Responding to the soaring cases of COVID-19 in France, French President Emmanuel Macron shut down most of the country in October.

French residents would only be allowed to leave their homes for essential work, medical reasons, or to use their daily one-hour allocation of exercise. According to BBC News, “Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close, but schools and factories will remain open.” Included in the non-essential category was Disneyland Paris.

At the time, officials at Disneyland Paris stated the park would close on October 29, in accordance with French government regulations, but was anticipating on reopening from December 19 through January 3, for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The park would close once again, from January 4 through February 12, for maintenance.

Yesterday, Twitter user DLP Report (@dlpreport) tweeted that “French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out opening theme parks over the Christmas holidays.” At the time there was no official announcement from Disneyland Paris officials. That changed this morning.

The official Twitter account for Disneyland Paris (@DisneylandParis) stated, “Following the latest government announcements, Disneyland Paris will remain closed until February 12.” The Disneyland Paris website stated,

“We hoped to be able to open Disneyland Paris
during the Christmas holidays, from December 19 to January 3.
Unfortunately, the latest government announcements do not allow us to do so.
Therefore, our Parks and Hotels will remain closed until February 12.
We look forward to welcoming you again when we reopen.
If you booked during the closing periods, you will find
an update of our commercial conditions here.
Thank you for your loyalty and understanding during this difficult period.”

Guests are being asked to either modify or cancel their current reservations. Those who wish to rebook at a future date their deposit will be applied to the new reservation. However, if the new balance is higher than the previous balance, guests are required to pay the difference. Those wishing to cancel their reservations entirely will receive a full refund.

Disneyland Annual Passholders, who paid in full will have their passes placed on hold during the closure and then extended the number of days of the temporary closure. Those who are on the monthly plan will have their payments put on pause until March 2021, when payments will resume. Disney stated that their payment schedule “will be automatically staggered, and will thus follow the extension of validity of your Annual Pass.” Sales of all new annual passes have been suspended and expected to resume once the park reopens.

On Tuesday, the French government announced the nation has past the peak of the virus’s second wave. According to NPR, on Saturday, November 28, “… shops can open with strict health restrictions and social distancing guidelines in place.”

“We have slowed the spread of the virus,” said Macron, “but it is still very much present”.

Although travel restrictions could be lifted in the middle of December so people could spend the holidays with their families, President Macron said that “pointless travel” should be avoided.

“We need to do everything to prevent a third wave, do everything to prevent a third lockdown,” Macron said.

President Marcon laid out a three phase plan based on the levels of the virus. Restrictions will be gradually lifted as long as there is a noticeable decrease. Here are the three key dates for evaluation:

28 November 2020

• Shops can reopen under strict hygiene restrictions.
• Lockdown will continue but restrictions on how long you can leave home for are eased. Currently, the French can exercise for up to an hour within a one-kilometre radius of their home. That will be extended to a radius of 20 kilometres for up to three hours.
• Religious centres can reopen but with no more than 30 people at any one time.

15 December 2020

• Lockdown is lifted if the health situation continues to improve, allowing people to move around the country and spend Christmas with their families and friends.
• Cinemas, theatres and museums will reopen their doors.
• Instead of a lockdown, the country will revert to a night-time curfew (9 pm to 7 am).
• Bars and restaurants will stay closed over Christmas.
• Ski resorts are unlikely to be open for Christmas, says Macron, but a final decision is expected in the coming days. Macron said he favours a reopening in January under good conditions and that he would like to coordinate with the rest of Europe on this issue.

20 January 2021

• If the health situation allows it, restaurants will be allowed to reopen.
• There is no indication at this stage when bars will be able to open again.
• Sports centres and gyms will be allowed to reopen.