MiceChat reported live from the Disney Shareholder conference, with information added to this article as it was presented. Disney made many announcements, including an opening date for Shanghai Disneyland, cutbacks for theme park construction projects, and huge revenue declines.
Shanghai Disneyland to Reopen!
- Shanghai Disneyland will reopen May 11th. Advance reservations will be required.
- “Controlled capacity” will limit the number of guests in the parks.
- Dated tickets and similar scheduling to control capacity
- Masks must be worn by guests during the entire visit, except for dining.
- Masks will also be worn by all cast except for face characters, but they will be far from guests.
- No fireworks or parades at first.
- There will be a character cavalcade.
- Characters will appear in the park “in a new way” but no up close character meet & greets.
- Shanghai Disneyland attendance is approximately 80,000 guests per day. The Chinese government will hold Disney to 30% capacity or about 24,000 guests per day. But Disney will hold the number “far below” that number at first and ramp up slowly.
“As Shanghai Disney Resort embarks on the first Disney park reopening, the rest of the Disney family at our other parks around the world also are busy preparing for reopening. When the time is right, they will be able to once again welcome guests – to explore and play, and to enjoy the lands of adventure, fantasy, tomorrow and imagination together.”
Disney released the following information during the Investor Call:
Disney shared an update from Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel about the company’s plans and considerations as they prepare for the reopening of Disney parks, resorts and stores:
Dear Guests,
As you may have heard at Disney’s Q2 FY20 Earnings Results Webcast, our CEO Bob Chapek announced that Shanghai Disney Resort will begin the phased reopening of Shanghai Disneyland on May 11 – an encouraging sign for Disney parks and retail locations all over the world. After so much time at home, I know many of you are eager to enjoy the magic of a Disney parks visit, and we can’t wait to welcome you back.
I’m fortunate to work with Disney’s extraordinarily talented team of health and safety experts who are some of the most experienced in the industry. Together, with our colleagues in operations, and local health and government authorities, we’re evaluating several new and enhanced safety measures to do our part towards helping us stay well while we work, stay, and play at a Disney resort and a Disney store. I’m also working closely with the US Travel Association on a set of guidelines the travel industry may tailor to their individual businesses to help demonstrate that safety of travelers is a top focus.
To that end, I want to share an update with you about our plans and considerations as we prepare for the reopening of our parks, resorts and stores. At Disney, we’re exploring:
Phased reopening: We’re looking at all of our locations and how best to begin the reopening process, including a gradual reopening and/or partial reopening of certain locations. For example, the opening of retail and dining locations prior to the opening of our theme parks.
Physical distancing and capacity measures: As you can imagine, managing guest density in queues, restaurants, hotels, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park and across the resort is a major focus, as we implement physical distancing guidelines based on guidance from health authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and appropriate government agencies. This will likely include implementation of guest capacity measures to comply with state and federal guidelines. We’re also exploring ways to use technology to aid us in these efforts, like with our Play Disney Parks App and through virtual queues at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Cleanliness and sanitization: We’re planning increased cleaning and disinfection, determining where that should take place (for example, in high-traffic areas), and the cleaning products and processes we’ll use.
Screening and prevention support: We’ll follow guidance from the government and the medical community regarding enhanced screening procedures and prevention measures, including those related to personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face coverings. Some measures, like adding hand sanitizers and hand washing stations across our resorts, have already been implemented.
Cast training: We’re further emphasizing our strong culture of health and safety amongst our cast members, and will continue to provide new training and reinforcement as we get closer to reopening.
These are just a few examples of the many areas we are developing plans for, so please keep an eye on our online channels, where we’ll provide more details as we confirm and begin to implement our plans. Given the constantly changing global health environment, these practices may evolve as we consider the latest guidance, but we will share more information with you as we look towards reopening.
In the meantime, our focus remains on the health and safety of the entire Disney community – including the wellbeing of the Cast Members who are caring for and securing our parks and resorts during the closure. We have already implemented a number of enhanced health and safety measures, such as increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfection in work areas, adjusting practices to promote physical distancing, and providing Cast with access to necessary PPE, including face coverings. We continue to learn from these experiences and will carry these lessons into reopening and beyond.
Finally, I want to recognize the medical professionals working to bring care and comfort in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. We will continue to do what we can to help support the medical community and our local communities during this time.
We’re looking forward to welcoming all of you back to our Disney parks, resorts and stores. Until we are together once again, we wish you and your families health, hope, and happiness.
Additional Disney News From The Shareholder Call
- Earnings per share at Disney have dropped 93% per share since the shutdowns.
- Some of the parks projects will be delayed or canceled, and could include projects such as the multi-level festival building for Epcot. Bob Chapek announced he will go over all expenditures with a “fine-toothed comb.” Does that scare you as much as it does us?
- In fact, over $900 million of capital expenditure has been delayed or canceled for the Parks division!
- There were 54.5 million Disney+ subscribers as of yesterday! That’s TREMENDOUS growth for a service which is just about half a year old.
- Most movies will continue to be delayed for a theatrical release rather than streaming first.
- Disney will be skipping this dividend period, the first in quite a long time! Rather than paying investors, Disney prioritized paying employees and benefits for those furloughed.
- Over 100,000 employees were furloughed in April. Most of them in the Parks segment.
- Cast will be recalled to work as safely as possible, but labor costs will continue to be tightly controlled and fewer hours could be available to Cast than usual.
- All construction is still halted.
- No final decision has been made, but expect significant changes to the park experience when they finally reopen in the USA. This may include changes to park hours, capacity, queueing procedures, ticket types, availability, scheduling of visits and much more.
The call has concluded.
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