When Will Disneyland Reopen?
“When will Disneyland and California Adventure reopen in 2021?” and “how much longer will the parks stay closed?” are common questions. This covers what Orange County’s improving metrics mean, why the closure will continue the next couple months, and more. (Updated March 9, 2021.)
We’ll start by underscoring the reality that we don’t have a crystal ball, and no one knows for sure when Disneyland will reopen. This is a fluid situation, which should be apparent by the fact that Disneyland was originally scheduled to open last July and now may not reopen until almost a full year later. New data emerges on a daily basis, and plans continue to change.
Moreover, Disneyland’s reopening has been incredibly contentious, a flashpoint between Governor Newsom and several groups/cities/businesses/etc. We aren’t going to recap the whole saga here, but Disneyland’s Wild Reopening Ride is worth the read if you want the backstory of the drama. Hopefully someday we’ll get a DisneyWar sequel that covers some of this…
After having its reopening pushed back three times, there’s another Reopening Update for the Grand Californian. The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will reopen on May 2, 2021. During this initial phase, only the Disney Vacation Club villas–and not the hotel side–of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will reopen.
In the nearer term, the only thing open right now at Disneyland Resort is the Downtown Disney District. There, restaurants are operating with outdoor seating and physical distancing, face masks, etc. Note that on some weekends, Downtown Disney fills to capacity. We have full details about all of this in our Guide to Downtown Disney at Disneyland.
For now, Downtown Disney has been expanded inside Disney California Adventure onto Buena Vista Street to help with capacity. A Touch of Disney at Disneyland Resort, a new ticketed event, begins on March 18, 2021 throughout the entirety of Disney California Adventure and runs through April 2021. This is the first step towards DCA and Disneyland reopening as theme parks, which is not be too far away…
The latest development is that California has released new reopening rules that mean Disneyland and Disney California Adventure can reopen as early as April 2021! These and other theme parks will be able to open with rides and attractions next month if Orange County improves to the red tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening rules.
Here are the new reopening rules for California theme parks:
Purple Tier – Closed
Red Tier
- Max 15%
- Small Groups – Max 10 people or 3 household groups with no intergroup mixing
- Indoor capacity max 15% with time restrictions
- No indoor dining
- Weekly worker testing program
- In-state visitors only, check for current CDPH Travel Advisory in effect
- Online ticket purchases only
Orange Tier
- Max 25%
- Indoor capacity max 25% with time restrictions
- Weekly worker testing program
- With other modifications
- In-state visitors only, check for current CDPH Travel Advisory in effect
Yellow Tier
- Max 35%
- Indoor capacity max 25% with time restrictions
- Weekly worker testing program
- With other modifications
- In-state visitors only, check for current CDPH Travel Advisory in effect
Note that the “in-state visitors” restriction is to keep the theme park reopening rules consistent with California’s existing travel restrictions. It’s worth noting that California had no such quarantine or travel advisory until November 13 of last year–right as cases started to spike.
Our expectation is that the state will lift this travel advisory sooner rather than later. It could possibly be gone by the start of April, but if not, almost certainly by Memorial Day weekend when California’s summer tourism season begins. Expect it to be lifted for theme parks, irrespective of tier status, when it’s lifted for the state as a whole.
This is great news, but it’s not the end of the saga. Of course, the first step is for Orange County, California to improve from the purple tier to the red tier.
The good news there is that all of California’s key metrics–new cases, positivity rate, and hospitalizations–have plummeted since peaking on January 13. The regional stay at home order was already lifted over a month ago, and now we’re seeing some counties make reopening progress.
To that point, new cases are down by over 90% statewide is only 2.1% as of March 9, 2021. (The Los Angeles Times has a good data tracker.) These numbers are projected to continue improving in the coming weeks with vaccine rollout improving. This is great news for California, and for Disneyland’s reopening prospects.
More specific to Disneyland, Orange County remains in the most-restrictive purple tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening plan, but has made significant strides towards the red tier. These numbers are updated every Tuesday, and for the March 9, 2021 update, Orange County qualified for the red tier. (Per the rules, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks to move to a less restrictive tier.)
