Shanghai Disneyland Set to Reopen as Local COVID Wave Subsides – The Hollywood

The Shanghai Disney Resort is set to reopen on Thursday after suspending operations for more than three months in response to China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

The Walt Disney Co. said the resort will resume ticket sales on Wednesday, and attendance levels will be capped during the first phase of reopening, part of a “careful ramp-up of operations.” Some attractions, such as Marvel Universe and the Explorer Canoes, will initially remain closed. All guests will need to present a negative PCR test result received within 72 hours to gain entry, Disney added. 

The theme park has been shut since March 21, when the resort locked its doors amid a surge of omicron cases in Shanghai, which ultimately resulted in a total lockdown for the city’s 22 million residents. Shanghai officials lifted the stay-at-home order on June 1, and some entertainment facilities began opening in the weeks that followed. The Universal Studios Beijing Resort resumed operations on June 25 after weathering a two-month lockdown of its own. 

But Disney and local officials opted to play it safe in Shanghai’s case, a reflection of the severity of the recent outbreak and the aggressive public health posture behind China’s “dynamic COVID-zero” policy. At the height of the local outbreak, Shanghai set a string of national records for daily infection rates, with new cases repeatedly topping 15,000. In the fall of last year, Shanghai Disneyland was ordered shut with 30,000 guests and staff still inside after a single positive test result was traced to a guest who had recently visited the theme park. All visitors were then required to take PCR tests before they were allowed to go home. The draconian response is likely to be repeated should a positive result be traced to the park again. 

For now, the public health situation in China appears to be moving in the right direction. Both Beijing and Shanghai on Tuesday reported no new COVID-19 infections, the first time the two cities were simultaneously in the clear since February. China also slashed the required quarantine time for inbound travelers — from 14 days to 7 at centralized government facilities, with an additional 3 days at home — which local markets responded to positively, with both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges recording daily gains.

The Shanghai Disney Resort is Disney’s second-largest physical entertainment location in the world, trailing only Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The Chinese park is a joint venture between Disney and a state-backed entity known as the Shendi Group. The Chinese firm holds a 57 percent ownership stake, while Disney retains creative and operational control.