COVID-19 & Coasters: Coronavirus Impacts on the Amusement Industry

[rswashdc]

I've had passes to a trampoline park for my kids and you made reservations the same way you make a daily ticket purchase and used your pass as a discount code making the ticket price $0. It could also be similar to making a tee time at a golf course where reservation dates open up based on what kind of guest or member you are through a login.

One assumption I'd make is you can only make one or a limited number of reservations at one time to avoid pass holders trying to reserve slots every day they could possibly want to go.

 

[GrandpaD]

@warfelg Disney Shanghai site (as did their press release) had a bit more info -

Ticket sales will be available via the resort’s official online channels and official travel partners’ channels beginning on May 8 at 8:00 a.m., with a limited number of tickets available each day during the initial reopening. Guests are required to purchase dated admission tickets prior to their arrival, and Annual Pass holders must make a reservation for their visit date and time through the resort’s official online channels before their visit to the park. During this “Advanced Reservation Period,” General Admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland will not be accepted.

As was posted above, according to CEO Chapek, China wants a limitation of 25k but Disney will go lower initially. Guests have to buy a ticket for a specific day. Pass holders make a dated and time of arrival reservation on their site. What else would you need to know? They certainly aren't going to tell you (1) percentage of guest vs pass holder ratio (2) the exact number of reservations available each day (3) procedures regarding no shows. That's all internal and really nothing the GP needs to know. You might be curious, but the info is above your pay grade. ?

 

[warfelg]

@GrandpaD I'm aware that existed and what I referenced at the end.

Numbers 1 and 2 don't really matter anyways (well 2 does a little). But really #3 and what @rswashdc said at the end is what should be out there. Communicate that there will be restrictions (even if what they may be are restricted from public view) to booking ability.

I'm not saying they will be doing this, but not communicating it up front that there will be restrictions feels like there's going to be a "gotcha" when you go to make the reservation.

 

[mtorange]

Cedar Fair has announced their first quarter earnings and is expected to make further announcements during their conference call at 10am EST (in about 15 minutes from when this post was submitted).

It is important to note that Cedar Fair’s season pass purchases went up 30% despite the COVID-19 pandemic and that they are expecting a pent-up demand for outdoor entertainment once parks reopen. I will make a new post with the link for the conference call when one is available.

Cedar Fair Reports Results for Its 2020 First Quarter

Cedar Fair Reports Results for Its 2020 First Quarter

www.businesswire.com

 

[warfelg]

Cedar Fair’s season pass purchases went up 30% despite the COVID-19 pandemic

Random thought that popped into my head, but with the announcements of reservation style admittance, I wonder when that increase happened and if something like that played into it. Also with the extensions to the end dates of season passes being extended and the stimulus check going out if that played into it as well.

 

[GrandpaD]

I'd say, instead of going off half-cocked, you wait until May 8 and see what the SD site has to say. Bear in mind, this is the Chinese government so legalities and the things already mentioned such as these probably won't exist in US markets-

Provide basic personal information for each guest visiting the park, including name, phone number, ID type and ID number via Shanghai Disney Resort’s official online channels after purchasing a ticket and prior to arriving at the resort. A Shanghai Disneyland Reservation QR Code will be provided after the successful submission of the required identification information, and guests will be required to present the code before entering the theme park;

Register for the Health QR Code prior to their arrival, which will be required to be presented upon entering any location at Shanghai Disney Resort. Only guests with a green Health QR Code will be allowed to enter the resort;

I disagree with you regarding (2) the number of reservations available. That's internal and confidential information. Why tell your competition anything related to attendance? No other business that takes reservations that I can think of puts out how many openings they have...

So we'll wait on what disclaimers officially appear on May 8. Until then, it's all hypothetical.

 

[mtorange]

Here is a link to the CF conference call. You have to quickly enter some info before you can hear the call, so if you want to wait until it is over, I’ll post anything important that is announced in here.

Webcast

services.choruscall.com

 

[warfelg]

I disagree with you regarding (2) the number of reservations available. That's internal and confidential information. Why tell your competition anything related to attendance? No other business that takes reservations that I can think of puts out how many openings they have...

Im sorry but I really disagree with this. We know the max capacity and the occupancy limits. Saying how many daily pass and season pass you will let in could help or hurt people trying to plan when to visit. Right now without the guidance, there’s a chance of a rush on the booking site by people not knowing what the availability is.

Also no other business puts out how many opening it has with reservations? Movie theaters have limited seats. Restaurants can be calculated easily. Theaters at limited by seats available. I know some don’t think of buying a ticket as taking a reservation but that’s essentially what you are doing.

