All eyes are on the Disneyland Resort as they open their gates to California Residents only beginning April 30, 2021. And while the theme park will still be subject to capacity limits, required masks, and social distancing in queues, guests are understandably excited to get back to Disney’s original theme park. However, though there is plenty to celebrate when it comes to Disneyland Resort’s reopening, it looks like the total costs for the record 412-day closure of Disneyland resort are starting to be calculated, and unfortunately, the news doesn’t look good.
According to the OC Register, the closure of the Disneyland resort stands to cost the Disney company an estimated $4.3 billion in lost revenue, which is a sizable percentage of the overall $21 billion revenue loss that Disney is projecting through 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 closures in the US and around the world.
Of course, these losses don’t take into account the effects of pent-up demand, which could provide a boost to Disneyland the same way it has at Walt Disney World, and it will be interesting to see how Disneyland fares without the annual pass program, which was cancelled prior to reopening and is in the process of “restructuring” with a replacement announced before the end of the year.
Though the COVID-19 Pandemic will have a lasting effect on the Walt Disney Company’s financials, it is great to see the Disneyland Resort able to get back to business, despite ongoing challenges and restrictions. Will you be visiting Disneyland in the near future?
