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Walt Disney World May Take Longer To Recover Than Disneyland

According to a Wall Street analyst, most visitors typically arrive from out of state or the country to Walt Disney World than Disneyland. That means the Orlando theme park may have a harder time recovering than the Anaheim location once theme parks are allowed to reopen post-coronavirus pandemic.

Most Visitors Typically Arrive From Out Of State Or The Country To Walt Disney World Than Disneyland

Both theme parks closed in mid-March. During that time, the Walt Disney Company said that the Orlando and Anaheim locations should reopen within a few weeks. But as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crippled the nation, it was unclear when both parks would reopen. This led to mass furloughs and pay cuts across the board.

Since then, rumors have been swirling about when the parks may reopen and what will happen when they do. Disney stock has plummeted amid fears and uncertainty. Shares are down over 30% year-to-date. S&P Global Ratings on Thursday, April 23, lowered Disney’s credit rating, revealing that both “theme parks won’t likely return to normal capacity utilization at the same rate as the overall economy even after stay-at-home restrictions are eased and the theme parks are allowed to reopen,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

On Friday, David Miller, analyst with Imperial Capital, told THR that it could impact Walt Disney World more.”By our estimation, 85 percent of the attendance base in Orlando — in a normalized environment, forget about the virus for a second — comes from out of state or out of country,” Miller said.

Universal Studios Orlando May Also Have A Difficult Time Bouncing Back Than Universal Studios Hollywood

“Which means you pretty much have to fly there. So, it is a two-step process with getting consumers conformable with going back to the parks. You have to be comfortable No. 1 with getting on a plane … and then you have to be comfortable actually going into the park and hope that it is a fairly sterile environment and that people will hopefully adhere to safe social distancing.”

In addition, Universal Studios Orlando may also have a difficult time bouncing back than Universal Studios Hollywood for that same reason alone. As for Disney, more will be revealed during the May 5 earnings call. Disney executives are currently going through the possibilities of what could happen when the parks reopen, in which other analysts have forecasted may not happen until next year.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Walt Disney World will have a tougher time bouncing back than Disneyland? When do you think both parks will open? Sound off below in the comments section.

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