By
Tolu Ajiboye
February 9th, 2024
Disney (DIS) stock pricing is rising today in the pre-market as teh company is preparing to re-open its Walt Disney World theme parks to a limited number of visitors on Saturday.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) stock price rose slightly in the pre-marler. It occurred as the entertainment giant is going to re-open its Disney World parks on Saturday. It will happen despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting the United States hard. New cases are rising exponentially.
Florida is one of the worst-hit states. The state experienced a daily count of 10,000 plus infections thrice last week. The number of infections also increased by 19% from the week before. The number of deaths in Florida now stands at 3,800.
Yesterday, Disney (DIS) stock closed at $113.63 113.95 (+0.28%).
Disney (DIS) Stock Up as New Measures Are in Place for Parks Reopening
New policies and procedures for the re-opening include reservations, mandatory masks, and temperature scans. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Disney staff will start a preview. Thousands of human resources will test the new features that are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday and Friday, the annual pass holders will be allowed to visit the parks ahead of the weekend opening.
The entertainment giant’s objective to re-open its parks has come with some controversy. Sources say that workers opposing the opening have petitioned the management to postpone the opening. Their argument for the postponement is the rising cases of COVID-19 cases.
Disney has about 70,000 human resources as cast members in its Florida parks. The petition has said that the parks should be closed indefinitely for now. The petition reads:
“Because of the increase in cases suddenly, it is clear that theme parks – a non-essential business – should not be planning to operate until the cases have gone down again. The recent spike of COVID-19 cases is concerning due to our proposed opening in July.”
Disney Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel explained in a statement what new measures will be implemented in the parks:
“We implemented our health and safety measures after considering the guidance of government and local health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in addition to the U.S. Travel Association and Disney’s team of health experts.”
Some of the measures that Dr. Hymel said will be in place include the addition of first aid locations, regular disinfection, and so on.
Company Is in a Strong Position
While re-opening the parks may not be to the liking of several actors, Disney (DIS) stock prices seem to be in a strong position for a rebound.
It means that the stocks are a great buy at the moment. There are a few reasons for this. Disney (DIS) stock has been down this year. The stock still holds the promise of exponential growth in the long run.
One thing that is going for Disney is its content library. The entertainment company has one of the largest entertainment libraries in the world.
Add this to the fact that digital streaming has just come on the scene. Disney (DIS) stock prices have fluctuated between $79.07 to $153.41. It doesn’t mean that the stocks are volatile. Much of this volatility had to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the parks re-open, Disney (DIS) stock price will return to some uneasy calm. In a time when the COVID-19 pandemic fades away, things will begin to take shape. And the real value of Disney (DIS) stock will be reflected in the markets.