People are getting more comfortable with the idea of returning to theme parks. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 30% of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and over 16% of Americans are fully vaccinated. Those numbers get much better once you look at the high risk population of 65 years old or older. The CDC says that more than 73% of Americans 65 years old or older have received one dose, while almost 50% of Americans in that age group are fully vaccinated.
As the United States looks towards the next milestone of 3 million vaccines administered per day, data from the Morning Consult shows that consumers are more comfortable returning to theme parks than any other time during the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can see in the chart below, consumer comfort with returning to theme parks appears to be on a steady climb amidst all of the positive vaccine news – reaching a pandemic-era high of 34% in the latest release of data.
While comfort in returning to theme parks beats out other activities like going to a concert or going to a theater performance, it tracks remarkably close to going to a movie – which sits at a 35% comfort level today.
Using going to a movie as a barometer for theme parks in lieu of data, nearly 50% of Republicans are comfortable with returning to a movie whereas less than 30% of Democrats can say the same. Millennials lead the way with a 47% comfort level with movies, and only a quarter of Baby Boomers say they feel comfortable with the activity.
As we look towards the future, the biggest chunk of respondents said that it would be more than 6 months from now before they would be comfortable going to the movies.
Going back to theme parks, 46% of adults said that they were either very excited or somewhat excited to return to theme parks, while 5% of those polled said that they already have returned to theme parks. The remaining responses were either indifferent on returning to theme parks or not excited at all.
Overall, the trend continues to move in the right direction for theme parks. Walt Disney World has been open since July 2020 and while not all of the magic has returned yet, there are plans to bring back entertainment this summer. Out in California, Disneyland is preparing for their April 30th reopening after being closed for more than a year due to state mandates.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!