Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[andyman8]

I’ll take the under on that. I think by June Disney is busier than they are staffed to handle, by late August vaccination is prevalent enough that Disney is reducing distancing restrictions and opening all properties, and by October most shows are back in some format, equity or not. People are going to be itching to go somewhere the moment that second shot is in their arm, and Disney will have to scale up quickly.

For all our sake, I certainly hope you're right. It's hard to know at this point. It'll all depend on vaccine distribution, and it's clear that that is even more variable/challenging than many expected.

 

[gottalovepluto]

... It's been awhile since we've gone off the rails.

I tried to be good by stucking to absolute facts that I believe directly influence Disney attendance... for more discussion on the topic there is the Community Board (I think. I went there once and well... it was scary )

 

[Mit88]

I tried to be good by stucking to absolute facts that I believe directly influence Disney attendance... for more discussion on the topic there is the Community Board (I think. I went there once and well... it was scary )

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I have a feeling 2021 isn’t going to look much different from 2020... But I’ll happily be proven wrong. Just give us normal operating hours... that’s all I really want! We love nighttime at the parks.

Okay what I really want is Disneyland open but I digress.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I am glad Disney is watching and taking it seriously/calling it out to deter the behavior but I just wish all guests respected the rule and those around them. These poor CMs. It’s so disappointing.

On Jan 10 we were in line for Space Mtn. There was a group directly behind us including 3 kids, a woman, and two adult males. Both men had their masks down and were vaping the entire queue. Also one of the men was hacking his lungs off between hits - not exactly what you want to hear in a pandemic. DH really quickly told a CM who was stationed where the lines split, but all he did was put that group into the other line.
After we got off, we saw that group join several more people near COP, all had their masks down.

 

[rosieposie3]

Here in Ireland the schedule shows that everyone (except under 16s) will all be vaccinated by September. I'm hoping that if I reschedule my WDW trip to December that the rules evolve and being vaccinated will enable us to go and not quarantine. I can't imagine anything more torturous than being in Orlando but being stuck in our room!

 

[yulilin3]

Skyliner operational closures for maintenance

• Jan. 24: Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts line unavailable
• Jan. 26: Disney’s Hollywood Studios line unavailable
• Jan. 28: EPCOT International Gateway line unavailable

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I’ll take the under on that. I think by June Disney is busier than they are staffed to handle, by late August vaccination is prevalent enough that Disney is reducing distancing restrictions and opening all properties, and by October most shows are back in some format, equity or not. People are going to be itching to go somewhere the moment that second shot is in their arm, and Disney will have to scale up quickly.

I think that is a bit optimistic but not unreasonable ... I just think it feels like Disney is slower to react and will want to see how things play out for a while before racheting things up a lot as far as staff and hours and reducing distancing and stuff.

I also feel like majority of 2021 will still be focused on those guests willing to pay the same for less - they know people will come for the 50th anyway and I do think the Halloween and Christmas parties come back in some form which will attract people.

So I do think it is more "normal" than now but probably not as normal as people think they could be at that point.

Specifically for HDDR though I think that could come back sooner than some shows as even if not making same $ in total it does bring in additional revenue and in the past wasn't like every show was totally sold out. I bet they could do distancing and still get, in aggregate, 60-70% of the revenue as in the past

 

[kylenne]

Have you considered flying? Airways have always been open between Canada and the US.

She has cystic fibrosis. I’m not seeing her until we’re both vaccinated, at minimum.

 

[mshanson3121]

On Jan 10 we were in line for Space Mtn. There was a group directly behind us including 3 kids, a woman, and two adult males. Both men had their masks down and were vaping the entire queue. Also one of the men was hacking his lungs off between hits - not exactly what you want to hear in a pandemic. DH really quickly told a CM who was stationed where the lines split, but all he did was put that group into the other line.
After we got off, we saw that group join several more people near COP, all had their masks down.

They should have been escorted out of the parks. They broke not one, but two rules.

And if we get deeper into the year and the vaccination rate is abysmal, what does Disney do? Could be a controversial topic, but they are a business. They can wait a while for the country’s population to do what needs to be done, but they can’t, and shouldn’t be expected to wait forever. If the vaccine is readily available and say only 25% of the country has taken it in Oct/Nov/Dec, what does Disney do? We’re making all of these future plans based on the hope that a majority of the population takes it, but what if they don’t? You can’t expect Disney to just sit there idly by and watch the future of the company dust away. It might not by this year, or even 2022, but at some point they’re going to have to do something. They can’t survive off of 25% capacity forever.

Agree - but what do they do? I mean, my guess is they just open back up and require proof of vaccination. But... would enough people be vaccinated to achieve the numbers they want? And the other reality is, if vaccine numbers are that poor, then public health guidelines are still going to be a factor, too. Disney can only do what Disney is allowed to do. And under new administration, that could be less. Not to make things political, but just stating a fact, that the governor and the new president aren't BFFs anymore. That may change things. And again, if vaccine numbers are that poor, if the Covid numbers aren't falling as much as we all hope - will Disney even have enough willing visitors for them to achieve the numbers they want? What will the unions agree to? So many questions still at this point, that I think we are still at least a good 6 months out from having any inkling of the answers.

