Effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) On Entertainment & Tourism Industry

[Lucky Planet]

On the topic of HHN quickly, I have to say that, as someone who has been a performer a few times and knowing what I know of what usually happens within a cast as a run goes along, i'm not sure I would even feel comfortable accepting a role if it was offered. The modifications they're going to have to make this year are going to have to be major. I can't imagine that there can possibly be any scare zones and I think the cast size in houses is going to have to be cut down as well. How do you even scare in a house come to think of it? Does everyone wear a mask? I mean, normally the actors get right up in your face, which obviously can't happen.

To me, it seems like a logistical nightmare and they would be better off if they just cancelled this year's event and said "we'll celebrate the 30th next year".

if they were to follow social distancing and the 6 feet rule, neither scarezones nor houses would be possible.

it would literally be impossible to hold a regular horror nights with social distancing guidelines.

if, they were going to hold hhn, they would have to use puppets and some animatromics or stuff. obviously not all houses could be like this but they would have to find new ways to scare with the distancing guidelines.

scarezones would need to have tall stages and not have actors on the ground scaring.

Only Yeti houses.

yeti actor slapped my face more than a couple of times
thanks no thanks lol

 

[Happytycho]

Here's an interesting question and response from Comcast's earnings call about parks reopening:

Craig Moffett, analyst:
" . . . And actually, if I could squeeze in just one simpler and more technical question on theme parks. Just can you give us an idea of what the breakeven occupancy or attendance rate would have to be when you reopen in order to be profitable?

Michael J. Cavanagh, CFO:
"And lastly, it's Mike on your parks question, Craig. It's something well short of typical. Seasonally through the year, we're operating at typical seasonal levels, which are, for the most part of the year, well below full capacity anyway. And so then versus typical, I would guess that we're breaking even and certainly when we get to sort of 50% of typical, which will be well below capacity on average.
And I think another point would just be versus the number I gave for $500 million in second quarter loss if the parks are closed for the full quarter, as Jeff said, if they're closed longer, there's ability to flex and do more and change that long-term rate if we're staying closed. But on the other side of that, if we open and have lower attendance, at the lower end because our priority is going to be to make the parks safe, and so we're not going to push for attendance. But at pretty low levels of return attendance as things ramp up, we'll be in better shape than were the parks to be closed."

Source: The Motley Fool

It sounds to me like they don't yet have a firm plan or know exactly how and when they will be reopening theme parks, although they are discussing lots of options.

 

[Imperius]

What capacity were they running at after 9/11?

 

[Alicia]

What capacity were they running at after 9/11?

Barely no one. I remember working at Jaws greeter and having to stand all the way out in the main walkway trying to round up folks to ride to fill a boat. But that was immediately after. It slowly got better through like a year and a half until it felt normal again.

 

[Imperius]

Barely no one. I remember working at Jaws greeter and having to stand all the way out in the main walkway trying to round up folks to ride to fill a boat. But that was immediately after. It slowly got better through like a year and a half until it felt normal again.

So would imagine they ran at a loss of some sort then. I think if proper protocols are in place and followed locals will still show.

 

[Nick]

The New York Daily News today running with the WDW/NBA story:


I'm sure Disney would love it if they managed to make this happen as they would have a (major) tenant renting out WWoS and they would also be filling up your hotel rooms that otherwise might sit empty. This is a big money making opportunity for Disney in a time when tourism will be low.

 

[RevFreako]

So would imagine they ran at a loss of some sort then. I think if proper protocols are in place and followed locals will still show.

But what would they show up to? I'd rather they canceled and gave us the full experience the following season.

 

[Mad Dog]

FWIW....Today was the first day golf courses could reopen in the state...The 36 hole golf course down the street from me was packed at 8:30 AM. The parking lot is full, and they're starting to park along the street. The present temperature is a very chilly 45 and overcast, with a high in the 50's for today predicted. .......Just a local story, but this is an area that wasn't affected much except for the nursing homes that had a bad operational track record even prior to covid.

 

[Teebin]

^ people are acting extremely silly these days... one imagines all of those people crowding into the club house and having a drink to warm themselves. smaht...

 

[Mad Dog]

^ people are acting extremely silly these days... one imagines all of those people crowding into the club house and having a drink to warm themselves.

Bars/Restaurant not open yet, though. One person per golf cart rule....of course I'm sure the carts are loaded with 6 packs they brought. Beer distributors were allowed to stay open all during the lock down .

 

[RevFreako]

Bars/Restaurant not open yet, though. One person per golf cart rule.

I'm so sure that's being enforced on rich entitled white guys.

 

[Brian G.]

I'm so sure that's being enforced on rich entitled white guys.

Take it down a notch...

 

[SeventyOne]

if they were to follow social distancing and the 6 feet rule, neither scarezones nor houses would be possible.

