KTLA

California theme parks won’t profit at 15% capacity, but they’ll likely reopen anyway, experts say

An overhaul of California’s COVID-19 safety regulations announced Friday could allow Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags Magic Mountain and other theme parks to reopen their outdoor rides and attractions as soon as April 1 if they’re in counties where coronavirus transmission is low enough.

Another caveat: In most of the state, parks will have to keep attendance at 15% of capacity — a rate so low that industry experts say the parks would certainly not clear a profit.

Still, they say, parks are likely to embrace that money-losing mode for a while because they’ll need time to ramp up operations.

“Fifteen percent is not sustainable as an operating level,” said John Gerner, a theme park expert and managing director of Leisure Business Advisors. “But as a transition toward fully opening … it makes sense.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.