ANAHEIM, Calif. — In March of 2020, Disneyland, closed its gates for the longest stretch to time by far in its 65 year history. After 14 months of an empty Main Street, USA, the Happiest Place on Earth opened once again to the public in late April 2021.
If you’ve been to any type of amusement park recently, you’ll know that they all do something a little different to keep guests safe while maintaining that fun atmosphere. So I wanted to experience how Disneyland keeps that magic, while the threat of COVID-19 still looms.
Before I headed to Anaheim, I needed to make sure I had a ticket and a reservation in order to get into Disney and those are not easy to come by. My producer waited in a virtual line for eight hours to snag me a single-day, Disneyland-only ticket and then was able to make me a reservation. In addition, you’ll also need to be a California resident to get tickets.
After my ticket situation was squared away, I made the drive up to Anaheim. After going through a security checkpoint and temperature check, I walked nearly a half-mile to the front gate, which was almost completely empty.
But as soon as you enter the park, it hits you, you’re back at Disneyland. The trollies, characters and the castle are all right where they need to be.
By far the best thing that wasn’t at Disneyland, were the crowds. At a maximum of 25% capacity, the park was so much less overwhelming and more accessible to the average visitor. Wait times for popular rides were minutes instead of hours.
From what I saw, the staff at Disneyland was very conscious of keeping guests safe. In addition to masks being mandatory, signs, hand sanitizer and social distancing were all in place. That includes the characters like Alice and Mickey, who still put on a show for the guests, but six feet away.
Overall, the park was an unforgettable experience, for multiple reasons. Yes, it still had some of the same Disney experiences as before, but the lack of guests, closures and mandatory masks means it’s still early stages for the world-famous park.
Watch: Preps underway for California theme parks and ballparks to reopen