Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[Eric Smith]

I dunno.

They're continuing with opening resorts it seems (slowly) so that would suggest they think there is still growth there but that its very slow.

Personally though I think visitors numbers will drop substantially again after Christmas

Disney has all the data to know whether that is actually the case or not and they are moving forward with opening resorts. It doesn't seem that demand would drop off significantly.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I dunno.

They're continuing with opening resorts it seems (slowly) so that would suggest they think there is still growth there but that its very slow.

Personally though I think visitors numbers will drop substantially again after Christmas

I was thinking long term they know future bookings, future demand to some extent, and they know they can get by without the major entertainment that’s been cut. Especially true if nighttime entertainment returns in some fashion as rumoured and somewhat coincides with more resorts coming online.

 

[Brianstl]

I definitely think this is true, but Disney will eventually be able to relax some of their restrictions over time. It won't be immediate, but eventually it will be "come at your own risk, but we are relaxing our mask policy effective 1/1/2022 or whatever"

I rea

I think the state of California would have to change their metrics for DL to open by next summer.

I think Disney fears California's metrics could become national metrics. It is one of the reasons Disney has publicly attacked them.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I definitely think this is true, but Disney will eventually be able to relax some of their restrictions over time. It won't be immediate, but eventually it will be "come at your own risk, but we are relaxing our mask policy effective 1/1/2022 or whatever"

Remember when people thought they might be able to come fall 2020 without a mask? This virus provides so many depressing reality checks over and over and over .

 

[gottalovepluto]

It isn't a long term plan to meet financial goals. A company like Disney can't long term plan or even short term right now because they don't have any clue what the future holds legally or economically. They don't even know when they can open Disneyland, have movie theaters open to across the country to show their movies, when they will be able to board their cruise ships or when international guests will be able to visits their parks again.

This is about survival as a company resembling the current TWDC in the short term during a worst case scenario.

That literally isn’t how business works. At any level of business (unless you don’t know what you’re doing and then you are very lucky or going out of business soon). Every company that is operating competently has a plan. Actually what they have are multiple plans for different scenarios. It would be the height of business stupidity to just decide everything by seat of your pants everyday based on COVID numbers.

The entertainment is not needed to draw people into the parks now and won’t be for the next few months. Chop it. Keep the cash. Business decision pure and simple.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This really makes me wonder if our June 2020 DL trip staying with our DVC points at VGC that I rescheduled to June 2021 still might not happen, which just seems so crazy.

CA will also vet the vaccine themselves so anticipate a potentially slower roll-out than in other parts of the country.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I am sure some of my comments are coming across as cold - but I do hope people don't question my love for Disney or my sadness in these cuts (both for the individuals impacted nor for the negative impact this has for the guest experience)

I think just the way my brain works I compartmentalize things and separate the Disney People (CMs) from the Disney Corporation - and try to look at things from both lenses

Disney lost a lot of their heart with these cuts - but there is a lot of heart left and I just think Disney the Corporation is trying to position itself to be as strong as possible now so that it can be as strong as possible for the long term

Reiterating what I said before, they are look out years, not months - and the parks are going to be taking a hit, and need to operate in "B mode" (for the opens that are even open) for years just as the movie studios are not bringing in revenue and they are getting hit a lot of places

And no, I don't think Disney is going bankrupt, but they are not in a good position financially, they ahve a ton of new debt (that was needed just for the cash flow) that needs to be serviced and not a ton of revenue coming in (outside of Disney+) so costs need to be watched super tightly

Hopefully even if the heart of Disney is beating a little slower and quieter now, in a few years it can be strengthened and embolden and come back stronger than ever - but some times there needs to be short term pain - and if that pain is a little sharper now maybe that lets them come back stronger a bit earlier.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I rea

I think Disney fears California's metrics could become national metrics. It is one of the reasons Disney has publicly attacked them.

FL will freeze over in July before they adopt CA metrics

 

[osufeth24]

FL will freeze over in July before they adopt CA metrics

ya, i don't see anyway that will happen. But this is treading into political and off topic territory so I won't go any deeper

However I wouldn't mind a nice freeze in July down here LOL

 

[JoeA]

Whew tensions are running high in here today. I’m gonna go prep for my 5th hurricane this year and come back later.

I have to admit that part of me wanted that to read, "...prep for my 5th hurricane this morning...!" and I was going to be super impressed!

Good luck with round 5, hope you all stay safe down there.

 

[PrincessV]

Sorry - this may get long and rambling...

And to add another layer of confusion to an already rambling post: one can be put off bt their decisions and still love the parks, the people who work in them, and give them business. The two are not mutually exclusive.

This is exactly where I am, and have been for 30 years. I live in FL, I'm a frequent WDW visitor, and, while I am not an economist, I work in economics. In the early months of the pandemic, our studies and surveys indicated no return to "normal" tourism for at least 2 years. We knew huge numbers of jobs would go because of the hit to tourism. (This is OT, so I won't spend more than a sentence on it, but this is also why we work so hard to diversify FL's economy, to make it less dependent on tourism - and that work is paying off in some areas, where the decrease in tourism dollars isn't taking down the entire local economy.)

