Are people getting used to life without Disneyland?

[SuddenStorm]

Once they announced Splash being removed I honestly stopped caring. The company is so far gone from what it used to be, since 2015 its been nothing but garbage and they've lost me as a die hard fan.

I've kinda been struggling with that as well lately. Though it's easy to forget about the Splash announcement given everything that's happened since- the delayed reopen, the layoffs, etc.

Obviously we both still care, since we still post here, but I'm definitely worried for the future of the park.

 

[mharrington]

Obviously we both still care, since we still post here, but I'm definitely worried for the future of the park.

I'm worried that the park may not have a future at all. A closure of this magnitude never happened before. There is a chance that Disneyland may never reopen, ever.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I have spent so much of my free time over the past decade at DL that my brain still doesn't comprehend that it's been nine months closed and genuinely thinks I was just there last weekend. Nine months without - with another 6-7 months likely to go - seems absolutely unimaginable to me.

Maybe if I'd gone other places and done other things during these past months, the passage of time would seem real. But since I've been at home for nine months straight other than very rare trips outside, it's all Groundhog Day to me. Just waiting for the Sonny & Cher song to end.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'm worried that the park may not have a future at all. A closure of this magnitude never happened before. There is a chance that Disneyland may never reopen, ever.

That chance remains incredibly small.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

Obviously we both still care, since we still post here, but I'm definitely worried for the future of the park.

Same here. Over the past few months or so, I’ve had time to think to myself about what the future may hold for the parks, and I just can’t help but feel gloomy or depressed. It’s not necessarily because of the SM announcement, but maybe I’m just now realizing that anything is possible now that we’re in the Bob Chapek era. In my last post here, I said I really think we may see another Pressler era emerge, and that’s exactly what I’m worried about. It’s scary to see, and I just don’t know if things will take a turn for the better.

I guess it’s also my fault that I’m feeling this way, mostly due to extreme boredom. I’ve almost become obsessed with crazy what if scenarios, random rumors, etc...

It also doesn’t help whenever I see discussions or rumors of replacing certain attractions, shocking budget cuts along with the recent layoffs, I just can’t seem to stay happy whenever thinking about the park nowadays.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

What’s Disneyland- is that the park in Florida with the castle?

It's a children's park this forum is devoted to keeping closed down.

 

[Californian Elitist]

There is a chance that Disneyland may never reopen, ever.

HIGHLY unlikely.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

We won’t have to wear masks for eternity though.

You don't know that. Even Yoda cannot see their fate.

 

[Stevek]

So frankly, I'm beginning to think that we have seen the last of Disneyland.

Just stop already. Disneyland isn't going anywhere...pretty sure multiple people have said the same thing to you previously.

 

[Stevek]

I'm worried that the park may not have a future at all. A closure of this magnitude never happened before. There is a chance that Disneyland may never reopen, ever.

No, there is zero chance it will never reopen.

 

[mharrington]

Just stop already. Disneyland isn't going anywhere...pretty sure multiple people have said the same thing to you previously.

Well, maybe when/if we learn about a reopening, even a vague one, that might help. But alas, they, like everything else in the state, they are at the mercy of the government, which in turn is at the mercy of COVID. Kind of a chain reaction there.

 

[Stevek]

Well, maybe when/if we learn about a reopening, even a vague one, that might help. But alas, they, like everything else in the state, they are at the mercy of the government, which in turn is at the mercy of COVID. Kind of a chain reaction there.

The state has already told us when it can reopen. The park will ultimately reopen when the vaccine is available to the masses, most likely May-June 2021. I just don't understand the doom and gloom or the worry. Disneyland and DCA are not closing forever. Movie theaters are not closing forever. We will get back to normalcy next year.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Well, maybe when/if we learn about a reopening, even a vague one, that might help. But alas, they, like everything else in the state, they are at the mercy of the government, which in turn is at the mercy of COVID. Kind of a chain reaction there.

The Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is meeting tomorrow and expected to recommend Emergency Use Authorization for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. If approved for emergency use, this would be the second vaccine to receive Emergency Use Authorization in the United States following last week's approval of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine. More vaccine candidates are nearing the end of their Phase 3 trials and will be seeking Emergency Use Authorization in the near future.

 

[mharrington]

The state has already told us when it can reopen. The park will ultimately reopen when the vaccine is available to the masses, most likely May-June 2021. I just don't understand the doom and gloom or the worry. Disneyland and DCA are not closing forever. Movie theaters are not closing forever. We will get back to normalcy next year.

Maybe so, but the fact remains that Disneyland will have been closed for over a year. That in itself is a milestone, although not necessarily in a good way. I'm also wondering if they will wait until they can reopen fully and not do any limitations on capacity. After all, why only reopen with only half capacity with social distancing measures when you could reopen at full capacity, no strings attached?

