Although the Disneyland Paris resort is still closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the World of Disney, a retail shop specializing in a wide selection of Disney merchandise, will open to guests on 22 May 2021.

First reported by @ED92Magic on Twitter, the announcement was made by the UNSA Disneyland Paris union.

According to Outsidears.fr, “This reopening will therefore take place a few days after the start of the second phase of the deconfinement plan planned by the government (May 19) authorizing the reopening of restaurant / café terraces, cultural places and especially the reopening of so-called ‘non-essential’ shops.

In accordance with the sanitary protocol, the store will reopen with a greatly reduced capacity, guaranteeing a space of 8m2 per customer, ie a capacity of around 175 customers simultaneously.

The next milestone will then be June 9 with increased capacity, the minimum space per customer will then be only 4m2 and finally June 30 with the total lifting of capacity restrictions.”

The Paris theme park reopened in July 2020 only to close back down that October as cases of COVID-19 continued to spike throughout France. Disneyland Paris was then scheduled to reopen on 2 April 2021, but as cases did not decline the park remained closed. At this time there is no reopening date.

While the park remains closed, Disney is busy working on refurbishing many areas of the park in advance of its 30th anniversary next year.

At this time Disney is completing the transformation of Disney’s Hotel New York into Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel. Last month they announced their flagship resort, the Disneyland Hotel, would undergo an extensive refurbishment. Disney says the 514 room resort will retain the Victorian architecture of the resort, but it will be the first Disney hotel that will celebrate a royal theme. 

Other changes the park will see include the Cars Road Trip, a remodel of the former space occupied by the Studio Tram Tour, and the addition of an Avengers Campus at the Walt Disney Studios Park. At Disneyland Park, work continues on Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant or Sleeping Beauty Castle, a complete rebuild of the gazebo on Main Street U.S.A., Snow White’s Scary Adventure attraction, among other areas.

Last month, Outsidears.fr reported on an extension and redesign of Disney Village. This is the Paris version of Disney shopping districts found at other resorts.