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Credit: Shanghai Disneyland We have updated this article since it was originally published to include the most up-to-date information on Shanghai Disney’s partial reopening.
After being closed for almost three full months due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Shanghai Disney Resort will partially reopen today, March 9. While the Disneyland Park itself will remain closed, its Disneyland Hotel, Disneytown, and Wishing Star Park areas will re-open with limited capacities.
The following statement was posted on Shanghai Disney’s website today:
Shanghai Disneyland Remains Temporarily Closed Until Further Notice
Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel Re-open with Limited Operations – March 09, 2020Shanghai Disneyland remains closed as we continue to closely monitor health and safety conditions and follow the direction of government regulators. However, as the first step of a phased reopening, Shanghai Disney Resort will partially resume operations on March 9, 2020 with a limited number of shopping, dining, and recreational experiences available in Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. Each of these resort locations will operate under limited capacity and reduced hours of operation. The Disney Car and Coach Park and the Disneytown Parking Lot will also reopen.
The resort will provide an extensive range of measures, designed to ensure a safe and healthy experience for all guests, Cast Members and Disneytown tenant employees, including strict and comprehensive approaches on sanitization, disinfection and cleanliness. In accordance with relevant regulations, every guest entering Shanghai Disney Resort will be required to undergo temperature screening procedures upon their arrival, will need to present their Health QR Code when entering dining venues, and will be required to wear a mask during their entire visit. Guests will also be reminded to maintain respectful social distances at all times while in stores, queues and restaurants.
Please refer to the Shanghai Disney Resort official website and app for the operation hours of Disneytown and Wishing Star Park.
Shanghai Disneyland is the only Disney theme park and resort in Mainland China, and the Chinese government owns a majority stake. Because of those two factors, it was the first Disney theme park and resort to close due to the outbreak of the coronavirus now known as COVID-19.
According to CNN, the partial reopening comes after the spread of the virus within China has reportedly slowed down and businesses in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau begin a push to get back to business as usual. But, it also comes as a financial necessity for Disney. The resort is bleeding money and is looking at a loss of over $130 million in just this quarter alone. Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said that “the precise magnitude of the financial impact is highly dependent on the duration of the closures.”
One of those experiences now reopened to guests is Lumiere’s Kitchen located in the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel.
According to the Shanghai Disney Resort Website,
Starting March 14, Lumière’s Kitchen will offer brunch and dinner during weekends. Guests will be able to enjoy brunch from 11:30-14:00 on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday evenings from 17:30-21:00. Special appearances by popular Disney characters add a touch of star-studded magic. Choose from an array of appetizers, salads, international entrées and of course, a dazzling array of Beauty and the Beast-themed desserts.
We are delighted to see some sparks of Disney Magic be ignited once again in some corner of the world.
We at Inside the Magic remain hopeful that this partial reopening will be successful and begin a steady progression to its full reopening. Meanwhile, Tokyo Disney Resort is still scheduled to resume normal operations on March 16. There is still no official word regarding a reopening date for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Read More: Coronavirus Update: Disney Closes Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai Parks