The happiest places on earth are a welcome change from one’s home.
Disneyland Park and Disneyland California Adventure Park announced that they would be reopening by April 30. Although the park has been closed since March 2020 because of the spike in coronavirus cases, Disney is now ready to reopen to Californians due to the decreasing risk of contracting the virus. The park will manage all attendance through a new system that mandates guests to make a reservation for entry and limits the party size to under three households. The reopening of amusement parks will be beneficial to Californians as long as safety precautions are followed.
Disneyland Resort’s opening allows California residents to revisit its joyous atmosphere, an opportunity to relieve the mental health stresses of the pandemic. Dr. Stefania Cerino, a specialist in psychiatry and researcher in psychiatric rehabilitation, stated that social isolation had caused various mental health difficulties, such as situations of discomfort, feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. However, as proven by research conducted by Zampara, theme parks can have positive effects on mental health and can help people achieve greater emotional stability. Leisure activities serve as a distraction from problems and provide a sense of competence. Thus, it is evident that theme parks can reduce mental stresses which were aggrandized by the coronavirus.
Because businesses such as restaurants and gyms are reopening and allowing large gatherings, it is clear that theme parks should also be permitted to do the same. Since March 2021, Los Angeles County has opened museums, movie theaters, gyms and indoor dining, allowing 25 percent of the maximum capacity to stay inside a building. Because much of Disneyland’s parks are outside and both sanitation sites and temperature screenings are available, the natural circulation of the outdoor air allows airborne contaminants to disperse, making it just as safe as going out to eat or returning to school in person. For example, in a database of over 20,000 coronavirus cases, only six percent of the cases in that database were linked to events that were either totally or partially outdoors. Therefore, a day trip to Disneyland is a perfectly safe option for any California citizens.
Although some are skeptical of reopening these theme parks, people must consider that amusement parks are also businesses. It is understandable to want to wait until it is safer before reopening public spaces. However, businesses cannot remain closed for an extended period without losing too much money, and amusement parks are not immune to these losses. Disneyland parks will enforce safety precautions which will ensure that the reopening is no different from the reopening of any other business. Additionally, the state of California is rapidly distributing vaccines, which will help contain the spread of the virus in the future and prevent a coronavirus outbreak at the parks. Thus, it is clear that reopening theme parks is a good decision that will benefit both the business and the public.
Visiting public spaces will always carry some risk of contracting COVID-19. However, as the number of coronavirus cases slowly declines, society must start to return to normalcy. Amusement parks such as Disneyland Resort present the perfect opportunity for Californians to relieve the mental stress that the pandemic has placed on them.