Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[GoofGoof]

Disney is borrowing 6 billion Monday. I hope that is used to take care of our wonderful Cast Members and also save Seaworld. The legal documents said the money could be used for acquisition along with other normal business including stick buybacks. However I would be furious if they did buybacks.

My company is doing something similar. We have a revolver already and can draw down at will, but we are building a little war chest of cash on hand in case there are liquidity issues. In a conversation with the CFO the same topic came up. Are there any strategic buying opportunities, companies with a less sound balance sheet that can be scooped up? That has to be weighed against the fact that stock can be bought back now on the cheap since the price has dropped so much. We will most likely just hold firm and use the extra cash as a cushion since cash flows will be temporarily lower. I assume Disney is doing the same

 

[Disstevefan1]

Does anyone think the country,states,counties, cities,towns,neighborhoods actually WANT to do this shutdown and social distancing? Of course not! This is not a PC move or a social experiment. This is about flattening that curve.

The world is all about money. If the Coronavirus wasn’t a true threat to that we would have ignored it like the common cold.

This is what must be done now so eventually we can all can get back to work, play, making and spending money.

 

[TheDisneyDaysOfOurLives]

Not any time soon.

One interesting that has been happening, here in the UK we're developing a test to see if you've alredy had corona. Wouldn't be at all surprised if in 3 months (you're kidding yourself if you think this is over in 8-12 weeks at this point) we start seeing businesses re-open only to people who've already had it (and thus have antibodies).

All hypothetical of course. Like everyone here I'm an armchair expert with no skills or information.

It's not going to be over for a year. The state-wide shut downs will cease in two months, max. Businesses will be open by mid-May. The reason is none of these people have figured out plans that actually take care of people, many of whom don't have the virus. You have many people, healthy and fine, who don't have a job right now. That can't last, especially without any plans to compensate people who are bringing in no income, with bills still due. That's the thing that bothers me the most is we're shutting everything down with no plan on how to actually take care the majority of people who are not sick, who are not in the hospital, etc. The checks being proposed are not going to make people whole (though the one for $2K/adult, $1K/child, a month for up to six months is the closest and would get people to actually stay home for two months).

The other part of this, telling people they can't go to a business unless they've already had it is such BS. You want to see people riot? Tell them we've locked you down to not get COVID-19 and then when businesses re-open, tell them they can't go unless they have it. You will see violence, you will see backlash like never seen before. Never going to happen.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Disney is borrowing 6 billion Monday.

Well, I don't think it's going to fix Yeti.

 

[GoofGoof]

Well, I don't think it's going to fix Yeti.

Remember back when disco Yeti seemed like a big problem...the good old days

 

[Lilofan]

Disney is borrowing 6 billion Monday. I hope that is used to take care of our wonderful Cast Members and also save Seaworld. The legal documents said the money could be used for acquisition along with other normal business including stick buybacks. However I would be furious if they did buybacks.

Buybacks has its good and bad. Millions of investors that invest in Disney stock have suffered significant paper losses. Buybacks can create a short term bump in the stock price since Iger and Chapek's lifeline in keeping their jobs are to make the Disney shareholders happy. It's not a rosy way to describe it but it is what it is.

 

[UNCgolf]

I never once said this. Not even close. So I can’t be wrong on something that was wrongly attributed to me, based on an incorrect assumption.

I want to find the balance of slowing the spread and not shuttering all non-essential business.. to lesson the impact on the economy while putting the least amount of people at risk - both economically and medically.

The economic hit will likely be significantly worse without a shutdown, because it'll last longer and many more people will die.

It's not just people that are infected with Covid-19 that you have to worry about. If there are thousands and thousands people with it who need ventilators or just hospital care, not only will some of them die, but they're also taking up space that is normally needed for the hundreds of other issues hospitals deal with regularly. It would also lead to far more deaths than usual from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, anything you can think of because doctors/hospitals are overwhelmed and cannot handle the influx of patients.

It's certainly possible that that won't happen -- we have no way of knowing for sure. But the worst case scenario for both the economy and loss of life involves not shutting down businesses and letting people continue to live their normal lives, and I think the smartest thing to do is make sure we avoid that worst case scenario.

 

[21stamps]

Does anyone think the country,states,counties, cities,towns,neighborhoods actually WANT to do this shutdown and social distancing? Of course not! This is not a PC move or a social experiment. This is about flattening that curve.

The world is all about money. If the Coronavirus wasn’t a true threat to that we would have ignored it like the common cold.

This is wheat must be done now so eventually we can all can get back to work, play, making and spending money.

