With masks & fever checks, it’s a ‘whole new world’ as Shanghai Disneyland reopens in China

Visitors wearing Disney-themed protective masks during the reopening of the Walt Disney Co. Shanghai Disneyland theme park | Bloomberg

Shanghai/Hong Kong: “A Whole New World,” the hit song from Walt Disney Co.’s film “Aladdin,” played in the background as visitors stood in front of Shanghai Disneyland waiting for it to reopen Monday after an almost four-month coronavirus shutdown.

Yao Yao, a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher wearing a Minnie Mouse costume arrived at 8:30 a.m. and was among dozens of people waiting about six feet (two meters) apart for entry.

To reach the gates of Shanghai Disneyland, guests had to pass through body temperature checks and show that their health status has been confirmed using a smartphone app for tracking infected persons. Masks were mandatory, despite the muggy 23 degree Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit) weather.

The reopening is one of the largest test cases yet of whether mass gatherings can take place safely amid the virus pandemic. As a marching band welcomed visitors to the Shanghai park, authorities around the world are facing rising pressure to end lockdowns and revive economies slammed by the global outbreak that has killed more than a quarter million people and infected 4 million.

Disney is struggling to recoup earnings at entertainment businesses impacted by the virus, while China’s government is grappling with the challenges of incrementally reopening the country. Parks, factories and restaurants in cities and countries around the world are reopening under rules to keep customers and workers apart, even as new surges in cases cause more lockdowns in other places.

“Simply walking in the park will make me forget anything unhappy,” said Yao. She said she normally visits four or five times a month.

Disney said Monday it is limiting access to the Shanghai park to a fifth of normal capacity, below the government-mandated one-third, during the initial reopening phase. Tickets for May 11 sold out in minutes, a sign consumers are prepared to spend and mingle in public as China cautiously moves beyond the virus.

Shanghai Disneyland was the first of the entertainment giant’s parks to close on Jan. 25 as the coronavirus began to spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan, 520 miles (840 kilometers) west of the country’s business capital.

Disney blamed the pandemic for lopping $1.4 billion off profit last quarter, largely by forcing it to shut resorts around the world. While Disney is keeping its U.S., Hong Kong and Paris parks closed, the company said last week it would open a limited number of shops and restaurants in its Disney Springs mall outside its resorts in Orlando, Florida, on May 20.

Safety measures at the reopened facility include “social distancing in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of sanitization and disinfection,” Disney said on its website. Some areas and shows will remain closed.

Tickets to Shanghai Disneyland during the initial reopening phase are 399 yuan ($56) for regular days, and 499 yuan for weekends.

Disney’s theme parks division contributed about 46% of operating income in the 12 months ended September 2019, more than double the earnings from its studio entertainment business, data compiled by Bloomberg show.