California Postpones Release of Theme Park Reopening Guidelines

The state of California has said it is delaying the release of guidelines for theme parks reopening. These guidelines were expected to be released today. However, after theme parks were given a preview of them yesterday, they asked to have input into them before being finalized.

The news came from a statement by Dr. Mark Ghaly, the health and human services secretary for California. “Given the size and operational complexities of these unique sectors, we are seeking additional input from health, workforce and business stakeholders to finalize this important framework — all leading with science and safety,” Ghaly said.

This most recent development comes after weeks of Governor Newsom saying that reopening guidelines would be arriving “soon” and then more recently “very soon.” During the wait for the release of the guidelines, theme parks, local leaders, and state leaders have all called on the Governor to release reopening guidelines. Disney has had to layoff 28,000 cast members from Disney Parks, Experiences and Products this week. Part of the layoffs were attributed to the inability to reopen Disneyland. Disney Chairman Bob Iger also has resigned from Governor Newsom’s Economic Recovery Task Force. It has not been released when or why he chose to leave the panel. After all of this, California announced that it would be releasing reopening guidelines this week.

Those plans have changed though after theme parks were able to see the guidelines and asked to provide input into the discussion before the guidelines are finalized. At this point, it is unknown how or when those discussions will take place. It is also unknown when new guidelines will be released to show the path towards reopening for theme parks. Because of that, it is also still unknown when the Disneyland Resort and other theme parks will be able to reopen their gates.

DAPS MAGIC will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available. What do you think of this development to this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.