There is a rumor that Disneyland is finally reopening their doors later this week, but not quite the way we had anticipated! Instead of Disneyland opening their doors to provide us with some magic, they are opening to provide a massive point of dispensing site for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Disneyland Resort will be the first of five super points of dispensing sites in Orange County, with the capacity to vaccinate thousands of people every day. The other sites have yet to be determined or announced but California is in the middle of new agreements, that should be finalized in the upcoming days.
Disney World will also be opening its doors to serve as a super vaccination site in Florida as well.
“The Disneyland Resort, the largest employer in the heart of Orange County has stepped up to host the County’s first super point of dispensing site, undertaking a Monumental task in our vaccination distribution process,” said Andrew Do the acting chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. “We truly appreciate the support of the Orange County Fire Authority, our cities, and our residents as we continue to roll out covid-19 vaccination throughout the county”.
“Disneyland Resort is proud to help support Orange County and the city of Anaheim with the use of our property and we are grateful for all of their efforts to combat covid-19. After a year in which so many in our community have faced unprecedented hardship and uncertainty, there is now a reason for optimism with the administration of a vaccine” said Dr. Pamela Hymel chief medical officer, Disney Parks experiences and products.
Something to keep in mind, there will be no walk-ups allowed for the vaccinations at the Disneyland Resort POD site. All recipients of the vaccination must show identification and proof of eligibility before receiving the vaccination. Residents in California’s highest tier of priority will be first on the list which will include workers in the healthcare and long-term care facilities.
Upon further investigation, the point of dispensing site will not actually be located in any Disney Parks or even in Downtown Disney. The dispensing site will take place in the Toy Story parking lot which is south of Disneyland and across from the Anaheim Convention Center.
Meanwhile, Disney World is still working with Florida to see how they can help with the vaccine efforts. Disney World does have a lot of space with huge parking lots and they also have the ability to store the vaccines in their freezers.
With all that Disney has been through with California’s government, I’m honestly surprised that they are opening their facility in order to provide vaccinations. There have been so many altercations with the government that is hard for me to picture Disney now helping them.
I think what it all comes down to is that the faster we can get everyone immunized the better! It is all around better for the economy and for everyone’s safety. I believe Disney is stepping in to assist so they can get more employees back to work, and more guests back in the parks. Once these vaccines roll out, we will find that more and more people will finally feel comfortable being out in public and travel again.
It goes without saying that what is going on in California and Florida right now is truly heartbreaking. Their hospitals are overwhelmed, ambulances cant drop off patients, they have makeshift morgues… I’m guessing the last thing on California’s list is to reopen Disneyland, which is understandable given the circumstance.
We still have hope that Disneyland will reopen again sometime this year. Do I think it’s going to be anytime soon? Absolutely not! I don’t think we’ll see Disneyland reopen until fall or even winter at this point.
California has a long road ahead of them but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccinations have rolled out and it looks like the front-line workers and folks 65+ will be in line to receive theirs this month. With the current expectations of around 7,000 people walking through just this POD a day, hopefully, they can get this first phase done rather quickly.
7,000 seems like a lot of vaccines a day but keep in mind that there are between 700,000-800,000 people that qualify for this first phase! With 3.2 million residents just in this county, it might be a while before we see a real dent in their numbers.
Our Thoughts
I guess my next thought is, will guests be required to show proof of vaccinations to be allowed in Disneyland? Can the governor require that in order for Disney to reopen? I wouldn’t think so, but I also wouldn’t put it past him at this point.
