Universal Resorts and Shanghai Disney finally“live”Coming over。

June 30, 7pm，Xiaoyu on the City Avenue of Beijing Universal Studios，I saw such a lively scene: Pi Ye Coffee、The chocolate candy house lights up with neon lights in sequence，A steady stream of tourists poured out of the main entrance，The road was quickly filled with crowds，The clerks in various stores are waving their hands at the door to solicit customers，Then politely ask each tourist to scan the epidemic code to register。Under the classic Universal Studios globe landmark，Tourists waiting to take photos consciously formed a long queue。

In the conversation of passers-by，You can hear almost any word describing joy，Undeniable，After two months of suspension，This place is still called“One of the happiest places in the world”。

This reopening has been full of twists and turns。As early as May 1, two months ago，Universal Studios announces closure。Until June 7，Universal Beijing Resort announced，Will resume limited opening on June 15th，But only four days later，Beijing Municipal Health Commission issued another epidemic report，A resident of the Beijing Universal Resort employee apartment was involved in a cluster of epidemics at the Paradise Supermarket Bar，is a confirmed case，The opening time of the park is delayed again。

Until the afternoon of June 22nd，The news that Beijing Universal Studios theme park will open with limited capacity on June 25 comes again，Number 30 immediately，Universal Studios, which has been trapped for two months, finally officially“Unblocked”。

Coincidentally，On the same day as the 30th，Shanghai Disney, which has been dormant for a longer time, also announced that it has officially resumed operations。

Discovered by Marketing Yuzijiang who arrived at the scene，“Freedom”The traffic of theme parks is gradually recovering。Take Universal Studios as an example，According to the estimate of Xiaohongshu travel blogger @ Universal Studios Little Speaker，Saturday, June 25，About 6,900 people enter Universal Studios，Until July 4th，Although it is a working day on Monday，But the number of people entering the park has reached about 10,500。

This data has also been verified within Universal Studios。In the park，Andy, a management staff member of Universal Studios told Xiaoyu，In the first few days after the park opened, there were only five to six thousand people entering the park every day，But it has already exceeded 10,000，Maybe even close to 20,000 people。

To some extent，As the two largest theme parks in China，Universal Studios in Beijing，Shanghai Disney in Shanghai，has long been regarded as one of the trendsetters in the urban tourism industry，Also sent to“Drive local economy”high hopes。

May 2021，China Tourism Academy once released the "Shanghai Disney Resort Happy Tourism Trend Report"，From June 2016 to June 2019，Shanghai Disneyland’s fixed asset investment contributes an average annual boost to Shanghai’s GDP of 0.13%。CITIC Construction Investment Co., Ltd. made 188bet online sports betting a prediction for Beijing Universal Studios，Its annual turnover can reach about 25 billion to 30 billion yuan。

But the epidemic is undoubtedly a huge variable，Since the park opened in September last year，Universal Studios has borne the brunt of the epidemic many times，This time“Pause”The emerging inventory backlog、Customer supply is out of stock、And the subsequent wave of employee layoffs and other issues，It is announced that Universal Studios and surrounding industries are in deep jail。There is even inaccurate news，Two months，Global Vacation’s economic losses may be as high as 700 million。

The same scene happened in Disney，Although compared to Universal Studios，Disney is more mature，A Donald Duck wood statue that has become increasingly scrawled after not being pruned for two months，Also highlighting its difficulties during the epidemic。

But fortunately now，Everything is finally lively again，For China’s theme parks and even the entire tourism industry at this moment，Universal Resorts and Shanghai Disney are like a metaphor for hope。

For Universal Studios Beijing，Everything that happened in May was unexpected。

Like“May Day”Holidays like this，Should be all theme parks“Attract money”’s important time points。Take last year“Eleven”Let’s talk，Four days before the holiday，Universal Studios has received a total of 10 tourists.50,000。

However, this scene did not happen this year.

