by Emi Amemiya
Fun activities don’t have to end just because everyone is social distancing. The Disneyland in Shanghai just reopened on May 11 after being closed for three and a half months. The amusement park is taking certain safety precautions in order to keep their visitors healthy.
Visiting Disneyland now is a lot different than visiting it several months ago. Instead of being greeted at the opening gates with Mickey Mouse and his buddies, visitors are met with staff members who check their temperatures. While limiting the amount of people inside, visitors must wear a face mask and stay six feet apart.
Due to travel restrictions, the majority of the visitors are Chinese locals except for some foreigners who are stuck here and live in the country. In 2016, the park welcomed more than 10 million people, but now only 16,000 people are allowed. In order to visit this fun filled theme park, guests have to book timed entry tickets online to space out the crowds. Occasionally, the joyful festive music is interrupted by loud speakers reminding guests to keep their face masks on and social distance. On the ground, there is yellow tape that marks six feet to help people separate themselves from each other.
Disneyland fans are really excited to have something so magical back in this odd time. “‘To me it means magic starts again. All the joy, all the happiness, all the magic, everything comes back,” Yao Yao, a Disney superfan says. Many couldn’t hold back their excitement since the first few opening day tickets were completely sold out.“‘For us fans it’s very meaningful to be here on the first day of its reopening, and to be able to experience its reopening, it feels like a magical day,”’ 29 year old Kay Yu who’s a frequent visitor says.
One of the most exciting activities to do at Disneyland besides going on all the rides is taking pictures with all the Disney characters. Now that people need to socially distance themselves, selfie taking is a bit different. They must keep a safe distance for a photo. Guests can also no longer receive hugs from their favorite characters or high fives from Minnie Mouse and her crew..
Although COVID-19 cases are still rising, Disneyland’s reopening has brought joy to thousands of fans during this strange time of social distancing and working from home.
Bibliography
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/shanghai-disneyland-reopens-intl-hnk/index.html
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