Earlier today Disney CEO Bob Chapek has confirmed that the Walt Disney World theme parks will be increasing theme park capacity to 35%, up from 25% ahead of the holiday season. Right now it unclear if the parks are transitioning to higher capacity or have already moved to higher capacity, but either way, the next time you visit the theme parks, expect more guests than what was previously seen since the theme parks reopened in July.
Disney is making this change to help accommodate more guests while keeping guests safe with additional safety measures like tightened mask restrictions and the installation of plexiglass dividers at most attractions, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios so that multiple parties can board attraction vehicles safely.
And even with these higher capacity limits, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy has confirmed that that Disney Park Pass reservations for Walt Disney World are close to capacity for Thanksgiving week and are currently 77% booked overall for Q1 2021, which covers the current holiday season through December.
Looking at the health of the Walt Disney Company at large, revenues for the quarter were $14.71 billion, with a loss per share of 20 cents, which is less than what was projected by some financial analysts. Disney has estimated that the impact of COVID-19 for the fourth quarter has been $3.1 billion in total, with $2.4 billion of that coming from slowdowns in the Parks, Experiences and Products segment, which saw a 61% reduction in revenue year over year to $2.58 billion. For the theme parks specifically, the operating loss during the quarter is $1.1 billion, largely due to the ongoing Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line closure.
You can check out the full Walt Disney Company quarterly results here for more about what’s happening with Disney+, film production and more.