Regardless, Orange County’s pace of improvements has been impressive and its trajectory is promising. If current trends hold, Orange County will be in the red tier on March 16, 2021. It’s also very likely Orange County will enter the moderate or orange tier on April 6, 2021. (Counties must remain in a tier for at least 3 weeks before moving to a less restrictive tier.)
Accordingly, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will almost certainly be eligible to open by April 1, 2021 pursuant to the revised California Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
So…what happens next? When will Disneyland reopen?
To give you the short answer, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the Walt Disney Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (on March 9, 2021) that Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will reopen in “late April 2021.” He indicated that Disney would announce a specific date very soon.
This makes sense, as it allows the hard ticket “Touch of Disney” event to occur as scheduled at Disney California Adventure, and also for Orange County to move all the way up to the moderate tier, which would allow the parks to open at 25% capacity on day one.
With that said, there’s still a lot to figure out in terms of logistics to get Disneyland and Disney California Adventure operational in only a few short weeks. This includes but is not limited to ironing out agreements with unions, calling back Cast Members, re-training said CMs on attractions that haven’t operated with guests (they’ve been cycling throughout the closure) for a full year, placing food & beverage orders, and more. We’ll keep you posted as to an official reopening date once Disney makes an announcement!
If you’re preparing for a Disneyland trip, check out our other planning posts, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, tips for booking a hotel (off-site or on-site), where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think Disneyland Resort will reopen in April 2021, or do you think that’ll be delayed or pushed back? What’s your predicted date? Are you expecting reduced entertainment and offerings, or think the parks will pretty much reopen with everything firing on all cylinders? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Great article! With lots of info thank you.
What beautiful photos you captured of Disneyland !
My family went there every year. Grandparents lived in Burbank.
Our first time for Disneyland was Christmas 1956.
I was two. We have a home movie of me in a stroller in front of the castle.
lol.
The fireworks scared me.
I hope it opens soon…
October 15 = Utah Educational Association break = Utah Exodus to Anaheim break. And Utahans won’t care about Covid exposure TBH. Disneyland will max out for sure. They’ve got to know that and would be better off opening before then if at all possible …
To the person whom said as of September 6th, 2020, most annual passes are blocked at this time? Um, your wrong on this one. Sept thru early Dec is when most and if not all passes are back up running. The blocks occur in JUNE JULY AUG. Not September. We have the lowest AP and we are good to go for Sept, of course not FRI SAT SUN. Just an FYI to the person whom miswrote. I wonder how Disney will deal with 25 percent max capacity, deny some AP holders access, yet try to collect our AP pass monthly payment? I know this will not sit well at all. IF we pay the full amount, we want OUR FULL days that we are entitled too. I will be so glad when this all ends and life slowly returns to whatever the new normal is. JAB
I agree with you about expectations for use. I have the flex pass, but we’re from Canada. What I’m anxious about is that we chose this pass knowing that we could rely on the Good to Go dates and also reasoning that 30 days would be plenty of time to grab weekend dates that fit into a trip that is obviously scheduled well in advance. The idea of possibly also needing a Park Pass “appointment”, even on Good to Go dates, creates a lot of anxiety for me. I have a hotel booked in December and a backup booked in January. We usually go to the parks at least 4 days per trip, but we were hoping for more “evening drop by”s with the new passes. What if we can’t book a Park Pass for the dates we’re able to be there? What happens if we’re only able to hold 2 dates at a time as before, and we are only able to go for 2 days out of a trip costing 6+ hotel nights planned for a full trip? Our friends just bought 5 day tickets and I’m honestly a bit envious! Their “use by” date has been extended to Dec 31, 2021, whereas we need to activate our Flex Passes by the end of January (the anniversary date of purchase). I hope they’ll have more answers when the parks reopen. I feel bad for the Cast Members who also have no idea what’s going on.
That’s exactly what happened in Florida. You could keep or terminate your AP but you don’t get to park hop and you have to compete for available Park Pass spots. If you kept your AP, you paid the full amount.
That’s the Florida deal and it’s surprising easy to agree to when the alternative is no Disney.
