The list of international events and venues being temporarily closed due to the coronavirus is growing every day. And it appears that even the happiest place on earth – Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom – is not immune to COVID-19.

The Walt Disney Company announced in a statement today that they would be temporarily closing the Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Park,  Disney California Adventure Parks and Walt Disney World in Florida from Saturday morning until the end of March, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The 65 year old theme park has only been closed on two other occasions since opening in July 17, 1955. This current closure marks the first time since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

“While there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at Disneyland Resort, after carefully reviewing the guidelines of the governor of California’s executive order and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure,” the company said in a statement.

Several hours later, Universal Studios Hollywood also confirmed that it would be closing temporarily from Saturday March 14th, after reviewing the new California state guidelines around mass gatherings.

The statement from California’s governor Gavin Newsom on March 11th 2020 which preceded the current closure announcements encouraged the rescheduling or cancellation of “gatherings with 250 people or more.”

This news follows an announcement from earlier in the week that Disneyland Hong Kong would also temporarily suspend operations and close in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement on the company website, Disneyland Hong Kong said: “As a precautionary measure in line with preventive efforts taking place across Hong Kong, we are temporarily closing Hong Kong Disneyland Park out of consideration for the health and safety of our Guests and Cast Members. We are in close contact with health authorities and the government about the situation and will announce a reopening date once they determine it is advisable.”