Cost isn’t the only issue; it’s also a resources and supply issue. Any company (Disney or another) can only manufacture so many tests a day.
If we assume MK operates at its average capacity, which is about 55,000 guests per day, they would need nearly 5 million tests kits in just three months of operation. To put that in perspective, the U.S. as whole has only performed just shy of 4.7 million tests in the last three months. That’s including all the tests that take several days to give a result. Obviously that number will grow exponentially in the coming weeks, but in many areas, people still have to wait before getting a test. Before those test kits are available on a more widespread basis for private enterprises, we’re going to have to have tested A LOT more people. The situation in every country is different (some have more tests available or smaller populations for example), which is why you might see some companies in other countries start testing customers. In the U.S., I don’t think companies would be allowed to buy up massive stockpiles of tests. Not only would it be a bad PR look, but they’ve been stopped from doing it for gloves, masks, and other protective equipment (hospitals and essential services have been given first dibs), so I’d imagine testing kits would be the same.
Also, I’m not sure you could just test people once during a weeklong vacation. If the parks were only open to resort guests and Disney didn’t let you leave property until your vacation over (in other words, once you leave Disney property, you’re not coming back), then yeah, you’d only need to test once. But if that weren’t the case, somebody could go to a nearby restaurant for example and touch a surface that had been touched by someone with COVID-19, contract the virus, and be spreading it without symptoms just a day or two later in the parks. Or somebody could get in an uber with a driver that is asymptomatic but contagious. You’d only pick that up if you were testing on a rolling basis, and if Disney is going to be operating that parks with near-normal protocol because of the security of testing, then just a handful of people contracting the virus could turn into a major outbreak. Regardless, either way you’re still talking about literally millions of tests, all of which are not necessarily cheap to purchase or produce.
Even if Disney wanted to and was somehow able to manufacture the tests, they’d need the same supplies and materials everyone else needs, and the amount of those supplies are also fixed. They’d be competing for those resources alongside pharmaceutical companies who intend to use the tests for hospitals and medical facilities. Even if Disney had more financial means than those pharmaceutical companies (which is doubtful right now), it would be disastrous PR for Disney to be seen as starting a bidding war with traditional test manufacturers just so they can open their theme parks.
Again, this is all assuming their timeline for reopening would be sometime in the summer. The resources and supply situation might be a bit different in the fall or early next year.
Ultimately, I just think WDW will make the calculation that it’s far more efficient and feasible to just take guests’ temperatures and have them sign a form releasing WDW of any liability if they contract COVID-19 than it is to pour billions of dollars into creating or even just obtaining literally hundreds of thousands of test kits each week. I think the calculation could be very different for
DCL but that’s a whole other animal.
