Shanghai Disney guests trapped as snap Covid lockdown shuts theme park

A number of guests attending an event at a Disney theme park in Shanghai have been trapped inside, after the attraction went into lockdown.

Disney guests attending a Halloween celebration were shocked to hear they would not be allowed to leave, after the Shanghai Resort was placed into lockdown on October 31.

The resort was placed under a snap lockdown following the detection of 10 positive cases of Covid-19 in Shanghai. Park guests were told they would be held there until they were cleared by health authorities.

Anyone who had visited the park since October 27 would need to produce three negative Covid tests on three successive days, New Zealand Herald reports.

Videos appeared overnight claiming to show crowds unable to enter or exit the park turnstiles.

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Chinese social media has responded to the plight of visitors to Disney Shanghai, who were caught out by a Covid-19 lockdown.

Many of the guests held in the theme park were attending the “Halloween Spook-tacular” – a costume festival held in the park.

The park issued a statement shortly after 11pm on Monday saying the Shanghai Disney Resort would be closed indefinitely, “with immediate effect”.

This is the second time in 12 months that Disney has had to close due to snap Covid lockdowns, with 30,000 visitors held at the park last November.

According to Reuters, Shanghai Disneyland was already operating at reduced capacity from this weekend to comply with Covid-19 measures in the state. Strict ongoing zero-Covid health policy means that public spaces and destinations can be shut down with little warning.

Although many guests were caught off-guard by the lockdown, it was not entirely unexpected. Last week the Universal Resort theme park in Beijing was temporarily closed due to local Covid-19 restrictions.

Guests who were visiting the park in Shanghai were put into lockdown. Picture: Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

“We will continue to assess the impact on operations and strive to resume operations as soon as possible,” Universal wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The resort also said it would refund or reschedule tickets.

Following the latest lockdown, Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park were not given reopening dates.

“We will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations.”

Chinese social media sites were full of videos of crowds attending the Halloween events shortly before the news.

Many of the guests at Disney were attending the Halloween Spook-tacular. Picture: Hu Chengwei/Getty Images

“Shanghai Disney Resort is temporarily closed. Tourists can’t get out inside, can’t get in outside,” read one caption showing crowds at the turnstiles.

“You deserved it. It happened once last year, even if I don’t remember it for a long time, it also caused the surrounding area to be blocked,” read an unsympathetic comment.

Other videos of the carnival urged visitors to be calm and not to push through the crowd.

“Everyone must remember that the more people there are, the less anxious you need to be, take care of yourself, and protect your children and the elderly! Don’t be in a hurry,” asked another video.

This article originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald and has been republished with permission