And as for movie theaters, I have a feeling that the choice of watching on demand alongside theaters is here to stay. So movie theaters may not be in immediate danger, but for how long?

The Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is meeting tomorrow and expected to recommend Emergency Use Authorization for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. If approved for emergency use, this would be the second vaccine to receive Emergency Use Authorization in the United States following last week's approval of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine. More vaccine candidates are nearing the end of their Phase 3 trials and will be seeking Emergency Use Authorization in the near future.

But that won't necessarily bring down cases quickly, will it?

 

[Stevek]

Maybe so, but the fact remains that Disneyland will have been closed for over a year. That in itself is a milestone, although not necessarily in a good way. I'm also wondering if they will wait until they can reopen fully and not do any limitations on capacity. After all, why only reopen with only half capacity with social distancing measures when you could reopen at full capacity, no strings attached?

They will reopen in whatever capacity they are allowed to. They've already shown a willingness to open at 25% capacity like Florida. As soon as they are allowed to open, they will likely do so as quickly as possible.

 

[mharrington]

They will reopen in whatever capacity they are allowed to. They've already shown a willingness to open at 25% capacity like Florida. As soon as they are allowed to open, they will likely do so as quickly as possible.

Like I said, though, why reopen at 25% capacity when you could reopen at full capacity? For all we know, that may be the track that the government may go with. I don't know, I'm just guessing, based on past experience.

 

[Stevek]

Like I said, though, why reopen at 25% capacity when you could reopen at full capacity? For all we know, that may be the track that the government may go with. I don't know, I'm just guessing, based on past experience.

Like I said, they will reopen at whatever capacity the are allowed to. If the state says 25%, the will open at 25%. If the state says full capacity, they will open at full capacity.

 

[mharrington]

Like I said, they will reopen at whatever capacity the are allowed to. If the state says 25%, the will open at 25%. If the state says full capacity, they will open at full capacity.

The fact is, I'm hoping it is 25%. Any capacity will do, really. However, the pessimist in me has a sneaking suspicion it won't be a limited capacity.

 

[lazyboy97o]

But that won't necessarily bring down cases quickly, will it?

No, but it is the beginning of the end. Vaccines could start being made available to the general public as early as the spring. Even beyond the vaccine, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the first of their kind, a potentially revolutionary development that has the promise of reducing the disease burden of not just SARS-CoV-2 but other diseases for which vaccines do not yet exist.

Like I said, though, why reopen at 25% capacity when you could reopen at full capacity? For all we know, that may be the track that the government may go with. I don't know, I'm just guessing, based on past experience.

Because the park's don't regularly operate at capacity and 25% is enough to make things work for the interim.

 

[smooch]

I have a feeling at 10 months in people are hopefully used to the idea of Disneyland being closed. This definitely seems more like a topic for locals or people who visit often, and I am not in that demographic as my last trip to DLR was like 3ish years ago and WDW was 2 years ago, but I still come to this forum to try and have discussion. I want DLR to reopen mainly so we can continue discussions of the actual park on here, not because I'm going to be visiting any time soon (not necessarily related to COVID, just busy with life). As others have said, I know there are a lot of locals who make Disneyland their personality, heck I know a couple in real life, and they are managing to get through life. Some were cast members who have since gotten new jobs, some are friends / acquaintances who either already lived in Anaheim or go to school in the area, and they are managing the same as the rest of the country with lockdowns. It's not like only Disneyland in specific is closed, most other entertainment venues are as well, so Disney fans are dealing with the same thing fans of other things like bowling or going to the movies with not being able to visit. I do think some people need to branch out more from visiting DLR all the time, but to be honest if I lived in the area I would have an AP and visit constantly until the novelty wears off.

At the end of the day, I don't think the theme park fans are the ones who need to worry about getting used to life without Disneyland, but we should be worried about all the CMs and the city of Anaheim. They need DLR to survive, my close friend was laid off in the second round of layoffs and if the parks remain closed I assume there could be yet another wave of layoffs sadly. Anaheim needs the business, they need the tax revenue, DLR needs to reopen. It also needs to be done safely, which I personally think is possible considering WDW has been operating safely, but that's another discussion. Hopefully with the latest approvals of the vaccine things start to change for the better and we can start actually discussing a potential reopening of DLR which I do want to add my opinion that Disney should do a big opening celebration. I liked the recommendation earlier in the thread of a holographic Walt, possible reciting the opening day dedication speech. Things are gonna look different at DLR for a while, but guests are going to have to just deal with it. At the end of the day, they are guests in a theme park and there are very important things in the world that matter more, obviously some escape is nice and like I said CMs need their jobs, but sometimes I feel like people are acting like all the guests who are unable to go to the park are suffering and can't go on any longer living without being able to visit the park.