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Post by Admin on Mar 13, 2020 2:40:56 GMT
 Disney (DIS) is closing Walt Disney World, its flagship theme park resort in Orlando, Florida, because of the global pandemic. The company also announced the closure of Disneyland Paris and the suspension of all new departures with the Disney Cruise Line. Earlier on Thursday the company said it was closing it's iconic Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California. The virus, which has spread worldwide, has now shuttered the gates of all eleven Disney theme parks across North America, Europe and Asia. "In an abundance of caution and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of our theme parks at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort, beginning at the close of business on Sunday, March 15, through the end of the month," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. Shortly after Disney announced the closure of its Florida parks, Universal Orlando Resort announced it too would temporarily close its theme parks starting at the close of business on March 15. The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is the world's most-visited theme park, with more than 20 million visitors in 2018, according to a report by AECOM. The company has invested billions in its theme park division, opening two new Star Wars lands in Florida and California last year. A brand new ride, "Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway" debuted at Disney's Hollywood Studios just last week. The parks are a major driver of the company's sprawling entertainment business: Disney generated more than $26 billion in sales at its Parks, Experiences and Products division in fiscal 2019, representing 37% of the company's overall revenue. The closure comes at a moment of major transition for Disney. Just 16 days ago, Bob Iger stepped down as the company's CEO, naming Bob Chapek as his replacement, who's previous role was chairman of Disney Parks. Disney (DIS) shares have fallen more than 20% since the handover as the coronavirus forced the closing of theme parks, delaying the release of "Mulan" and sapping ESPN of live sports. In the announcement, Disney added that its hotels at Disney World and Disneyland Paris will remain open until further notice and that it will pay its cast members during the closure period. The company also said that it will suspend all new departures with the Disney Cruise Line starting Saturday through the end of the month. |
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Post by Admin on Mar 13, 2020 21:36:32 GMT
The NBA, NHL, and Major League Soccer paused their seasons; the NCAA canceled the March Madness tournament; The Masters is postponed. The loss of the NBA in particular is a blow to Disney, which has NBA rights on ABC and ESPN. (And ESPN+ has the rights to MLS games.) But one silver lining for Disney is the thinking that with so many Americans now staying home out of precaution, streaming services will benefit. Disney+ as a newer service (it launched on Nov. 19, just four months ago) might even stand to benefit more than existing leaders like Netflix and Amazon Prime, since people who have not yet subscribed to Disney+ may decide to give it a try. There is no such silver lining for Disney in its parks being closed. Amid concerns over the rapid global spread of coronavirus, Disney has now temporarily shut all eleven of its theme parks in the world. That includes Disneyland in California, Disney World in Florida, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, both of which closed back in February. Disney also suspended all its Disney Cruise Line cruises. Parks and Resorts are the profit engine of the company, even if its studio division has gotten the bulk of the buzz in the past two years.  Disney has not yet delayed the May 1 premiere of Marvel’s “Black Widow” starring Scarlett Johansson, but is expected to delay it. So, to recap the situation for Disney right now: Parks closed, sports canceled, and movie theaters expected to close. “All three major parts of their operation are under extreme pressure over the course of the next few weeks,” Greenfield said on Thursday. “I'm actually surprised Disney [stock] wasn't down more today, to be honest.” (Disney shares fell 13% on Thursday, and are now down 32% in 2020.) That’s not to say that things can’t rebound—if the coronavirus doesn’t last more than a month or two, parks can reopen. On the sports side, the NBA, NHL, MLS, and MLB have all expressed the hope that they can pick up their season soon. MLS specifically said its pause is only for 30 days, for now, and the NBA has also indicated that it hopes to finish the season. |
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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2020 21:48:37 GMT
Disney Plus is one of the few bright spots in the Mouse House’s business portfolio amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Since Disney Plus’ launch in the U.S. in November 2019, approximately 50% of American households with children under 10 have already subscribed to Disney Plus midway through the first quarter of 2020, according to consumer research from Ampere Analysis. Among homes with kids 18 and under, 42% said they are Disney Plus subscribers. With millions of kids stuck at home over school closures because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, Disney may pick up even more subs. And over the weekend Disney released animated hit “Frozen 2” on Disney Plus, three months ahead of schedule, joining the lineup of recent and classic Disney family movies. ] ]  Meanwhile, Disney Plus also has had success in signing up 18-24-year-olds, according