Disneyland president blasts California over strict reopening rules

Disneyland President Ken Potrock has blasted the state of California over its strict reopening rules, contending that state officials have been unwilling to collaborate.

“We believe that we’ve proven that we can responsibly reopen,” Potrock said. “We continue to prove all over the world that we have reliable protocols that protect the safety of our guests.”

Potrock appeared at a Wednesday news conference, a day after the state of California has set tough guidelines for reopening Disneyland and other large theme parks in the coming months. California’s director of health and human services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced on Tuesday that large California theme parks will be able to open at 25% capacity when their counties reach the lowest tier — assigned when daily new cases are under 1 per 100,000, and positive testing for COVID-19 is under 2%. Currently, only nine of California’s 58 counties are in the yellow tier.

Potrock said the state is not accounting for the impacts of anxiety and joblessness, adding, “There has to be a much greater back-and-forth dialogue. The goal line keeps moving.”

The event was organized through the California Attractions and Parks Association. Erin Guerrero, a spokesperson for the trade group, did not dismiss the notion of legal action against the state by saying, “All options are open.”

Disney announced on Sept. 29 that it was laying off 28,000 employees, two-thirds of whom are part-time, due to the pandemic’s impact on Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and blamed the state on California’s “unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.”

The event included comments from Karen Irwin, President and COO, Universal Studios Hollywood; Kurt Stocks, president, of Legoland California Resort; and Raffi Kaprelyan, regional vice president, of Cedar Fair, operators of Knott’s Berry Farm, California’s Great America, and Gilroy Gardens.

California health officials have recorded 887,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 17,000 deaths in the state.