The chief executive, still only a few months on the job, said the park plans to ramp up attendance by 5,000 people each week.
On Monday, the day that China’s Shanghai Disneyland resort reopened to the public with strict social distancing measures, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said tickets for the theme park are “essentially” sold out for the rest of the week.
“We have a few tickets available on certain days, but essentially everything’s gone,” Chapek said during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Alley. “This is really indicative of the love that consumers have for our brand across the world.”
Chapek’s comments come with a caveat: The Chinese government has restricted Shanghai Disneyland’s attendance at 30% capacity, or around 24,000 guests. According to report on the ground from CNN, the actual attendance was well below the 30% maximum, saying Disney cast members “far outnumbered the guests.”
“This is a first step, it’s a baby step, and we’re moving slowly, but we’re very encouraged by what we see in Shanghai,” Chapek said. The chief executive added that the plan was to increase attendance by 5,000 guests a week, “just until we get to the point that we know that we can operate under our guidelines in a way that’s very responsible.” Disney would look to implement a similar gradual strategy once the 30% cap is lifted.
Chapek would not comment on timelines for reopening Disney parks in Hong Kong or Tokyo, as well as Disneyland and Disney World in the U.S. Disney Springs, the outdoor mall just outside of Orlando’s Disney World, will reopen in phases starting May 20. The Shanghai park’s version of that shopping complex, Disneytown, resumed operations in early March.
“I think it is a good sign that Disney Springs is going to open up in Orlando,” Chapek said. “We stuck our toe in the water, if you will, in Shanghai with Disneytown, and we operated that for about a month, and everything went extremely well. Hopefully we’ll see that at Disney Springs as well.”
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