Disneyland Resort in Orange County, Calif. will remain closed until at least Jan. 2021 as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Walt Disney Company announced with their fourth quarter earnings Thursday.
California’s tiered reopening system does not allow theme parks to reopen until a county is in the yellow tier. Orange County is currently in the red tier.
“We are extremely disappointed that the State of California continues to keep Disney closed despite our proven track record,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Thursday, according to Deadline. (RELATED: Disney Set To Lay Off 28,000 Due To COVID-19 Impact)
Executive Chairman and former CEO Bob Iger left his position on California’s coronavirus economic response task force in October over disagreements about reopening theme parks, FOX 11 reported.
Disney furloughed thousands of employees in April, but is expected to layoff 28,000 theme park employees from both California and Walt Disney World in Florida.
Walt Disney World reopened at limited capacity in July and has continued its phased reopening process.
Downtown Disney District, a shopping center connected to the Disneyland’s theme parks, has been open since July as well.
Stores and restaurants on Buena Vista Street, a section of the Disneyland’s California Adventure Park, are slated to open on Nov. 19.
Earlier this month, several California mayors signed a letter to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom calling for looser theme park guidelines.
“We are concerned that the state’s guidelines would push re-opening of large theme parks up to a year out, which would have significant negative impacts on hundreds of thousands of jobs, thousands of small businesses, and billions in operating revenue for our cities,” the letter said.
