No matter what some fans might wish, reopening Disneyland will not immediately bring Southern California’s theme park industry back to life. Approval to return will be just the first step in a long journey toward an uncertain future for what has been a multi-billion dollar industry for the region.
Remember that the majority of the 28,000 people that Disney has announced it will lay off are based in Florida, where the company’s theme parks have been reopened since July. Physical distancing requirements have kept reopened theme parks across the country from returning to full capacity, but a lack of fans has kept those parks from hitting even those lower capacity limits on most days.
Lower attendance and guest spending makes it impossible for parks to spend the kind of money that they had been spending on operations and expansion. That’s led to layoffs and the cancellation of planned capital projects across the industry, even by parks that have reopened.
Those cancellations are felt especially hard in Southern California, which is home to many design firms that create attractions for theme parks, museums and other themed entertainment destinations around the world. Disneyland and other theme parks in the region are less dependent upon out-of-market visitors than Walt Disney World and the Florida parks. That should help Southern California’s parks get to their capacity limits when they return. But local design firms need to see stronger demand beyond the region if they are to recover.
Three challenges remain for the industry even after parks return. First, the economy still needs to recover so that millions of fans can once again afford to pay for theme park visits. It’s hard to imagine that buying or renewing a theme park pass will be a top priority for families that have suffered layoffs, big medical bills or missed rent or mortgage payments since the pandemic began. Even for fans who return, how many will be spending freely on souvenir popcorn buckets, spirit jerseys and $200 custom-built lightsabers, as many were doing at this time last year?
Second, while many fans are eager to return to the parks, many others might remain apprehensive about being in large crowds, even when the pandemic ends. Post-trauma stress is real, and we simply do not know yet how the stress of this pandemic will affect people in the near and long term. Maybe theme parks will look like a more attractive entertainment option when compared with movie theaters and concerts. But many theme park fans might take a long while to become comfortable with visiting parks again. It’s just too early to know.
Finally, the pandemic has disrupted countless aspects of people’s daily lives. Visiting Disneyland or other area theme parks had become a tradition for many area residents. But people have gotten out of their Disneyland and theme park habits. As we have seen already in Florida and elsewhere, theme parks might have to offer much more than just reopening the gates to get fans to return.
"many" - Google News
October 20, 2020 at 08:33PM
https://ift.tt/35kkScS
Reopening will be just the first step of many for Disneyland - OCRegister
"many" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2OYUfnl
https://ift.tt/3f9EULr
No comments:
Post a Comment