 

[skeeter31]

And if we get deeper into the year and the vaccination rate is abysmal, what does Disney do? Could be a controversial topic, but they are a business. They can wait a while for the country’s population to do what needs to be done, but they can’t, and shouldn’t be expected to wait forever. If the vaccine is readily available and say only 25% of the country has taken it in Oct/Nov/Dec, what does Disney do? We’re making all of these future plans based on the hope that a majority of the population takes it, but what if they don’t? You can’t expect Disney to just sit there idly by and watch the future of the company dust away. It might not by this year, or even 2022, but at some point they’re going to have to do something. They can’t survive off of 25% capacity forever.

35% capacity since November.
As for what Disney does, unfortunately they’re in a very tough spot and I think they’ll continue to ride out the capacity restrictions, closed resorts, social distancing and mask requirements, and limited experiences for a while. It’s going to severely hurt the company, but they’re not going to want the bad press of rushing back to “normal” too soon.

 

[rpb718]

I also feel like majority of 2021 will still be focused on those guests willing to pay the same for less - they know people will come for the 50th anyway and I do think the Halloween and Christmas parties come back in some form which will attract people.

I've been thinking about the parties, and I have a feeling that WDW may eschew the current Halloween & Xmas parties (since guests have a historical knowledge of what is/was normally expected as part of these parties and the cost) and go with a brand new 50th anniversary party starting in October and running when they want and for as long as they want into 2022. They can then define what's included in the festivities for these parties and no one would complain that they weren't getting the same as before because this would be new and limited to the 50th and will go away and not come back when the anniversary celebration is over.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've been thinking about the parties, and I have a feeling that WDW may eschew the current Halloween & Xmas parties (since guests have a historical knowledge of what is/was normally expected as part of these parties and the cost) and go with a brand new 50th anniversary party starting in October and running when they want and for as long as they want into 2022. They can then define what's included in the festivities for these parties and no one would complain that they weren't getting the same as before because this would be new and limited to the 50th and will go away and not come back when the anniversary celebration is over.

That would be an interesting way to go - and then they could do the holiday cavalcades like they did this year and then do a hard ticket even for the 50th that includes some fireworks and stuff

Not sure if that is the route they go but it has some merit in my mind

 

[figmentfinesse]

Skyliner operational closures for maintenance

• Jan. 24: Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts line unavailable
• Jan. 26: Disney’s Hollywood Studios line unavailable
• Jan. 28: EPCOT International Gateway line unavailable

Ooh that makes me upset. I'm paying Riviera money to be on the Skyliner for 4 nights and they just took it down for two of my park days.

 

[rteetz]

I understand the vaccine is important in moving towards normalcy but let’s remember this is a Disney thread.

 

[hertamaniac]

The Yankees are ~7M away from the 210M salary “cap”. They’re 2 time offenders, which means if they were to go over the 210M threshold they would have to pay an additional 105M (50%) in luxury tax.

Can they afford to pay that luxury tax? Yes

Would they still be a profitable franchise if they don’t want to pay it? Yes

Would adding a pitcher, even if it means they go over that salary threshold make the fans happy? Yes

Would adding a pitcher, even if it means they go over that Salary threshold allow the Yankees to continue being a profitable organization? Yes

Does not getting a pitcher, thus not crossing that salary cap threshold mean that the Yankees would be unwilling to spend money on players next year?

No. Actually they’ll be more willing to because they will not be subject to the 50% luxury tax even if they go above the 210M salary cap.

Just because Disney can afford to pay all of these workers, including entertainment. Just because the fans of Disney would be much happier if they brought these entertainment options back. Just because Disney would be profitable with, or without these entertainment options....doesn’t mean they should, or have to bring them back, right now. And it doesn’t mean that they can’t turn around and re-hire these CMs or bring in new ones to fill those entertainment options when they so choose to.

If you were losing 25M dollars a day for over 100 days, you too would be looking at ways to recoup those losses. And when you can’t charge more for the experience, or add paid experiences, you have to find the money elsewhere. It sucks, but those jobs were always going to be where they recouped some losses, and it’s not just Disney, it’s every company. Universal laid off employees too

Using your analogy, I view the unfinished attractions as dead cap space at this time (NYY ~ 22M last year).

 

[xuxa777]

Guarantee it won't be more than 25%

I"ll take that bet/over 25%

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/us/super-bowl-fans-spt/index.html
A beer at Baseline?

 

[osufeth24]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/us/super-bowl-fans-spt/index.html
A beer at Baseline?

take out the free tickets they're giving to vaccinated health care workers and it;s only 21% paid fans

 

[xuxa777]

so you are not counting health workers that have sacrificed so much it the time of a pandemic, not a great look.

I kid, I will buy you a beer at baseline, due to your technicality

 

[AvidDisReader]

Can you explain why it just wasnt realistic with the money loss? Would Disney not have been profitable if they kept entertainment? Is Universal failing as a company having kept the entertainment?

Disney's last corp year showed a 2.6 billion dollar loss. Even if you take away all the salaries and bonuses of corp execs it would still have been a 2.5 billion loss. I am pretty good with math, so no I do not believe you can keep bleeding money and stay open. I am a big Disney fan and it really is so sad to see much entertain go away in the parks, but I am a realist and know that there is really not many options.