Disneyland

California's Disneyland Delays July Reopening Date

The proposed date that Disneyland was set to reopen was July 17, but the company said that date would be pushed back

Disneyland Resort

Disneyland had proposed a date in July for a phased reopening of the parks, pending government approval, but company officials said Wednesday that date would be pushed back.

Theme parks were already planned to be significantly limited, but officials said Disneyland and California Adventure would no longer reopen July 17. The park said it wouldn't reopen because the state said it would not release theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4.

It's been four months since the parks shuttered due to coronavirus safety concerns. The 17th is the park's 65th anniversary.

Downtown Disney District is still set to reopen July 9. 

It wasn't immediately clear what the new date might be.

Disney officials said in a statement that in order to reopen the theme parks, Disney would need to negotiate agreements with unions on employees' behalf.

"We thank our cast and guests for their patience during this unprecedented time while we await approval from government officials," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.

Shanghai Disneyland became the first Disney property to reopen its doors to limited visitors on May 11, three months after it had closed due to the coronavirus in late January.
The theme park has only closed four times in its history. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2020. (Kevin Dahlgren)

Parades and nighttime spectaculars will return at a later date due to the fact that those events draw large crowds.

The March 14 closure of the parks marked the fourth time Disneyland in California had closed since opening in 1955. It first closed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, then in 1994 due to the deadly Northridge quake, and the third time was after the terror attacks on Sept. 11.

While Universal City Walk in Hollywood reopened Wednesday with restrictions, it wasn't immediately clear when the theme park would reopen.

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