California's theme parks began their return today, with several parks around the state reopening on the first date that they were eligible to resume ride operations.
Opening today were Six Flags Magic Mountain, Legoland California, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Six Flags parks and Legoland were open only to passholders or previous ticketholders. But with capacities limited to 15% and advance reservations required, queues to get in seemed to move swiftly.
We missed you too!!! #SixFlagsMagicMountain #SixFlags #SFMM pic.twitter.com/K2a4ChInz0
— Park Journey (@Park_Journey) April 1, 2021
Six Flags Magic Mountain reopens for new ticketholders on Saturday, while Legoland's official reopening comes April 15. (Today was billed as a preview for passholders and hotel guests.)
Next up for reopening is Castle Park on April 9, followed by Universal Studios Hollywood on April 16. The Disneyland theme parks return on April 30, followed by Knott's Berry Farm on an as-yet-unspecified date in May. California's Great America reopens May 22, and SeaWorld San Diego has yet to announce a reopening date for its ride, though the rest of the park has been open already as a zoo.
All California theme parks are limited to California residents for the time being, and while capacities may increase as parks' home counties move into less restrictive tiers in the state's reopening system, the top allowed capacity at this point will be 35% - in the Yellow Tier 1. And limits will apply to indoor operations, including queues, shows, and dining, as well.
For discounted tickets to theme parks in California and across the country, please check our travel partner's attraction discounts page.
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While I get that this is still a rough time, and I'm sad that I can't go to Disneyland because I live about 15 miles outside of California (and I have no plans to try to flout California's "CA residents only" rule), it's good to see people being able to get back to work after parks in Florida proved that they can operate safely.
This has been one heck of a year+, and I know that we're nowhere near "out of the woods" yet as some people are using limited vaccine accessibility as an excuse to let their guard down (even if they haven't been vaccinated yet or refuse to get it, as some of my guests say they won't but still use vaccines as an excuse to try to go maskless). But as long as parks enforce the rules to prevent the spread, I would feel safer in a theme park than I do at my indoor job dealing with a stubborn public, many of whom are there longer than I am on a given night.