Disney CEO Comments on the Delta Variant and Its Impact on Theme Park Crowds

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen some health and safety changes in Disney World.

Mask signage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Health and safety protocols were diminishing around the property at the beginning of the summer, but the surge of the Delta variant caused Disney to reinstate masks indoors again a few months ago. Originally, Disney noted that the Delta variant didn’t have a very big impact on the parks, but now, CEO Bob Chapek has shared otherwise.

During the Q3 earnings call, Chapek shared that “in terms of Delta variant, we see strong demand for our parks continuing.” At that time, park reservations were at a higher level for Q4 than they had been for Q3, so the company was encouraged by projected attendance.

Low crowds at Magic Kingdom

However, during today’s Goldman Sachs 30th Annual Communacopia Conference, Chapek noted that they saw a drop in attendance after the earnings call on August 12th. Demand for the parks decreased for a little while but picked back up during Labor Day weekend and in the weeks since. Here at DFB, we visit the parks daily, and we definitely noticed the drop in attendance throughout that time period. 

Crowds dropped after the earnings call.

We’ll continue to monitor the park attendance in the coming days and weeks, especially during the 50th Anniversary celebration. Based on resort and theme park reservation availability, we’re predicting very high crowd levels in the weeks to come!

Click Here to Check Out the Low Crowds We Saw in Late August!

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Did you visit Disney World in August? What were the crowds like? Let us know in the comments!

The post Disney CEO Comments on the Delta Variant and Its Impact on Theme Park Crowds first appeared on the disney food blog.