Today the Disney Company held an earnings call, during which they shared information about the third quarter financials for the 2021 fiscal year.
©Disney
During the call, various Disney representatives and officials commented on capacity and attendance levels in the parks, announced a new Disney+ day, and talked about the Genie planning app. Disney CEO Bob Chapek also made some comments about the future of Disney with the COVID-19 Delta variant and the potential impact it could have on the company. And now we’re breaking down what you need to know about his comments.
During the Q3 Quarterly Call, one individual asked whether Disney is seeing any impact from the Delta variant in terms of how things are looking moving forward.
Disney’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek answered by saying, “In terms of the Delta variant, we see strong demand for our parks continuing.” Chapek noted that the park reservations they’re seeing now are actually above the Q3 attendance levels (note that Q3 ended on July 3rd, 2021).
Mask signage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Chapek continued by saying that the Park Pass Reservation system will enable the Disney Parks “to spread our demand, increase the yield, and improve the guest experience at the same time.”
Disney CEO Bob Chapek
Chapek said that he believes the some of the costs associated with things needed for “hygienic purposes” will be “relatively short lived.” He added that the bigger long-lasting impact will be with the improvements Disney is making when it comes to guest personalization and guest choice. Chapek said that this will only grow in the future with their “ability to do world class yield management…through the new reservation management system.”
We’re reporting on everything we learned from Disney’s Q3 Earnings Call so keep checking back with us here at DFB for all the breaking Disney news.
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I think Chapek is a joke, just like this ridiculous park reservation system. I’m a travel agent and can tell you that for agents who have booked through the years, many have scaled back because the parks feel too controlled & less like a vacation.
Our family just got back from our Disney vacation. It was nothing like the magical experience that we had experienced in the past. I’m telling all my friends and family to save their money, until they can figure some things out. The cast members were rude and didn’t know what was going on. The actual parks were littered with trash. They were very understaffed and over populated. We felt like we were constantly getting in trouble… as we waited it line, it was so rigid. My kids were afraid of the cast members. The double standards that Disney leads by is very large! Mask up in line even while outside but gather as close as you can to watch the fireworks. I didn’t see anyone sanitize anything. The social distancing has been removed and the capacity has been increased but they slap a virtual signal on your face. We were so sad because we don’t be going back for a long time. The magic is gone! The customer service is gone. The long lines are back!
Great point! I hope Disney listens.
I love the reservation system and I hope stays. It gives them the ability to choose how crowded to make the parks and with the way things are going right now being able to control capacity is a must. People just don’t like being told what to do. I think what disney is doing is great and I hope they keep up all the good qork.
Mr. Chapek may be using the Perceived Value approach to the parks. Make a reservation for a park a little harder to get, much like getting a reservation for a expensive restaurant, then when you do get it you will be more likely to part with more money while there. The reservation will be of high value to you and you will be happy to pay for the privilege of obtaining one.
Disney has become a huge disappointment to me.
I agree that the reservations for park entry should stay. We were just there a few weeks ago and the parks we went to were not crowded and we felt very safe. Good job Disney!
Does Capek know WDW is in the state of Florida, the Most cases of Covid and deaths in the country. That alone should propel him to make adjustments and not blindly continue pre Covid. The crowds are too large and shoulder to shoulder. We canceled our trip Aug 23. Too risky and several podcast friends also have canceled up to a year.
Susie, unfortunately the media wants to continue the narrative of covid being the death and destruction of everything to create sensationalism. Florida is NOT leading the country in covid cases or deaths. That’s all part of the hype that people buy into so easily. When you hear, “we need to follow the science” I ask WHICH science? There are differing opinions on the subject among the professionals…and even more among the not so professional who think they need to be heard. If you don’t feel comfortable being at WDW, fine, but don’t impose needless restrictions on those if us who want to live our lives and get beyond this debacle.
I keep telling myself that I’ll get back to Disney soon. Even have a Fall trip planned. But I know I’ll end up having to cancel, but I still like to think I will be going. Florida is a mess.
It’s too difficult to plan a Disney trip. Trying to coordinate parks, meals and rides takes all the fun out of the trip. I hope Disney will eliminate the park pass system and reinstall fast passes.
