Out of all places in California right now there should be few, if any, that are just as busy as Disneyland. But as it can be seen from the flyover of the park:
I couldn’t resist with this one since seeing Disneyland this empty is too surreal to believe considering that the number of employees that are typically present at the park would be enough to consider a huge group. Brady MacDonald of the Orange County Register has more to say on this matter. On a regular day this park is filled with people milling about, enough to make a shot like this look like an ant farm grown out of control. But with the lock down caused by the coronavirus and the response to it being strictly followed by some folks and businesses in the interest of not spreading the disease, this place looks absolutely deserted. Whether there are still people inside that are working on maintaining the rides or if they too have been told to go home is hard to say since Disneyland is in constant need of upkeep to keep things running and operating as they should. But without the people to come and enjoy the experience the empty streets look like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie that somehow came true, minus the mayhem and destruction thankfully.
Thus far Disney has been losing revenue from the closure of its parks in a big way since ticket prices and the merchandise that’s sold on a daily basis typically brings in quite a bit. Deniz Sahinturk of Reader’s Digest has more to offer on this subject. Without the people there to spend the money and enjoy the pleasures that their savings buy there’s not much use for Disneyland other than being a pleasant look at a pleasure that’s still there and still waiting for guests but is essentially useless since it involves going against safety regulations and gathering in large groups to enjoy. The magic of this place dims a bit when you see it from certain angles, especially when it comes to seeing behind the metaphorical curtain to realize just what it takes to run the park and what happens when the place is absolutely empty. It becomes a throwback to a time when people would toss their money at something to have it entertain them. That sounds entirely cynical and it is a bit hypocritical since a lot of us that have been to Disneyland have likely dropped a load of money on things we didn’t need to experience something that would hopefully be a fond memory later on. Is it worth it? Yeah, in a way it is, so long as one can look back and say that they had a good time while they were there and don’t lament the massive amount of money they dumped into making a memory.
That’s the trick of this place though, to learn how to enjoy it while not caring that it tends to cater to those that can dump that kind of scratch without batting an eye, or those that have saved up and know what they’re walking into. In a big way it’s easy to feel bad for the employees that depend on the jobs that are available in the park since many of them are wage earners that absolutely need the positions they had and can’t rely on corporate bonuses or salaries to get them over the hump until the parks reopen. Feeling bad for corporate though is pretty tough since most of those that exist within the upper echelons of Disney are well compensated for doing….whatever it is they do. When a high-ranking executive foregoes their salary and wants to be seen as a decent person it’s a bit tough when a person comes to realize that their incentive programs and bonuses will keep them safe and secure for quite some time, as opposed to their many workers that are often treated like indentured servants. There are many horror stories that abound from Disneyland employees, though they’re typically offset by those that want to keep the magic going deny, deny, deny. Alexandra Mateo of The Tab has something else to say on this topic. As I said it’s very easy to feel some sympathy for those that are out of a job at this time, but there’s a hope that they’ll find something, somewhere, that will keep them well-paid and cared for until the parks reopen or until they can make their way forward and find a better-paying job.
It’s also hard to say that Disneyland should stay closed since it would be highly unfair to a great number of people that don’t worry over the politics of the place and simply want to enjoy what the park has to offer. Worrying too much about factors that fans and visitors can’t control is a habit without any doubt, but it’s one that doesn’t need to concern the guests that wish to enjoy themselves and simply partake of the joys that the park has in store for them.
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