Shanghai Disneyland Reopens at 20% Capacity,Requiring Compulsory Facial Masks and Social Distancing

The Shanghai Disneyland Resort has reopened on May 11 after having been shut down for more than three months to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is Disney’s first theme park to resume operations around the world.

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The park currently operates at around 20% of its max capacity, or 16,000 people, admitting only guests who have reservations. Before entering the resort, visitors need to have their temperature taken and health code checked. Wearing facial masks is also compulsory except during meals.

People are eager to visit the park, with tickets for the week following May 11 sold out within the first hour after made available on Disney’s site on May 8, according to a Chinese media report.

Due to the limit on the number of visitors, attractions in the park have much shorter queues, with most activities requiring only five minutes of wait time. Even popular rides such as “Soaring Over the Horizon,” which used to have two to three-hour queues, takes less than 10 minutes. However, several attractions such as theater shows and fireworks have been suspended to prevent crowd buildup, a report from The Verge said.

In addition to mandatory facial masks, the park has also taken a number of precautionary measures to reduce the risk of virus spread. Queues have signs that show visitors how far apart they should stand, and certain rides will have empty seats to keep guests apart. Visitors are also asked not to touch items they don’t want to purchase at gift shops.

Disneyland has also added more than 300 hand sanitizer dispensers in the park and encourages no-touch payment methods to reduce the risk of COVID-19. The resort also increased the size of its dedicated team of cleaners, who “are constantly wiping down all surfaces in the park,” senior vice president of the park told CNN.

The Shanghai Disneyland Resort has received more than 66 million visitors since its opening in June 2016. Its revenue for 2019 grew by 17% year on year in 2019 to more than 10 billion yuan. The resort’s eighth and newest section — the world’s first Zootopia-themed expansion —has started constructions in December 2019.