This is just my opinion, but I feel that the Park Reservation System and many of the increases in expense goes against everything that Walt Disney originally wanted. He wanted it to be affordable and accessible for EVERY family not just the rich. This growing trend of “exclusivity” is selfish and thoughtless. Little struggling families with children that would like to have the experience of going to Disney is becoming impossible. Now it is just for the ultra rich.
Besides the Park Reservations are taken by all of the bloggers and local residents that go every single day anyway. We’ve tried to plan a trip for months and the Reservation System is a constant reason for anxiety. You’re spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to come to their parks and then you have to get permission? Can’t even get on the Star Wars rides? What has happened to Disney? They’ve lost the gracious care and concern for their guests. It’s a very sad thing to lose for a company that was known for setting the bar in being exceptional and hospitable.
For example: Extra Magic Hours used to be offered to all Disney Resort Guests. Now they’re trying to make it just for the Deluxe Resorts, and charging for parking at the resorts is also another evidence of greed. What perks are left for Disney Resort guests? Also, who thought up fast passes? People taking the time to wait in line in the heat with crying children for 45 minutes get stopped at the rope and others are allowed to walk right in front of them who didn’t take the time and effort to wait? It’s all becoming incredibly selfish. Disney has lost the so-called “magic” it used to have.
The new Genie & + system is ruining Disney. To pay for rides after paying a high cost just to get into a park is fleecing customers. Chapek is clueless & will run Disney into the ground. We are near the end of visiting the parks & looking at switching to Universal for AP.
Sadly a Disney vacation is no longer fun. Its time consuming to plan and requires too much in terms of technology. Too expensive as well. Then you hear news like the above – Disney is back to making money hand over foot.
Going to the parks is becoming too costly and complicated.
Get rid of park reservation system.
I don’t feel the new Genie system will help at all.
Fast pass system worked before – don’t change it.
Stop the greed and the need for technology – we just want to spend a fun day at the parks without taking out a bank loan.
I’ve been a loyal pass holder for years and one of the biggest things I loved was the ability to be spontaneous with my kids. I hate this new reservation system. I let our passes go. We may go after COVID is over but not like before. I don’t like Chapek and think he needs to be removed as CEO. He is ruining Disney.
Sad Past Guest, I agree that things are getting quite expensive and all the new things like reservations and Genie+ are making a trip more like a military expedition than a relaxed trip, but the idea that Walt wanted his parks to be affordable to all is false. Even from the beginning, as cheap as it looks to us now, you have to put it in context of what people were earning back then. Not everyone could have afforded to go to the original park. Also, Walt was not opposed to making money, and he enjoyed the perks of being a wealthy man. As a middle class retired person, I can still afford an annual Disney trip, the cost of which is similar to my friends’ week at the beach, but I am getting exhausted from all the things that have to be planned out before going. Now worried that my son won’t get to ride the new Ratatouille attraction if we can’t get a reservation/purchase add on for any of the days we are there. Particularly concerning is that so much revolves around having a smart phone, which I don’t own. Feeling very second class right now.
We visited the parks at the end of July and our entire family caught COVID. This was prior to WDW re-implementing the mask mandate. Both my wife and I are vaccinated and our 6yo son obviously is not. We were in the 5% (if that) who actual wore masks at that time while in the parks. It didn’t matter one bit.
I think WDW is trying to sweep the COVID issue under the rug and are obviously not taking all the proper steps for safety or enforcing anything.
And all of that is on top of a very sub-par WDW experience right now. Horrible dining, lack luster staff, extremely understaffed transportation systems…. overall, it is not worth paying a penny to go to WDW right now. I suggest staying away until they can fix all the problems and hire back enough staff. That also includes being able to source from vendors and supply chain.
I first went to Disney when I was 12. For 20 or so years afterward, I looked forward to Disney with the same excitement I had when I was 12. I had a season pass (I live in Teas) for most of that time, and I spent between 4 and 6 weeks at Disney. It was, for me, the happiest place on earth. Somewhere around 2007, I started noticing changes; first with cast members then with Disney management. I join with many of the comments above that what I feel now is sadness. The Disney we all loved is gone and we can’t get it back again.
I don’t have a smart phone either, but the more important thing is that a vaca is supposed to be fun and relaxing. All of the reservations used to be for restaurants, now it’s for restaurants, parks, rides ….everything. Why can’t guests just go and do what they want when they get there (except for restaurants)? It isn’t fun, magical and spontaneous like a vaca should be.