Over a Year Closed, California to Open Major Amusement Parks, Maybe

The State of California announced last week that major theme parks such as Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain will be allowed to open on April 1^st, though none plan on doing so.

Original state regulations would not have enabled the parks to open until the least restrictive tier.  The change in policy, made without explanation, only allows parks to open at 15 to 30% of capacity depending on which tier their county of residency meets beginning with the second Red Tier.

Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm are currently (or are scheduled to be) in Red Tier Counties and could allow no more than 15% of capacity.  Whether reopening with such a small capacity is financially feasible is a large question, but a few weeks will not be time to do so to meet April Fool’s Day.

The California Attractions and Parks Association had been demanding Governor Gavin Newsom issue guidelines for reopening since September, 2020.  With this latest surprise announcement, California will now be the last government in the world to allow theme parks to reopen.

Florida successfully began reopening their major parks back in June of 2020.