to Ampere: 41% in that age bracket said they had access to the streaming service in the Q1 survey. For this group, the Marvel films and the “Star Wars: The Mandalorian” series from Jon Favreau have been key lures. Disney Plus reached 28.6 million user signups as of Feb. 3, according to the media conglomerate. The company hopes to build on that with the launch of Disney Plus in India last week (three weeks ahead of schedule) and the March 24 debut of Disney Plus in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Disney’s strong showing in the streaming space comes as other areas of its business are suffering coronavirus-related revenue hits, including the shutdown of theme parks, delays of major theatrical releases like “Mulan,” and ESPN struggling with the suspension or postponement of all major sports leagues’ seasons. At this point, Disney needs to turn its focus on ramping up a pipeline of new originals that will retain Disney Plus subscribers, according to Minal Modha, consumer research lead at Ampere Analysis. Of the 56 new titles Disney Plus currently has in production, the biggest volume at 19 are documentary, followed by children and family at 15. The question mark there is timing, because Disney Plus’s originals slate will face delays as the spread of coronavirus has prompted widespread production shutdowns in Hollywood. “It will now be key for Disney to ensure it retains these customers with a mix of new Disney Plus originals and new release movie titles,” Modha said in a statement. “Furthermore, while there is still room for growth among both the two core demographic groups, it will be imperative for Disney Plus in the longer term to broaden out its content offering to appeal to a wider audience.” Disney Plus is priced in the U.S. at $6.99 per month or $69.99 for a one-year plan. |
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2020 2:31:37 GMT
Since we’re still being asked this question with frequency in the comments to even totally unrelated posts, we thought it’d be worth delving into this topic in more detail. Here, we’ll tackle whether we think Walt Disney World will reopen on April 1, 2020, when the parks & hotels will actually open again, what operations will look like when they resume. We’ll also address some of the “whys” behind all of this…  To some degree, it’s easy to understand why some Walt Disney World guests believe the theme parks and hotels will resume normal operations on April 1, 2020. If you’re reading about this topic in isolation (perhaps literally and figuratively), and only consulting Walt Disney World’s official communications, that is the logical conclusion. The advisory at the top of DisneyWorld.com about “Temporary Closures at Walt Disney World Resort” has been modified a number of times (including yesterday!), but there have been no changes to the verbiage that “Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney owned-and-operated hotels are currently closed through March 31.” Clicking through to the full bulletin, and there are a number of places indicating that the temporary closure will last “through the end of the month.” Unlike typical Disney announcements, there are no weasel words that could call into question the reliability of the closure period. This is pretty noteworthy, as Disney is incredibly adept at equivocation, and employs it constantly to issue misleading statements. (My ‘favorite’ go-to Disney weasel words are “no plans to…at this time.” Whatever is stated in the ellipsis is pretty much rendered meaningless by the words around it.)  Beyond that bulletin, there are other reasons to believe the Walt Disney World theme parks and resorts will reopen on April 1, 2020. The “Sun & Fun” discount for Walt Disney World resorts was just modified, and now reflects a date range of April 1 to August 31, 2020. (The deal was extended in the process of those changes.) Moreover, if you contact a Walt Disney World call center for assistance modifying or cancelling your vacation package, hotel, etc., and ask when the parks and hotels will reopen, you’ll likely be told April 1. That’s the company line right now, and what’s still being shared by Cast Members. As a quick aside here, we want to reiterate that frontline Cast Members are not privy to inside information. Unless they go “off-script” they are never going to confirm rumors or speculation–even if it’s patently obvious. The moment call center Cast Members would be aware of an extension to the closure is the moment Disney releases a press release to the general public. |
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Post by Admin on Mar 24, 2020 19:56:33 GMT
New photos are giving people an eerie glimpse at an empty Magic Kingdom after the park closed amid the coronavirus outbreak. The aerial images, shared across social media, show the typically packed Walt Disney World park looking more like a ghost town, not a single soul insight at even the most popular locations, like Cinderella's Castle.
First posted to Blog Mickey, the aerial tour began at Seven Seas Lagoon and headed "west in a straight line over Contemporary." The first image shows a completely empty Main Street USA leading up to Cinderella’s Castle, with a second image showing a vacant Fantasyland, where both the iconic it’s a small world and The Haunted Mansion show buildings are located. A third image the Tomorrowland area of the park, with a final image showing the Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain areas of Adventureland.
The aerial tour was filmed on March 16, with Blog Mickey reporting that only a few maintenance crew and cast members were spotted wandering the grounds.
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