The Disneyland Resort, Lake Compounce, Kennywood and Idlewild all Share Plans to Reopen

© Disneyland

The Disneyland Resort is the first Southern California theme park resort to announce when they plan to reopen, having made their major announcement yesterday.  The property still need final approval from the state, but plan to open both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure on July 17th.

The Downtown Disney District, full of shopping and dining experiences, plans to open much sooner on July 9th.  It won't be until July 23rd when both Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel reopen to guests.

The Disneyland Resort has a massive annual pass base, one that will require the parks to very actively control attendance when they reopen.  It makes sense to me not to try to attract hotel guests until after the parks are open a bit, and some of the annual pass holders get their visits in.

The resort will follow the protocols that we saw the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida put in place when they announced their reopening, which is also toward the middle of July.  In California that includes required reservations to control attendance, the use of face masks, and for them even the pausing of selling and renewing annual passes to limit crowds.

This announcement should hopefully help other Southern California parks, such as Legoland, SeaWorld San Diego, Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain firm up their reopening dates.

© Palace Entertainment

Three of Palace Entertainment's theme parks have also revealed their opening dates as well.

Kennywood will start on July 6th with a friends and family day, then operate July 7th through 10th for season pass holders, then open to the public on July 11th.  Lake Compounce is opening for season pass holders from July 1st through the 5th, then the general public on the 6th of July.  Idlewild Park will open for season pass holders from July 7th through 10th, then the general public on the 11th.

All three parks are planning very similar changes due to COVID-19.  These include mandatory reservations to visit the park, temperature screenings upon entrance, and required face masks.