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Part of California Adventure set to reopen Thursday as expansion of Downtown Disney

Some shops and restaurants inside Disney California Adventure are set to reopen Thursday as part of a previously announced expansion of Downtown Disney.

While no rides will be open, fans will be able to take in the sights inside an Anaheim theme park for the firs time since mid-march, when Disneyland and California Adventure both closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Starting Thursday, Buena Vista Street — the counterpart to Disneyland’s Main Street — will be welcoming back visitors. The rest of the theme park remains closed, as does Disneyland.

Dining options inside include Carthay Circle Lounge, Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe, Award Wieners and Smokejumpers Grill, according to a Disney Parks blog post. Stores that will be open include Elias & Co., Julius Katz & Sons, Kingswell Camera Shop and Trolley Treats.

Admission is free, although Disney will once again be charging for parking. The fee is $10 per vehicle.

Disney has implemented a slew of health measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, including limiting capacity on Buena Vista Street to promote social distancing. Other rules include a facial recovering requirement for guests ages 2 and older, and a mandatory temperature check at the security screening area prior to entrance.

Disney officials first announced the expansion of the shopping, dining and entertainment district last month after California released theme park guidelines that are expected to keep most closed until next year.

Under the plan, larger theme parks like Disneyland and California Adventure can only welcome back guests when their county gets into the least-restrictive yellow tier of California’s four-stage plan guiding sector reopenings.

Orange County though was recently pushed back into the most-restrictive purple tier as the state officials halted reopenings and announced new guidance earlier this week amid California’s most significant surge of coronavirus cases since the summer.