1 park per day scheduled in advance and no park hopping. Parks close early no fireworks, parades, or meet and greets. That being said it’s still worth doing because at least here it’s one of the strictest about mask use. So that makes it safer than our local park. It’s nice to get out of the house and do something that feels normal(ish) where almost everyone is following the rules.
We are in australia and there are jo flights out even if we wanted to go. Spent ovet $ 1000 on passes for DL..im worried we’l be too old to use them if os travel ever restarts!
What will seasonal ride closures look like? We have vouchers (purchased that expire January 21, and if DL is open for the Christmas season, it may be our only option. Will the attractions all be open? Is there even any way to predict that yet?
Usually almost everything is open for the Christmas season since it can be very busy especially Christmas to New Years. Although who knows what it will be like this year if it is even open! And most APs are blocked now so that will help with crowds. Sometimes a water ride will be closed but that should be it.
Are you moving Disneyland to Texas?
I wonder if Disney has the interest in citing the Gomez vs. Disney case in 2005 that classified them as a Common Carrier. That way, they can legally open rides since they were placed in the same class as city buses and trains by the CA Supreme Court.
Something tells me that Disney won’t pursue that course of action even if it might be successful. The optics would be really poor.
Of course, I’m also operating under the assumption that they’re very close to having an agreement with the state (if they don’t already) and that’s likely to be announced next week.
So here’s my dilemma, Tom, and again realizing that you don’t have a crystal ball, what would you suggest:
We’ve been DL Aps for several yrs but didn’t renew at the end of last yr because we were taking an 8 day trip to WDW in Feb and didn’t expect to use the passes til March-april earliest. The numbers didn’t make sense to get Premiere. Now we’re without APs
My birthday is Nov 20th. We always go on my birthday weekend which would be the 21/22. Do you think there us a chance for normal ticket sales to resume by then? Or do you think I will likely need a hotel reservation to get park tickets if at all? We are in Redondo Beach so an easy drive. Never stayer on DL property cuz well…we don’t need to.
The WDW was a truly magical dream trip but man I wish we got premiere passes.
Curious where you heard that Magic Mountain will be closed the rest of 2020? We are pass holders and have not received any information.
I thought you meant Six Flags in Santa Clarita! Sorry about that!
Take this with a grain of salt, but we’ve had reservations at the California Grand starting on September 16th and they haven’t been cancelled yet. It’s making me a bit nervous since now it’s less than two weeks away and everything is still closed, but I actually talked to a CM a couple days ago and she verfied that the reservations were still active. I’ll probably have a back up plan lined up if we don’t get a definitive answer by today (Thursdays seem to be Disney’s preferred cancellation day). I wonder if it’s possible for Disney to reopen the hotels before the parks. I think they did that in Florida?
It’s definitely possible for the hotels to open first–especially the Villas at Grand Californian, since that’s DVC, but I’m skeptical that they’ll be ready to go by September 16.
For what it’s worth, the last batch of cancellations was for reservations through September 12, 2020–and that happened on August 20, 2020. They’re now overdue for the next ‘wave’ of cancellations, which also suggests to me that something is up…
…and just like that, Disneyland sent out cancellations through September 19, 2020 minutes ago. Sorry! 🙁
I had a trip planned September 19, I called on August 18 (to pay or cancel) the cast member on the phone told me the Disneyland parks new reopening date is October 1st depending on the governors approval. She also said if I were to keep my park tickets they are only valid until the end of 2020 so we cancelled and will rebook when we know for sure.
Guess I better go check my email! Thanks for the heads up.
I have a reservation at the Disneyland Hotel that is opening October 1! The CM told me all the construction is supposed to be done by then but that is really hard to believe!
