Disneyland Expected To Open Late April After Year-Long Closure Due To COVID-19

California's Disneyland Resort closed one year ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic--along with other theme parks in the state. However, California has issued new guidelines for reopening, and guests could be able to head back to Disneyland as soon as next month.

Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney, has revealed that the company's California theme parks--Disneyland and Disney California Adventure--are hoping to open to the public again in late April. The news comes on the heels of new guidelines issued by the state that could allow theme parks and stadiums to open at 15% capacity beginning on April 1.

"Here in California, we're encouraged by the positive trends we're seeing and we're hopeful they'll continue to improve and we'll be able to reopen our parks to guests with limited capacity by late April--we look forward to publicizing an opening date in the coming weeks," Chapek said during an annual shareholder meeting. "While last week's announcement stated that theme parks may open starting on April 1, the fact is it will take some time to get them ready for our guests--this includes recalling more than 10,000 furloughed cast and retraining them to be able to operate according to the state of California's new requirements."

The opening of the Disneyland Resort will mean that all of Disney's domestic theme parks will be open for business once more, following the relaunch of Walt Disney World last summer. No dates have been announced for California's other theme parks. However, Universal Studios Hollywood offered an update to annual pass holders in an email, noting that its upcoming ticketed event, which allows guests into the park to sample food and shop, but with no rides, is meant to "transition us to a full park open."

While the Disneyland Resort is aiming to open at the end of April, it remains to be seen when the newest attraction, Avengers Campus, will begin welcoming guests. It was previously announced by Disney that the new Marvel-themed land at California Adventures would open sometime in 2021. It was originally scheduled to launch in July 2020.