Is Disney Pleased With Shanghai's Reopening?

pkrieger2287

Senior Editor - DVC Fan
Joined
May 12, 2017
So as many of us have stated and alluded to the past few weeks, Disney is likely taking in loads of information from the Shanghai reopening and analyzing how things would apply to the parks here in the U.S.

The question that I have is whether Disney is pleased with what it is seeing?

We can assume that from a health and safety standpoint things seem to be going very well, but my mind jumps to Chapek's statement about profitability a few weeks ago. Are they generating the revenue they expected? Are they getting the attendance they want? Is guest satisfaction ok? Could there be something they are seeing that is causing them to delay plans to reopen here?
 
All indications seem to say yes. I know Chapek appeared on CNBC the morning of May 11 and discussed the encouraging reopening day (because of the time difference, SDL really opened the evening of May 10th here). From a health and safety perspective (which I think, at the moment, is what matters most to Disney), we've heard reports that mask compliance has been strong but enforcing/promoting social distancing has been a bit more of a challenge, but as far as I can tell, there haven't been any reports of new outbreaks tied to the park or even the Shanghai area. Overall, SDL's reopening seems to have received fairly good press.

Economically, which as you said is also very important, SDL's reopening has also seemed to be successful. Opening day tickets sold out relatively quickly, and at the moment, the next day you can buy a park ticket for is June 1, so that's a very encouraging sign. As Chapek said earlier this month, the government is capping attendance at 30% and they're starting off well below that and working they're way up to that threshold in increments. It also appears that they may have quietly stopped selling half-day tickets (something that SDL, much like WDW, had not offered to the general public before their closure), which to me indicates that there is substantial interest for the full-day tickets. Additionally, last week, we saw SDL begin presenting indoor shows like the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration and their PotC stunt show. Of course, they're seating every other row and leaving ample space between parties, but to me, this seems like not only an indicator of health/safety success but also economic success for the park's reopening. Even if park officials felt it would be possible to hold these shows while maintaining social distancing, they wouldn't reopen them unless they felt they could "afford" to (sort of the reverse of when WDW cuts entertainment to save money).

Obviously, I'm not sure how much money you can make operating a park at no more than a third of its maximum capacity. I don't think we'll know the answer to that until at least the next earnings call (if ever), but it is my opinion (so take it FWIW) that SDL's reopening is not really affecting the U.S. parks' reopening plans. Remember that SDL was closed from late January (1/25) through mid-May (5/10); that's 3.5/almost 4 month closure. Our parks have been closed just over two months. With the Shanghai timeline, WDW would theoretically open in early July, but as I've said for a while now, you can't necessarily draw a direct comparison between the two, given that they are different outbreaks, different cultures, and different responses. For example, SDL's Disneytown (their DS equivalent) reopened 6 or so weeks after SDL closed. DS reopened more than 8 weeks after WDW's parks closed. So in short, I don't think SDL "delayed" a WDW reopening. I think it's very likely many of the same procedures and protocols there will be applied here upon WDW's reopening, but there are many other factors affecting WDW's reopening like the different situation here in the U.S.
 


You can't compare though, the virus is virtually nonexistent in Shanghai now and the city never got hit hard due to locking down so early. They also don't have to pracice social distancing outside the parks when it comes to lines and stuff so that part doesn't surprise me. Plus they have to wear a mask most of the time everywhere and have temp checks and their health qr code. Going to SHDL is no different than going to the mall or school for that stuff. They're much more compliant to all this stuff for reasons we won't discuss and as we can see isn't working here for reasons we won't discuss if you saw news reports yesterday of the beaches etc.
 


Not everything can transfer over. The social distancing rules in China are 1 meter -- that's about 3 feet, HALF the 6 feet guidelines here. And of course there are cultural differences. It was already the norm in Asian countries to wear masks, so that was not a difficult adjustment at all.
 
Plus, they have that mandatory tracking app looking where you have been, that must show a green code to enter anywhere... it just does not translate to the US, and never will.


Not everything can transfer over. The social distancing rules in China are 1 meter -- that's about 3 feet, HALF the 6 feet guidelines here. And of course there are cultural differences. It was already the norm in Asian countries to wear masks, so that was not a difficult adjustment at all.

I actually did not know this. I think that changes a lot as well, as far as the applicability to WDW/Disneyland.

Disney opened more entertainment in the park last week so that must mean things are going well. It’s hard to say though with Disney being minority owner, the Shendi group could be pushing forward too despite the wishes of Disney.
 
On one of the other threads, I think it was the main COVID thread, but quite a while back, someone posted a report from an amusement park group. WDW wasn't a member, but many of the other big names like Six Flags and Sea World participated. One of the opening recommendations stated that social distancing could be 3ft if masks were worn. Now that was pretty early on, and who knows what the state of Florida will require, but I remember speculating on that thread that Disney would definitely choose masks if it meant they could have more park guests due to smaller social distancing requirements.
 
I saw an interview with an American Shenghai Disney passholder talking about the park on reopening. She seemed to like the social distancing rule because she felt that residents in Shenghai normally have boundary issues and don't social distance and crowd each other (and her). I feel like Americans like to have a little "bubble space" with strangers, even if it's not 6 feet exactly...
 

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