Disney Shares an Official Statement that Rejects Newsom’s Recent Claims

The tension between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Disney is growing with comments Newsom made and Disney’s response. What do you make of all this?

Growing Tension

Things have become pretty intense in recent weeks between Governor Newsom and Disney officials.

Disneyland was set to reopen in July, on the 65th anniversary of the theme park. However, that date was taken off the table and negotiations have been underway since then to establish a new timeframe.

There has certainly been a lot of back and forth happening between the two parties. Disney recently hosted a meeting calling on the state to establish reopening guidelines and allow them to move forward with doing so safely.

Recent Comments

The state, Governor Newsom in particular, has been very vocal about not allowing Disney (and other California theme parks) to reopen.

Just recently, he commented on Bob Iger leaving the task force, saying he’s not surprised he quit. He specifically noted there was a lot of disagreement in when and how to reopen Disneyland.

“There were disagreements in terms of opening a major theme park. We’re going to let science and data make that determination. I understand the friction and frustration that many business leaders have.

That they want to move forward to reopen, but we’re going to be led by a health-first framework and we’re going to be stubborn about it.”

“We feel like there’s no hurry putting out guidelines. We’re continuing to work with amusement parks…it’s very complex. We don’t anticipate in the immediate term any of these larger theme parks reopening until we see more stability in terms of data.”

You can read more about that HERE.

Disney Responds

Dr. Pamela Hymel, Chief Medical Officer of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, shared Disney’s response to Newsom’s above claims.

“We absolutely reject the suggestion that reopening the Disneyland resort is incompatible with a “health-first” approach. The fact is, that since March we have taken a robust science-based approach to responsibly reopening our parks and resorts across the globe.

Our health and safety protocols were developed in consultation with epidemiologists and data scientists, and after considering guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and experts in local government and health agencies.

All of our other theme parks both in the United States and around the world have been allowed to open on the strength of our proven ability to operate with responsible health and safety protocols.”

What do you think of both Newsom’s remarks and Disney’s response? Do you think we will see the reopening of Disneyland any time soon? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook.