When will the Disneyland Resort reopen? (2021 Version)

[Stevek]

At

But shouldn’t it actually be July 18?

@Darkbeer1 ....don't get started on this one

 

[Stevek]

At this point, I have zero clue when it will reopen but given the "everyone can have a vaccine by end of May" commentary yesterday (I'll believe it when I see it), I would guess some time in July. So, I just picked 7/17 because Disney likes it's dates and the marketing machine can use this...not that they will need any extra push given the pent up demand.

 

[el_super]

I'm going to lean on my optimism here and say May.

 

[Th3 DUd3]

2022

People will get even more of a false sense of security with vaccines(throw caution out the door more than they do now), variants will happen, spikes will occur and we'll have some backtracking that will cause uncertainty for Disney to pull the trigger.

My own thoughts not yours.

 

[flutas]

I'm going to lean on my optimism here and say May.

I was going to say May as well, but thinking about staffing and ordering supplies I moved it to June.

Maybe if it's June (and I'm vaccinated, and COVID is on the decline) I can go to DL for my birthday.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I’m going to say July. In time for a birthday.

ETA: I see July 17th is now an option, so I pick that one.

 

[Emmanuel]

I voted for July 17th just because I want to see the reactions of Disney choosing to reopen on Disneyland’s birthday again

 

[Old Mouseketeer]

Goody, another poll for all of us to be proven wrong yet again lol!

I voted June 2020 in the first poll, so I'm rolling the dice again a year later and voted June again.

But things are looking up more now. President Biden now says everyone will be able to get the vaccine in May, two months ahead what they promised a month ago. Again, anything can change but I really trust Biden and if he says that's the plan,, then I don't see why major theme parks can't be open by June?? It will still be phased openings, limited capacity, etc, so I think it's more doable than ever.

Actually the President said there would be enough vaccine for all adults by the end of May. He also said that getting shots in arms will take continued work. Step one is the push to get all pre-K--12 teachers and staff vaccinated to make reopening schools safer (we have had close to a dozen teachers in my extended family over my lifetime so this is dear to me). There are multiple vectors being pursued from SuperPODs capable of vaccinating thousands per day to large health systems like Kaiser down to local MDs and pharmacies. All are necessary--it can't be one-size-fits-all. Here in OC there is a new POD (not "super") at Santa Ana College opening this week to vaccinate underserved populations including communities of color in ZIP Codes in SA, GG, and Anaheim.

The key to everything now is ramping up distribution and delivery. It's definitely improving across the board, but more is needed. My rough guess is that we are still crossing into July to get most people vaxxed. With improvement, I suspect we might pull that back into June. I think Memorial Day is optimistic for DL reopening (roughly three months) and July 17 is a safer bet (around 4.5 months). I'm sure they will learn a lot managing the Taste of Disney event.

As for recalling CMs, remember that all union jobs are governed by the MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) signed last year with the unions to fill in details not covered in the contract language. Furloughed workers come first, followed by laid-off CMs (all according to seniority). Disney is obligated to offer jobs to every laid-off CM in a job classification before hiring off the street. But job knowledge has expired and for safety-critical positions like attractions, full retraining may be required. This means retraining the trainers first. I'm guessing we may not see the Resort operating at full capacity until 2022. But all this is pure conjecture on my part.

The good news is that vaccination is speeding up and we're on a countdown to reopening, even if we don't yet know exactly when.

 

[Disneyland68]

Aloha,

I recommend for DLR to be opened in phases. Not a Big Bang. But baby steps. Crawl, walk, run and then sprint. Build upon what is currently already open and slowly expand from there.
1. Fully open Downtown Disney.
2. Fully open DVC and GCH.
3. Fully open DCA.
4. Fully open PP.
5. Fully open DLH.
6. Fully open DL.

 

[Stevek]

Aloha,

I recommend for DLR to be opened in phases. Not a Big Bang. But baby steps. Crawl, walk, run and then sprint. Build upon what is currently already open and slowly expand from there.
1. Fully open Downtown Disney
2. Fully open DVC and GCH.
3. Fully open DCA.
4. Fully open PP.
5. Fully open DLH.
6. Fully open DL.

1. Fully open Downtown Disney
2. Fully open Trader Sam's
3. Fully open DVC and GCH.
4. Fully open DCA.
5. Fully open PP.
6. Fully open DLH.
7. Fully open DL.

Fixed that for you.

I'd actually expect them to open the parks before the hotels. What's the use of having 3 hotels opened when your flagship park is not. Maybe I'm underestimating the psyche(o) of the Disney fan that would like to just stay in a Disney hotel even if they can only visit DCA (at limited capacity).

 

[TP2000]

If guests will be expected to dispatch their own Matterhorn Bobsled, so be it.

Ha! Congrats, that's a great line! Thanks for the laugh.

But shouldn’t it actually be July 18?

God bless you, young man!

 

[TP2000]

Trump couldn't even show himself getting vaccinated because he was afraid his loons might think he supported something they hated. And as said before, it's not just creating the virus it's distributing it which Trump was an utter disaster on. He does get credit for getting the virus made though. But if he was still President, it would've stayed a disaster.

Are you under the impression that the US federal government owns and operates vaccine manufacturing plants? Are you under the impression that the US federal government owns and operates vaccine shipping companies? Because neither is true.

