Rumor about potential major reduction in operating hours for WDW if Disney Asia parks remain closed due to coronavirus

[Kestryl]

Actually, the rumor is that it would be non-MK parks that would be getting the operating hours sliced.

The way this normally works is that WDW publishes conservative operating hours, but then extends them if needed. I have never seen operating hours cut back. Has anyone here seen that at all? My hours for July are already out and comparing them to same weekend in July 2019, the hours are the same, except for AK, which last year closed at 10pm (and I think they were extended about a month before) and it's currently scheduled to close at 8:30.

I would speculate that if the Asia Parks continue to be closed, and they have to cut down on operation budgets, what we may be more than likely to see is: 1) hours don't get extended and 2) more attractions than 'the shows that no one cares about' may have delayed openings and earlier closings. Currently, it's the Epcot movies and some attractions, such as Country Bear Jamboree and Monsters that have shorter operating hours. I think we may start to see more attractions added to the delayed openings and early closings. DHS with RotR is opening at 8 am, but the show-type attractions are not starting until 9:30 or later, so there is already a gap in there.

Sorry, I read the original post wrong. I still don’t understand a 10 am opening. As far as I can tell, park hours are posted through August, and none of the non-water parks open past 9 am. So a 10 am opening would have to happen (1) after August or (2) by cutting the announced hours.

If the Asian parks are still closed in August because of the continued threat of the coronavirus, I don’t know that a 10 am park opening would be at front of my worries.

 

[tlmadden73]

Makes sense .. if you cut hours for attractions in the evenings, you aren't paying cast members to run those attractions .. and then guests (with nothing else to do) will just go eat or shop (aka spend money) instead.

 

[SL6827]

If the Asian parks are still closed in August because of the continued threat of the coronavirus, I don’t know that a 10 am park opening would be at front of my worries.

Very true. Great way to keep it in perspective. If that is the case, and it is that bad, it wouldn't matter to me what time they opened cause I won't be there. (but I am not going this year regardless)

 

[SL6827]

Makes sense .. if you cut hours for attractions in the evenings, you aren't paying cast members to run those attractions .. and then guests (with nothing else to do) will just go eat or shop (aka spend money) instead.

True. And believe me, I will the first to call out Disney for trying to milk their cow as much as possible when it negatively affects the guest. Sometimes I can even jump the gun on it. But this to me is not one of those times just yet. With me never ever seeing one of these films in Epcot with all my trips, I can't imagine how many people are doing just that in the last hour of the night. And I admit, when is the last time we watched CBJamboree? Maybe ten years? Right now, I think they are being smart with this, but that is not to say other impacts won't occur that will effect many more guest.

 

[rteetz]

If they cut an hour in the morning at any park, that is a major game changer for us rope droppers.

They won’t. Disney has never done that to my knowledge. Like other have mentioned that would eat into FPs and ADRs.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

OF COURSE they should be discussing the possibilities. But does it really mean it will happen, I hope not!
IMO, it should be done for health concerns, not monetary concerns. I hope they are also thinking of the flipside, should they reduce anything.

 

[Brianstl]

Parks, Experiences, and Products is one division of The Walt Disney Company. There is an expectation that this division makes money for the company. If they are not earning money from two of their 12 parks thats not a great thing so you take away from other areas. It gets trickier because 2 of those 12 Disney doesn't own at all so they have nothing more than a licensing fee for those (Tokyo). The other 10 Disney has full or at least some ownership stake.

WDW profits aren't dropping like you said but that doesn't matter. They want those profits to be even higher because of the closures in Asia to make up for the loss of those two parks. Entertainment, operations and construction cuts are the easiest to make for that. Why keep the park open from 8AM-12AM when you can have it open 9AM-10PM? Its cheaper from an ops standpoint to have a park or attraction open for a shorter period of time. Disney still gets your money either way. They don't make a huge amount more in order to justify that extended time period.

Also like you said how many people are going to these shows and films that late? So why pay CMs to operate it? Cut the costs.

If people are coming in droves to the parks too why do we need to keep pushing through large projects? If they can get by with smaller improvements (castle makeover) then thats good enough.

The income generated by domestic parks & resort was more than 800% higher than the income generated by international operations in PEP division. Disney could be saving pennies and costing themselves dollars if they aren't careful.

 

[lynlynch]

Usage of those Epcot rides are probably more impacted by people queuing up for the end-of-night fireworks than the ongoing situation in China. I read that their most recent earnings were in line with their expectations and that their new streaming service has impressive membership. By closing less used attractions a little early, they actually encourage people watch the sky show, not leave the parks.