It's May 1. We enter "Phase 1" Monday, Governor DeSantis said he imagines "Phase 2" within weeks, which reading between the lines I think a lot of us took as code for "June 1." (Same day WDW starts taking reservations, what a coincidence!) "Phase 3" is basically normal operation. Nobody knows anything, but that's three months to get thru Phase 2, four months if you push the event back to October, which is probably wise given that it will mostly be locals this year. Four months ago, who here had even heard of COVID?

Much as I can't stand Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--tried to read it at least three times, never made it halfway--it offers sage advice: don't panic.

What capacity were they running at after 9/11?

9/11 isn't a perfect 1:1 comparison because, being honest, by the time the parks re-opened, conventional wisdom was the attacks were a one-off thing. Not saying there might not be another attack in the future, but it wasn't going to be a daily or weekly occurrence. In contrast, COVID still very much a threat with daily reminders that it's still out there.

That said, the recession that followed 9/11 made the tourism slow-down last much longer. And that recession never saw unemployment numbers like we have right now. Even in the billion-to-one chance a vaccine was announced tomorrow, we'd feel the effects of the economic downturn for a while after. Orlando always the first to feel it and the last to recover.

 

[Scott W.]

Golf is probably the most socially distant sports out there. Except maybe tennis but then you are touching each other’s balls. Not a euphemism.

 

[Mad Dog]

My guess for the parks this Summer. First month of operation; *AP Holders, locals, and a smattering of tourists from nearby southern states that have a fairly short drive to Orlando. *Second and third month of operation: AP holders (no blockouts), "special" Florida resident price deals if attendance is lagging, and tourist traffic from nearby southern states kicks into a slightly higher gear, but still slower than normal....Air travel tourists to Orlando would be minor, or moderate at best.International tourism, nil. .....Fall; Slower than molasses, especially if there's no HHN. UK traffic that usually helps keeps Sept./Oct. afloat all but disappears.

 

[JungleSkip]

My guess for the parks this Summer. First month of operation; *AP Holders, locals, and a smattering of tourists from nearby southern states that have a fairly short drive to Orlando. *Second and third month of operation: AP holders (no blockouts), "special" Florida resident price deals if attendance is lagging, and tourist traffic from nearby southern states kicks into a slightly higher gear, but still slower than normal....Air travel tourists to Orlando would be minor, or moderate at best.International tourism, nil. .....Fall; Slower than molasses, especially if there's no HHN. UK traffic that usually helps keeps Sept./Oct. afloat all but disappears.

If vaccine progress continues to progress as it is, I'm hoping/expecting things to start to get back to actual crowds by the second half of 2021

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Lets look at see what changed at parks AFTER 9/11. Disney Parks (and SeaWorld, but not UOR, talk about a sign of the times) were considered high target locations, Disneyland was even scoped out by terrorist groups, and they instituted the terror alert level. There was a fear that undiscovered, unactivated terrorist cells could strike again at large gatherings of people. So what did the parks do?

They installed their security guards at the entrances to parks, installed gates and retractable barriers in backstage areas to prevent truck bombs, more undercover police, and brought on bomb-sniffing dogs. Even the baggage x-rays are more recent and a reaction to domestic terrorism.

I don't think there will be lots of long term (e.g. 2+ year) changes to the parks, nearly all of this will be temporary till local governments, the federal government, and their lawyers start giving the all-clear. I could see hand sanitizers, cleaning of the park during operating hours, and voluntary mask-wearing sticking around after all of this is in the rear mirror.

 

[Mad Dog]

If vaccine progress continues to progress as it is, I'm hoping/expecting things to start to get back to actual crowds by the second half of 2021

Agreed. A vaccine, and accompanying economic recovery will probably come close to overlapping each other within 3 to 6 months from the inoculations. So, if they get an early vaccine, as Fauci suggests & hopes, 2021, with pent up demand also, could have a decent mid to end of year.

 

[JungleSkip]

Agreed. A vaccine, and accompanying economic recovery will probably come close to overlapping each other within 3 to 6 months from the inoculations. So, if they get an early vaccine, as Fauci suggests & hopes, 2021, with pent up demand also, could have a decent mid to end of year.

I know I'll be on a plane down the minute the needle is out of my arm.

 

[Mad Dog]

I know I'll be on a plane down the minute the needle is out of my arm.

Probably the same here. ..................................FWIW......The newspapers here (Western Pa.) have been polling often on CV. Here's the latest poll that started yesterday. Note that this is an area like most of the US that hasn't had a lot of cases or deaths short of the problem type nursing homes. Polling in a hard hit area like NYC metro, NJ, Philly or Detroit would probably be different.
Question: What should it take to fully reopen Pennsylvania amid the coronavirus?
*Full elimination of covid 19.......................................11%
*Once better testing is in place ................................24%
*Once the health system is secure............................9%
*We need to start reopening now..............................54%
*Not sure.....................................................................2%
Not a scientific poll, but 2,285 respondents at this point in time. These numbers are pretty consistent with some other questions posed in the past week, some getting over 40,000 respondents after running for a few days. ...Just a local snapshot though. Every area is probably different due to local circumstances, demographics etc.