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

[Mad Dog]

Same.

That park has actually taken a positive turn and Disney has increased their stake in ownership. The investment to the hotels along with the WDS expansion can really make that park incredibly desirable. Cheapening out there would be a huge long term mistake IMO. It will definitely be interesting.

I'm guessing every Disney owned park will feel the heat, including delays in Paris for anything that hasn't broken ground yet. The questions will be how long and profound will the delays be.Could be just months, or could be years, or worst, postponements......Kind of all depends when the Chinese parks get back to normal attendance. They could open them tomorrow, but they would probably remain empty, the way the Chinese are shunning public places.

 

[GAcoaster]

The problem is they'd be foolish to cut all these new projects at other parks in response, but "share holders" must be protected at all costs.

Especially with the vaccine having been developed already (although probably a year from ass production), it looks like we all dodged a real bullet in global impact.

 

[Nick]

I pulled this from the Disneyland thread as I realized I was getting wildly off topic and more fitting for this thread...

Looking at Touring Plans daily, it appears WDW crowds are up, in contrast to Disneyland's down, so it seems very counter productive to cut at WDW....but they probably still will.

It doesn't really matter. Remember, WDW was booming for years and they invested practically nothing into it. There was actually cuts in that period.

The fact that 2 of Disney's 5 resorts that they have ownership in are completely closed is bad news and it means that DLR, WDW and DLP will have to all see some cuts to make up for lost profits in order to appease Wall Street. And while WDW is arguably doing the best crowd wise of the three resorts, there is BILLIONS of dollars currently still going into the parks, mostly at Epcot, but MK is seeing a lot of money too as Tron is not cheap.

Also, DHS has three projects that are all recent, but haven't seen a full ROI into profitability yet (TSL, SWGE, & MMRR). Combined, those projects probably cost Disney a cool $1.75 BILLION or so. Now SWGE makes a ton of money with Savi's, Droid Depot, Oga's, Den of Antiquities, Milk Stand, etc. But it will still take quite awhile to get into profitability considering the cost of the land. The new BBQ restaurant will get TSL there. I'm not quite sure what the ROI will be with MMRR. I guess just the promo of the Fab 5 turning into higher Fab 5 sales?

Point is, all resorts, even WDW which may be performing the best, will get hit, especially because WDW has so much ROI to make up right now. It shouldn't be this way, but as long as those parks are closed, all parks will feel the pinch in one way or another.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The fact also is that Chapek expects a quarter over quarter growth that's not possible in theme parks that weren't highly depressed to begin with. Until that's realized we're going to see record quarters and every aspect of these parks cut to the bone. Plus:

Point is, all resorts, even WDW which may be performing the best, will get hit, especially because WDW has so much ROI to make up right now. It shouldn't be this way, but as long as those parks are closed, all parks will feel the pinch in one way or another.

When we talk about Disney projects costing so much and people who "WHO CARES NOT MY MONEY" this is the point. It's easier to make ROI on a land costing $250 mill vs $1bn. Easier to make ROI on $100m ride that sells park hoppers.

 

[Mad Dog]

I pulled this from the Disneyland thread as I realized I was getting wildly off topic and more fitting for this thread...

It doesn't really matter. Remember, WDW was booming for years and they invested practically nothing into it. There was actually cuts in that period.

The fact that 2 of Disney's 5 resorts that they have ownership in are completely closed is bad news and it means that DLR, WDW and DLP will have to all see some cuts to make up for lost profits in order to appease Wall Street. And while WDW is arguably doing the best crowd wise of the three resorts, there is BILLIONS of dollars currently still going into the parks, mostly at Epcot, but MK is seeing a lot of money too as Tron is not cheap.

Also, DHS has three projects that are all recent, but haven't seen a full ROI into profitability yet (TSL, SWGE, & MMRR). Combined, those projects probably cost Disney a cool $1.75 BILLION or so. Now SWGE makes a ton of money with Savi's, Droid Depot, Oga's, Den of Antiquities, Milk Stand, etc. But it will still take quite awhile to get into profitability considering the cost of the land. The new BBQ restaurant will get TSL there. I'm not quite sure what the ROI will be with MMRR. I guess just the promo of the Fab 5 turning into higher Fab 5 sales?

Point is, all resorts, even WDW which may be performing the best, will get hit, especially because WDW has so much ROI to make up right now. It shouldn't be this way, but as long as those parks are closed, all parks will feel the pinch in one way or another.

Yes...and that's why I said, 'but they probably will', referring to cuts....Unfortunately, it's all short term and to appease the investment community . Example, the parks overall have not had much increased tickets sold, more food sold, or more merchandise purchased during the last couple of years. But they have steadily been showing increased revenue, which even Disney, in their quarterly reports, attributes to price increases. These price increases have been quite large, way over and above inflation rates. It's being done, as you say, to please Wall Street & investors. Unfortunately it works short term, but is probably a weak long term business strategy. This is enigmatic of US corporations overall, but it has a habit of catching up with a company sooner or later.....Yes, they will cut, and according to some insiders they've already begun. A sad day, nonetheless, and a good reason to stay out of international markets. Paris & Hong Kong have been drags since day one. Shanghai is up and down so far, probably a bit short of the lofty projections.

