Downtown Disney District Reopens To Guests in California

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

The Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort is a one-of-a-kind Disney experience, immersing guests in an exciting mix of family-friendly dining and shopping in a vibrant setting. A phased reopening of this outdoor promenade began July 9, 2020.

Downtown Disney District

The 20-acre, 300,000 square-foot Downtown Disney District features dozens of distinct venues, including Naples Ristorante e Bar, UVA Bar & Cafe, Marceline’s Confectionery, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes, WonderGround Gallery, Disney Home, The LEGO Store, Wetzel’s Pretzels, Jamba and more.As they stroll the district, guests can appreciate the beautiful landscaping and colorful florals that adorn the Downtown Disney District.

World of Disney

The flagship World of Disney store in the Downtown Disney District is a dynamic and distinctively Disney retail experience. Guests discover a spacious atmosphere inspired as an animators’ loft, with uniquely themed areas, pixie dust surprises in the decor, nods to the classics from Walt Disney Animation Studios and new merchandise collections. These innovative features reinforce World of Disney’s reputation as a must-visit destination for Disney fans, offering the largest selection of Disney toys, souvenirs, accessories, fashions and collectibles at the Disneyland Resort.

Distinctive Dining

There are many food and beverage locations, outdoor patios and distinctive menus at the Downtown Disney District. Guests will find something for every taste—from exquisite meals at open-air cafés to gourmet treats. Recent additions include Salt & Straw, offering handmade ice cream in small batches using local, organic and sustainable ingredients, and Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes, serving award-winning burgers and over-the-top CrazyShake milkshakes.

New Guidelines

With the health and safety of guests, operating participant employees, and Disney cast members at the forefront of planning, several operational changes have been implemented based on guidance from health authorities to promote physical distancing and enhanced cleanliness throughout the Downtown Disney District. To learn more about what to expect, guests can visit Disneyland.com/DTD.  To help guide guests through these new measures, cast members from the Guest Experience Team will be walking through the Downtown Disney District to help explain the new health and safety measures. Along with other Downtown Disney District cast members, they will encourage everyone to follow these measures for the health and safety of all.

Disneyland Cancels July 17th Reopening

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Disneyland Resort’s had planned to reopen on July 17, 2020. Now, the State of California has indicated that it will NOT issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4, meaning Disneyland must cancel their initial July 17 reopening date.

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 following was tweeted by Disney Parks News as follows:

For easier reading, the above states:

We previously announced a proposed phased reopening of our theme parks for July 17, pending government approvals. We developed enhanced health and safety protocols for both cast and guests at Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort that have been approved, allowing us to reopen in a responsible manner and bring our cast members back to work.

The State of California has now indicated that it will NOT issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4. Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials. Once we have a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date.

Our Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9 as previously announced with health and safety protocols in place for our cast members and guests. The opening of our Downtown Disney District has been previously approved in line with restaurant and retail openings throughout California. The Master Services Union, which represents our retail cast at this location, previously signed an agreement for members to return to work.

In order to reopen our theme parks we need to negotiate agreements with our unions to return employees to work. We have had positive discussions and are very pleased to have signed agreements from 20 union affiliates, including the Master Services Council, which represents more than 11,000 of our cast members. The signed agreement details plans that include enhanced safely protocols that will allow us to responsibly reopen, and get thousands of our cast members back to work.

We thank our cast and guests for their patience during this unprecedented time while we await approval from government officials.

Disneyland Resort Hotels Not Accepting New Reservations Until July

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Disneyland Resort Hotels including Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel are no longer accepting new resort reservations until July according to the Orange County Register.

Before this announcement, Disneyland Resort Hotels were accepting reservations beginning June 1 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The news now pushes any new resort reservations back until July.

On top of new resort reservations being pushed back until July, dining reservations and bookable merchandise experiences at the Disneyland resort are also unavailable until the Anaheim parks set a reopening date.

Just earlier today, Disneyland and Walt Disney World have begun cancelling resort hotel reservations for the week of May 24th – May 31st.

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure closed on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remain closed until further notice. No reopen day has been announced. We are however thankful to see a reopen date of May 11th announced for Disneyland Shanghai. We eagerly await the safe reopening of Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.

May Be Months Before Disneyland Can Reopen

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

With summer quickly upon us, many eager Disneyland Resort guests and Annual Passholders are searching for answers regarding when the parks will reopen, but California Governor Gavin Newsom, in conjunction with California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell, seems set on adhering to strict guidelines and requirements before permitting certain businesses to reopen.

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)

Theme parks like Disneyland are among the final businesses that will be able to reopen, based on the governor’s new four-stage road map. The four-stage plan, announced during a livestream today, establishes phases in which each business sector can reopen, starting with Stage 1, or “where we are now”, moving to Stage 2, which includes Lower-Risk Workplaces, followed by Stage 3, which covers Higher-Risk Workplaces, and finally Stage 4, or the end of the stay-at-home order.

Stage 1 – Safety and Preparedness

Stage 2 – Lower Risk Workplaces

Stage 3 – Higher Risk Workplaces

Stage 4 – End of Stay-At-Home Order

According to the OC Register, theme parks were not explicitly mentioned in the plan outline, but all major theme parks in the state, including Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, and others seem to fall under Stage 4 of the roadmap, if not Stage 3 at the very earliest with significant operational changes, such as the ones outlined earlier this morning by the Orange County Task Force.

In any case, a full Stage 4 reopening will not be possible under this plan without medicines or a vaccine readily available for COVID-19. With Stage 1 considered “where we are now”, Stage 2 is still likely weeks away, Stage 3 is likely months away, and Stage 4 can only be established with treatment.

Disneyland Resort remains closed, along with the rest of the Disney Parks, “until further notice.” In a recent interview with Barron’s, former Disney CEO Bob Iger commented on the possibility of temperature checks for guests, but no confirmation of this being implemented at the other Disney Parks (besides Shanghai Disney Resort) has been issued.