COVID-19’s Impacts on BGW

[rswashdc]

Financially, the park can break even between 2k and 3k visitors, depending upon staffing levels.
At this point, bars are open to full capacity, zoo’s are reopening, indoor museums are reopening, and things continue to progress in the right direction in VA overall with covid cases, hospitalizations, etc. BGW and KD are being punished and it’s not right that they can’t open under the guise that “hmmm they may spread covid”. If we have to ever go back under quarantine due to increased covid, is it fair they have to suffer, WE, have to suffer, bc other businesses etc., got to open and we’re irresponsible, which would also ultimately lead to an even LONGER delay in opening the parks???Why should a bar, restaurant, zoo, museum, etc., get to open yet these parks not? Heck - some of those are getting to reopen at 100% capacity!

Financially breaking even probably just means for operational costs to open the park and run it and doesn’t cover overhead, SGA, and financing costs. It would probably mean they still bleed money, just not as quickly, so projects don’t get paid for and risks of bankruptcy continue.

 

[r757chan]

Well this is an interesting development...

SeaWorld's largest shareholder may be pushing the company into bankruptcy

Gotta love shareholders.

 

[PrincessArlenasDad]

Gotta love shareholders.

If they do bankruptcy solely for debt restructuring, from the guest's perspective, it isn't a big deal at all. There really would be nothing to see there. Bankruptcy laws give them greater flexibility in paying off their debts and options not otherwise available to them. No matter what they do or don't do, they are going to be cash poor for quite awhile because of all this.

 

[r757chan]

If they do bankruptcy solely for debt restructuring, from the guest's perspective, it isn't a big deal at all. There really would be nothing to see there. Bankruptcy laws give them greater flexibility in paying off their debts and options not otherwise available to them. No matter what they do or don't do, they are going to be cash poor for quite awhile because of all this.

Yeah, I know. Granted that article might just be BS but I don't like that a decision like that can be swayed by an individual's interest in getting as much return on investment now rather than focusing on long term success. Oh well.

 

[rswashdc]

If they do bankruptcy solely for debt restructuring, from the guest's perspective, it isn't a big deal at all. There really would be nothing to see there. Bankruptcy laws give them greater flexibility in paying off their debts and options not otherwise available to them. No matter what they do or don't do, they are going to be cash poor for quite awhile because of all this.

Bankruptcy makes it easier for other parties to come in and takeover SEAS with a better restructuring plan. From the guest perspective they may not like it if that other party were say Six Flags.

 

[finalcloud]

you can kiss July goodbye for BGW and might as well shutdown WCUSA for the year.

 

[Alf33]

To add to above at Governor Northam's press conference just now when asked about amusement parks he stated that him and the VA DOH are worried about all of the contact surfaces in the park(s) that can contribute to the spread of the virus. He said they will be monitoring the numbers and when they feel comfortable they will change the requirement for them to allow them to open up. So to coin an old phrase: hurry up and wait.

 

[WDWRLD]

That right there screams "im singling yall out" when stores that have people touching the same surfaces over amnd over are OK. Look at Walmarts, Home Depo's and bascially all grocery stores. Some are till wiping carts but most arent. The fact is you are directly touching the exact spot someoine else just did.

 

[PrincessArlenasDad]

Just to add to ^^^^^^

There's also bars, bowling alleys, malls, and everything else.

To me it seems he's more interested in making Florida look bad than helping the state.

 

[finalcloud]

The Governor is afraid of VA's numbers going up. Part of me believes he would stop phase 3 if there was a spike in the numbers. Then take us back to phase 1 again. But that is cynical side of me.

Though in September/October I fully suspect we will be in phase 1 or 2 again.

 

[Zachary]

That right there screams "im singling yall out" when stores that have people touching the same surfaces over amnd over are OK. Look at Walmarts, Home Depo's and bascially all grocery stores. Some are till wiping carts but most arent. The fact is you are directly touching the exact spot someoine else just did.

I'm not defending the governor's position here, but comparing the risks afforded to essential businesses (Walmart, Home Depot, grocery stores, etc) to those afforded to non-essential, entertainment/tourism businesses is a false equivalency. One group is required for society to function, the other is not.

 

[WDWRLD]

BGW and KD should put up billboards across the state that says "Sorry Folks Parks Closed....the Govoner out front should have told Ya"

 

[WDWRLD]

I'm not defending the governor's position here, but comparing the risks afforded to essential businesses (Walmart, Home Depot, grocery stores, etc) to those afforded to non-essential, entertainment/tourism businesses is a false equivalency. One group is required for society to function, the other is not.

If you were only allowed to but "essential items" I would agree but mulch and new bead spreads are not essential.

Edited to add I personally think BGW is essiental. In fact the crummy city where I live there really arent many places that after dark its safe to go walking. We go to BGW many nights when the really hot parts of summer hit just to make the loop a few times for exercise and never even ride a ride. Its a safe enjoyable place for our walks.