The US federal government, back during the Trump administration via Operation Warp Speed, simplified the rules and red tape for private industry to create a Covid vaccine as quickly as possible. Private industry did that; namely Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson&Johnson. Then the federal government created a system to distribute those vaccines to each state based on population, and private shipping companies like FedEx and UPS do the actual delivering and shipping from vaccine facilities to each state weekly.

It's almost all handled by American private industry. Capitalism at its finest. President Trump in 2020 simply cut the red tape for them and paid them in advance last year for hundreds of millions of doses being delivered to us now in 2021.

The results speak for themselves. The United States has one of the best and most effective vaccine administration processes in the world. Some states are better at it (West Virginia, Alaska) than others (California, Alabama), but that's because we are a federal republic and constitutionally each state governor was responsible for creating an intra-state vaccine system for its own citizens. You get what you vote for there. As of close of business March 3rd...

United States = 24 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 15.9% Population Given 1 Shot, 8.1% Population Fully Vaccinated

Germany = 8 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 5.3% Population Given 1 Shot, 2.7% Population Fully Vaccinated
Italy = 8 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 5.4% Population Given 1 Shot, 2.5% Population Fully Vaccinated
France = 7 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 4.8% Population Given 1 Shot, 2.6% Population Fully Vaccinated
Canada = 5 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 2.8% Population Given 1 Shot, 1.5% Population Fully Vaccinated
Australia = 0.2 Doses Per 100 Citizens, 0.2% Population Given 1 Shot, 0.0% Population Fully Vaccinated

More Than 12.7 Billion Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker

Bloomberg counted up the shots administered in 184 countries and 59 US states and territories

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Darkbeer1]

California on track to have fans in stands at Opening Day, Gov. Newsom says

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

I picked August. I doubt most of the staff and castmembers that used to work there are coming back so its like opening a brand new park all over again. Everyone has to be trained. August at the earliest if they are allowed to re-open

 

[TP2000]

I picked August. I doubt most of the staff and castmembers that used to work there are coming back so its like opening a brand new park all over again. Everyone has to be trained. August at the earliest if they are allowed to re-open

That's not an unwise bet.

I really do think the process of recalling, restaffing, and retraining both parks is gargantuan.

And it's going to be a painful first few months as not everything will be open and customers will be mad that the Mark Twain or Golden Zephyr or Fill-In-The-Blank-Family-Favorite ride is not open yet because they are scrambling just to keep the E Tickets staffed and operating.

God help 'em, every last one of 'em.

Okay, maybe the Golden Zephyr remaining closed isn't a big deal. But you get my point.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I don't envy TDA's executive team for one second. Hopefully this Mr. Potrock, who has never worked a single day in the theme park or hospitality industry, is the right man for that job.

As I've posted previously (every single time you make this claim lol)...

His background has plenty of history in hospitality: DVC, DCL, AbD, Disney Springs, etc.

Per the Disney website:

For most of his Disney career, Ken has led high brand affinity businesses where consumer loyalty and insights were instrumental to growth and expansion, including Disney Vacation Club, the company’s innovative and fast-growing vacation ownership program, Disney Cruise Line, Golden Oak, a luxury residential community in Walt Disney World Resort, and Adventures by Disney, the company's award-winning guided group travel business.

In 2015, Ken led the dramatic expansion and reimagining of Disney Springs, Walt Disney World's iconic retail, dining, and entertainment district.

I have no idea how he'll do at DLR. Personally, I hope he just lets the people who know their jobs do their jobs. But he certainly has a background on the Experiences side of Parks, Experiences and Products.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Anecdotally - I know furloughed CM's chomping at the bit to get back to work. I also know some who were laid off who definitely wish they hadn't been. So yeah, not all CM's are ready to say good-bye to all the company.

On the date front... I'm gonna stick with my choice from last year and say July 17th. Again. lol

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I picked August. I doubt most of the staff and castmembers that used to work there are coming back so its like opening a brand new park all over again. Everyone has to be trained. August at the earliest if they are allowed to re-open

Why wouldn’t most of the staff come back? There haven’t been many businesses hiring over the last year so I‘d guess a ton of them are sitting at home collecting unemployment waiting for Disney to call.

My employer closed last February and we are reopening on the 25th, over 90% of our 1500+ employees reported back.

 

[DavidNoble]

I went with April/May 2021. I'm remaining optimistic as we thankfully are heading to the end of this pandemic.

 

[TP2000]

As I've posted previously (every single time you make this claim lol)...

His background has plenty of history in hospitality: DVC, DCL, AbD, Disney Springs, etc.

Per the Disney website:

I have no idea how he'll do at DLR. Personally, I hope he just lets the people who know their jobs do their jobs. But he certainly has a background on the Experiences side of Parks, Experiences and Products.

I hope you are right.

My skepticism on Mr. Potrock probably stems from the fact we keep talking about Mr. Storbeck over at Knott's who has been running circles around TDA by creating three different parkwide food festivals in the last 9 months, while TDA wades through thigh-high red tape and gets nothing done.

The fact remains that Mr. Potrock has no personal experience with theme parks, and no one in Anaheim had ever heard of him before he was announced to replace whats-her-name that was in that job for about six months before she left for Cable TV+ or whatever it is.

I honestly do wish Mr. Potrock well. And again, he may turn out to be the next Matt Ouimet once the parks actually get open and we can see his handiwork first hand. It's just, until then, we don't really know how he's going to do in this new gig. For the sake of Disneyland, I hope he's more Matt Ouimet than he is Ed Grier or Cynthia Harriss.