Morning of May 1st，Universal Studios Beijing released a message on its WeChat official account: Received notice from relevant government departments，In order to implement the epidemic prevention and control requirements，“Beijing Universal Studios Theme Park、Beijing Universal City Avenue will be temporarily closed from May 1st。”

No one expected how long the park would be closed this time，The most urgent thing that needs to be solved first，Ingredients accumulated to prepare for the peak。

Universal Studios manager Andy told Xiaoyu，Catering in the park，Mainly divided into two business methods，Self-operated and unified management。The catering production under unified management comes from the central kitchen，No tourist consumption，It means that the large amount of food that was previously stored is spoiled and lost。

Another manager, Mr. Huang, introduced the helpless solution to the child，The large quantities of food that are about to expire during the closure period can only rely on employees to sell the inventory domestically。The park issued ice cream redemption coupons to each employee，Can be redeemed for free。The candy house sells chocolates for 25 yuan a piece，Start to be distributed with employee meals as catering every day，Free six yuan at a time。

The consumption of inventory items is just the tip of the iceberg in the park，The loss is more serious，Reduced business value caused by postponement of a series of activities。

June 10，"Jurassic World 3" released。In order to cooperate with IP announcement，Back on April 8th，Universal Studios’ official website has preheated the event on its official WeChat account，Posted as“May 2022，There will be‘Dinosaurs Escape’，Step out of the screen and come to Beijing Universal Studios Resort”。

It is reported，This program will unlock six of the five dinosaurs from Isla Nublar: Tyrannosaurus rex、Velociraptor、Velociraptor baby、Stegosaurus and Pterosaur。As expected，These five dinosaur models，To be placed on City Avenue，For tourists to visit，Punch in and take photos。

188bet app download But actually，“Visitors haven’t seen it all day，Originally opened on the 15th，But who knew it would be postponed again，The video has been available for a month now，The promotion period has passed”，Teacher Huang said regretfully。

After reopening，These five dinosaurs were moved to the park，“I feel like I spent money on this project，It is definitely impossible to remove it without letting tourists take a look。”

At the same time，Teacher Huang also revealed a piece of gossip to Xiaoyu，“heard，700 million was lost during the closure period。”

Although this data cannot be confirmed at present，But it is undeniable，Under the cold winter，“Worker”I did feel the coolness first。

Andy introduced to Xiaoyu，Universal Studios positions are divided into front-line and management，During the closed period，“First line，Like an actor、Catering service staff, etc.，Not working at all。And management and security、Positions such as cleaning and technical maintenance are mainly based on a rotation system”。

Because the company has no revenue yet，Employee wages were forced to be adjusted，“It will be distributed normally in the first month，But the second month starts，The payment will be changed to 75% of the original salary。”

Compared to Universal Resorts，Shanghai Disney has been closed for three months，The situation seems to be more embarrassing，Some contracted employees can only use Shanghai’s minimum wage to ensure their livelihood，“Probably only two or three thousand”。

But those who stay are at least lucky，What makes all staff even more panic is that various departments are laying off people。Xiao Du, who had been interning at Universal Studios for three months, was the first to be given up，She regretfully said: “From now on, Global’s work partners can only be seen on social media”。

Except for interns，Regular employees are also eliminated at the bottom，Even in some departments, the entire team will be laid off。“For example, there was a parking command position before，The original design was that we would have many cars queuing，But the parking lot is empty now，So this department is no longer needed。”

In addition to the inside of the park, this dilemma is also radiating outwards.

Only in Xixiaying Village, which is less than 10 kilometers away from Universal Studios，There are nearly a hundred B&Bs，Country B&Bs in other surrounding villages and towns，Too many to count。

The B&B owner Lao Zhang’s B&B is also here，He told Xiaoyu，“Under normal circumstances，A B&B with eight rooms。Probably can fill at least 5 to 6 rooms。”

But during the epidemic，Foreign tourists are completely isolated。So about two or three days，Only one or two guests will check in。But such days disappeared after Universal closed down completely。

After two months of no business at all，Laozhang can only be like other B&Bs nearby，Choose to rent out your house long-term to stop losses,“In private, I’m just looking for someone，Then someone has such a need，Then rented out。”

