Disney has announced that it will resume operations at its theme park in Shanghai, China starting May 11, during an earnings conference call late Tuesday.
As of January 25, the park has been out of business. Hong Kong Disneyland across the southern boundary of China, shut its doors around the same time, followed by Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea by end of February.
In March, Disney resumed activities at Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. This would be the first Disney amusement park to restart since the coronavirus pandemic forced it to close.
Disney senior vice president and chief finance officer Christine M. McCarthy disclosed that there was no new update regarding the status of Disney's other parks, including Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, which have been shut since middle of March, causing wage reductions and furloughs.
The development comes after the entertainment and amusement group revealed Tuesday that the approximate effect of the coronavirus on the company's second-quarter operating income in its Parks, Experiences and Products division was around $1 billion, primarily as a result of sales lost because of the closures of its local and international theme parks. The closures represent a huge portion of the projected $1.4 billion total effect on the business.
Walt Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek said that among the stringent social distancing steps to be introduced are guest and employee masks, temperature sensors, contact tracking and other early warning systems.
The staggered opening of the park, described as a "deliberate strategy," would involve restricted attendance based on an advance booking and ticketing program, beefed-up disinfection and social gap in queues, restaurants and rides, Disney disclosed in a message posted on the park's website. Parades, street shows, theatrical events, and other "interactive activities and experiences" will remain indefinitely closed.
Disney posted earnings Tuesday for the group's second quarter, covering February, March, and April, and as anticipated the results indicated a major hit from the pandemic: a total of $1.4 billion in revenue lost, $1 billion of the amount from the parks unit.
Overall, the company surpassed sales estimates, with $18.01 billion (compared to Wall Street analysts' projections of $17.68 billion), but fell short on earnings, posting 60 cents a share (market monitors were expecting for 86 cents).
Disney's parks, experience and products division sales were down 10 percent in the second quarter, compared to the previous year period to $5.5 billion.
