Fox News Flash top headlines for March 17
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Someone tell Mickey to get back to work.
Last March, Disneyland (and all other major theme parks in California) made the unprecedented move to temporarily close down amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, the park has finally set a reopening date over one year after it first closed.
Disneyland confirmed to Fox News that it will be reopening on April 30th. (iStock)
Disneyland hsa confirmed that its parks will be reopening on April 30. While some of the shopping and dining areas of Disneyland reopened over the summer, the major theme parks have largely been shut down since last March.
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"The day all of us have long been waiting for is almost here," Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort said in a statement. "We’re excited to have more than 10,000 cast members returning to work as we get ready to welcome our guests back to this happy place."
Amid the pandemic, however, the park is still facing a number of restrictions. For example, guest attendance will be limited ot 15%. Visitors will also be required to make reservations for a specific date ahead of time.
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California first announced its reopening guidelines for theme parks in early March, stipulating that operations would be able to commence as of April 1, provided the surrounding county falls within an acceptable tier for decreased case numbers, and that specific risk-mitigating criteria were met. According to the state’s guidelines, theme parks that are located in counties that are in the red tier (the second-highest tier on the state’s coronavirus threat blueprint) can reopen with 15% capacity. If the county moves to the orange tier, the capacity bumps to 25%, and increases to 35% at the yellow tier (the lowest level on the state’s threat blueprint).
Fox News also reported that the California Amusement Park Association (CAPA), an industry trade group representing Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood, among others, is currently advising its members' parks to adjust the seat-loading patterns on their rides to "mitigate the effect of shouting" when the parks are allowed to reopen.
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In addition to the reopening of the parks, some of Disneyland Resort's hotels — including the Grand Californian Hotel — are also scheduled to begin a phased reopening on April 29.