He settled such an account，“The house is rented from someone else，Empty for two months，Calculated based on the average rent of 20,000 per room，The rent cost for two months is 40,000，But rent it out for a long time，You can only get back eight thousand or ten thousand in rent，That means losing 30,000 a month。This does not include labor costs，The housekeeper’s salary is still 8,000 a month，And I had an income of at least 20,000 yuan per month before，All things 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino considered，These two months，Loss of 70,000 to 80,000 yuan for one house。”

Just as the entire Universal Resorts press the pause button in June，What Xiaoyu saw when he came to the entrance of this prosperous paradise standing at the terminal of Line 1: the iron fence was particularly conspicuous，Occasionally security patrols pass by，The entire scene is so empty and alienating。

The turning point happened on June 25th.

Actually, it was a week before Universal Studios fully woke up，The entire park has been remobilized。

Overall，Universal Studios’ resumption of work is relatively smooth and rapid，This is mainly due to the continuous maintenance work of the park during the epidemic。

According to Andy’s introduction，Even the employee dormitories at Universal Resorts were previously closed and controlled，During the period when most staff cannot go out，Global also dispatched volunteers who can come and go freely into the park to perform daily maintenance。Generally, the work cycle of a team is 7 days，During this period, they will stay in the park for food and accommodation，Release to quarantine after 7 days，Replace another group of volunteers to continue on duty。“We all call them‘Death Squad’。”

and，Except for daily maintenance during the epidemic，After receiving the opening notice，Most staff start entering the park seven days in advance，Carry out line-up and“Wake up work”，Mainly includes actors’ rehearsals、Game facilities maintenance and trial operation, etc.，To ensure a normal experience for visitors after entering the park。

Because of differences in regional policies，Shanghai Disney is under lockdown，The entry and exit of anyone is strictly restricted，Therefore slightly inferior in maintenance。But this does not hinder the enthusiasm of tourists，According to the official public account of Shanghai Disney Resort，First day of reopening，Shanghai Disneyland tickets for the same day and July 1st are sold out。

According to the description of Feifei, a visitor who entered Shanghai Disneyland on the first day of the park’s opening，A detail of that day is，The staff lined up in a queue when entering the park in the morning，While waving his hands, he became enthusiastic and said to the tourists: “Welcome home”。Even executives including Xue Yijun, President and General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort，They are also waiting at the flower bed to welcome everyone。Many tourists gave feedback on social platforms，This move brought tears to their eyes。

At the same time，The long-lost first day“Female Star”Lina Belle starts work on time，Shanghai Disneyland has launched a special drink cup including Lina Belle、Popcorn clips and many other new products，Welcome tourists with practical actions“Go home”。

But，Nevertheless，The theme parks that are currently reopening have not fully recovered yet。

The most obvious manifestation is the shortening of business hours。As before, Universal Resorts usually closed at 21:00 or 22:00，But now its closing time has been advanced to 19:00。Even like Kung Fu Panda Park，It will close at six o'clock。The service hours of the corresponding surrounding catering industry are also shortened。The restaurant on City Avenue that used to be open until ten or twelve o'clock，It will close at eight or nine now。

At the same time，Many classic projects in Universal Studios Park have not yet been restored，For example, light show。

Actually，As early as April 1st，The light show has been cancelled。The 188bet app reason at that time was“Affected by the increase in daylight hours in summer”，But now it’s more because of“Affected by the epidemic，The park closes so early，The light show has no effect at all”。

Except project cancellation，Many performances have been reduced，such as“Untamable”，From the original three games per day，Reduced to two games。“Because after every performance，The actors and the venue need to be completely disinfected，So it will take a certain amount of time。”

What’s more important，In order to carry out epidemic prevention work，The park stipulates that all rides must be taken by families，That is, there can only be one family in a row，This results in a reduction in the number of passengers each time the project is launched。So compared to before，With the same visitor size，The waiting time for tourists has been extended。

Also，In terms of passenger flow，Far from the original level、The contrast is even more obvious with Shanghai Disney, which used to have long queues for any activity。First day of opening，More than 5,000 tourists，A rare &ldquo appears;Play as you go。”

and，Even if it reopens，Panic and worry have not completely dissipated，Universal Studios staff still worried about layoffs，“After all, it’s not completely finished yet”。

