Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[rteetz]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/business/media/disney-ceo-coronavirus.html

 

[Spridell]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/business/media/disney-ceo-coronavirus.html

Very interesting article indeed.

 

[Jrb1979]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/business/media/disney-ceo-coronavirus.html

After reading that, Disney is not in as good a shape as lot of people think they are. They may not go bankrupt but the fact the mood at Disney is "dire" as was posted in the article is not good.

 

[Spridell]

After reading that, Disney is not in as good a shape as lot of people think they are. They may not go bankrupt but the fact the mood at Disney is "dire" as was posted in the article is not good.

So now the question becomes, if they are that "dire" do they do everything they could to open as soon as they can? Or do they wait it out for months until its 100% safe no questions asked?

Should be interesting to see what they do in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Vern60]

Yeah, I haven't even read the article yet but I just don't see them being able to wait until 2021 to reopen - Frankly I doubt they could survive that long. I mean everyone of their parks is closed, all the hotels, the cruise lines, that's what, 40% of their revenue? Plus they paid the employees for an extra month with nothing coming in and just agreed to keep paying medical benefits, (not cheap). ESPN has nothing to cover and they're also postponing new movies from what I've read. EPCOT is a mess with all the construction going on, (or not going on), not to mention all the others still needing work like Guardians, Remmy's, TRON etc etc All this after the HUGE star wars investment that they are at this time unable to recoup any profit from and of course there is no way I can know but I imagine crowd size is going to be waaaay down for many months to come. Sure Disney has a great safety first record but if they don't start opening up some stuff soon .... they'll be folding up like a big book (as my Dad used to say).

 

[CAQDaddy]

Unless we implement some type of QR code system like China has, I think checkpoints make sense? Disney is also a private property and has the ability to implement whatever strategies they want.

There are going to be way way way more people that would pass a checkpoint than those that don't - think security screenings.

I agree that they very well may do some sort of check. Iger suggested it in his recent interview. They will take whatever reasonable measures to make guests feel more comfortable regardless of it actually prevents anything (much like the security screenings).

 

[Farro]

So now the question becomes, if they are that "dire" do they do everything they could to open as soon as they can? Or do they wait it out for months until its 100% safe no questions asked?

Should be interesting to see what they do in the next couple of weeks.

I have so many thoughts on this pandemic and the way we handled it. I think in hindsight things would have been done differently, etc., etc. but won't get into it here, but boy just had a great conversation with some friends about it. And yes in the end when we finally get the testing done that we need (if ever) I think we may see that the "cure" was worse than the disease (yeah, I'm starting to lean that way). But I don't know...we need numbers. We need to know how many people have had it, we need to know how many people were cured, we need to know how many ended up needing hospitalizations, we need to know how many people didn't. What we don't need anymore is just numbers of deaths without the rest of the numbers - it's sensationalism, click-bait and only ups people's fears (rational or not).

I just hope Disney doesn't cave to pressure from a vocal few who want to wait for a vaccine to open. I don't know who these people are, who think life can't go on until there's a vaccine. We need to open businesses again once the amount of cases goes down (no, I'm not saying now). Then deal with hot spots if/when they occur.

So flippant the way people talk...open next year, wait for a vaccine....and if they never open again? Sure, life would go on, but it would be a lot less magical.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

After reading that, Disney is not in as good a shape as lot of people think they are. They may not go bankrupt but the fact the mood at Disney is "dire" as was posted in the article is not good.

“Dire” is strong language indeed. I do believe that they’ll be okay though. As iconic as this company is, they’ll certainly receive plenty of stimulus funds to ensure they don’t fail.

 

[CAQDaddy]

I'm sorry, but wow at this post. A bomb is one thing, you can find it and back it up with evidence. But how the hell do you sniff someone and not allow them into the park after they have traveled half the country to get in and prove that you are a hundred percent sure they have the virus,? If just one sniff is incorrect you have a hell of a lawsuit on your hands. A lot of you must not own businesses or live in the real world lol.

You make a good point, but I've gone through airport security when they use the dog. I'm sure if the dog indicated they would only separate the suspected person and further investigate.
I totally appreciated the last sentence of your post.

 

[rteetz]

So now the question becomes, if they are that "dire" do they do everything they could to open as soon as they can? Or do they wait it out for months until its 100% safe no questions asked?

Should be interesting to see what they do in the next couple of weeks.

I think something in the middle.

 

[Vern60]

I just hope Disney doesn't cave to pressure from a vocal few who want to wait for a vaccine to open. I don't know who these people are, who think life can't go on until there's a vaccine. We need to open businesses again once the amount of cases goes down (no, I'm not saying now). Then deal with hot spots if/when they occur.

