Covid – 19 closed Disney parks for the first time in years. Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland are still closed. They lost over $5 billion due to the closures. The loss of revenue is going to hamper the construction on some projects. Recently, Bob Weiss sat down with D23, and updated them on the status of multiple upcoming projects.
Avengers Campus, the new recruiting ground for the Avengers, is the closest project to finishing. It’s original opening date in Disneyland, July 18, 2020, has passed. It’s opening date in Disneyland Paris is summer 2021. It is likely that Avengers Campus will still open on the same/similar schedule.
Tron Lightcycle Power Run never had an opening date. Disney hoped to have it up in time for the 50th anniversary of Magic Kingdom. It is looking like that’s not out of the question, but it’s likely to be later in 2021.
The Spaceship Earth redesign and new Mary Poppins attraction at EPCOT are both postponed indefinitely. The status of Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, the other ride addition to EPCOT, is unknown. It’s safe to assume we wont be seeing it anytime soon though. However, the original plan to redo EPCOT is still going forward. For now, this includes the “Moana” experience, new nighttime show, and more.
Finally, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser should still open in 2021. Construction resumed on it once Florida allowed construction to resume. However, there are questions about the feasibility of it. In it’s conception, there were no plans for social distancing. This could impact it’s opening.
Long – term projects, most of which haven’t been announced yet, are also on hold. This includes the Splash – Mountain redesign. It’s likely that there are projects we don’t know about that are scrapped. The loss of revenue from being closed for an extended period of time definitely has an impact on the future of the parks. Every indicator points to theme parks being different for the next few years. Hopefully, Disney can get back on track, and we can see all the rides we’ve been anticipating.