Shanghai Disneyland reopened its gates on Monday, becoming the first Walt Disney theme park worldwide to welcome guests again following novel coronavirus-related closures.

Shanghai Disneyland holds reopening ceremony on May 11, 2020. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

The park hosted a special reopening ceremony against a colorful backdrop of the iconic 'Flora Minnie', where cast members and invited guests joined more than 30 Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse and his friends, Duffy and Friends, to commemorate the special occasion.

"Today, we are extremely pleased to reopen Shanghai Disneyland thanks to the unwavering efforts of our cast members and our community," Joe Schott, president and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort. "Today's celebrations will be remembered with joy, as we look forward to welcoming our guests back to this happy place."

During this initial reopening phase, the park has instituted new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and required advanced ticketing and reservations, accommodating social distancing throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of cleaning and sanitization.

The park shuttered on Jan 25 during the height of the COVID-19 in China. The company re-opened adjacent facilities such as the Disneytown, an entertainment and catering complex, on March 9.