 

[rswashdc]

I'm not defending the governor's position here, but comparing the risks afforded to essential businesses (Walmart, Home Depot, grocery stores, etc) to those afforded to non-essential, entertainment/tourism businesses is a false equivalency. One group is required for society to function, the other is not.

Malls have been reopened for awhile, even though 95%+ of what’s there is non-essential, and have all the same common touch issues as the parks. Tyson’s Corner center Is indoors, has something like 12,000 parking spaces, a metro station, and no capacity restrictions, but BGW and KD are limited to 1,000. There‘s no science being used here and I think the parks would do well to go to court at this point.

 

[WDWRLD]

I hope somewhere at BGW they are looking for the Pantheon opening invite list and scratching someones name off.

 

[Memles]

If you were only allowed to but "essential items" I would agree but mulch and new bead spreads are not essential.

It is ill-advised to start policing what is and is not considered essential. The fact is that hardware stores/department stores/grocery stores carry necessities, and it is impossible to apply this same principle to a theme park. This is not to say that the park would have no value to anyone under these circumstances, but "we'll risk the possibility of someone running a quick errand to buy something not essential in order to help people access food/supplies to sustain their basic needs" is very distinct from "we'll risk thousands of people congregating, some from out of state, for the sake of amusement."

I think there's room to criticize this decision insofar as it operates from a place of skepticism and cynicism about the park's ability to follow sanitation protocols and the likelihood of out-of-state visitors when BGW disproportionately compared to other theme parks draws from in-state markets, but playing the game of "X is open, why not BGW/KD" is not going to get very far with a state hanging onto some semblance of progress as other states (including the one that WOULD result in out-of-state visitors to our south) backslide.

 

[VonDerrick]

I want to add a quick thought, nothing to dwell on too long, the biggest gripe I have with this whole pandemic is the lack of governments defining and applying the terms essential and non-essential. There is literally nothing, no process, no approval system, that designates what is considered essential versus the alternative. Futhermore, there is no "essential" businesses classification that determines the "essential-ness" of one business versus the other. Everything is basically left up to the personal and professional opinion of the governor.

I don't believe a lawsuit is going to get very far in terms of a pandemic. These are extenuating circumstances that I feel judges would be taking into account. Also, we have been crying for lawsuits fro a while, yet no business has come forward to issue a lawsuit. I wonder why that may be? Likely because their lawyers are advising against it.

If only there was a detailed rubric that explained how essential each business was, and what new procedures would be approved for certain time frames. Sadly, most of this seems to be a stab in the dark.

We might get a get look into the future from a fortune teller.

 

[WDWRLD]

It is ill-advised to start policing what is and is not considered essential. The fact is that hardware stores/department stores/grocery stores carry necessities, and it is impossible to apply this same principle to a theme park. This is not to say that the park would have no value to anyone under these circumstances, but "we'll risk the possibility of someone running a quick errand to buy something not essential in order to help people access food/supplies to sustain their basic needs" is very distinct from "we'll risk thousands of people congregating, some from out of state, for the sake of amusement."

I think there's room to criticize this decision insofar as it operates from a place of skepticism and cynicism about the park's ability to follow sanitation protocols and the likelihood of out-of-state visitors when BGW disproportionately compared to other theme parks draws from in-state markets, but playing the game of "X is open, why not BGW/KD" is not going to get very far with a state hanging onto some semblance of progress as other states (including the one that WOULD result in out-of-state visitors to our south) backslide.

You can argue anything should be or should not be open. But the "we dont want out of towners" is crap. The Va Beach oceanfront is a tourist destination but they worked that out.Maybe BGW should invest in a ton pof workout equipment, havent outside gyms been allowed for a while now? So you have to do five 1 lb reps while in line for Apollo.

 

[warfelg]

I want to add a quick thought, nothing to dwell on too long, the biggest gripe I have with this whole pandemic is the lack of governments defining and applying the terms essential and non-essential. There is literally nothing, no process, no approval system, that designates what is considered essential versus the alternative. Futhermore, there is no "essential" businesses classification that determines the "essential-ness" of one business versus the other. Everything is basically left up to the personal and professional opinion of the governor.

I don't believe a lawsuit is going to get very far in terms of a pandemic. These are extenuating circumstances that I feel judges would be taking into account. Also, we have been crying for lawsuits fro a while, yet no business has come forward to issue a lawsuit. I wonder why that may be? Likely because their lawyers are advising against it.

If only there was a detailed rubric that explained how essential each business was, and what new procedures would be approved for certain time frames. Sadly, most of this seems to be a stab in the dark.

We might get a get look into the future from a fortune teller.

Lack of federal leadership leads to issues.

 

[VonDerrick]

@warfelg I can not agree with or Like your post more.