Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[xuxa777]

https://www.tampabay.com/arts-enter...plans-to-reopen-june-1-with-limited-capacity/
Somewhat nearby park with some rides going to open June 1st at 50% capacity, 25% indoor venues, no mask required but recommended for guests.

 

[tlmadden73]

No way I see DL being shuttered until 2021.

Eventually we are going to have to just go out there. Businesses can't wait for some miracle vaccine. We are just going to have to take precautions, isolate the vulnerable and just get out there.

I have never felt a theme park is less safe from other viruses. Highly trafficked stores, kids coming home from school, going to my office, eating at a restaurant, probably all just as likely to catch a virus than a mainly outdoor theme park that ALREADY had high cleanliness standards.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

www.Disney.com/investors for the 4:30 pm EDT earnings call.

The call will be live for those wanting to listen.

 

[BryGuy415]

Yes, that is why I have been thinking July 1st all along for the parks, maybe soft open in mid June

My guess has been July 6 - it removes the need to have to deal with a National Holiday and potential crowds

 

[LSUmiss]

They closed 8 weeks before WDW and DLR.

I don’t think that’s as relevant b/c besides not being the majority owners or the fact they’re in China, a lot of the time it took them to come up with strategies to make the parks safer can now be implemented here. I think it’s a good sign actually b/c I think it would be bad optics to open wdw before China.

 

[tlmadden73]

https://www.tampabay.com/arts-enter...plans-to-reopen-june-1-with-limited-capacity/
Somewhat nearby park with some rides going to open June 1st

That is good news .. I feel zoos should be open up sooner than later. A lot of them are mainly outdoors .. you can use gloves/hand sanitizers to open doors. You don't have to touch the railings or glass. You are rarely right next to people (unless you crowd a spot at a certain exhibit. A lot of them are like being at a park .. with just more things to look at.

Let's put it this way .. the more things open up .. the less people will crowd into the places that ARE open. You see it all over. A city closes the parks, people go to the beaches. The beaches get closed and people go find a state park still open. Everything should try and open up near the same time. Whether it is "safe" or not .. most people are done with this. The more places to go the more spread out people will be.

 

[LSUmiss]

An extremely third party person (friend of a relative that is high up in park operations) has told us that right now WDW is preparing for 8/1 open and DL for 1/1/21. They indicated that this was influenced by local govt: FLA gov wants to open CA not so much. Person was not sure this would be announced today. Thought it was more likely statement made about no opening date being set yet would stand. For what it’s worth. Which is admittedly not much. It does make sense to me and seems consistent but who knows. Would they withhold that timeline from investors?

I posted this last week or so, but my cousin is high up in Seaworld & they are preparing for 7/1 opening at the latest but shooting more for mid June opening. She said Universal & WDW are all working toward trying to open around the same time.

 

[JaNelson38]

No way I see DL being shuttered until 2021.

Eventually we are going to have to just go out there. Businesses can't wait for some miracle vaccine. We are just going to have to take precautions, isolate the vulnerable and just get out there.

I have never felt a theme park is less safe from other viruses. Highly trafficked stores, kids coming home from school, going to my office, eating at a restaurant, probably all just as likely to catch a virus than a mainly outdoor theme park that ALREADY had high cleanliness standards.

Its just not possible. Why people even think DL or WDW can just stay indefinitely closed until the end of time and remain solvent is absurd. They're still a business. A business that's bleeding millions every day they are closed. Its a publicly traded company. You can't just press "pause" on business and hit "play" at some arbitrary date in the future and have nothing change.

People that normally don't follow business or finances are going to be shocked to hear the earnings call later today and find out just how much $ Disney has lost from being shut down just 6 weeks. And they'll understand what I mean when I say they'll be open pretty much as soon as they're given the green light to do so (publicly or privately) by the state of Florida, and how staying shut down for months on end is simply not sustainable.

 

[Mit88]

Sheltering billions of people will only get more difficult as the temperature gets warmer. In NY we’ve maybe had 5 days over 60 degrees and outdoor activity spots are already crowded. With consistent warm temperature, it’ll get worse and worse because the options stay slim while the people going outside increases.

 

[C&Jx2]

https://www.tampabay.com/arts-enter...plans-to-reopen-june-1-with-limited-capacity/
Somewhat nearby park with some rides going to open June 1st at 50% capacity, 25% indoor venues, no mask required but recommended for guests.

I’m trying to think about what indoor venues they really have... Not many.

Even on busy days, guests are pretty spread out.

Such a nice establishment though . I grew up in the Tampa area and have been there many times. Love it!

 

[JaNelson38]

I posted this last week or so, but my cousin is high up in Seaworld & they are preparing for 7/1 opening at the latest but shooting more for mid June opening. She said Universal & WDW are all working toward trying to open around the same time.

It would make sense that all of the major attractions try to open around the same time, as many travelers try to do more than one thing if they make a trip to Florida, especially out-of-staters.

 

[Mit88]

Its just not possible. Why people even think DL or WDW can just stay indefinitely closed until the end of time and remain solvent is absurd. They're still a business. A business that's bleeding millions every day they are closed. Its a publicly traded company. You can't just press "pause" on business and hit "play" at some arbitrary date in the future and have nothing change.

People that normally don't follow business or finances are going to be shocked to hear the earnings call later today and find out just how much $ Disney has lost from being shut down just 6 weeks. And they'll understand what I mean when I say they'll be open pretty much as soon as they're given the green light to do so (publicly or privately) by the state of Florida, and how staying shut down for months on end is simply not sustainable.