 

[GrandpaD]

Sorry, but attendance figures are none of your business. You want to go to the park; you log in and try to make a reservation for a group of 4 for May 11. The site is either going to (1) make your reservation or (2) tell you they can't accommodate you (and, depending on the software) make a suggestion as to the date(s) they can accommodate your request. That's it. They aren't going to tell you anything else.

"Pre-'rona" Disneyland reached capacity a few times and stopped ticket sales mid-day. And, as this article states "Disney never publicly disclosed the capacity of the park" so why do you expect them to do it now? I'm sure their website didn't say "hurry, buy now, only 500 more people can come in today."

Disneyland hits capacity, temporarily stops selling tickets

Disneyland: The theme park reaches capacity seven months after opening 14-acre expansion

www.latimes.com

Yes, you might know the capacity of a theatre or restaurant. But, perhaps they blocked seats to accommodate a prebooked group or (in a restaurant) they haven't enough wait staff to serve all tables.

 

[warfelg]

Attendance numbers are regularly published.

I’ve also added we know max capacity at most parks. We know the percent capacity allowed, so we know max daily attendance.

So I don’t see how a basic guidance of what’s going to be available is “none of my business”. If they were to say “First 5,000 reservations daily are reserved for daily tickets prepurchased” It makes understanding how it’s going to work a little easier. The sense right now is there’s no regulations. So if pass holders were to all get on the minute it opens up for reservations they could jam up some potential popular days (like holidays) before some other groups get the chance to book.

EDIT:
I want to add the reason this is important from my POV, is if Cedar Fair were to announce this but not publish how it’s done and I want to visit Carowinds in the 3rd week of July, I’m logging in to try and buy a ticket ASAP. But if they were to say you can’t do daily tickets until 10 days out for the first 5000 guests, then open to anyone, with a restriction of no more than two reservations at a time; I now know when I can book going, how many days I can go (based on number of days allowed to reserve), and that there’s a good chance I can get in when I would like to go.

 

[rswashdc]

I would be curious also how the parks plan to deal with popular days where demand greatly outstrips the allowed capacity - low demand days won't matter much. This process can be gamed otherwise. E.g. If I can make unlimited reservations, I'll make one for every weekend and holiday I can and then cancel on the weekends we don't decide to go.

 

[WDWRLD]

I think some of Disneys not giving too much information right now is they are trying to keep people from gaming the system, like those that book cheap campsites for a few days before their resort reservation just so they can start booking fastpasses earlier. To me whats going to be the interesting part is how this will work and how they will work on previous reservations and fastpasses. So for example my July trip, we have 10+ days booked, dining reservations across at least 2 parks a day as well as fastpasses already booked. Our normal daily routine is one park in the morning, back to the resort then another at night and depending on EMH leaving a park that closes earlier and going to the EMH park.

 

[GrandpaD]

Attendance numbers are regularly published.

Really? Does Disney post daily attendance numbers? BGW? KD? Carowinds?

Again, it's all hypothetical until May 8 when SD opens up reservations. Maybe they limit daily ticket purchases to 10 days out. Maybe they charge for reservations as was discussed previously.

"The sense right now is there's no regulations". Well, no shit Sherlock ? This whole conversation is moot until they do release particulars. We're (me included) speculating on how we think the program will run without the least bit of fact. I will, however, speculate they won't state any particular number nor formula in their posting.

One other little tidbit (as posted from the conference call) "Chapek says procedures used at Shanghai isn't necessarily what they'll use domestically."

 

[mtorange]

So the Cedar Fair Q1 Conference Call just ended and here are the important bits. Keep in mind that this information was coming at me very fast and I couldn’t rewind the feed, so there’s a chance I missed a detail or two. I will link a transcript once one is available, especially because some of these bits raise questions that were not answered in the call.

1. The park wants to have a “reasonable amount“ of operating days left in the season when they reopen. Cedar Fair has said that they now need only 2-3 weeks to reopen once they are given the green light by state and local officials. CF expects each park to open on a different timeline, but did not specify which parks they think will open first. Parks are in a “state of readiness” to open once they are given permission.

2. They are confident that each park will meet or exceed state and local guidelines. They are working on mandatory COVID-19 training for all employees. Employees will also require daily wellness checks before working.

3. The park will facilitate social distancing on rides and in restaurants. They will be cleaning and disinfecting handrails and rides multiple times a day.

4. Here’s a big one: CF will be upgrading their mobile apps to facilitate the use of a park reservation system to keep track of attendance, expand use of cashless transactions, virtual queuing, and mobile food orders. Each of these features will be rolled out over a “multitude of guidelines”.

