Walt Disney is the latest company to announce temporary closures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, officials announced that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will be closed from Saturday, March 14, until the end of the month.
“While there have been no reported cases of Covid-19 at Disneyland Resort, after carefully reviewing the guidelines of the Governor of California’s executive order and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure…” an official statement read.
The Hotels of Disneyland Resort will remain open until Monday, to give guests a chance to make suitable travel arrangements.
“Disneyland Resort will work with guests who wish to change or cancel their visits, and will provide refunds to those who have hotel bookings during this closure period. We anticipate heavy call volume over the next several days and appreciate guests’ patience as we work hard to respond to all inquiries,” it further stated.
This came just hours before the announcement of the closure of the theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort, beginning at the close of business on Sunday, March 15, and continuing until the end of March. The Disney Cruise Line will also be suspending all new departures beginning Saturday, March 14.
The hotels at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris will remain open until further notice, as well the retail and dining complexes, Disney Springs at Walt Disney World and Disney Village at Disneyland Paris.
The theme parks have stressed they will be paying cast members during the closure period. Domestic Walt Disney Company employees who are able to work from home are being asked to do so, including those at The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Direct-to-Consumer, and Parks, Experiences and Products.
This marks the first time the California and Florida theme parks will be closing since the September 11 attacks in 2001.
With Disney’s theme parks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai already shut, this marks the closure of all of Disney's theme parks for the time-being.