I love my days at WDW, I appreciate the CMs and the Magic, but I also am fully aware of the business behind the curtain. WDW is a business, first and foremost - over my 30 years of experience, I've seen Guest experience take priority over financials, I've seen financials take priority over Guest experience, I've seen Guest expectations evolve, and I've seen WDW manipulate Guest expectations. Sea change at WDW is nothing new to me at all. The only very shocking part of this right now is how quickly the change is made.

As a Guest, the loss of entertainment doesn't impact me and my expectations at all. We're the rare (maybe? IDK outside of the DIS) household that really isn't into shows. IF park capacity increases and the shows don't come back, it would impact me in terms of crowds not being spread around as much, but I really think these cuts go hand in hand with the reduced capacity: when capacity increases, I believe we'll see shows - maybe the old ones, maybe new - return. But for now, I'm good as a Guest: my experience isn't diminished at all, and is actually improved with reduced capacity and social distancing protocols. I'm actually spending more time at WDW than I have in years.

But I'm not heartless, and I'm a former stage performer myself, so yes, absolutely - my heart breaks for all of the CMs losing their roles. And I'm certainly sad for the Guests who love the shows. I'm disappointed that Disney decided not to even try to re-stage some shows to provide a safe way to keep some jobs and provide entertainment many Guests enjoy. I've shed some tears over the last 12 hours, for sure.

 

[Jrb1979]

I am sure some of my comments are coming across as cold - but I do hope people don't question my love for Disney or my sadness in these cuts (both for the individuals impacted nor for the negative impact this has for the guest experience)

I think just the way my brain works I compartmentalize things and separate the Disney People (CMs) from the Disney Corporation - and try to look at things from both lenses

Disney lost a lot of their heart with these cuts - but there is a lot of heart left and I just think Disney the Corporation is trying to position itself to be as strong as possible now so that it can be as strong as possible for the long term

Reiterating what I said before, they are look out years, not months - and the parks are going to be taking a hit, and need to operate in "B mode" (for the opens that are even open) for years just as the movie studios are not bringing in revenue and they are getting hit a lot of places

And no, I don't think Disney is going bankrupt, but they are not in a good position financially, they ahve a ton of new debt (that was needed just for the cash flow) that needs to be serviced and not a ton of revenue coming in (outside of Disney+) so costs need to be watched super tightly

Hopefully even if the heart of Disney is beating a little slower and quieter now, in a few years it can be strengthened and embolden and come back stronger than ever - but some times there needs to be short term pain - and if that pain is a little sharper now maybe that lets them come back stronger a bit earlier.

Disney is not going bankrupt and I agree with that. Where I disagree is that these shows are all coming back when things are better. Many people have said that a lot of these cuts were going to happen regardless of Covid. Maybe not as many but they were going to happen. Covid gave them an excuse to do it quicker. Like was said a few pages back some shows will eventually come back but won't be as frequent as before. I don't think much will be back for the 50th either. IMO til Disneyland opens I don't see much changing. They need Disneyland open to help make up for the lack of revenue from the film side of things.

 

[JoeA]

Did they also get rid of the musicians who cruised around the pontoons boats in AK or are they still there? My wife and I thought that was great and fun to see/hear when we visited last month.

 

[Brianstl]

That literally isn’t how business works. At any level of business (unless you don’t know what you’re doing and then you are very lucky or going out of business soon). Every company that is operating competently has a plan. Actually what they have are multiple plans for different scenarios. It would be the height of business stupidity to just decide everything by seat of your pants everyday based on COVID numbers.

The entertainment is not needed to draw people into the parks now and won’t be for the next few months. Chop it. Keep the cash. Business decision pure and simple.

That isn't how business works in normal times, these aren't normal times.

My company is in the process of putting together our fiscal year budget. The people doing it have no clue how to properly account for the current reality. The prevailing wisdom currently is plan for the absolute worst fiscally. Then if it doesn't happen they will adjust. Adjust how, when and where, they aren't sure. We have a hiring freeze in effect and are offering people early retirement. That is with being below the number of employees we need to have currently and a long term plan that says we need to be aggressively hiring people to meet are future needs.

I guess you can call that planning long and short term, but it really isn't. It is just admitting you don't know what to really plan for given the current situation and you are just hoping to make it through the current situation with as little permanent damage as possible. I think that is the situation for the vast majority of companies right now.

 

[Brianstl]

FL will freeze over in July before they adopt CA metrics

The feds might not give FL much of a choice if the federal government decides to roll out national metrics. The feds have plenty of ways to make states suffer when both Congress and the White House are on the same page when it comes to federal dollars going to states. That is how we got years of a 55mph speed limit and a nationwide 21 drinking age.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

The entertainment is also a big deal to us.
And I think for many others too.

