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The world’s largest theme park complex welcomed its first paid visitors on Saturday. It’s been four months since Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) closed its national theme parks, and Disney World in Florida joins its smaller rivals in the state that have been open for at least a month.
Disney is taking a lot of hits on social media to get back in business. With COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and now increasing deaths in Florida, this is not a smart overview. However, there is much more to open turnstiles in the middle of a pandemic. Disney World is doing the right thing because it did it the right way. Let’s go over the reasons why the media giant is opening right now.
Central Florida theme parks have been open for approximately six weeks. Media reports would be packed with stories from others who contracted COVID-19 after a day at the theme park if that was a problem. Instead, we hear about bars, house parties and church meetings with the needs of a comfortable facial canopy like the reported culprits in the photo. Florida’s sudden increase is due to the overdue decline in June of bar openings in the state and the end of the previous virtual school year in June, leading to a build-up of face-to-face social events.
Theme parks are fun and largely outdoor when following and meeting social estrangement criteria. Disney World was able to see what it painted and what it didn’t paint for its local peers by adding SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS) and Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCS). A) Universal Orlando. All require protective mask and temperature controls. All queues have marks on the floor to keep portions at least six feet away, and even the cars you drive are loaded accordingly. Individual players do more than that.
The Plexiglass is all over WaltDisneyWorld’#animalkingdom s $100 DIS, including in dinosaur shipping cars to safely accommodate two teams in the 12 seats. pic.twitter.com/Z7Op5uGy8f
I have been to Legoland Florida once, at Universal Orlando five times and at SeaWorld-owned parks 3 times since closed attractions began to reopen. I was in a preview of Disney pass holders for Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Friday and at the official Magic Kingdom opening on Saturday. It’s no safer than staying home, but I don’t think I’m betting on Russian roulette in my health. I felt much safer on the 11 visits than when I went to a supermarket, hardware store or any other must-have store or service provider that doesn’t make part of what theme parks do to keep their consumers and workers safe.
They gave it to me. Theme parks are not essential services. No one wants to ride Space Mountain or dive into a citrus swirl. However, ridiculing an industry that has gone beyond the rules, waiting months to get it right, is out of place right now. Shanghai Disneyland has been open for over two months. The pandemic continues to decline.
Disney World is the state’s largest employer on a singles site, and the 77,000 cast license in April was difficult. Many of those displaced employees are now back on the payroll. However, it might not necessarily be a fairytale ending. SeaWorld, Universal Orlando of Comcast and Legoland Florida have reduced their payroll in recent weeks.
The media giant is stacking the game in its favor by giving its top-for-profit hotel stop-to-do and priority day ticket buyers over annual pass holders to claim the reserves needed to make a stopover in their parks. Winning the money game will give Disney a better chance than its rivals to develop their workforce than to subtract it this summer. Disney would possibly be a simple goal to open as the amount of COVID-19 increases, however, it probably wouldn’t be long before the story becomes a forward-looking business that only brings tens of thousands of Floridians back to work.
Saturday marked the end of a 117-day drought of official closures at Disney World. Should Disney have waited a few more weeks or months for Florida’s figures to stabilize? Should the Florida hotel play and stay closed for a year or more until a viable vaccine hits the market?
Plans take time to run when you’re as big as Disney. It had announced its resumption in mid-July until the end of May. It would take a long time to recover and build the infrastructure needed to lead global retail in terms of guarantees. Stepping on the brakes when COVID-19 instances in Florida began to rise at the end of June would mean recycling a new wave of distribution members months later. That wouldn’t have made the slightest difference. Then negative headlines and social media shots would also be posted.
Disney had to get back in the game as soon as possible. This will never please your critics, and knowledge suggests that this resolution will not harm your biggest fans.