Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company, shared some insight into what could be coming to the parks post-pandemic including information about the park pass system and virtual queues.
When asked about the Disney theme parks in the next couple of months Chapek responds, "We are encouraged by the trends that we see and our goal is to get to normal operations as soon as possible, as soon as practical, and as soon as responsible."
Chapek was then asked if any improvements that were implemented during the pandemic-era would remain he stated that there were cost benefits for mobile-orderings and contactless check-in for the resorts. Also things like virtual queues, now provide Disney "an opportunity to sort of explore that as a guest experience lever to make sure the guests can do things and not spend too much time standing in lines and in the queues. These will impact our future and our margins" and will likely to continue well beyond COVID.
From a demand and a guest satisfaction standpoint, the new reservation system will give them an opportunity to "strategically manage attendance vs price balance." This system will help them sophistically manage yield and demand going forward.
These new revelations that the park pass system and virtual queues will remain may play an impact on ticket pricing and the FastPass+ system going forward. We will keep you updated if we hear any further information regarding these systems.
News Source: Walt Disney Company