Yewon Yang
Photo by Zichuan Han in Pexels
When a pandemic rapidly spreads across the world, one’s first impulse would be to distance themselves from others in any means possible. This makes large, public gatherings extremely risky and difficult to handle including the most magical place on Earth: Disneyland. How, then, is Disney reacting to COVID-19?
It was on March 12 when California’s Disneyland announced that they would temporarily close. Shortly after, on March 16, the Walt Disney Company officialized the closing of the Walt Disney Florida World Resort and Disneyland Paris. Currently, all of Disney’s theme parks, water parks, springs, and transportations are closed and this emphasizes how significant this part of time is as Disney parks have never closed for an indefinite amount of time before.
The Walt Disney Company comments on those who have already planned and purchased tickets, saying in a statement:
“Unexpired multi-day theme park tickets with unused days, or date-specific theme park tickets with a valid use period beginning March 12, 2020 through the end of the actual closure period will automatically be extended to use any date through December 15, 2020.”
Disney has also made it clear that if one booked through the Walt Disney Travel Company, they will have the time to choose whether they want a change or cancellation up till June 30, 2020. As for the park employees and hourly cast members, Disney ensured that they would be paid until April 18, 2020. However, there are some requests for an extension. Unions representing the Disney cast members requested an extension of their payment until at least April 19. In this hectic and unprecedented time, it is quite difficult to ensure and figure out what decision is best for all.
One thing that has not yet been discussed is what the Disney parks will look like and the precautions they will take once the park reopens. It can be expected that, while not yet official, new measures will be taken which can change the magical and open experience one would typically receive. It is rumored that there could be a capacity reduction where all parks reduce and restrict the amount of people allowed inside for the purpose of “social distancing”. Along with the “social-distancing” it is highly expected for Disney to reduce their amounts of parades and shows for it encourages large crowds and would only help spread the virus.
This is very unfortunate news for the TBLS seniors, for they won’t have the privilege to create lasting and meaningful memories together before their graduation. The Brooklyn Latin seniors had a planned trip to Disney on May 26, in which many must have been excited for. This also goes on to other planned trips including the traditional PBC camping trip, where they first bonded during their freshman year, as well as a trip to Six-Flags.
We are living in a severe situation and the road ahead will continue to be rough. It is still unclear when it will be safe for all to publicly interact and more specifically, when Disney will reopen. The only thing left for us to do is to be patient and stay alert.
Source Credit: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/travel-information/
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