Plans to reopen Disneyland ‘irresponsible and greedy,’ thousands say in petition

One day after Disneyland revealed plans for a phased reopening, an online petition calling for the resort to remain closed has gathered 13,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

The Change.org petition says it’s too soon to reopen Disneyland while coronavirus cases continue to climb in California.

“There are more cases now than when the parks closed on March 13th, 2020,” the petition argues, calling the decision to reopen “irresponsible and greedy.”

“I understand everyone is rejoicing for the reopening of the parks but not during a pandemic where people are DYING, now is not the time,” the petition reads.

The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim announced Wednesday that Downtown Disney will reopen July 9, while Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will reopen July 17, McClatchy News reported earlier. Several hotels at the resort will reopen July 23.

The safety of guests, workers and others at the parks is at the forefront of the park’s reopening plans., a Disneyland official told McClatchy News on Thursday in response to the petition.

A May message by Dr. Pam Hymel, chief medical officer at Disney parks, outlines other steps the company is taking as its theme parks reopen around the world.

Disneyland will cap the number of visitors in each park to promote social distancing and plans other steps to help curb the spread of coronavirus, the official said. The health policies will be under continuous review and will be updated in keeping with expert guidance from the state and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

California has had more than 136,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,700 deaths from coronavirus, the Department of Public Health said Tuesday.

The state is among several in the U.S. that have seen spikes in new coronavirus cases as the nation reopens for business, McClatchy News previously reported.

“It’s too early to open,” reads a comment on the Change.org petition by one supporter. “This opening seems more like a ploy to open for Disneyland’s 65th anniversary and try to stir up the economy more than it has anything to do with health and safety.”

“I work there! The last thing I wanna do is go back while this pandemic is getting worse,” reads another comment.

“Disneyland is not essential,” reads a comment from someone who added that employees, called cast members by Disneyland, should not have to risk their health to open the parks.

More than 7.4 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 418,000 deaths as of Thursday, June 11, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 2 million confirmed cases with more than 113,000 deaths.

The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.

“More than six months into this pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 11:33 AM.