COVID-19: Disneyland Paris Reopens

Disneyland Paris has reopened after about eight months of closure due to COVID-19.

Gatekeepers News reports that the Disneyland Paris theme park has opened to visitors on Thursday after being shuttered for nearly eight months due to the pandemic.

However, safety measures were put in place to avoid the spread of the virus.

Cast members dressed as favourite Disney characters – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy – were on hand as usual for selfies with visitors, but kept their distance.

Some of the measures put in place at the park stated that “close interactions, including hugs, will be temporarily suspended,” also visitors over the age of six are advised to wear masks.

However, visitors streaming through the gates at the opening time were ecstatic to be there.

22-year-old Émeline N’Zalakanda, who visited several times a week before the COVID-19 lockdown and has been missing the experience said, “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this all my life. It’s been months and months. It’s just amazing. There’s so much emotion, seeing all these people again.”

Inside the park, which is about 40 km (25 miles) east of Paris, the twirling teacups ride was in action once again and people flooded the Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

The CEO of Disneyland Paris, Natacha Rafalski, said the reopening was a watershed moment for the whole tourism and hospitality sector in France as it emerges from the pandemic.

Rafalski said, “We’ve all waited impatiently for this moment. Restaurants, hotels, theme parks, all hospitality venues, are essential to the life of the French people.”