Yesterday we learned that theme park closures due to covid are not yet a thing of the past as it was announced that Shanghai Disney Resort was closing down for an uncertain period of time. An empty theme park is certainly no fun for anybody, but getting that park empty was no easy task, and there’s now a video showing the people who found themselves stuck in the park while they waited for their tests to clear.
Reuters has released video which shows people sitting around inside Shanghai Disneyland. When the park was closed guests were required by city of Shanghai rules to get tested before leaving the park. This led to the problem of large crowds wanting to leave the park, but unable to do so for a time, while the subway, that is usually busy as the day comes to an end, becoming a ghost town. Check it out.
A Disney spokesperson told CinemaBlend that the testing procedures had been set forth by Shanghai, and Shanghai Disney Resort expedited the testing so that guests could leave the resort as soon as possible. A similar park closure on short notice happened at Shanghai Disney about a year ago. If anything Disney is just becoming more proficient at the whole thing.
China has continued to keep a hard line on covid since the pandemic began for them at the end of 2019. While most of the rest of the world has gone back to business as usual, China is still implementing strict rules and even lockdowns in an attempt to keep the virus under control. Disney simply has to role with the punches and do what they must.
In the same way that Walt Disney World only remained closed for a few months while Disneyland Resort was closed for more than a year, due to different rules in each state, Disney has to follow whatever the governments decide to do in the nations where they are operating. This means that when it comes to reopening, the determination of when that will be appropriate likely won’t come from Disney, at least not alone.
The last time we saw a fast closure like this last year, the park was only closed for a few days, and so it’s possible we could get a reopening announcement here once the dust settles. Earlier this year the park was closed for a few months. If we’re in line for something of that nature, the park could remain closed until some time next year.
Shanghai was the first Disney resort to close due to the pandemic in January 2020. It also became the first to reopen with new covid protocols in place, something that every Disney resort had to deal with for some time.
