The magical kingdom is closed, at least until next year.
California released guidelines this week for when and how the state's theme parks can open during the pandemic, which means it will be months before Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other large parks can reopen..
The state is using a tiered system that considers a park's size and the spread of COVID-19 before giving parks the green light to welcome back guests. Larger parks are considered a "high-risk setting" because of the number of guests from around the world and there's a lot of touchable surfaces.
Disneyland, Legoland, and other large theme parks will have to wait until there are less than 1 new coronavirus case per 100,000 people per day and less than 2% of all COVID-19 test results are positive. If the state meets these guidelines, parks can reopen at 25% capacity.
The head of the Orange County Health Care Agency doesn't believe those guidelines will be met until the summer of 2021 and if there is a COVID-19 vaccine available, the Orange County Register reported.
Leadership at Disneyland is less than pleased at the state's decision. Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock released a statement saying that the park can "responsibly reopen" because it follows strict cleaning protocols.
Others are unhappy with the state's decision because closed theme parks mean thousands of Californians will be out of work and the lack of tourists means less revenue for businesses near the parks. Last month, Disney announced that it would layoff 28,000 employees at the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, Disneyland, and Disney World in Florida.
There is an online petition urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to allow the parks to reopen and a rally at Disneyland is scheduled for the weekend.
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