As Disneyland Resort and other neighboring theme parks in California remained shuttered, government officials continue contacting Governor Newsom in hopes of modified reopening guidelines that would allow for a Tier 3 reopening as opposed to a Tier 4, which may render the parks closed for a far longer stretch of time. The Big City Mayor’s Coalition, which represents some of the largest cities in California, like Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Diego, and more, has issued a letter to the governor regarding the detrimental impacts of the extended closure on these local economies:
The guidelines put forth by your Administration were released within the framework of prioritizing public health and safety for guests and employees. This is the right focus. However, economic and public health are not mutually exclusive goals. We are concerned that the state’s guidelines would push re-opening of large theme parks up to a year out, which would have significant negative impacts on hundreds of thousands of jobs, thousands of small businesses, and billions in operating revenue for our cities.
Big City Mayor’s Coalition
The letter was signed by various mayors, including Mayor Sidhu of Anaheim, who has been very vocal about the ongoing closures:
• Mayor Harry Sidhu of Anaheim
• Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles
• Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego
• Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose
• Mayor Lee Brand of Fresno
• Mayor Karen Goh of Bakersfield
• Mayor Rusty Bailey of Riverside
• Mayor Miguel Pulido of Santa Ana
When asked recently about the repercussions of businesses remaining closed surrounding Disneyland and why the theme park could not reopen sooner, Governor Gavin Newsom remained firm in his beliefs that to reopen such a large theme park could lead to widespread transmission of the pandemic within the state, if not nationwide.
We should be concerned about opening up a large theme park where by definition people mix from every conceivable walk of life and put themselves and others at increased risk of seeing transmission rates rise.
Governor Gavin Newsom
With the holidays in front of us and the concerns brought up by experts worldwide for a second or third wave, Newsom seems set on keeping with the established guidelines. Disneyland Resort plans to mitigate the effects of the extended closure by reopening Disney California Adventure’s Buena Vista Street for shopping and dining in November.
Source: Deadline
