A Southern California lawmaker wants to expedite the reopening of Disneyland and the state’s other iconic theme parks, now that the coronavirus surge seems to be easing, but Governor Gavin Newsom does not seem inclined to go along with the plan.
Enough is enough, said Orange County State Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva.
Great America in Santa Clara plans to reopen May 22 and smaller theme parks can reopen when their counties drop to the orange tier, but Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Magic Mountain have to wait until conditions improve to the yellow tier under Gov. Newsom’s guidelines.
So, Quirk-Silva introduced a bill to treat all the parks the same and let them reopen in the orange tier.
On KCBS Radio’s “The State of California,” Quirk-Silva said her district has been walloped by the closures.
“It’s been devastating,” she said. “As you know, it’s not the just the theme parks we’re talking about. We’re talking about hospitality, tourism, restaurants, retail – about 95 percent closed. And, as we know, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. We want to return, not only to having people come to Orange County, but throughout the state, to get back to a place where those who are in the entertainment industry, those who are in tourism, can start to have some type of certainty that the economy can recover.”
Quirk-Silva said capacity would be limited to 25 percent with strict social distancing and safety measures.
She pointed out that Downtown Disney has reopened safely, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida is open with no significant spike in the spread of COVID-19.
But Gov. Newsom has steadfastly insisted that it’s just not safe yet to allow large crowds, even masked ones, to congregate at the major California theme parks.
Related
