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!
…and now DL is finally open. Please make a “DisneyWar” sequel post!
I know that we all want Disneyland & California Adventure to open as soon as possible, but perhaps now is a good time to have some “negotiations” with the City of Anaheim. The City has placed some pretty harsh restrictions on Disney’s development in the recent past (prior to covid)…even to the point of causing Disney to cancel a resort expansion that would have provided another hotel. We lost Rain Forrest Cafe and ESPN Sports Zone in the process. Anaheim is in great need of the tax revenues that Disney and the surrounding area provides and Disney now has some leverage, via pushing back the re-opening. This may cost Disney some dollars in the short run, but if Disney can put in some long-term economic agreements into place regarding restrictions put in place on future development/expansion, they my very well come out ahead in the long run.
That’s actually a great idea.
Re: Disneyland /Disney World, I would say it’s comparing apples and oranges. Since we live in CA, we never thought there was any reason to go to WDW but when we finally went a few years ago, we were *hooked* on that experience IN ADDITION to still loving DL. I am sure there are folks on here who have gone to Disney Paris and Tokyo. A few people I know have, and they would all agree that each experience is unique. We’re flying to FLA to go to Disney World in less than two weeks, and we are super excited to go back to Epcot, just for starters.
We don’t live close enough to ANY of the Disney parks to be able to casually hop on over for a day, and were annual passholders for DL because that’s a much shorter and quicker jaunt. My point is that neither of these is an “easy” drive there and back for the day trip for us, which I think is true for most people who aren’t fortunate to live in proximity to one of them, and for whom a Disney Trip is a Big Deal..
I would encourage anyone who hasn’t been to both DL and DW to make at least one trip to the one you haven’t visited. I am primarily going to make my case for why Disneyland has something to offer, even for folks who have been to Disney World many times, precisely because Disney World is so huge, fabulous, and well known and people can discount Disneyland to some extent in comparison.
DL, even with Disney CA, is MUCH smaller than Disney World, as many others can attest. I am pretty sure that the entirely of Disney CA (including parking) might fit into ONE of the parking lots at Disney World. OTOH, Disneyland is less expensive (notice how I did not say it is “inexpensive”) and just like there are things in Orlando that you can’t see at Disneyland, you can’t be where Walt actually WAS in Florida, you can’t see his actual office window, or the parts of the park that he would have seen, you can’t ride on the railroad loop he rode on. Even though many of the park features have been overhauled, upgraded, or replaced over the years, you can still see the same castle he saw, the same original Small World building that people have been loving for over half a century. To me there is a kind of magic in that.
In Disney World you can see a greater manifestation of his vision but that has also expanded and changed a lot. even the overlapping attractions aren’t identical.
Since Disney revamped Disney CA and took out all the tacky crap (I think most of us who have seen/driven across the original LOATHED that fake “Golden Gate Bridge,” for example), parts of Disney California can actually can give folks who aren’t from CA at least some sense of the diversity of this state. For example, walking through Disney CA, we could identify parts of the park that were clearly representative of the Napa/Sonoma/NorCal “wine country, ” Parts with Painted Ladies and narrow streets that were either San Francisco (or other old city CA style Victorians), are a recognizeable nod to the giant redwoods, stunning waterfalls, and waterways in NorCal and the Sierras/Redwoods parts of California. There are parts that celebrate the Latino/Spanish heritage: one of our comments was that we walked around a corner from either a SF neighborhood full of Victorians or OldTown Eureka in Humboldt straight into the old Mission District of SF). There are parts that reflected the huge agricultural areas that supply food/produce to much of the US, and yes – just like Disney World Hollywood studios – parts that were definitely evocative of LA and other parts of SoCal that are close to the ocean. So for folks who’ve never travelled much in California, I think it’s probably one of the better “Cliff’s notes” versions of CA that you could have – if you are interested in California as a real, huge, and diverse state rather than a stereotype.
Hope it’s OK that I posted this much, I just think both Disneyland and Disney World have much in common – but each park also has a lot that the other one doesn’t. So I would encourage EVERYONE thinking about a trip to either one to go – and for EVERYONE who loves “things Disney” to go to both of them at least once. (And I still maintain that “Cars Land” is set in a crossroad of Route 66 across the US and also San Bernardino County LOL).
I wonder when marvel campus will open?
i really want to go to Disneyland and go on all the rides that i can go on and i really want to fight Darth vadar
Anyone pining for Disney shouldn’t hesitate to go to WDW in Florida. Went at Christmas, and had a great time. The state and governor of FL have been victims of vicious attacks in the press, but everyone wears masks, and most restaurants require masks for entry. You will run into some people there who are refugees from other states, who have incredible stories to tell ( We ran into one person from NY who had to get permission from her employer to travel to FL on HER HONEYMOON.
Same it’s awesome in Florida!! The people/locals are such great hosts and we had an amazing time!
They get a bad rap because they don’t give a crap about protecting people from the virus. They aren’t the ones who are making things safe at WDW. Disney is!
Kari, grow up. Thank you Tom for moderating correctly. Can we keep this about Disneyland and not politics of Newsom! We all know why Disneyland is closed. I cannot wait for it to open back up once it is safe for us guests and the Disney workers. Both my kids worked there for years and work in management there. A lot of employees are anxious about returning. So let’s hope we can get Orange County down the numbers line and open the magic up!
