Minnie Mouse during the new Magic Happens Parade on Main Street USA inside Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, February 27, 2020.
Jeff Gritchen | Orange County Registry | Getty Images
Disney shares rose up to 5% on Monday’s late trading day after California provided new guidelines allowing amusement parks to reopen in the state on April 1.
The rally is expected to add more than $ 15 billion to Disney’s market value, bringing it to about $ 360 billion.
Disneyland and other California parks have been closed for about a year due to coronavirus-related restrictions, even though other states, like Florida, have allowed the parks to reopen with limited capacity. Disney has not yet provided a reopening date for its California parks, but Disney and other theme park owners, including Universal Studios owner NBCUniversal, have pleaded with California authorities to allow a limited reopening.
The new state orientation allows amusement parks to reopen from April 1, with a capacity of 15% to 35%, depending on the prevalence of the virus in the community. Masks and other health precautions will be required.
The shutdown prompted Disney to lay off tens of thousands of workers and cut a major source of revenue for the media company. Disney said its park and experience sector recorded a 53% drop in revenue in the December quarter compared to last year, to $ 3.58 billion. Disney said the coronavirus-related closings cost the division about $ 2.6 billion in lost operating revenue in the quarter.
Authorities are becoming more optimistic about the return to normal as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that people who have been fully vaccinated can safely gather indoors, without masks. Although its parks in California have remained closed to visitors, Disneyland has recently begun to assist public health efforts by serving as a vaccination site for state residents.
In addition to the theme park news, Disney can also win in its movie business. More cinemas in North America were opened, with 45% of the region’s cinemas open last weekend, compared to 42% the previous weekend, according to Comscore.
The move came on a mixed day for markets, with many technology and social media companies falling as some traditional media companies recovered. For example, ViacomCBS shares rose up to 8% and Discovery shares rose more than 2%.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.
– CNBC’s Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.
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