 

[Nick]

When we talk about Disney projects costing so much and people who "WHO CARES NOT MY MONEY" this is the point. It's easier to make ROI on a land costing $250 mill vs $1bn. Easier to make ROI on $100m ride that sells park hoppers.

From what I heard TSL was way closer to $500M than $250M and MMRR was around $200M alone. Then of course you have $2B on the books from the two SWGE lands. Ratatouille was roughly around $200M. I'm not sure how much Avengers Campus is costing, but add that to the books too. And they're in the process of spending close to $1B when you combine the costs of GotG and Tron.

So yeah, I agree with your overall point on costs obviously, I just think you were low-balling on a few which makes a big difference in the end. Also, none of these costs factor in advertising dollars.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

From what I heard TSL was way closer to $500M than $250M and MMRR was around $200M alone. Then of course you have $2B on the books from the two SWGE lands. Ratatouille was roughly around $200M. I'm not sure how much Avengers Campus is costing, but add that to the books too. And they're in the process of spending close to $1B when you combine the costs of GotG and Tron.

So yeah, I agree with your overall point on costs obviously, I just think you were low-balling on a few which makes a big difference in the end. Also, none of these costs factor in advertising dollars.

$250m is Diagon Alley, $100m is HE.

 

[Nick]

$250m is Diagon Alley, $100m is HE.

And they've more than been able to make that back in just butterbeer sales.

 

[Disneyhead]

Hong Kong's Disneyland is letting the government use some of its land to quarantine people and stop the coronavirus spreading

Hong Kong is looking for secure and remote sites to quarantine people that may have the coronavirus in a bid to stop it spreading further.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[GadgetGuru]

I’ll never understand Disney’s attraction accounting. The $500M for TSL has to include a lot of slightly tangential stuff.

While it’s not the same, I think GM’s strike and Boeing’s 737 shutdown can help show what will happen to Disney Parks in the short/long-term. I’m expecting a lot of short-term pain (1-2 quarters) and everything basically goes back to normal by end of year.

 

[Mad Dog]

When the park's close for a day or two, and have a slow week, during a hurricane, there's usually mgt. panic about the quarterly results. This is soooo much more.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

When the park's close for a day or two, and have a slow week, during a hurricane, there's usually mgt. panic about the quarterly results. This is soooo much more.

Ya this why I'm worried about more postponements for major projects rather than just decreasing in spending quarterly. We shall see though.

 

[Nick]

I’ll never understand Disney’s attraction accounting. The $500M for TSL has to include a lot of slightly tangential stuff.

While it’s not the same, I think GM’s strike and Boeing’s 737 shutdown can help show what will happen to Disney Parks in the short/long-term. I’m expecting a lot of short-term pain (1-2 quarters) and everything basically goes back to normal by end of year.

From my knowledge, they did lump quite a bit into the TSL budget.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

From my knowledge, they did lump quite a bit into the TSL budget.

I believe that included moving offices, parking garage, and just a lot of back stage stuff.

 

[WAJAS]

Hours Cut for Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, Awesome Planet, American Adventure, and More EPCOT Attractions

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

t.co

A sample of the article:
“
American Adventure: Last showing at 8:15pm (currently closing at 9pm)
Awesome Planet: Last showing at 8pm (Currently closing at 9pm)
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along: Last showing at 6pm (Currently closing at 7pm)
Canada Far and Wide: Last showing at 8pm (Currently closing at 9pm)
...
“

 

[Mad Dog]

Hours Cut for Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, Awesome Planet, American Adventure, and More EPCOT Attractions

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

t.co

A sample of the article:
“
American Adventure: Last showing at 8:15pm (currently closing at 9pm)
Awesome Planet: Last showing at 8pm (Currently closing at 9pm)
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along: Last showing at 6pm (Currently closing at 7pm)
Canada Far and Wide: Last showing at 8pm (Currently closing at 9pm)
...
“

Marni mentioned attraction hours being cut the other day, though he didn't give specifics. looks like was right on.....Guess there will be more to come at the other three parks.

 

[Ryan]

I've already said this but the most concerning thing is construction of Mickey and Minnie in DL being possibly halted. What a moronic move, that is literally your 2022 attraction after what will be a year-long drought from taking a break in 2021 from anything major. This was already after Nintendo will open in USH, now you might be letting them have TWO years?! Pure short-term panic.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Epcot attraction hours for the new movies, AA, China, Kidcot Fun Spots, and more have been cut back.

 

[Ryan]

It's ok tho, nobody visits Epcot right?

 

[WAJAS]

Epcot attraction hours for the new movies, AA, China, Kidcot Fun Spots, and more have been cut back.

Look up lol