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Disney’s superpower is storytelling. So many of their fans know this. But as we’ve seen the COVID-19 pandemic rear its head, wane, and return, it appears that Disney has a second powerful trait — responsibility. Considering the challenges the Disney Parks have faced during the ongoing pandemic, attendance has been strong and Disney has been firm with its safety policies, contributing to a responsibility-based culture.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek on Health & Safety: Ultimate Sense of Responsibility
The resurgence of COVID and the Delta variant challenged Disney’s theme parks in terms of balancing health, safety, and attendance, but as Bob Chapek, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, shared today, Disney assumed a commitment to the Park Guests and Cast Members that they would operate responsibly.
As the Parks began to reopen slowly (and in foreign countries, close and reopen again), Guests put their trust in Disney to keep them safe while having fun. A variety of measures were taken, like plexiglass dividers, social distancing markers, mask mandates, and other various rules. As Disney began to peel some of those regulations back, the COVID Delta variant again impacted attendance with a slowdown of Guests coming to the Parks.
Chapek notes as Labor Day drew nearer, the Parks again began to recover and Guests continued to come together over Disney, using responsible behavior and not showcasing immense pushback. In an interview for Goldman Sachs 30th annual Communacopia Conference, Bob Chapek shared his thoughts on these events:
“We’ve not really frankly seen any pushback from Guests as we’ve reinstituted mask requirements in our indoor facilities. Our guests have been extraordinarily agreeable and compliant I guess to the health and safety measures that we’ve sort of led the way with.
From the very beginning of the pandemic we made a commitment to our guests and our cast members that we would operate responsibly and while we’ve reopened up our parks at different times across the world, in some cases had to close and reopen, we’ve always done it with a sense of ultimate responsibility for people that are in our care.
And I think that’s paid dividends in terms of giving confidence to our guests, and our guests are returning to us at the same time.”
We’re grateful to Disney for always paying attention to Safety, the number one Disney Key Value. And likewise, we’re so happy to hear that Disney Parks Guests and hardcore fans are happy to comply with Disney’s health and safety requests. It gives us hope for the future and continues to endear the Walt Disney Company to our hearts.
What do you think about Bob Chapek’s comments on responsibility regarding health and safety? Leave us a comment!