After the success of the Touch of Disney event, Disney has finally been given permission as of April 1 to reopen rides in its parks. However, due to the Touch of Disney event that was taking place, Disney will actually be opening its rides on April 30 at a limited capacity. In order to get tickets for Disneyland, guests will need both a theme park reservation and an admission ticket for the same park on the same day for those ages 3 and up (Disney). In order to accommodate the state guidelines and limit the transmission of the virus, entrance to the theme park will be limited to those who live in California, and a maximum of three households per group are allowed. This limited capacity setting offers some benefits for those not wanting to wait in as long of lines as if it were open at full capacity.

In order to get tickets to return to Disneyland, those who currently have a ticket for a date during the lockdowns have priority, as they weren’t able to go before, so they can select their dates on April 12. On April 15, those who don’t already have a ticket can purchase a ticket and make a reservation to go, and the calendar for that group of people will also be released on April 15 (Disney). 

Additionally, the hours for the park reopening will be slightly modified and will last from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. During these hours, shopping and dining experiences will also be open, and there is even an option for online ordering where you use an app to order your food. These differences help make Disneyland a safer and more enjoyable experience for many as they start to see more reopen after a long year of shutdowns.

In terms of buying tickets to return to Disneyland, it was a much worse experience than buying Touch of Disney tickets. Ticket sales began at 8 am on April 15, and even though I went on the website 20 minutes early, I was sent into a queue that said I had over an hour’s wait. Due to the high demand of people wanting to purchase tickets, this wait time extended until 5:30 in the evening, where the site began glitching and prompted me out of the site, almost making me start the process all over again. However, with some luck, I managed to get on and secure some tickets to return to Disneyland, which is exciting and something to look forward to. Fortunately, many of the dates were still available compared to the rapid sell-out of Touch of Disney. Maddie Liao (10) thinks that the wait for these tickets is crazy, and “can’t even imagine how difficult it will be to get tickets for other events that will finally be opening up soon as well.” For those still wanting to purchase a ticket, there are still a few dates available, and there is hardly a wait to get them now. This is another big contrast to the Touch of Disney event and leaves fans much less stressed as they still have a chance to purchase tickets if they happened to miss their chance on April 15.

With large businesses finally beginning to open up again, many are having a lot to look forward to other than just staying home all day. It also benefits the struggling businesses that have been waiting a long time to reopen and are reassured they can stay in business. Disneyland has especially been trying to reopen for quite a while, so this is such positive news for them as they can now bring back a lot of their employees that otherwise would have been without a job for a very long time. As the month’s progress, even more, is expected to open, leading to hope of a sense of normalcy soon for society that all can enjoy safely.