After weeks of back and forth between California theme parks and Governor Gavin Newsom’s office regarding safe reopening guidelines, we continue to see significant disagreements between the two regarding readiness.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Today, Governor Newsom noted in a press conference that there’s “no hurry” to put out guidelines, and “we’re going to be stubborn about it.” Newsom’s reasoning for this stubbornness is a focus on being “led by a health-first framework,” and “let[ting] science and data make that determination.”
Tonight, Disney has reacted via their twitter account through a statement from Disney’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Pamela Hymel.
Pamela Hymel Response to Governor Newsom’s comments
In the statement, Dr. Hymel notes that the Walt Disney Company “absolutely reject the suggestion that reopening the Disneyland Resort is incompatible with a ‘health-first’ approach.” She notes that the company has made “science-based” decisions since closing their domestic theme parks in March.
Her statement ends with the reminder of a proven track record. “All of our other theme parks both in the United States and around the world have been allowed to open on the strength of our proven ability to operate with responsible health and safety protocols.”
Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle
Currently, all Disney-branded theme parks around the world, including Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Orlando, have reopened except for Disneyland. The park proposed a July 17th opening date originally, which was ultimately not approved by the governor.
When Governor Newsom recently released initial thoughts on reopening guidelines, California theme parks requested that the announcement be held back to allow more discussion, and Anaheim’s mayor called for more “attainable” guidelines.
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We can be just as safe at Disney as we can be at Costco!
Shame on Disney. They are not an essential business. Tell the Florida employee who got punched for reminding a guest that mask wearing was mandatory. See how safe that employee feels. There are on-line photos of guests not wearing masks so explain how safe it is in Florida. And why would you think it would be any different in California. Once again, shame on Disney.
S you could not be more wrong. I’m sure the Security Guard who told the patron entering EPCOT that the mask they had was unapproved is not bothered much by being struck because of it especially since the patron was arrested for assault. As a retired Law Enforcement officer, it’s something we deal with in our careers. You will also note that Cast Members have been assaulted over the years and it has NOTHING to do with Covid-19 or wearing masks. The fact of the matter is we have progressed a long way since the days of only “essential businesses” being allowed to be open. I’m sure the 28,000 Cast Members being laid off would agree that Disney is an essential business as would all the communities around them that rely on those same crowds to survive each year. Disney does everything in it’s power to make the environment safe for its guests and they are allowed to take the mask off while eating, in relaxation zones and swimming, so perhaps that’s what you saw. Anyone else with a mask off is directed by a Cast Member to put one on and I’ve never seen any guest not comply when I’ve been at WDW. In addition, NO coronavirus cases have even been traced back to Disney since they’ve opened and they’ve been open for months now. In addition, if someone under the age of 80 gets coronavirus you have a greater than 99.9% chance of recovering just fine. It drops to 95% over 80 which is still amazing. We’ve never shut down in this country for any other pandemic in the past, we just dealt with it and moved on. Just relax and stop being so scared unnecessarily. Great work, Disney. Keep it up and keep fighting for your employees. We love them and need them back to work.
Hey “S” — tell all those Cast Members who are facing being layed off that Disnetland isn’t and essential Business. Seems it’s pretty essential to putting food on their tables.