Appreciate your thoughtful analysis as always, Tom! Wanted to comment specifically to let you know that I am gobbling up any and all Disneyland info I can get. I am finding your detailed reporting and analysis on WDW super interesting and valuable, but DL is our park of choice! We are Canadian residents and first time AP buyers (yay?). We got the Flex Pass back at the end of January and didn’t get the chance to activate our passes. We definitely see the silver lining in that our passes are essentially “brand new, still in the box”, still good for a full year of use after they are activated… but as the number of months dwindles down until we get a chance to activate it, I’m getting a bit anxious! The way the rules are currently set up, we have until the anniversary date of purchase to activate the passes (so, end of January 2021). From that date, we get a year of use. I’ve got two tentative (not prepaid!) trips booked — one in early December, and one just after New Year’s. We are personally healthy, prepared to self-isolate if necessary and able to work from home, and are willing and committed to taking precautions for others even as we are willing to tolerate higher personal risks that other folks are (understandably) not ready to take. In other words, I’m just waiting for the word so we can start planning a trip in earnest and not let these passes go to waste! Of course, my anxiety would be much relieved if they extend our activation date. If that were the case, I’d actually be thrilled that we got a pretty good deal pre- ‘2020 price hike’ on a pass that theoretically could extend into the 2021-2022 cycle.
Anyway, just eager to share our experience and thoughts. Anyone else in the same boat? I’m really curious how the Flex Pass availability will be impacted by the advanced booking system. Coming from Canada and needing to plan in advance, we would not be impressed if we were blocked from using the park on days that we were paying to be in California. I liked the system of having “Good to Go” dates and just grabbing your weekend “need appointment” dates 30 days in advance. I felt very confident the passes we chose would let us be in the parks whenever we wanted to be… I’m hoping we can still say the same when all the systems are announced and everything is ready to go.
Question When wdw reopened Those staying at a Disney hotel could buy tix and get in
When dland opens will that also apply? And do Disney neighbor hotels count towards that as well? Tjx
Not Tom here but I expect Disneyland’s opening to be somewhat different than WDWs. While they will hopefully learn from WDWs opening (mistakes?) process, as Tom has previously said, Disneyland is a different beast. Just think about all the local APs and the pent up demand to return to the parks! My two world AP is still active at Disneyland but my husbands “expired” in May. Although it was extended by WDW, we were told by Disneyland AP that WDW now controls the expired passes and we must wait for another announced Disneyland opening date for it to be extended. So, we are waiting like you. The good news is Orange County, CA is coming off the watch list along with San Diego County. The bad news is LA County isn’t and it seems the governor isn’t too interested in opening much of anything! We keep rescheduling our Grand Californian stay in anticipation of an opening and getting “priority” park passes as were given when Star Wars opened but who knows what they will do. I will be very surprised if the park pass priority extends to off property hotels. More realistically it will be a lottery system or something appearing more equitable.
Any update on Disneyland’s reopening.
Hopefully soon! Just got a project in L.A., a year for design and a year for construction, so I’ll be making some trips out there. Always better to let the government pay the biggest part of a trip’s cost…
We aren’t hearing anything in SoCal about reopening Disneyland although our CV numbers are improving again and compliance overall is very good. Our Disney vendor contacts thought the parks looked ready of course but really weird with all the safety stuff they installed. We need two successful weeks for Gov Newsom to start reopening CA and hopefully with that Disneyland will start reopening. The planned protests by some of the CMs and other issues didn’t help during the first reopening plan. Things are going well at Downtown Disney right now so that is a first good step! Btw, very happy to hear Mrnico has actual NEW work in LA. It’s still pretty quiet here…
Thanks Beth, looking forward to visiting again! Haven’t been to SoCal in six years, I think. Some serious Matterhorn withdrawals. We’re working on repairs to six historic structures built by the WPA, will be doing full environmental assessment, historic preservation office consult, design work, etc. Even though the site is up near Beverly Hills, I foresee my hotel being right in Anaheim on just about every site visit trip…
And maybe, if things work out right, I will ‘need’ to be there to spend time in Pasadena for Craftsman Weekend, see the Gamble House again, etc.
The pictures are amazing; excellent work! Where does one get those delicious looking sundaes?! I’ve never seen them and have been going to Disney for 20 years
Those are a couple of the signature “CrazyShakes” offered at Black Tap in Downtown Disney. They opened in the former Build-a-Bear Workshop location back in April 2019.
