The Disneyland Resort has been open for almost a full year since the pandemic closure. Disneyland President Ken Potrock, who took the job in May 2020, shared a look back at the hardships the resort has had as well as a positive look towards the future for the resort.
According to Potrock, the Disneyland Resort still has another year before it’s back to pre-pandemic operating levels. “We’ve embarked on this legendary comeback,” he said. “We’re more than halfway through it, but we’ve got another year.”
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When the pandemic hit, Disneyland’s focus was survival and adaptation. Once the parks reopened, the focus became hope and revival.
“We focused on two things,” Potrock said. “One was we were very focused on a common enemy — the pandemic. Then we had a common objective which was survival. That meant we had to be unified, quicker to market and innovative. We needed to recreate the Disneyland experience without losing the heart of it.”
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The pandemic forced layoffs and furloughs throughout the Walt Disney Company. Disneyland went from 32,000 cast members to just 2,000. Through the hiring and rehiring process over the last year, the Disneyland Resort is now up to 30,000 cast members with more being hired every week.
“We’re still not staffed up all the way,” Potrock said. “We are hiring every single week.”
Even though Disneyland is still in its phased reopening stages, many offerings have returned to the resort or will be returning soon. Later this month, Potrock will also be giving a ‘State of the Disneyland Resort’ presentation.
“We’ll be able to announce a bunch of things that are continued improvements, opportunities and experiences,” Potrock said. “We’re going to talk about the impact that we’re having on the community and how we’re using our economic engine to rev up the economy here in Orange County and Anaheim in particular.”
We are excited to hear what Potrock will be announcing and can’t wait to visit the Disneyland Resort again!
If you’d like to plan a visit to Disneyland, contact me today! I am a travel agent with Destinations to Travel and my services are complimentary.
Source: Orange County Register
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