Iger spoke - safety and EFFICIENCY

[mlayton14]

Iger spoke yesterday - and the two areas of focus for when the parks open will be safety and efficiency ........ the efficiency part scares me. What do you think this efficiency will come from?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/observ...ut-the-future-of-disney-post-coronavirus/amp/

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

I think the "efficiency" part refers to the fact that they will be open... right now they are paying lots of CM's and there is no work to be done. There will definitely be some things cut, the parks aren't going to open until at least June 1st, and they are not anticipating being able to open everything to full capacity until all threat of the virus is gone. That means measures to reduce crowding. No Fireworks/ parades at first and maybe running indoor shows half capacity or not at all to start. If you eliminate those things you can rune the parks with fewer staff. They already have lost CP CM's and will probably need to play catch up for a little while with CM staffing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I just read through the article. The "efficiency" reference is a bit vague, but if I had to take a guess, I think he's referring to staffing and operations. Disney has had to pay a ton of wages and benefits for CMs who are not working right now and they are generating zero revenue from the parks. Add to the fact that they still have to maintain the parks and rides during the shutdown - which I'm sure costs a lot on a daily basis - and they are bleeding money. On another thread, someone posted a tweet that mentioned they also just made a deal with the musicians union to keep paying for health benefits beyond April 18. My guess is, when they do re-open, they are going to do it with as few employees as they think they possibly can and still operate the parks and resorts. As PP mentioned, we will probably see no shows, no fireworks and I would imagine they will reduce ride capacity. The only downside to that is that creates long standby-lines which won't be good if people are still in danger of getting infected. I think they will need to reduce park capacity as well. Who knows. I do think they are going to cut as many corners as possible to re-open and that may mean, perhaps, a lot of people aren't re-hired after this.

 

[flea1267]

I just read through the article. The "efficiency" reference is a bit vague, but if I had to take a guess, I think he's referring to staffing and operations. Disney has had to pay a ton of wages and benefits for CMs who are not working right now and they are generating zero revenue from the parks. Add to the fact that they still have to maintain the parks and rides during the shutdown - which I'm sure costs a lot on a daily basis - and they are bleeding money. On another thread, someone posted a tweet that mentioned they also just made a deal with the musicians union to keep paying for health benefits beyond April 18. My guess is, when they do re-open, they are going to do it with as few employees as they think they possibly can and still operate the parks and resorts. As PP mentioned, we will probably see no shows, no fireworks and I would imagine they will reduce ride capacity. The only downside to that is that creates long standby-lines which won't be good if people are still in danger of getting infected. I think they will need to reduce park capacity as well. Who knows. I do think they are going to cut as many corners as possible to re-open and that may mean, perhaps, a lot of people aren't re-hired after this.

I reschedule our family trip to mid-July - if they aren't running at full speed by then I'll just cancel and go next year. I'm not paying Disney prices for only half the experience. I understand why it will take a while to get things back up and running to full speed but as much as it cost, I'll wait until it's back up to full speed.

 

[gharter]

They already have lost CP CM's and will probably need to play catch up for a little while with CM staffing.

When they reopen, they will be down a lot of CMs. They get a lot of CMs from the college program. All applicable interns and international program candidates who were “due to arrive through early June,” these programs are now suspended. Not sure how many people that affects, but I'm sure thats not a small number.

 

[flea1267]

Just off the cuff, how long do you think it will take to get back " up to full speed"? 6 weeks? 2 months? Just interested in what people's thoughts are on that. Thanks!

 

[eleven24]

Heard an interview with a well respected doctor who said he believed we'd see restrictions lifted in mid May, then mandatory masks through June. No masks in July, but obviously some sort of social distancing and good habits necessary until a vaccine developed which in a best case scenario is 12-18 months away. And that is a very quick, and perhaps even risky timeframe.

Assuming "full speed" is at a level pre-pandemic, I'd say it would be tied to the vaccine development. Until then I'm sure there will be dramatic changes implemented throughout the parks

 

[flea1267]

Heard an interview with a well respected doctor who said he believed we'd see restrictions lifted in mid May, then mandatory masks through June. No masks in July, but obviously some sort of social distancing and good habits necessary until a vaccine developed which in a best case scenario is 12-18 months away. And that is a very quick, and perhaps even risky timeframe.

Assuming "full speed" is at a level pre-pandemic, I'd say it would be tied to the vaccine development. Until then I'm sure there will be dramatic changes implemented throughout the parks

Sounds reasonable - thanks for your reply!