Yes – something needs to be done about expiring tickets. I know we can trade them in and pay the extra if there is an additional cost but I believe the right thing to do is extend them for the months that Disney was closed. We had our trip planned for March which got cancelled and now I have 5 tickets that expire in January. At least if we got a five month extension it would get us back to a time when our family may be able to plan another vacation.
Agreed, Jessica. We had a vacation planned for April, rescheduled for July, and then rescheduled again for December. 5 Day Park Hopper Passes with Maxpass (the jury is still out as to whether or not the Park Hopper or Maxpass will even be beneficial), that will expire at the end of December. I feel as though we should (just like you suggested) be able to use them through our original scheduled date in April 2021 . . . without having to pay additional. It just seems like the right thing to do.
Extension would be nice for sure. I’ve been told by Disney that I’ll get “historical retail value” for my tickets after their January expiration. I can only hope they won’t have raised prices too much by next summer so I won’t have to pay a significant difference.
Tom
Loved your Funk and Wagnalls description of California, “Divergent Demographics” . This should be the description of the year!! I had a good chuckle. And you said you weren’t political. Well maybe a little.
Somos de monterrey México y queremos ir a pasar fin de año a Disney Anaheim, será conveniente reservar hotel??
I really wish Disneyland would extend ticket dates. We bought our tickets from Get Away Today on Black Friday 2019, for our April Trip. Get Away Today doesn’t send your tickets until a few days before your trip. We got our tickets when Disneyland closed. Since we bought them in 2019, they expire January 12, 2021. We have had absolutely no chance to use them. I talked with Get Away Today and they said they were confident that Disneyland would reopen before the end of the year. When they announced an opening date, I rebooked two hotel stays, one off-site and one at the GCH, for mid August, the last possible time we could go before going back to school (we work in education). Thankfully all my reservations are free cancellation. With work obligations, I don’t know when we can go back. We bought 4 day passes, and it really just feels like a waste of money, not to mention most our original package we got vouchers or credits to use in the future. The money is already paid, we just are trying to see when or if it will ever happen. I’ve talked to people at Disney and they basically say the expiration date is January 12, 2021. And it does take time to get flights and hotels lined up and time off from work.
I am not rich but as soon as I am unleashed it will make me feel sooooooooo good to spend a ton of money going to Disneyland for many many many days, eating everything twice, going on every single ride, including the tea cups I normally avoid, maxing out all my cards, who cares! Shut up and take my money!!!!
Yes!!!!!
Amen to that. I am really going through some serious withdrawals. I want everyone to be as safe as possible, but I want my favorite place to visit to reopen.
If it’s Disney’s rule to wear face masks do you think they are going to say: awe gee look how cute those kids are let them break the rules who care! Because I think anyone not being compliant is going to be permanently kicked out. They are going to have everyone sign that they understand the rules and when you don’t you go…..loose all that money.
Todd, your idea for dealing with different Premier APs expiration dates if/when the two worlds don’t open together is a good one and would work for us. Although I wonder if it would be a little too complicated. I really have no idea how many Premier APs are sold. I was told by a Disneyland CM that at this point ours will be extended the number of days the parks are closed. Hopefully we will receive an email addressing this after one park opens and the other’s opening is delayed!
I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens. Being in California I am nervous that they will base the expiration extension on the park that opens first and that will probably be Florida. Again we just have to wait and see. As far as the number of Premier AP’s I have tried to find this out several times with no luck. Stay Safe and Sane.
Todd B.
I have a trip to DL scheduled for Sept 22. I’m an RN and have seen the effects of lack of social distancing. I don’t think they should open before January. Maybe they could have more attractions open than the usual shut downs and closed for renovations or repairs as per normal for January. It would be great to have a fresh new opening with special celebration events.
We have hotel reservations for paradise pier in August & Airline tickets. We purchased 4 day passes from the military & they are supposedly non refundable. We planned on taking our 9yr old granddaughter for her birthday. Would you advise us to just cancel the August reservation & reschedule when you do open? Our military tickets expire in 12/19/2020. Do you believe you might be open by Thanksgiving? Sincerely, Donna Benson, a long time fan, been going there since 1959.
I agree!!! I am also man RN.