“Thousands of people will try to grab a ticket for June 30, or for the next few days, because the limited capacity will make [the visit] more enjoyable,” said Kate Travel’s chief executive Zheng Honggang. “The reopening of Shanghai Disneyland marks the rebirth of the entertainment industry, as residents are hoping that city officials can allow cinemas and museums to reopen soon,” for life to return to normal.

It was Shanghai Disneyland’s second extended closure since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out two years ago. It was shut from January through May in 2020 when the disease was first reported in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan, and reopened after Shanghai authorities succeeded at keeping Covid-19 at bay.

Certain precautionary measures will be in place this time to ensure that the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 doesn’t resurge. All visitors will be required to provide records of negative nucleic acid tests taken within 72 hours of entering the resort.

The theme park already partially reopened on June 10, tentatively allowing a limited number of visitors to the 400,000-square meter Wishing Star Park, Blue Sky Boulevard and the World of Disney store.

The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Disneytown began taking visitors a week later as hundreds of employees were called back to the resort to prepare for a full reopening.

City officials have been wary of lifting a ban on entertainment venues since early June because crowding could lead to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.

Since June 1, Shanghai reported a total 55 community infections as the city maintained stringent virus control measures.

On Sunday, the local government allowed restaurants to restart offering dine-in services to customers from June 29, but they will still operate at a limited capacity.

All cinemas and KTV parlours across the city remain closed and the government has yet to unveil a time frame for their reopening.