But there have also been a lot of people who would say HS (pre SWGE/TSL) or AK was a half day park and I’d say HOW? They’d say shows were one and done for them. We love the shows & they are must do for us on our trips. We usually have trouble fitting them all in Unfortunately I do think many people skip the shows or view them as one and done.

Well, we don't watch the shows either, just not our thing.
I wasn't going to say that because it doesn't seem right at the moment, but we won't exactly notice the cuts in a way that will affect our trip that much as far as attractions we go to.
We will notice the smaller scale things - Green Army Men, Citizens of Hollywood - although I admit I only actually sat down to watch them for the first time in 2017. It was an impromptu parade commentary with the guests being (unknowingly) the actual parade and it was hysterical!

But that doesn't mean I'm happy with the cuts. I hate when anyone loses their job and it's a very scary time right now for a lot of us, not just those who work at Disney.

Some of the "bigger" shows were a once-every-few-trips thing for us (Nemo, BatB). It's actually the smaller things - drummers and acrobats at EPCOT, Dapper Dans, CoMS, green Army men - that stop us in our tracks. We could be rushing to get to a ride or "walking with purpose" to get some food, but if the DDs start singing or the Army men come out, that other stuff doesn't matter.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

Disney is not going bankrupt and I agree with that. Where I disagree is that these shows are all coming back when things are better. Many people have said that a lot of these cuts were going to happen regardless of Covid. Maybe not as many but they were going to happen. Covid gave them an excuse to do it quicker. Like was said a few pages back some shows will eventually come back but won't be as frequent as before. I don't think much will be back for the 50th either. IMO til Disneyland opens I don't see much changing. They need Disneyland open to help make up for the lack of revenue from the film side of things.

Not only Disneyland, but DCL needs to sail again, IMO, for anything to start coming back. Even menus to expand, tbh.
I’ve seen reports that the engine block for the Wish is starting its float to the shipyard, and was suddenly reminded of that $1bn+ note that will need interim debt calls. That falls in the same dept at TWDC as parks, which are a shell of themselves. France is in a bad way, and I would t be shocked to see DLP close again with the rest of the country. My limited understanding of French labor laws is that they’d have a harder time laying off their CMs there. DLR and DCA are at their skeleton reopening levels already, so this was an unfortunate but obvious decision once I’ve slept on it and digested a little.
I still hope, and think, that WDW will have a hard time towards meaningful recovery if there isn’t atmospheric “magic” once people realize that it’s possible again. Their hand will be forced. Not by the folks on these boards who post and lurk, but the masses of international money that have so much to choose from. If there isn’t setting WDW apart then, investors will start to vote with their wallets, and TWDC will pivot quickly or be in shambles. The forgivability factor will tip out of their favor if Universal is selling all of their resorts again, and all-inclusive are booked, and other major cruise lines figure out how to operate in a new climate.

 

[Farro]

I never thought there was a chance the Florida parks would shut down again, but I think that Disney is now planning as if that is a real possibility. If they are, they might be correct. Not to get political, but there are a bunch of people who never thought WDW should reopen and would be jubilant if it was shut down again. We have spiking case numbers across the country. We have an election in 6 days that could mean a new administration that has promised to take a more restrictive approach when it comes to dealing with virus spread. WDW could be facing a grim reality when it comes to operations after January 20th.

Well I could be wrong, but I don't think the other "could be" administration has ever stated they wanted another economic shutdown, that's not what they meant by a more restrictive approach. There are other ways go about this.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Not only Disneyland, but DCL needs to sail again, IMO, for anything to start coming back. Even menus to expand, tbh.
I’ve seen reports that the engine block for the Wish is starting its float to the shipyard, and was suddenly reminded of that $1bn+ note that will need interim debt calls. That falls in the same dept at TWDC as parks, which are a shell of themselves. France is in a bad way, and I would t be shocked to see DLP close again with the rest of the country. My limited understanding of French labor laws is that they’d have a harder time laying off their CMs there. DLR and DCA are at their skeleton reopening levels already, so this was an unfortunate but obvious decision once I’ve slept on it and digested a little.
I still hope, and think, that WDW will have a hard time towards meaningful recovery if there isn’t atmospheric “magic” once people realize that it’s possible again. Not the folks on these boards who post and lurk, but the masses of international money that have so much to choose from. If there isn’t setting WDW apart then, investors will start to vote with their wallets, and TWDC will pivot quickly or be in shambles. The forgivability factor will tip out of their favor if Universal is selling all of their resorts again, and all-inclusive are booked, and other major cruise lines figure out how to operate in a new climate.

Especially with nighttime entertainment returning in some fashion, I think that overshadows losses of shows and smaller entertainment your casual guests may not even be aware existed.

Despite how sad this all is, I still don’t think we’re anywhere near the masses thinking Disney=Universal, or even Six Flags like some people have touched on. Disney has huge brand loyalty and IP recognition that I have to believe drives guests to choose Disney Parks over similar locations more than us more hardcore fans who just like how we feel there.

 

[MrsBooch]

when the thread begins to go political....

My Head: