It’s been another busy few weeks across the Walt Disney Company. News spanned far and wide throughout the company, from announcements about executive leaders at the very top to the latest in Disney+ content for us to enjoy in the coming weeks.

Let’s debrief on the latest Disney news that you may have missed while you were catching up on spring cleaning!

Florida’s Task Force Discusses What A Gradual Reopening May Look Like Across Various Industries

This week included a series of conference call meetings amongst Florida’s economic recovery task force. Officially known as “Re-Open Florida Task Force,” the committee includes Walt Disney World President Josh D’Amaro (more on that in a moment). The group discussed what a “gradual reopening” of theme parks may look like when it is safe to do so.

Restaurants

One of the protocols mentioned included “a phased reopening for “[Florida] State residents, then national and international visitors.” The committee has also discussed potential procedures in which restaurants may be able to reopen, which would entail disinfecting areas in between customers, discouraging crowds to gather around bars and lounges, and posting signs saying that guests with fevers should not enter.

Read more about what the state’s restaurant industry discussed in terms of reopening here.

Cruise Lines

Also discussed this week were potential measurements to be put in place by the cruise line industry and the airport industry. Rick Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises mentioned the possibility of temperature checks and screening all guests with questions on where they have recently traveled, which may result in guests being denied boarding.

Read more about the remarks made in the cruise line industry here.

Airports

Finally, business leaders from the airport industry spoke this week about the different precautions airports are already taking and may further implement whenever regular business operations resume. These include reducing touch points wherever possible and encouraging guests to use mobile boarding passes as well as traveling with carry-on baggage only.

Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport and Ted Christie III, President, and CEO of Spirit Airlines both spoke at length about the impact felt at airports across the nation, which has already experienced a drop of approximately 97% in business activity.

Learn more about the present as well as potential airport protocols here.

Disney Executives Join State Business Recovery Task Forces

As committees are being assembled across the nation to address economic recovery initiatives, Disney executives are stepping forward to lend their support to their respective states. Executive chairman and former CEO Bob Iger has joined the California business recovery task force, which is set to meet twice a month through the remainder of 2020.

President of Walt Disney World Josh D’Amaro has joined Florida’s state task force, along with other business leaders. In Florida, local leaders have pushed for a reopening of some public spaces, as beaches in several cities opened with limited hours. The Florida task force met this past week. During their first meetings, various health measures and procedures were discussed that may assist theme parks in order to make employees and guests feel safe when the parks eventually reopen.

The second large meeting of the group resulted in ideas and discussions about what reopening airports, cruise lines, and more could look like. 

Read more about the first meeting of the Florida task force here!

Analysts Weigh In on the Future of Disney

With so much confusion and unpredictability in the news, folks are starting to look for signs of certainty wherever they can. Expert analysts who study market trends and current events have lent their opinions on when they may expect things to return back to “normal,” or at the very least to a “new normal.” For Disney fans, many have speculated on when the experts think the parks can reopen, and what this will mean for Disney as a company overall.

From park revenue to stock prices (more on that in a moment), Disney is definitely in a tough situation. New health protocols and modifications to business operations are all but certain, and until we hear from Disney themselves, it’s helpful to hear from other experts.

Read more on what analysts have said in regards to Disney’s future here.

CEO Bob Chapek Elected to Disney’s Board of Directors

Recently, The Walt Disney Company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek was elected to Disney’s Board of Directors. This election was the delivery on a promise made when Chapek was announced as Disney’s new CEO back in February.

This followed the announcement that both Chapek and Iger would take significant cuts to their salaries in the wake of current events.

Read our coverage of Bob Chapek being elected to Disney’s Board of Directors here!

Shanghai Disneyland Implements New Health Screening Protocol

While the Shanghai Disneyland park is still closed at this time, the Disneytown shopping district, as well as the hotels, have reopened. When these sections of the resort first reopened in March, guests would receive temperature screenings when entering the resort and would present their Health QR Code upon entering any restaurants or dining locations.

Guests will now have their temperature checked in addition to presenting their QR Code when entering the resort area. Only green colored QR codes are permitted to enter at this time.

Learn more about Shanghai Disneyland’s new health protocols here.

Disney and Netflix Compete for Highest Stock Price

There was a bit of a back-and-forth in the last few weeks in regards to which streaming service company reigned supreme, at least on Wall Street. Netflix surpassed Disney in terms of stock price and has certainly enjoyed a bump in business these past few weeks with all of us spending more time at home.

But, as they say, “easy come, easy go.” Disney quickly regained ground as their stock price topped Netflix the following day.

These are definitely rocky times in the stock market, and it’s been very insightful to see how companies’ portfolios are reacting in times like these.

Read about another recent decline in Disney’s stock price here.

Runners Have Plenty to Look Forward to With Our Lineup of runDisney News

Some of the more EXCITING news we’ve seen recently has been from runDisney! We learned recently about registration dates for the 2021 Walt Disney World Marathon! Lace-up your running shoes and start training!

In the meantime, why not participate in a virtual run? Registration opened this week for the 2020 runDisney Virtual Series, and we even got a sneak peek at this year’s medals!

There’s a lot to look forward to if you’re into runDisney!

Looking to sign up for the 2020 Virtual Series? Find out more info here!

Disney+ News: New Content Coming Soon, Including a Docu-series on the Making of The Mandalorian

As we spend more time at home, we’ve often turned to Disney+ as our main source of entertainment! There are loads of new and exciting content coming in the month of May, and we learned more about some of these new series coming to Disney+.

One of the shows we’re most excited to watch is the newly announced docu-series about the making of The Mandalorian! Premiering on May the 4th (SO appropriate), Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian will take us behind the scenes at the making of the smash-hit Disney+ series (and hopefully it comes with plenty of Baby Yoda content). Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is also coming to the platform on May 4th. 

We also learned the official release date for the new film Artemis Fowl, based on the popular children’s book series. The film, which is skipping its originally planned theatrical release and instead of heading straight to Disney+, will begin streaming on June 12th, 2020.

A new summer film was announced this week as well. Secret Society of Second-Born Royals will be coming to Disney+ this summer! What happens when a princess finds out she has superpowers? We’re gonna have to wait until summer to find out!

And we’re anxiously awaiting the premiere of Prop Culture, a new docu-series premiering May 1st that takes us behind the scenes and shows some of the props, costumes, and set decorations that played pivotal roles in some of our favorite Disney films! A trailer was released this week and we simply CANNOT wait.

Check out the FULL lineup of all the new content coming to Disney+ in May!

News is always being released, so we’re keeping a very close eye on it. We want to make sure you have the most up to date info so you know what steps to take when it comes to planning your next Disney World vacation.

What are you looking forward to watching on Disney+ next month? Let us know in the comments!