Disneyland's reopening: Why it matters and what to pay attention to when you return

After a year in which the world came to a halt and so many experienced some form ofpain, stress or grief, perhaps a theme park that can charge more than $150 per ticket would be seen as ... frivolous? Yet if early demand, hype and talk are any indication, one of our most treasured experiences is the great American theme park. And the original Disneyland, just a few months shy of its 66th birthday, still stands as our preeminent example. Deeply embedded with a playful and sunny Southern California leisure lifestyle, Disneyland for locals is a habitual, cross-generational hangout -- as much a tradition as baseball's opening day or a hike to the Hollywood sign. When Disneyland re-opens today after 13 months of closure -- essentially its second grand opening after July 1955 -- it will do so as a Californians-only locale due to pandemic restrictions.