Walt Disney Co will close its theme parks in California and Florida and its resort in Paris from this weekend through the end of the month due to the global outbreak of coronavirus, the company said on Thursday.
Reuters reports Disney Cruise Line will also suspend all new departures starting Saturday through the end of the month, the company said.
“We are proceeding with the closure of our theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort, beginning at the close of business on Sunday, March 15, through the end of the month,” the company said in a statement.
The company’s theme parks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo remain closed after being shuttered earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak, which started in China.
Universal Orlando Resort announced that it will also temporarily close its theme parks starting Sunday and remain closed through the end of March as well. Universal Orlando’s hotels and Universal CityWalk were set to will remain open.
No cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, have been reported at the parks in Anaheim, CA, a company representative said in a statement. The announcement coincided with statewide restrictions on public gatherings ordered by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios theme park near Los Angeles also will close on Saturday with plans to reopen on March 28, the company said.
It is unusual for Disney to close its theme parks. Brief shutdowns have occurred due to hurricanes and following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
The company estimated in February that the shutdowns of Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland alone would cost $175 million if both remained closed for two months.
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