To the guy who moderates this site:
Joshua C posted that Californians are “idiots”. Yet, you refused to post my feelings about Gavin Newsom’s Disneyland shut down. I called him Gavin Screwsom because that is exactly what has resulted from his tactics. Ask any small business owner. So it appears that you pick and choose what is offensive and what is not. I understand you don’t want inflammatory comments, but please be fair about it. Thanks!
The “screw-some” insult name is why your previous comment was moderated. It had nothing to do with the substance or opinion you voiced; just its inflammatory nature.
The “idiot” comment was not moderated because it didn’t get flagged, so I didn’t see it.
Your comment now is being allowed so you can see my explanation. I’ll delete this entire thread in a day or two (or once you respond indicating you’ve seen it). Hope you understand! 🙂
Two times I have posted replies about Disneyland not being able to open. My comments included my feelings about Gov. Newsom’s tactics. No cursing, nothing bad, yet this site won’t publish them. Talk about a crackdown on free speech! Everyone should be concerned.
Sue him for what? Not opening when the county is in the highest tier? Cause idiots in CA don’t follow rules such as Floridians do? Maybe he should sue each idiot that spread the virus during December. Most disney employees don’t want anywhere near that place til numbers go down. And your right, he could care less. He is floating in money. Disney ent open until morns start following rules and you actually have a hospital system that can handle illness. So wake up California. We are living life in Florida cause we followed rules.
Bob Iger sent hundreds of thousands in donations of his personal funds to Democrats like Newsom last year. It’s public record. I find it difficult to believe that he will sue any Democrat no matter how awful they are. His pay and his hundreds of millions are in the bank so just how concerned is he about Disneyland reopening?
…in the meantime, Walt Disney World in Florida has been open since July, hosting tens (possibly now hundreds) of thousands of guests since that time…
i will love to go Disneyland on my birthday with my mom and fight darth vadar and go on all the rides that i can go on.
My family had a planned Disneyland vacation for Christmas last year (2020)..We live in Hawaii. We made alternate plans in the LA / Orange County area but bc of stay at home order. We almost canceled vacation altogether. Then we got a wild hair and decided to go to Walt Disney World..
We had a great time and are planning our next trip.. I never felt unsafe from Covid bc mostly everyone followed the mask rules..
Hawaii requires you to have a negative Covid 19 test prior to boarding your trip to Hawaii and my job required it 5 days after arrival..
Happy to report negative tests both times..
If it’s at all possible, take your family to WDW.. I didn’t think I could.. but we did.. Disney is really the happiest place on Earth!!
Great, I have never been to the one in Florida since it so much further from me, I can just drive to the one in California. I have heard mixed reviews about WDW but it sounds like you had a good time there, will have to keep that in mind.
Fred, you really need to go to WDW. It’s sooooo much better in many ways. I love DL, but it’s just…less. The bad thing about WDW is that you need at least twice as many days to see half of it.
I’m at Downtown Disney right now due to being here on business. It’s really sad…yes they are open but now they are being required to move the tables eight feet apart! They are trying to open seated dining in DCA “soon”. Yesterday I was in Newport Beach where they are ignoring the mandates and dining inside! It was nice but felt really strange for this Californian! Enjoying the Disney music and all the people milling around outside Catal/UVA Bar though!
Fred yes! Check it out! You won’t be sorry! Tickets are cheap now too.
It is a family tradition for us. For years we have had passes and so many wonderful and magical times there. So many magic moments seeing the wonderment in the eyes of our kids and grandkids. Hope we can go back soon although it will be now be difficult to get our entire family of 23 kids and grandkids in there all at once.
I am looking forward to going to Disneyland someday. I read about all the great things about it. We were suppose to fly to California last May. Had to cancel, but look forward to seeing and riding all that Tom writes about. Love all your pictures!
Shirley,
You won’t regret going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World..
For Disneyland and California Adventure, I recommend the park hopper and doing a minimum of 3 days..
I went to WDW for Christmas 2020 and unfortunately could only do 3 days and that was not enough bc WDW is so large..
Going to go again next year and will try 7 days..
YOU HAVE TO GO!! It really is the happiest place on earth! My son teases that they spray laughing gas in the air..
I don’t care if they do!! Bc I’M HAPPY when I’m there..
Hakuna Matada! No worries!
Just want my pass, that I’ve had for 30+ years back! 🙁 I live 6 hours away and go 4-5 times a year and have to plan, hotel, days off, etc. I sure hope the new offerings keep things like that in mind.
My mom lived Disneyland and we would visit several times year. She bought passes for herself, my sister and I the 1st year they were offered. She passed away in 2005. Visiting the parks is the one place my sister and I feel her spirit (we even have a brick in her memory out front). So many memories. Walking through that gate feels like home and we miss it SO much! Just returned from WDW and had a wonderful time but it’s not quite the same.
Sherry, great comment. When the nitwits ask us why we are going to WDW AGAIN or make some other dumb comment, they have no idea. We went multiple times as kids in the family motor home, driving from NM to CA or FL to the parks, national parks, friends and relatives’ houses, etc. Parents are retired teachers and had summers off. Just many great memories of family trips. When we are at WDW we can really relax and not be always focused on some other schedule or outside things and just have fun.