Disney closed its US parks 50 days ago. If they’re losing 30M a day, that’s 1.5B that they’ve lost in revenue in 6 weeks. We may think Disney has an endless supply of money, but 1.5 Billion dollars is not “chump change”. If they open up on June 1st, it’ll be around 2.3 Billion dollars. That’s assuming that 30M per day estimate is correct

 

[SierraT]

Speaking of zoos and apologies if this doesn’t belong here but does anyone know if Animal Kingdom has been letting the animals roam? I sincerely do not know the operating procedures there, only that they are housed when they aren’t on the savannah.

I would imagine that the closer they get to opening with a normal operating schedule, the animals would need to be circulated out to become adjusted? Probably a silly question, just curious.

 

[TwoMisfits]

That is good news .. I feel zoos should be open up sooner than later. A lot of them are mainly outdoors .. you can use gloves/hand sanitizers to open doors. You don't have to touch the railings or glass. You are rarely right next to people (unless you crowd a spot at a certain exhibit. A lot of them are like being at a park .. with just more things to look at.

Let's put it this way .. the more things open up .. the less people will crowd into the places that ARE open. You see it all over. A city closes the parks, people go to the beaches. The beaches get closed and people go find a state park still open. Everything should try and open up near the same time. Whether it is "safe" or not .. most people are done with this. The more places to go the more spread out people will be.

I agree...and more than zoos, but botanical gardens and sculpture/art parks should also open for the same reason...you walk through and look at outdoor things, which is perfect in the current environment...

 

[JaNelson38]

Disney closed its US parks 50 days ago. If they’re losing 30M a day, that’s 1.5B that they’ve lost in revenue in 6 weeks. We may think Disney has an endless supply of money, but 1.5 Billion dollars is not “chump change”. If they open up on June 1st, it’ll be around 2.3 Billion dollars. That’s assuming that 30M per day estimate is correct

Yep.

Disney no doubt has cash on hand, but they're also borrowing a ton. No business the size of Disney doesn't borrow lots of money....whether its for operating costs, construction/development, etc. And that's just the parks arm of the company. The movies/sports arm of the company is bleeding profusely too. And we all know there won't be a cruise ship leaving port for weeks if not months.

Sooner or later, banks will start saying no. And when banks start saying no is when businesses go bankrupt. Yes, this can happen to Disney. You can't keep operating a business with nothing on the revenue side of the profit/loss statement.

 

[Mit88]

Speaking of zoos and apologies if this doesn’t belong here but does anyone know if Animal Kingdom has been letting the animals roam? I sincerely do not know the operating procedures there, only that they are housed when they aren’t on the savannah.

I would imagine that the closer they get to opening with a normal operating schedule, the animals would need to be circulated out to become adjusted? Probably a silly question, just curious.

its been business as usual with the animals at AK. They have caretakers there all day

 

[Brianstl]

Speaking of zoos and apologies if this doesn’t belong here but does anyone know if Animal Kingdom has been letting the animals roam? I sincerely do not know the operating procedures there, only that they are housed when they aren’t on the savannah.

I would imagine that the closer they get to opening with a normal operating schedule, the animals would need to be circulated out to become adjusted? Probably a silly question, just curious.

My guess is that the animals' schedule at AK hasn't changed all that much. I would think they would try to avoid things like schedule changes that can increase the stress on captive animals.

 

[yulilin3]

https://www.tampabay.com/arts-enter...plans-to-reopen-june-1-with-limited-capacity/
Somewhat nearby park with some rides going to open June 1st at 50% capacity, 25% indoor venues, no mask required but recommended for guests.

And to bring it back to Disney related, you can watch the series about this zoo on Disney+

 

[Mit88]

Yep.

Disney no doubt has cash on hand, but they're also borrowing a ton. No business the size of Disney doesn't borrow lots of money....whether its for operating costs, construction/development, etc. And that's just the parks arm of the company. The movies/sports arm of the company is bleeding profusely too.

Sooner or later, banks will start saying no. And when banks start saying no is when businesses go bankrupt. Yes, this can happen to Disney.

They just got a credit loan for 5B. Half of that is already wiped out for nothing, potentially more than half if they stay closed longer than June. Theres no forgiveness period during the closure. They have nothing to gain from staying closed, and everything to lose. People are going to complain and say its “too soon” whether Disney opens tomorrow, or on January 1st. Last year the movies were a very big revenue stream last year because of big blockbusters like Endgame, Lion King, TS4, Frozen 2, and Aladdin. Their next big movie is Mulan in late July (if that sticks) and then not until November with Soul and Black Widow.

 

[xuxa777]

Yep.

Disney no doubt has cash on hand, but they're also borrowing a ton. No business the size of Disney doesn't borrow lots of money....whether its for operating costs, construction/development, etc. And that's just the parks arm of the company. The movies/sports arm of the company is bleeding profusely too. And we all know there won't be a cruise ship leaving port for weeks if not months.

Sooner or later, banks will start saying no. And when banks start saying no is when businesses go bankrupt. Yes, this can happen to Disney. You can't keep operating a business with nothing on the revenue side of the profit/loss statement.

You are correct, but companies operate losing money all the time, see all the tech companies. Uber has yet to make a profit, lost $1.2 Billion in Q4, Q2 2019 lost $5.2 billion in just three months and may never make a profit. Yes, Disney is differnet than Uber and Disney needs to open asap but does have more runway than most think.