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Credit: Inside the MagicAs Disneyland gets closer to reopening on April 30, more rides are being prepared in the theme park for Guests to return. Part of that prep includes enhanced health and safety measures.
Disneyland President Ken Potrock shared a picture of some of the enhancements being done to Space Mountain in Tomorrowland.
Potrock wrote on Instagram:
“As I walk the resort it’s exciting to see more Cast Members and more activity every day. I stopped by Space Mountain and met the awesome team of leads and trainers who are busy preparing the attraction. I am grateful for all the teams who are diligently working to get us to opening day on April 30!”
As you can see, plexiglass partitions have placed between the side-by-side aisles leading down to the loading zone. This is similar to what has been done on numerous rides at Walt Disney World Resort, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance [below].
Since they have divided the aisles on Space Mountain, it will be interesting to see if Disneyland officials also put partitions in between each boarding row as well.
So far, this is the first look Guests have been given to new safety procedures being implemented inside one of Disneyland’s rides.
It is also possible that plexiglass could be added in between each row of the ride vehicle, so more Guests can be in each vehicle. Such safety practices are currently in place on certain attractions in Walt Disney World, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Expedition Everest, Frozen Ever After, and the aforementioned Rise of the Resistance.
Along with partitions on rides, Guests visiting Disneyland Resort must follow several other new health and safety measures. These include required face masks for any Guest over the age of 2, social distancing, and temperature screenings, which will be done at a security checkpoint before Guests enter the theme park.
Furthermore, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will be operating at limited capacity and will only be open to California residents until state guidelines change.
While most Disneyland attractions will be open when the theme park reopens, they will be modified to meet the new safety guidelines. This includes a virtual queue in certain cases and limited capacity aboard ride vehicles. You can see a complete list of attractions that will be available upon Disneyland’s reopening by clicking here.
So far, it is not confirmed which rides will be using the virtual queue system. However, Disneyland has confirmed that Rise of the Resistance, the newest ride located in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, will exclusively use the virtual queue system. This boarding group system was also in place pre-pandemic, however, so this is not a major change for Rise of the Resistance riders.
The Rise of the Resistance virtual queue will open to Guests two times per day, unlike the once per day before the COVID-19 shutdown. This is most likely due to Guests that will not be able to come to the theme park until 1 p.m. with their Park Hopper pass.
Furthermore, Disney World has already moved to this two-a-day boarding group distribution system for Rise of the Resistance.
While we all anxiously look forward to the opening of Disneyland, this glimpse inside the Park gives us hope for the future!
Will the enhanced safety measures make you feel safer while at Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!