The interesting thing will be if people come back to the theaters any time soon. In Sweden, where they didn't close the theaters, Box office cratered once the threat of the virus was known.
Effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) On Entertainment & Tourism Industry
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- Feb 15, 2012
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- Feb 15, 2012
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I'm fairly certain Fun Spot owns their Kissimmee land outright, I believe they might own the I-Drive site as well. Not having to pay a lease is the single best position to be in right now. (Eventually property taxes will be due but that's far less pressing). Neither location requires a whole lot of people to run, and let's be honest, they're far from highly trained positions that would be difficult to fill. And it's not like they have any major inventory issues beyond a couple kegs of Bud Light.
I imagine the owner's kids will have a paltry Christmas this year but in terms of re-opening soon after Orange and Osceola lift their stay-home orders, Fun Spot in a better place than 95% of shuttered local businesses.
They stayed open longer than the big parks, so I’m guessing they’ll be first to reopen.
Plus they have much less logistics to worry about (less staff/operating costs/etc) so shouldn’t take as long to regain their footing than WDW or UO.
- Sep 15, 2019
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Do you guys think VB will open later than the dry uni parks?
No. But I wouldn't be surprised if things like the lazy rivers were closed.
I could see Punga Racers having a delayed opening too, much harder to clean those mats than the handles of rafts.
- Jun 21, 2016
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Exactly. I think Tenet has the potential to do ok on the novel front, but I think Mulan bombs heavily; even if it's a great film.
This leads me to speculate that WDW will be opening sooner. If they have little to no media/film profit and no park profit; they're doomed.
If they ran at 25% capacity; blocked APs, and doubled their price for the next 6 months, would they sell out? The ramifications for us normal folk would be brutal if that was successful, but I'm just curious if the hive mind there thinks that might work?
I think it'd open with the dry parks if it's a summer opening.
I'd go to Volcano Bay tomorrow if it were 25% capacity. USF I'd skip.
I know we've all talked about the nastiness of water parks; but as it relates to COVID? It's really the safest of the parks to open in UOR's umbrella.
-All attractions are outdoor w/ sun and humidity and chlorine.
-No indoor queues and virtual queues at that.
-No indoor stores or restaurants and all QS at that.
-All touchless payments.
There are detriments too, of course, that would need to be taken into consideration. When you hit that last run on Krakatau (water coaster)? You're laughing and... wiping the water from your eyes. Then, grabbing those handles again. Bring on the next group on the moving belt? Rinse and repeat. But if they were wiping the handles during load quickly, I think it could work. That's the kind of operational changes that they are going to have to require.
- Mar 13, 2018
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Anyone know if Disney+ is profitable? I know they have more than 50 million global subscribers. I'm guessing it's not yet profitable but wondered if it could at least keep revenue coming into the business during this time along with other non park/movie revenue streams like merch sales.
Also on VB and waterparks. If it's ruled that you have to wear face masks in public/the parks I just don't see how waterparks could operate?
Also on VB and waterparks. If it's ruled that you have to wear face masks in public/the parks I just don't see how waterparks could operate?
I would think the mats would get clean each time they hit the chlorinated water. Except for indoor spaces, the water parks are the least of my worries, and I have a lot of those (worries).
- Feb 15, 2012
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Last I heard D+ was going to be a money sink as they ramp up programming and get people to sign up. That's why so many weird, random projects attached themself to D+, it had an unlimited money hose.
Even Tenet will probably do a fraction of what it should. It's just such a depressing situation.
I also think they're (both Dis and Universal) going to require a hotel room to go to the parks. The rooms are the biggest money makers, and it helps with contact tracing
- Jun 21, 2016
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This sounds more than fair, tbh. Continue the AP blackouts (and extensions).
Boats and busses would be a challenge, but manageable.
If they ran hotels at 80% capacity and required hotel stays to go to the parks; that puts us at 7,200 rooms at 80% capacity (say an average of 3 per room) - so 21,000-22,000 people per day. That's about the average daily attendance of each park individually right now (excluding holidays and weekends). So split across both parks, that would cut the amount of people in half. Add VB to the mix and it's even more spread out. Though at those numbers, VB might not be profitable. But I could see them closing all pools at hotels and offering VB as a "free" add-on instead. Get the F&B sales from it and save some hotel pool operational costs.
There's no question Loews is on board with anything they do, btw. They're a resource heavy chain so this is hurting them on the management and ownership side.
Is my math right there? That's entirely doable.
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Has there been any study in how COVID and water react or more specifically, COVID in chlorinated water.
I'd even argue that if APs want to book hotel rooms, they can use their APs.
I think your math checks out. Whether they can get up to 80% capacity is another story, but I think it's the way it's going to happen
- Jun 21, 2016
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And your "clock" starts up again with either your first admission (an AP hotel stay) or whenever they open it up to the "non hotel" public? That'd be fair as well.
I could see them planning to do this throughout the rest of the year and open back up to the general public in January/February. Maybe they could target a June 1 start date? They'd have to announce it soon, if so. Goes without saying dates could change as more information comes out.
Nobody is going to be better setup for contact tracing than Disney if everyone is a hotel guest and is forced to use a magic band.
Universal could implement something similar by using a "check in" system similar to what hotel express passes does now with their hotel keys for payment, charging and ride admission.
- Mar 13, 2018
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According to the CDC chlorinated water makes the virus inactive:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.
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