At the same time，Peripheral industries are still waiting to see，Lao Zhang’s analysis，“Is the epidemic really not recurring?？Nowadays, people still dare not travel out of the province，I’m afraid you’ll talk about reaching for stars nationwide，In case there are other problems when you go out，Everyone is scared now”。

“Universal Resort just opened a few days ago，Have to wait and see，We haven’t even asked long-term guests to check out yet”，Lao Zhang said。

The future: a theme park supported by unique IP，How far can we go？

actually，This epidemic，Just a slice of what Universal Resorts has experienced，Since its official opening last September，Universal Resorts is constantly in turmoil。

October 22 last year，Universal Resorts is open for only 50 days，Beijing announced the suspension of inter-provincial travel due to the epidemic。Travel patterns interrupted by the epidemic and repeated business closures，It is causing the order fission faced by the entire tourism industry market。

Judging from the 2021 fiscal year annual report disclosed by NBCUniversal, the parent company of Universal Studios，Universal Studios’ results are not ideal，Disneyland’s revenue that year was 165.US$500 million，But Universal Studios’ revenue is only 50.US$500 million。After many alternations of warmth and coldness，The complexity of the situation once made people afraid to predict the future。

But now，The gradual recovery of the park’s passenger flow has made everyone give a unified and optimistic answer to the future。“I still felt that the future was not very clear before，But at least it’s restored now。”

The confidence comes from the patience given by tourists to Chinese theme park IP。

Previously，In National Marketing，Universal Studios“talkative”Megatron quickly became popular。One month later，Disney launches new character Lina Belle of the Duffy family to resist the invasion of Universal Studios。The Baidu popularity of both parties continued to grow for a time，Staying high。

Creating a strong IP is an important part of the development of theme parks，Disney and Universal Studios have different IP styles，But its own strong IP operation capabilities 188bet online sports betting and business model，cannot be copied by all players。

This time the park opens，Xiao Sun, a resident tourist at Universal Studios, told us，He felt that there were fewer staff，But it does not affect the experience。He has high recognition of Universal Studios’ IP，Indicates that the service quality has not declined after the opening of the park，The mentality will not be affected by the epidemic。

A veteran Universal Studios fan also wrote in the circle of friends: “After the park opened, I went for walks around the world so frequently that it felt like I was going home，Renew your happiness to next year for your favorite character，Go to the world to see snow again in winter。”

The data confirms this，Afternoon of June 22nd，When Universal Beijing Resort officially announced that it would resume operations on the 25th，The search popularity of Universal Beijing Resort increased by 6 times instantly，Ranked to the top of the list of national scenic spots，The search popularity of hotels around Beijing Universal Resort has also increased significantly，An increase of nearly 40% compared with the 21st。

The same scene was played out when Shanghai Disneyland officially announced the re-opening of ticket sales at 14:00 on June 28th。On the Qunar platform that day，With“Shanghai Disney”is the search volume of the keyword，Instant growth of 380%，Becomes the No. 1 theme park in the country in search volume。

Lao Zhang also clearly felt the change。“Consultation volume is picking up significantly，Maybe no one asked in the past few days，Now I receive about five or six phone calls a day。”

At the same time，The external environment continues to be favorable，After the epidemic crisis，What follows is the summer vacation, which greatly drives the traffic of theme parks。“Despite the high temperature，But the enthusiasm of tourists remains unchanged，Almost all come with their children”，Confident about Universal Studios。

and，“On July 1, the Minions movie "Minions with Big Eyes 2" was also released in North America，During the movie promotion period，We will also continue to launch corresponding activities and peripherals，Attract tourists”，Teacher Huang added。

I believe it will not take more than a few days，There will still be a huge crowd of people in Pi Ye’s Cafe，There will still be a long queue at the door for butter beer，Lina Belle dolls will continue to appear in photos posted by tourists on social media，Everything at Shanghai Disney and Universal Resort will gradually return to what it was yesterday，The long-term tourism market，I have been waiting for this cardiotonic for too long。