Yahoo Movies Shanghai Disneyland Reopens as China Eases COVID Restrictions
Shanghai Disneyland held another reopening Thursday after being shut down for over a week as China continued to ease its COVID-19 restrictions.
“The resort’s pandemic control measures will be updated in accordance with the latest local government guidelines and guests should check and strictly follow them,” a notice to visitors posted on the park’s official website states. “Select attractions, live entertainment, restaurants and retail locations may not be available or may operate at reduced capacity.”
The announcement offered refunds and exchanges to customers who were unable to visit during the latest shutdown. And it warned that on “high attendance” days, some people who hold general admission tickets may be blocked out as the resort nagivates government guidelines and restrictions.
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The park, which debuted in 2016, has opened and closed multiple times this year, including a 101-day lockdown in the spring, driven by links to COVID cases as China pursued its “Zero COVID” policy. The closures saw visitors locked inside and tested before they could leave, with many forced to isolate once they left the park. One such shutdown in early November was triggered by a single COVID case.
Disney’s theme parks accounted for 34% of the company’s revenue for the company’s fiscal year 2022, which ended Oct. 1. The company made few mentions of the Shanghai park in its annual report, but noted that it saw losses over the year, as gate receipts fell as a result of the COVID travel restrictions.
The reopening coincides with a soaring infection rate as China retracts some of its harsh policies related to the pandemic, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Rolling lockdowns and mass testing has led to a rare level of revolt in the Communist country, with demonstrations popping up across multiple cities in recent weeks.
The demonstrations resisting government policy may not have been the trigger for easing Zero COVID policies, however. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that a letter from the founder of iPhone producer Foxconn Technology Group, which operates a vast factory in Zhengzhou in east-central China’s Henan province, played a major role in persuading the Chinese Community Party to roll back some restrictions.
In a letter to Chinese leaders, Fox founder Terry Gou warned that the strict measures threatened China’s global position, and demanded more transparency into restrictions on the company’s workers, the Journal reported.
Gou sent the letter as the world’s largest iPhone factory saw turmoil over the COVID restrictions, the report said. Apple has warned that disruptions to production at the site has delayed iPhone 14 delivery, which may make it harder to purchase the latest model for the holidays.
