Did the life-threatening virus limit Disney’s imagination?
By: Momoko 11.1
“If you can dream it, you can do it” - Walt Disney, founder of The Walt Disney Company
From the time the well-known Mickey Mouse was brought to life, Disney has continued to become one of the most diversified and global companies in the world. There are various types of entertainment within the establishment. To name a few, Disney makes money from theme parks in six different countries, from resorts, cruises, broadcast TV, and live events. It is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world with its average global revenue being about 69 billion US dollars. PEP (Parks, Experiences, and Products) contributes to 25 percent of the total income, making about 16.5 billion dollars per year. Despite their many successes, they still fell victim to the most threatening disease of this century, COVID 19. It invaded the entire system, eventually causing many Disney lovers and workers to be ‘poor unfortunate souls.’
The impact of this virus was significant. The Parks and Resort hotels were not permitted to open, cancelling many tours and events. The closure of entertainment facilities was an impactful hit to Disney’s financial markets. In 2020 it was reported that Disney’s financials had a net loss of $4.5 billion, mainly due to the loss of income from the Parks and Resort segment. The decline in average income also resulted in more than 28,000 workers being unemployed. According to Spectrum News 13, the CEO Bob Chapek said, “We saw a bit of impact in terms of a slowdown of our guests coming to our parks…we are extremely disappointed.”
However, Disney kept dreaming and sought success to keep everyone smiling amidst the pandemic. For example, animators created the At Home with Olaf series from home, featuring the adorable snowman from the Frozen film. It gave ‘warm hugs’ to many people throughout the world, including the people in quarantine. The newest Pixar film, Luca, was also animated and voiced at home. It was a big challenge no one had ever faced before. Although the animators thought it was impossible to make animation at home without the computers they ordinarily used in the studio and having no face-to-face meetings, they put their ‘hearts and souls’ in that resulted in a beautifully animated movie. The heartwarming stories made from Disney and the increased hours spent at home by people in quarantine gave rise to the number of subscribers in Disney+ by 101.7 percent in 2021, with 116 million subscribers. Moreover, the change in the number of visitors in the parks brought about a revolutionary alteration in park pass reservation systems and navigation services. The CEO said, “Things started to recover quite nicely” at a conference on September 2021.
COVID 19 has affected the many segments that generated revenue and profits, including the Parks and Resort segment. Fewer people are lining up for exciting rides in parks than before, but Disney has found its way to continue dreaming and make people feel happier. In conclusion, despite the pandemic having an immense impact on the business but did not limit Disney’s boundless imaginations.
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