Earlier this year Disney was forced to close both Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland due to the Coronavirus outbreak, which has affected nearly 100,000 people worldwide as of February 26, 2020, according to Worldometer. Because of these closures (which are ongoing and will continue until the virus’ spread is contained), Disney has said that they are anticipating to experience at ;east $280 million in losses (the company said earlier this month that the shutdowns have already led to $175 million lost revenue in the current quarter) and have started making cuts at other parks to help mitigate this massive revenue loss. However, as this outbreak continues to spread and make international headlines, operations at other parks have been impacted as well.
1. Walt Disney World
Though there have been no reported cases of Coronavirus in Florida just yet, Walt Disney World officials released a statement earlier this week confirming that six Disney employees who recently visited Italy (which has seen a massive uptick in Coronavirus cases in recent days) are being isolated and have been asked not to come in to work. These Cast Members are mostly young people who work as waiters, according to local news station Channel 9 News, and though none of them have tested positive for the virus, officials say they are taking every precaution when it comes to the spread of this virus.
2. Disneyland Paris
Though the Coronavirus spread in Europe hasn’t impacted France in a significant way, it looks like some park operations are being affected, as Twitter user ED92 reports that supply issues from China have caused the release of pins themed to the new “Onward” film, originally scheduled to be released on February 29, is pushed back to a later date. Unfortunately, this may become more of an issue not only at Disneyland Paris, but at other Disney parks as well, as many manufacturing plants in China have been shut down due to the virus’ spread.
3. Tokyo Disney Resort
Though there’s nearly 2,000 miles and an ocean separating China from Japan, the island nation ranks second, just behind South Korea, in the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases outside mainland China, with nearly 1,000 cases being reported as of February 26, 2020. And though the resort is remaining open for the time being (other theme parks like Sanrio Puroland have shut down for the time being), due to the growing number of cases Tokyo Disney Resort has begun to take special precautions due to the spread of the Coronavirus:
- Face character meet and greets have been cancelled until further notice, according to NHK
- Guests who do not feel well are being advised not to enter the theme parks
- Guests both in the parks and at connected hotels have been advised to wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitizers to avoid infection.
- Cast Members at the Tokyo Disney Resort are also being encouraged to wear sick masks on stage to help keep them safe from infection.
Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly how long Disney parks (and the travel industry at large) will be dealing with the effects of Coronavirus, but while this situation is evolving, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and preventing its spread.
