Earlier today, California Governor, Gavin Newsom poured cold water on any hope that we will see reopening guidelines for the Disneyland Resort any time soon. While the heads of Disney, the association for theme parks in southern California, leaders from Universal Studios and Knotts, local Anaheim politicians, Orange County health leaders, and multiple business associations have been begging the state for guidelines to allow for these theme parks to reopen, the State has responded with “very soon,” multiple times, and today they seemed to have had enough and said not to expect any announcement anytime soon.
In statements earlier today Newsom said that there is “no hurry in putting out guidelines” adding, “We don’t anticipate in the immediate term, any of these larger theme parks opening until we see more stability in terms of the data.”
Governor Newsom also acknowledged the departure of Disney Chairman Bob Iger from his economic recovery task force. He praised Iger for his hard work but admitted they butted heads regarding a reopening timeline.
California continues to claim they are waiting on the data to allow for these parks to reopen, but have been silent about what milestones specifically need to be reached. The Governor acknowledged the pressure local business leaders have put on him, but held firm that he is going to let science and data make the determination, not industry pressure.
In an apparent effort to make this point clear, Governor Newsom added, “… we are going to be led by a health-first framework and we’re going to be stubborn about it.”
We will continue to report on this story and will update you as things change.