Anaheim City Council Votes in Favor of California Assembly Bill To Accelerate Disneyland Reopening

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

The Anaheim City Council has voted in favor of allowing large theme parks to open at the same time as their smaller counterparts.

Sleeping Beauty Castle – Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland is the centerpiece of Fantasyland, and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. Surrounded by beautiful flowers and whimsical topiary, the Disneyland landmark beckons park visitors to explore the different realms of the place “Where Dreams Come True.” Walt Disney wanted this castle to be a friendly and welcoming presence in his park so it was built on a smaller scale than its European counterparts. (Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort)

The Anaheim City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to support a state assembly bill that would alter the reopening guidelines for theme parks, The Voice of OC reports. The bill would allow large theme parks to reopen in the moderate tier instead of the minimal one.

This bill introduced by assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva would put the opening of Disneyland Resort into tier 3 of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, while it is currently in tier 4.

This would effectively speed up the opening of Disneyland Resort, as the resort would be allowed to open a tier earlier than currently scheduled. Smaller theme parks are currently allowed to reopen with a 25% capacity in tier 3. The passing of this bill would allow large theme parks like Disneyland to do the same.

Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu is also in favor of the bill.

“Nobody is saying we want to reopen Disneyland today,” Mayor Sidhu said. “This legislation does not seek to change the tiers. It only expresses that large theme parks with the bigger footprints and significantly greater resources to establish safety protocols should be able to open in the same tier as the small parks.”

The Anaheim City Council supported the bill in a 6-1 vote. Jose Moreno, the council member who voted no, stated he did so due to his worries about public health.

“If we urge legislation to allow theme parks to open of any size, we’re basically saying that COVID is in the same context at Adventure City in Stanton as it would be at Disneyland,” Moreno said.