I don’t think any person alive thinks anyone wants any of this to be happening right now, or attributed it to being a “pc move”. However, it is an experiment. - not in a negative way, but only because different places are trying different things to see what the outcome will be. And mostly, because so much is still an unknown.

 

[GoofGoof]

I never once said this. Not even close. So I can’t be wrong on something that was wrongly attributed to me, based on an incorrect assumption.

So you think it is logical to shut down all non-essential businesses?

 

[Shouldigo12]

It's not.

That doesn't mean it won't get bad in other parts of the country (it probably will) but nowhere else in the US has the population density of NYC. NYC is the perfect place for a virus like this to spread because so many people are packed into a relatively small area.

There are a few specific areas in places like LA and Boston that have pretty high population densities, but they're still nowhere near the density of basically all of NYC. I think San Francisco is the second highest population density city-wide and it's only about 60% of NYC's density.

Plus, as someone else mentioned, they were late to the game as far as shutting things down goes. And even when they did shut things down, the culture there has led to way too many people ignoring guidelines and going where they want. That's a problem everywhere, but it seems like it's the worst over there. It's still too early to tell how bad the rest of the country has it, but we can't use New York to judge how bad things are when they're a bit of a unique situation.

 

[21stamps]

It's certainly possible that that won't happen -- we have no way of knowing for sure. But the worst case scenario for both the economy and loss of life involves not shutting down businesses and letting people continue to live their normal lives

I don’t know why this keeps being repeated when we all know that what is happening is NOT ‘letting people continue to live their normal lives’, nor is that being advocated by myself or anyone else that I know of.
Please read the things I actually said.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

“I think we should do everything we possibly can do. I mean, in all sectors, because obviously as I've said so many times, when you think you're maybe overreacting, you probably are not acting as forcefully as you should. So as we've always said, we've got to try very much to stay ahead of the curve.”

-Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

This can be repeated 100 times...several posters will refuse to believe it.

 

[21stamps]

So you think it is logical to shut down all non-essential businesses?

This should be on a City by city or state by state decision process, based on what is happening in the area.

 

[GoofGoof]

This should be on a City by city or state by state decision process, based on what is happening in the area.

Isn’t that exactly what is happening now?

 

[Lilofan]

This should be on a City by city or state by state decision process, based on what is happening in the area.

This virus knows no borders. We are more reactive than proactive.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I haven't read the 426 pages in here, I will just drop my perspective as someone who has the virus (for 10days now)

I'm 28, generally live a healthy life, am in good shape and exercise from time to time. I have an asthma history, and have smoked in the past.
The worst part is really the pain in the lungs, and finding yourself out of breath for no apparent reason. If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Rest up and feel better soon - sending positive thoughts your way

 

[MrConbon]

It’s just the simple truth. That’s why there are no easy answers or decisions during all of this. In a perfect world, everyone could stay home and shutter themselves for three weeks, this virus would go by the people who already have it and then be over with quickly. I realize a lot of people are advocating for such a thing.. I’m just trying to point out why that’s more easily said than done.

I don’t really see the benefit or point of saying, “for those who still have a job working from home, remember you can still always be fired and unemployed like everyone else”. Like great insight there.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I’ve never felt more strongly that we need a reaction than I have following this thread for the past few weeks...

 

[JoeCamel]

As I mentioned a few days ago, but now supported by folks on beaches, Disney cannot allow Spring Break to occur. So the tentative date will move to about 4/20.

And suddenly days of week have no meaning any more. Tuesdays equal Sundays and Sundays equal Fridays.

They're all interchangeable at this point.

I've worked from home for the last 10 years and live alone. All days ARE the same.

 

[21stamps]

Isn’t that exactly what is happening now?

Yes, and people are complaining that all should go to it.

This virus knows no borders. We are more reactive than proactive.

Guys, let’s really think about this.. without any fluff.. We have taken many precautions.. no one is living life as normal, many businesses are closed, or employees working from home, or restaurants being take out or delivery only, schools are closed, sports are cancelled.. people are (supposed) to be practicing social distancing, many are... We all can acknowledge this, honestly, without pretending like it isn’t happening.
We are in a stage right now where governors and mayors are trying to make the best decision for the health of their people (and this country) and the livelihoods of their people.

We will see what happens., but we can not be so naive to think it’s as simple as “just shut everything down all across the USA!”
We will see what happens over the coming weeks, we may get to that point, but right now we are not.. and we’ll see the results of the different cities and states, then we’ll be able to see what decisions are right, or wrong, and where to go from there.