Walt Disney World is “closed until further notice,” the company said Friday, as it pledged to continue to pay hourly parks and resort employees through April 18.
It was the first update from the company after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ stay-at-home order took effect Thursday, which made it impossible for the theme parks to open before 11 p.m. on April 9. Disney’s earlier goal had been to open April 1. Now, it’s closed indefinitely.
“While there is still much uncertainty with respect to the impacts of COVID-19, the safety and well-being of our guests and employees remains The Walt Disney Company’s top priority,” the company said in a statement. “As a result of this unprecedented pandemic and in line with direction provided by health experts and government officials, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed until further notice.”
Disney’s announcement came a few hours after union leaders sent a letter to the company urging it to pay its workers through April.
“Cast members are in the dark, worried how they will pay for their rents or mortgages and feed their children.” wrote Matt Hollis, who is the president of the Service Trades Council Union, a group of locals that represented 42,000 Disney employees, in a letter sent to Disney leaders on Friday.
“Disney can continue leading the way in Central Florida,” Hollis wrote in the letter addressed to Disney’s labor relations director.
In the statement Friday, Disney said, “The Walt Disney Company has been paying its cast members since the closure of the parks, and in light of this ongoing and increasingly complex crisis, we have made the decision to extend paying hourly parks and resorts cast members through April 18.”
Analysts have warned the pandemic that has shut down sports, entertainment and schools across the country will impose a financial hit on Disney, too. J.P. Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani has estimated that if Disneyland, Disney World and Disneyland Paris were closed through May 1, it would cost Disney $1 billion in operating income.
Earlier this week, Universal Orlando Resort said it will not reopen its doors through April 19. SeaWorld Orlando has not announced a new opening date after originally planning to reopen April 1.
As of Friday afternoon, Florida had 2,900 coronavirus cases, including 156 in Orange County, which has recorded three deaths.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has declined to issue a statewide shutdown order and called it unnecessary, which has drawn some criticisms.
grusson@orlandosentinel.com
