Right now theme parks around the world are opening and accepting guests, with the major exception of Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm, and other theme parks in California, which cannot reopen under the state's strict regulations, still in place six months after the pandemic began. 

As you might expect, projects at these west coast theme parks continue to be significantly delayed, but they are not the only ones! 

1. Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life

Park: Disney Springs

Original Opening Date: March 20, 2020

Status: Delayed until February 10, 2021

Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba at Disney Springs closed forever at the end of 2017, but just before it did, Disney confirmed that a new Cirque du Soleil production was being developed for this theater. But this time, this all-new show will have a uniquely Disney flair, and be unlike anything else either Disney or Cirque du Soleil have produced in the past. Based around some of Disney's most iconic films, this new show will “draw its inspiration from Disney's heritage of animation,” and will “celebrate Disney’s legacy of storytelling in Cirque du Soleil’s signature way, with a tribute to the one-of a kind craftsmanship that makes Disney so extraordinary.”

This new show was supposed to begin preview performances on March 20th, but the show was suspended and postponed indefinitely. Cirque du Soleil said earlier this year that it expects to resume its resident shows in Orlando as soon as possible, and Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life could premiere at Disney Springs as soon as this fall.

However, according to Cirque du Soleil’s website, the Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life will not open at all in 2020, and is now scheduled to begin performances at Disney Springs on February 10, 2021. Shows are currently scheduled from that day through March 31, 2021.

2. The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!

Park: Universal Studios Hollywood

Original Opening Date: March 27, 2020

Status: Delayed until reopening

One of the first casualties of the theme park closures due to COVID-19 was The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! at Universal Studios Hollywood, which is a dark ride that takes riders on a journey through New York City to reach a pet adoption event and, using facial recognition technology, actually transforms guests into stray puppies in search of their forever homes. This new attraction will blend live, dimensional and animated characters with hyper-realistic media and projection mapping to achieve this effect, all while guests are seated within ride vehicles that resemble cardboard boxes. 

This exciting new ride was scheduled to soft open to annual passholders on March 13 (the day Universal Studios Hollywood closed!), and then was to officially open on March 27, 2020. However, the good news is that this attraction is completely finished, and though it may require some testing when Universal Studios Hollywood reopens, we'd imagine it will be able to welcome its first guests within the first week of this park's return to operation, which is now in flux as theme parks in California have had to put their reopenings on hold due to rising COVID-19 cases in the state.  However, there is hope that a compromise may be found soon that will enable Universal Studios Hollywood to reopen in some capacity before the end of the year.  

3. Fantasyland Expansion

Park: Tokyo Disneyland

Original Opening Date: April 15, 2020

Status: NOW OPEN!

Earlier this year the Oriental Land Company revealed that the Fantasyland expansion at Tokyo Disneyland expansion which will include new rides like The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast and The Happy Ride with Baymax as well as the Minnie’s Style Studio meet-and-greet would open on April 15th, 2020. And though plans for this initial opening were put on hold, earlier this month Tokyo Disneyland officially opened this new area. You can check out a ride-through video of The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast here. 

4. Super Nintendo World 

Park: Universal Studios Japan

Original Opening Date: Summer 2020

Status: Delayed until 2021

One of the most anticipated new lands to be built anywhere is Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, which features a new "realistic" Mario Kart ride, a Yoshi omnimover dark ride attraction that will be a hybrid indoor/outdoor attraction, and plenty of interactive experiences that make guests feel like they are inside their favorite Nintendo games. 

And though the land is mostly complete, NBCUniversal executive Jeff Shell has revealed via an internal email that Super Nintendo World is now delayed until “early next year.” 

5. Avengers Campus

Park: Disney California Adventure

Original Opening Date:  July 18, 2020

Status: Delayed until after reopening

Though the Marvel-themed Avengers Campus was supposed to open this summer along with the new WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure ride, with work completely halted three months before its grand opening, we'll likely have to wait much longer before experiencing this new area at Disney California Adventure as 

Though the theme parks remain closed, work continues behind the scenes in this new area, and recent photos shared from inside the area show the iconic Avengers Quinjet has landed, as you can see below! 

Disney has confirmed that work on this project is nearly complete and they will be opening it as soon as possible once the Disneyland Resort gets the go-ahead to reopen its theme parks, whenever that is. 

6. Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser

Park: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Original Opening Date:  TBA 2021

Status: Delayed

We recently got an update on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, which is the new specialty hotel will allow fans to experience the Star Wars universe with an immersive experience designed from the ground up to be a living adventure that gives guests the chance to become the star of their own Star Wars Story.  

Originally, reservations for  Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser were set to open later this year in anticipation of a 2021 opening. However, with current health and safety regulations, its unknown if that is still moving forward, as the interactive nature of this experience will necessitate close contact with Cast Members and other guests, which would violate current health and safety guidelines. However, Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company recently confirmed that opening this hotel is a "priority" for the company, so as soon as it is feasible to do so, we will likely see an opening announced for this new hotel experience. 

7. Spaceship Earth reimagining 

Park: Epcot

Original Refurbishment Start Date: May 26, 2020

Status: Cancelled   

Disney announced earlier this year that Spaceship Earth would close for refurbishment on May 26 2020 to begin its transformation into Spaceship Earth: Our Shared Story. And though this ambitious project was set to close this attraction for 18-24 months, insiders have said that this was one of the projects that Disney has cut early on, which means that it looks like Spaceship Earth will stay in its current form indefinitely following the park's reopening.

Though this cancellation has not officially been confirmed, Disney has updated the Spaceship Earth website to indicate that the ride will be reopening with Epcot in July, even though it was supposed to close for refurbishment last month. In addition, when The Epcot Experience reopened earlier this week, the part of the presentation that included the Spaceship Earth refurbishment has been removed, seemingly confirming that this project has been shelved.