VIDEO: Disney CEO Bob Chapek Is Interviewed About Reopening of Disney Parks
Disney officially announced this morning that Walt Disney World would begin a phased reopening of the theme parks beginning on July 11th. This morning newly appointed Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke with Bloomberg Media about plans to reopen the parks and his confidence that they can be done in a way that is safe for guests.
You can check out the interview in its entirety here: (Once you click on the video you can expand it for a better look!)
When Chapek was asked what makes him feel confident of the safety of a reopening plan, he replied, “We always said we would not open up again until we said we could do so responsibly.” He added that there have been “learnings” from the reopenings of Shanghai Disney and Disney Springs as they relate to keeping social distancing in effect which he sees as integral to Walt Disney World theme parks reopening.


Image Credit: Shanghai Disneyland
According to Chapek, guests should be 6 feet apart whether they are in restaurants, on Main Street or enjoying an attraction. He said in the interview that he felt confident that Disney could effectively maintain social distancing and open up responsibly.
When asked why the parks were opening up nearly a month after Universal Chapek responded, “We felt that this is the right time for us.” The CEO added, “We’ve got a different situation than Universal does because we’re much bigger and we’re a much more complex business. We’ve got a different labor situation and at the same time, we’re also going to be implementing a new reservation system. ”


Hu Chengwei/Getty Images
When asked to elaborate on some of the lessons learned at Shanghai, Chapek said that he realizes that the chemistry between cast members and guests is essential to making a reopening work. He added, “Disney has stuck to its limitations and its working.” He advised that Shanghai Disney is currently welcoming about 20,000 guests a day and as the government in China further relaxes social distancing guidelines more guests can hopefully be accommodated.
When asked about the opening of Disneyland in California and other theme parks around the world Chapek said that Disney wasn’t ready to make an announcement on any other location and that the Walt Disney Company is taking its cues from local government in each place.
Though there’s still a ways to go in reopening the Disney theme parks worldwide, we’re excited to see movement today! We’ll continue to follow developments closely. Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for the latest news and updates.
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