By ABBY GROFF
Staff Writer
Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
After Disney’s longest shutdown in history, fans are finally returning to the beloved park.
Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, is arguably one of the most famous attractions in the world with roughly 18 million visitors annually. When COVID-19 struck, the world was put on pause. For Disney fanatics this was soul-crushing. Previously the park had only closed for a short amount of time on three separate occasions: the assassination of Presiden John F. Kennedy, the Northridge earthquake, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. What made this shutdown different than all the rest was its long thirteen continuous months of closure.
As of April 30, 2021, Disneyland is open once again. Everyone who’s attended Disney is aware of the huge crowds and lines full of people, but those aspects of theme park life aren’t really possible this time around due to covid restrictions. As a solution, Disneyland is open only at 25% capacity to in-state residents and parties cannot enter with more than three different households. For California residents, this is nothing but a win. As someone who prefers the more thrilling coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain, I can’t say exactly how Disney passholders feel, but I can assume with confidence that everyone would love an empty park with no wait times.