5. Similar to other parks, CF will be asking pass holders about what they want to see in regards to social distancing.

6. When asked about the park reservation system, CF did not want to go into details just yet and that they will communicate every detail directly to the guests once they are ready to do so. They want to make sure that the park reservation system lets season pass holders get value out of their pass while also accommodating ticket buyers.

7. When asked about capacity, they did not want to give percentages nor numbers yet, but they said that on a normal operating day, most parks operate at or below 50% capacity. Capacity percentages will be determined later on a park-by-park basis.

8. CF believes that limited-time events such as the Peanuts Celebration and Grand Carnivale will help parks build momentum once they reopen, However, when asked about events that would be debuting at certain parks this season (specifically Knott's Berry Farm and Cedar Point’s anniversary celebrations), they said that they did not have any news to announce at this time about those two events, but that the Grand Carnivale would be pushed back to 2021. Due to the phrasing of this question, it is unclear if they meant ALL Grand Carnivales chainwide or if they were only talking about the events debuting at Carowinds and Valleyfair this season.

That’s a lot of stuff! I wish we could know more specifics, but I think we’ll find those out on a park-by-park basis once we get closer to reopening.

 

[WDWRLD]

I think number 7 is important and not just for CF but all parks including the big ones WDW and UOR. I think the saying they will limit crowds to 50% gives most guests a feeling that they will keep the number of guests they let in each day low to accomidate social distancing but in reality and still keeping within the guidelines will be letting in the same number of guests as a normal day pre Rona. Most parks dont reach that 50% most operating days of the season. Yes July 4th, Christmas week, NYE and a couple others do go over that but for the most part they dont. Its the same at CF saying they are wiping down handrails "multipul times a day"....so whats multipul 3...4? In a 10 hour operating day thats not that much.

Now speaking of BGW specifically I have zero faith in them actually building out a mobile reservation system in the next month, two months or even this season. What I do think they will use is a system where you log in on a computer just as you would to buy special event tickets or upgrades, they will have it set up for so many a day then you will have to print a voucher and bring to the park. Hopfully they dont require you to then scan it at a kiosk for a ticket first before proceding to the turnstyle.

 

[GrandpaD]

I just went thru the Disney Q&A. Here's the question and answer regarding limiting attendance at Shanghai and a bit on US -

 

[WDWRLD]

Shanghai Disney also has less than 1300 hotel rooms so they sould still guarentee access for every resort guest and still have a allottment for day guests. That alone is probably why they wont use the same procedures here.

 

[warfelg]

Again, it's all hypothetical until May 8 when SD opens up reservations. Maybe they limit daily ticket purchases to 10 days out. Maybe they charge for reservations as was discussed previously.

May 8th they open reservations, May 11th they allow people in. 3 days out. I think that would make sense if they had 10 days out from the first reservation date.

Yes you are right that there's plenty we don't know. But that's the point I'm trying to make that seems to be getting lost in translation here. There's certain guidelines to booking that are a mystery. If I were living in or around Shanghai and going to Disney were a possibility, I would like to know some of this before attempting to plan a trip so I could do all the other arrangements necessary. I (personally) would not be happy if I had to make a snap decision on all plans because I weren't aware of the restrictions or guidelines before attempting to book something.

Yes things are going to be different here in our parks in general (not just at Disney) because of the basic way this country is operating compared to China. China for the most part has different regulations, different restrictions, different travel tendencies as a country. We're operating on a state by state basis which is making some of the ways to open different. Maybe for a chain like SF Massachusetts has regulations that make opening SFNE a tough proposition from distancing and cleaning regulations, while opening SFoT is a little easier because regulations are a little looser. Maybe Disney here decides that certain states are restricted due to outbreaks. Maybe DL does CA pass holders and local daily tickets only. (I kinda pondered at the start of all of this that some parks should consider pass/members only at the start of opening). The sheer difference in how we govern in America is why parks reopening here need to be different from SD.

But the original point: to be this close to allowing ticket sales then visitors into the park, and having that little clarification of the regulations to it doesn't sit well with me because it gives very little time in making a decision.

 

[Nicole]

IMost parks dont reach that 50% most operating days of the season. Yes July 4th, Christmas week, NYE and a couple others do go over that but for the most part they dont.

Can you share your data source for this claim?

 

[WDWRLD]

7. When asked about capacity, they did not want to give percentages nor numbers yet, but they said that on a normal operating day, most parks operate at or below 50% capacity.

Can you share your data source for this claim?

Well lets see....seems like Ceder Fail stated this above so theres that. Other than that no I will not provide data.