Disney parks consider temperature checks after coronavirus shutdown: Former Disney CEO

Former Disney CEO and acting Executive Chairman Bob Iger says Disney parks will consider precautions of taking customers temperatures once its parks reopen. Yahoo Finance’s Dan Roberts shares the latest.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: I want to take a look at shares of Disney. Disney taking a big hit, but today, they're up almost a full percent. Dan Roberts follows Disney for us. And there was news about what they might do once they can get the theme parks open again after coronavirus. Dan?

DAN ROBERTS: Yeah, Adam, let me just say for starters that we know that all the Disney parks right now in the world are closed. And Disney's current guidance is that this will be the case at least through April 19. Now people suspect that it's obviously going to be longer. I mean, we had the US kind of giving guidance that we're going to continue to stay at home, at least through the end of April.

But something that Bob Iger said-- and let's keep in mind, he's no longer the CEO. He is the former CEO. You know, now he is the Executive Chairman, and he's running creative. So this shouldn't necessarily be taken as the official line that the company is putting out there.

But what he said is that Disney is talking about-- and this shouldn't surprise people that they're talking through all the different options-- the possibility that when the parks do reopen, they're going to have to test people. It's about safety and protecting the people that go there. Now it's hard to imagine logistically what this might look like.

You know, it's one thing for the White House to take the temperatures of the 20 or so pool of reporters that are coming each day for the briefings. But the idea of, you know, Disney World and Disneyland testing everyone who comes to the parks once it reopens-- it's hard to picture how that would work so smoothly. But they're talking through every possibility right now.

And if you're Disney, you want the parks to reopen as soon as possible in whatever possible form. Even if it's a limited form with limitations, that might be. Because we're talking about the profit engine in the company, and it's closed right now. Parks--

ADAM SHAPIRO: [INAUDIBLE] in a quarter.

DAN ROBERTS: --and cruises are closed. Very hard for Disney, yeah.

ADAM SHAPIRO: I'm curious, Daniel, because you do follow them. In a previous segment, we were talking about Disney. And I was reading they have a total of 12 and a quarter billion dollars of reserve capacity, essentially. That's money they can go to. So no reason to worry about them getting through the next year or two, or is it?

DAN ROBERTS: No reason to worry about the company getting through the next year. Good cash reserves, as you mentioned. However, I wrote about this already weeks ago, and it's still the case. And if anything, it has been exacerbated.

Right now, the three core pillars of Disney's business are all in trouble. There's parks. There is the studio division. They're not filming any new shows or movies right now, right? And then ESPN, which Disney owns, is worrying right now about, well, what do we cover when there are no sports going on?

So I think the parks-- it's going to be really important that those open up as soon as possible. And by the way, Adam, on a personal note, my wife and I had a Disney World trip planned for April. We obviously had to postpone that. We pushed it to June. And now already it's like, well, was even June optimistic timing?

But I would like to see the parks reopen soon. I'm sure a lot of families feel that way.

ADAM SHAPIRO: I think a lot of people agree with you. Dan Roberts, thank you very much.