Per the OC Register, Disney’s theme parks are expected to take a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic with a $2 billion loss forecast for the latest latest quarter following a $1 billion loss in the previous quarter.
According to Reuters, Disney’s theme park division is forecast to report a $2 billion quarterly loss in its fiscal third-quarter 2020 results compared to a $1.7 billion profit a year earlier.
The forecast based on Refinitiv data comes a day before the Walt Disney Co. reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, August 4th.
Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division absorbed a $1 billion loss in the second quarter as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that had shuttered all of its parks around the globe. Since then, Disney theme parks in Florida, France, Japan and Shanghai have reopened while parks in Anaheim, California remain closed. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened June 13th but shut back down July 15th after a spike in coronavirus cases and remains closed down until further notice.
The latest round of quarterly reports amid the global pandemic have brought expected bad news for the theme park industry.
Comcast, the Universal Studios parent company, announced that second-quarter revenue in its theme park division decreased 94% from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $87 million this year due to COVID-19 closures.
A second round of layoffs at Universal Orlando has brought closures of the Fast & Furious: Supercharged, Poseidon’s Fury, Kang & Kudos Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, Storm Force Accelatron and Fear Factor Live attractions, according to the Screamscape theme park news website.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment forecast a 96% decline in second-quarter revenue from $406 million in 2019 to $18 million this year while SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks were closed by the pandemic.
Four of the nearly-finished roller coasters that were set to debut this summer at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks in San Diego, Florida and Virginia have been delayed until 2021 by the coronavirus pandemic.
Disneyland and California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s, SeaWorld and other California theme parks remain closed until further notice while they await still-unreleased reopening guidelines from the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: https://www.ocregister.com/2020/08/03/disney-theme-parks-forecast-to-take-2-billion-hit-report-says/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
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