Disneyland Paris to reopen in June; can Americans go?
Disneyland Paris is set to reopen June 17, and visitors will be welcomed back to the park with enhanced cleaning protocols, mandatory physical distancing and mask-wearing. But what does that mean for Americans?
French President Emanuel Macron plans to reopen the country to international travelers on June 9, assuming cases aren't on the rise. That means Disneyland's gates will be open to everyone, including U.S. citizens who have been vaccinated or produce a negative PCR test result. (Regardless of vaccination status, Americans currently must provide proof of a negative test for entry before isolating for 7 days and then taking another test.)
Disneyland Paris' English website hasn't been updated since May 13 and currently says "Just a little more patience. We are putting the final touches on the magic and will share our reopening date with you very soon," but the news broke as a result of a tweet from the Euro Disney Group.
"We are pleased to announce that Disneyland Paris will reopen on June 17 with Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney's Newport Bay Club Hotel and Disney Village," the tweet reads. "Our reopening will follow enhanced health and safety measures."
"In order to maintain physical distancing in line with recommendations from the French government and health authorities, attendance at Disneyland Paris is currently limited each day," the park's website says. As a result, Disneyland Paris will require parkgoers to prepurchase tickets for specific dates.
In addition to allowing vacationers from other countries to enter France, Macron's blueprint for reopening the country limits crowd sizes to 5,000 people, among other stipulations, such as reduced operating hours for local bars and restaurants. Although it's a given that Disneyland Paris will reopen the park at reduced capacity, it's unclear how closely it will have to adhere to the 5,000-person rule.
Disneyland Paris originally reopened July 15, 2020, but was forced to shut down again as coronavirus cases spiked.
Disney World in Florida -- which has been successfully operating for almost a year under strict social distancing (even in lines, on rides and on people-movers), sanitization and mask-wearing procedures -- waived its outdoor mask-wearing requirements on May 15, along with Universal and several other parks.
The U.S. Department of State currently lists France under a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" travel advisory, citing high levels of COVID-19 there.
Last week, as the U.S. lowered its travel advisory against the U.K. to a "Level 3: Reconsider Travel," the heads of several major travel companies endorsed a letter asking U.S. President Joe Biden to completely open borders to international travelers from low-risk countries.