 

[Lumpy1106]

This rumor makes no sense to me. If a hotel were consistently at 50% capacity (like some were in 2008) then fine, shut down part or all to save labor costs. The park itself is like a gold mine though. As long as there are a minimal number of people in that park Disney DOES make money every hour it is open on the shops and restaurants, not to mention the positive reviews from the guests that lead to more guests. Nevermind that though. The park operations in Orlando have noting to do with the park operations in CA, let alone CHINA. If you want to blame the shorter park hours on anything, blame them on the increased minimum wage laws in FL. It increased the DVC's MF's, why wouldn't it affect the bottom line in the parks?

 

[rteetz]

This rumor makes no sense to me. If a hotel were consistently at 50% capacity (like some were in 2008) then fine, shut down part or all to save labor costs. The park itself is like a gold mine though. As long as there are a minimal number of people in that park Disney DOES make money every hour it is open on the shops and restaurants, not to mention the positive reviews from the guests that lead to more guests. Nevermind that though. The park operations in Orlando have noting to do with the park operations in CA, let alone CHINA. If you want to blame the shorter park hours on anything, blame them on the increased minimum wage laws in FL. It increased the DVC's MF's, why wouldn't it affect the bottom line in the parks?

Hotels aren't directly connected to the parks the way many think. Of course they are still all under the Parks and Resorts umbrella but the parks aren't filled exclusively with Disney resort guests. You have locals, and offsite guests as well. Hotels are operating at 90+% capacity right now so no need to do anything there. The parks are the easiest places to make labor cuts.

Make smaller changes like shortening hours of films and shows to save money. Any people that would've gone during those times are now moved elsewhere possibly spending money.

Disney is all about wall street these days. If wall street is worried and uncertain about having two parks closed then Disney is going to do everything they can to make sure the impacts on their financials are little to none. That is why you see the cuts. The parks always make money. How much money they make depends on several factors. This why we also saw similar cuts when the big cord cutting storm hit pre-ESPN+/Disney+ and ESPN was losing subscribers in pretty big droves. Shanghai Disneyland went over budget, we saw cuts domestically then too. Its all a cycle. Parks and resorts make up for several areas throughout.

 

[JohnneeO]

It's funny how so many people here defend other Disney business decisions, but seem to not understand this one. WDW is not an independent entity. It is part of a larger company that needs to balance out all of its operating income. If Disney needs to squeeze more income out of WDW because COVID-19 is reducing income from Shanghai and Hong Kong, it won't hesitate.

 

[mom2rtk]

If Disney needs wants to squeeze more income out of WDW because COVID-19 is reducing income from Shanghai and Hong Kong, it won't hesitate.

I'll just make one small adjustment.

 

[Spaceguy55]

It's funny how so many people here defend other Disney business decisions, but seem to not understand this one. WDW is not an independent entity. It is part of a larger company that needs to balance out all of its operating income. If Disney needs to squeeze more income out of WDW because COVID-19 is reducing income from Shanghai and Hong Kong, it won't hesitate.

What's the plan if it shows up in Orlando and Anaheim ?

 

[Lumpy1106]

Make smaller changes like shortening hours of films and shows to save money. Any people that would've gone during those times are now moved elsewhere possibly spending money.

Yeah, maybe. I mean, my plan on my next trip is to spend a day in Blizzard Beach. If they shut down BB and I have to go to TL instead, I will. Why have both water parks at all then? If you are saying that they temporarily need to squeeze WDW profits due the the loses in China, well, I guess I can see that. Otherwise, I don't see the correlation though.

 

[anthony2k7]

Careful Disney, you're gonna end up losing even more guests to the parks up the road that are open!

I'm quite surprised about the mini golf closures, surely they need almost no CMs anyway so hardly any saving to be had there?

Next shock will be from the cruise line, nice new boats and no one wants to book cruises on them after seeing how the virus spread throughout the entire ship in Japan.

 

[anthony2k7]

How long until double digit % price rises on wdw tickets?

 

[TwoMisfits]

How long until double digit % price rises on wdw tickets?

Didn't they already do that last month (at least on some longer length tickets)? You think another one's coming so soon?

 

[anthony2k7]

Didn't they already do that last month (at least on some longer length tickets)? You think another one's coming so soon?

Wouldn't be the first time they have raise the prices significantly twice within a few months

 

[JenluvsDisney]

Just got a notice from touring plans that an extra magic hour at Epcot has been removed during my upcoming trip (morning of March 12th). Wonder if that's related to this discussion...

 

[Kestryl]

Just got a notice from touring plans that an extra magic hour at Epcot has been removed during my upcoming trip (morning of March 12th). Wonder if that's related to this discussion...

Would Touring Plans know this before the calendar on the DW website was updated? Because it still shows EMH at Epcot that morning.