on Earth is to begin a gradual reopening in July.

Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will open July 17, awaiting local and state government approval.

The Downtown Disney shopping district is scheduled to reopen on July 9, with Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel planning to open July 23. Disneyland Hotel will open later, according to a company spokesperson.

The announcement, while unexpected – Universal Studios in Florida began welcoming guests last week – came because many parts of the country, including California, experienced increased cases of coronavirus. The increasing number of cases is an expected consequence because fixed orders at home applied to stem the spread of COVID-19 are revoked, and more and more parts of the economy are reopened.

Capacity at Disneyland will be limited when the park reopens, and guests will be asked to place an order in advance, Walt Disney Co. said. in a statement. As part of an effort to regulate attendance rates closely, Disney provides a “temporary pause” on new ticket sales and annual ticket purchases and renewals. Booking a hotel also does not guarantee access to the park.

Disneyland’s announcement is not clear in detailing the health and safety measures that will be requested by guests. When outlining the reopening of parks at Walt Disney World, Florida, which will begin July 11, the company determined that guests would undergo temperature checks and wear face masks.

It is hoped that Disneyland will have the same requirements. But when asked, a spokesman referred to an official statement that read: “This policy is being reviewed continuously and may change as Disneyland Resort monitors conditions and receives guidance from health and government authorities.”

Disney did say the park in Anaheim would ask guests to practice keeping their distance. The presence will be very closed to help strangers give each other a wide berth. When Shanghai Disneyland reopened in May, the 80,000,000 capacity park was only permitted within 20,000 and promised to gradually increase.

Disney has not released attendance figures for parks in North America, but a daily crowd of around 65,000 has recently been described as “normal” by one of the top Disneyland creatives. Disney said experiences that encourage many people to gather, such as parades and firework shows, will be paused, like characters who will meet and greet.

Health experts say attending amusement parks during a pandemic is of course a risk, especially with the increasingly unpredictable movement of children. Being outdoors and maintaining physical distance helps reduce the possibility of corona virus, and experts agree that another element is the key: face masks.

“Hopefully everyone wears a mask. … That greatly reduces the chance of transmission, “said Paula Cannon, a professor of virology at the USC Keck School of Medicine. “I might feel quite comfortable walking around Disneyland wearing a mask and keeping the busiest and most attentive parts of the park. Are you making me enter Space Mountain sitting in a small compartment with someone sitting next to me? Not.”

It is believed that Disneyland will separate groups from each other at tourist sites, although specifics as to whether guests will be six feet apart have not been specified. At Shanghai Disneyland, the staff has direct guests to stand in separate yellow boxes for outdoor experience and keep using a vehicle at least half empty. In theater venues, lines have been blocked.

Traveling does not always present a greater risk of COVID-19 exposure, health experts say, but this is a complex equation involving how motorists move; how many virus droplets are released by the driver through screaming, screaming or talking; where other motorists sit; and whether someone’s mask is flying.

“Say you are on a trip that is outside and you are moving very fast. That makes the mask difficult to use, “said Brandon Brown, a professor at the UC Riverside Healthy Community Center. “If I cough or sneeze, the person behind me might be more exposed to breathing or sneezing just because we move.”

Disney said details about its ordering system would come. Disneyland can utilize its recent experience with such a system. Last year, the park required guests to pre-order slots to visit the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land opening in its opening weeks. Likewise, the Shanghai Disneyland company has used the reservation system only since it reopened.

Burbank-based Disney, destroyed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has sought to run its operations as quickly as possible. Most media giants have been hit by the closure, but Disney is devastated because of its dependence on direct experience such as parks, theaters, cruises, retail stores and sports-hungry ESPN TV networks.

When it started to run the business, the company sent home 2,200 students and recent graduates to enroll in internships in Anaheim and Florida. It also brought four of its large cruise ships back to port.

In April, the company took an extraordinary step by moving more than 100,000 staff, many of whom were garden and hotel workers. ESPN rankings pass out without live sports as a draw. Top executives include Chairman Bob Iger and Chief Executive Bob Chapek who recently received large pay cuts.

Last month, the company reported that during the January-March quarter, revenue dropped 63% compared to the same period last year to 60 cents per share – far worse than Wall Street had anticipated. Net income fell 91% to $ 475 million.

Disney has warned that this quarter, ending June 30, could lose as much as $ 1.4 billion in operating income due to empty amusement parks, hotels, TV and film production and a lack of direct sports on ESPN. Of that amount, $ 1 billion will be felt in the park division and its experience.

The company’s stock price has dropped from record highs reached after the successful launch of the Disney + November streaming service.

While the reopening of Disneyland is accompanied by risks – on Wednesday, California reported more than 2,600 new cases of corona virus, bringing the cumulative total to more than 139,000 – Cannon USC is optimistic that if anyone can change the culture around wearing masks and coronavirus safety, it is Disney.

“Maybe they gave everyone a Mickey Mouse face mask, maybe this became a new collector item instead of a pin, maybe they created excitement around it, so everyone put on their masks and continued to use them,” Cannon said.

The coronavirus era, if played correctly, can be a branding opportunity.

“Going to Disneyland is a shared experience,” he added. “So that slogan can be‘ the happiest and healthiest place. “