Disney Denounces California's Theme-Park Reopening Plans
21 October 2020 - 9:31AM
Dow Jones News
By R.T. Watson
Walt Disney Co. blasted California's new protocols for reopening
theme parks, saying the strict guidance would significantly
complicate the company's efforts to reopen Disneyland.
Disneyland, the company's flagship park, has been shut for seven
months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the longest stretch since
it opened 65 years ago.
The state's health and human services secretary, Mark Ghaly, on
Tuesday announced guidelines that said large theme parks like
Disneyland can reopen at limited capacity once nearby community
spread of the new coronavirus has been officially deemed
"minimal."
The announcement followed months of complaints from Disney and
other theme-park operators against Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat,
for not outlining how and when parks might reopen.
In response to the new guidelines, Disneyland Resort President
Ken Potrock pointed to the company's record in reopening theme
parks in Florida, Asia and Europe, as well as what he called
inconsistent standards for different California businesses.
"We have proven that we can responsibly reopen, with
science-based health and safety protocols strictly enforced at our
theme park properties around the world," Mr. Potrock said in a
written statement. "The State of California continues to ignore
this fact, instead mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are
unworkable and that hold us to a standard vastly different from
other reopened businesses."
California's reopening plan, christened the "Blueprint for a
Safer Economy," is structured around a four-tier system where
counties are permitted to ease restrictions on businesses and
public spaces as they meet state-mandated metrics evaluating the
spread of the virus that causes Covid-19.
Orange County, where Disneyland is located, has been relegated
by state officials for several weeks to the "substantial" level,
failing to advance to "moderate" spread, which allows for fewer
restrictions.
Under California's new guidelines for theme parks, large venues
like Disneyland or Comcast Corp.'s Universal Studios Hollywood,
near Los Angeles, will be able to reopen only when their respective
counties attain a level of "minimal" spread. Even at that stage,
large theme parks will have to limit capacity to 25%.
The state issued looser restrictions for smaller theme parks,
saying they could reopen, also at reduced capacity, once the
counties where they are based reach a "moderate" spread level.
Smaller theme parks are those with an overall capacity less than
15,000 people.
California recently sent researchers to theme parks operating
elsewhere in the U.S. -- including Walt Disney World in Florida --
to evaluate their safety. Mr. Ghaly said the result of the analysis
was valuable and reassuring on some points.
But he said other takeaways struck him as troubling. "The level
of mixing, even without masks, that seemed very random and
concerning to us, " he said.
Reaching a "minimal" level of community spread requires
California counties to register a seven-day average of less than
one new daily case per 100,000 people and an average positive-test
rate of less than 2%.
"I think for a large county like us...it's going to be very hard
to achieve," said Orange County health officer Dr. Clayton Chau in
a written statement. He predicted it might take the county until
next summer to reach the "minimal" tier.
California's self-proclaimed "slow and stringent" regulatory
framework stands in contrast to that of Florida. Disney World, in
Orange County, Fla., has been open at reduced capacity since July,
thanks in large part to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's eagerness to
reopen the state's economy.
Mr. Ghaly didn't rule out the possibility that California's
theme-park guidelines could be amended in the coming weeks and
months.
Last month, Disney said it would lay off about 28,000 employees
across its domestic theme-parks division. Disneyland generates
billions of dollars in economic activity in and around Orange
County, Calif.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2020 18:16 ET (22:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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