Visitors at Shanghai Disneyland Photo: Huang Ge/GT

The Shanghai Disneyland will officially reopen for business on Monday, according to a company statement released on Wednesday. It will be the first Disneyland in the world to restart following a long hiatus because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Reopening of other Disney parks in the world remains unclear.

According to an official announcement on the company's Sino Weibo account, new operation measures will be implemented during the reopening, most notably limiting or suspending some entertaining items that "include frequent interactions," such as parades, fireworks and lightshows. 

Other virus prevention measures include requiring visitors to make appointments in order to restrict crowding, and more frequent disinfection of the venues. 

"To summarize, there will be no pictures with the marionettes, no theatre shows, no parade and no fireworks," one comment read under the announcement on Sino Weibo. "I'm not sure if it's good news or bad news," read another comment. 

Most sightseers, however, think it is a good thing that business is getting back on track, slow though it might be. 

As a popular destination for family outings and entertainment, Disneyland has been hit hard by the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in late January in China. Disney reported an operating income impact of around $1 billion on its parks, experiences, products and segment in the second quarter of this year. Its segment operating income dropped 58 percent. 

No announcement regarding the reopening of Disney's other theme parks had been made by press time. All theme parks were shut by March 16 and all but Shanghai Disneyland remain closed indefinitely. 

Global Times