Disneyland CEO Bob Chapek announces April reopening date

Disneyland closed its doors after lockdowns have been ordered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a year already since the Disney parks have suspended their operations, and CEO Bob Chapek finally announced its reopening date.

Disney parks to open its gates again

Disneyland revealed its plans to reopen, and this was decided after the safety guidelines in California have been revised. Then again, it was emphasized that while the parks will be open to the public, it will only be accepting a limited number of visitors as part of the safety protocols.

Two of Disneyland theme parks in California were confirmed to open on April 30. Initially, these parks will start operating at around 15% capacity only.

“We’ve seen the enthusiasm, the craving for people to return to our parks around the world,” Disneyland chief Chapek told CNBC via an interview with Julia Boorstin. “We’ve been operating at Walt Disney World for about nine months, and there certainly is no shortage of demand.”

Chapek added that after the people were vaccinated, they are becoming more confident and feeling more secured to travel now. To assure the visitors that they will be safe while inside the Disneyland parks, the CEO said, “Consumers trust Disney to do the right thing and we’ve certainly proven that we can open responsibly whether it’s temperature checks, masks, social distancing, [or] improved hygiene around the parks.”

Workers to return to their job posts

The shutdown of the Disney parks in late March last year led to massive job cuts. Thousands of workers lost their jobs, and it also slashed the company’s revenues by multiple billion dollars.

Now, with the plans to re-open, it was reported that more than 10,000 furloughed workers will be called back and have their jobs again. They will be retrained for the safety measures around the park before the big opening day on April 30, as per the NBC Los Angeles News.

Surely, the move to re-open the Disneyland parks will be applauded by thousands of workers who lost their source of income when the pandemic hit the world. The public can start revisiting the famous parks in Orange County. Disney hotels and restaurants will also open bit by bit.