So flippant the way people talk...open next year, wait for a vaccine....and if they never open again? Sure, life would go on, but it would be a lot less magical.

I could be wrong but I don't think Disney will have a choice in the matter if they want to survive as a company. I did just read that article and wow, they just took out a what was it? 6 billion loan?
I do think they will attempt to implement some sort of safety measures, such as temp checks, if nothing else than for perception, but I just don't see them being able to wait indefinitely. I enjoyed a post on the previous page, I think maybe twin princess(es)? about flattening the curve to avoid overwhelming the hospitals. I've been reading some articles that claim with the exception of several hot spots, NY, NJ, Michigan and Louisiana, to name several, that most states hospitals are far from being overwhelmed.
I can't help but feel things are going to start opening up sooner rather than later and it might be left up to the most vulnerable to isolate themselves. Otherwise I do think the cure would be worse than the virus.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

After reading that, Disney is not in as good a shape as lot of people think they are. They may not go bankrupt but the fact the mood at Disney is "dire" as was posted in the article is not good.

Did anyone really think it was anything other than dire? Cruising as an industry is probably teetering on total collapse after this. Even if the parks reopen soon, and that’s a big *if*, there is no way at this point that this doesn’t at least equal the Great Recession of ‘08, and everything points to it being worse. And they delayed all their movie releases.

Yeah, I haven't even read the article yet but I just don't see them being able to wait until 2021 to reopen - Frankly I doubt they could survive that long. I mean everyone of their parks is closed, all the hotels, the cruise lines, that's what, 40% of their revenue? Plus they paid the employees for an extra month with nothing coming in and just agreed to keep paying medical benefits, (not cheap). ESPN has nothing to cover and they're also postponing new movies from what I've read. EPCOT is a mess with all the construction going on, (or not going on), not to mention all the others still needing work like Guardians, Remmy's, TRON etc etc All this after the HUGE star wars investment that they are at this time unable to recoup any profit from and of course there is no way I can know but I imagine crowd size is going to be waaaay down for many months to come. Sure Disney has a great safety first record but if they don't start opening up some stuff soon .... they'll be folding up like a big book (as my Dad used to say).

Their revenue has to be down a lot more than 40 percent. The only part of their empire at this point that is still functioning is Disney+, and that was a long term investment that the article indicated wasn’t necessarily even profitable yet.

 

[rteetz]

Their revenue has to be down a lot more than 40 percent. The only part of their empire at this point that is still functioning is Disney+, and that was a long term investment that the article indicated wasn’t necessarily even profitable yet.

Their TV business is still functioning. Espn yes likely has less viewership but they also own ABC and a few other smaller networks. People are watching a lot of TV right now.

 

[Thecouch]

I think AK will be one of the early reopening parks. The animals can't be just shut down like rides. They need the same care if open or closed. I could see fastpass only for rides and shows. Spread out seating for the shows

 

[Thecouch]

Their TV business is still functioning. Espn yes likely has less viewership but they also own ABC and a few other smaller networks. People are watching a lot of TV right now.

If my aussie disney Facebook group I'm in is anything to go by there selling a lot of puzzles

 

[rteetz]

I think AK will be one of the early reopening parks. The animals can't be just shut down like rides. They need the same care if open or closed. I could see fastpass only for rides and shows. Spread out seating for the shows

Animal care never stopped. That is still very much on going and is an essential job.

 

[Jrb1979]

Did anyone really think it was anything other than dire? Cruising as an industry is probably teetering on total collapse after this. Even if the parks reopen soon, and that’s a big *if*, there is no way at this point that this doesn’t at least equal the Great Recession of ‘08, and everything points to it being worse. And they delayed all their movie releases.

Their revenue has to be down a lot more than 40 percent. The only part of their empire at this point that is still functioning is Disney+, and that was a long term investment that the article indicated wasn’t necessarily even profitable yet.

There was alot of people that were thinking Disney was fine and this won't affect them. I think a lot of what they had planned construction wise at this point is not happening.

 

[rteetz]

There was alot of people that were thinking Disney was fine and this won't affect them. I think a lot of what they had planned construction wise at this point is not happening.

Anything not already underway for sure. Anything already started can’t just be left.

 

[Farro]

Anything not already underway for sure. Anything already started can’t just be left.

Poor Epcot. I was so looking forward to what it was going to become.

Let's hope that once the revenue starts coming in again, the projects come to life again.

 

[fsjking]

Poor Epcot. I was so looking forward to what it was going to become.

Let's hope that once the revenue starts coming in again, the projects come to life again.

I have a trip in December. I probably get to ride SSE again and Rat.

That outside shot for a soft opening of GotG is pretty toast though.