Disneyland Superfans and Cast Members Protest to Reopen Theme Park

Disneyland superfans and various cast members aren’t thrilled that the theme park has been closed due to the COVID-19 crisis. According to USA Today, those very individuals have been protesting at the park, urging the location to re-open. Unlike Disney World in Florida, which re-opened in July with reduced capacity, Disneyland has been closed to visitors since March, around the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Since Disneyland has been closed since March, many fans of the popular theme park as well as cast members have protested outside the location in an effort to prompt it to open up again. “Cast members don’t want to lose their dream jobs,” Natasha Ramirez, a co-organizer for the protest, explained to USA Today. “It’s better to have Disneyland open just like all the other ones are and allow the cast members to choose if they want to return or not, instead of not having a choice at all and being laid off.” Ramirez, who is a former cast member, said that she organized the protest with Desi d’Amani. As she explained, d’Amani was one of the thousands of cast members who was laid off in September.

“We started this event in response to the layoff in hopes of getting Disneyland back open so no more layoffs will happen and so that those who were recently laid off might be able to go back,” Ramirez continued. She then went on to address that the spirit of the event was meant to focus on those who have lost their jobs, adding, “People … think we just want Disneyland open so we can go buy a churro. The cast members, who are the people we did it for, have been reaching out to thank us because they want to go back to work, and the ones that still have a job there don’t want to lose theirs.” Ramirez also shared that the group plans to hold another protest, a date for which has not yet been determined.

As of right now, it’s unclear when Disneyland will be able to re-open. Although, California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared this month that Disneyland, and other large parks, will likely not re-open anytime soon. He said that the state is “in no hurry in putting out guidelines” regarding the rules that theme parks would need to adhere to in order to safely operate amidst the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.