WHEN: TODAY, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD
WHERE: CNBC'S "CLOSING BELL"
Following is an excerpt from the FIRST ON CNBC interview with Walt Disney Chairman & CEO Bob Iger today on CNBC's "Closing Bell." Following is a link to the video on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000351762&play=1.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
BOORSTIN: SPEAKING OF THE PARKS, WHAT IMPACT HAS THE MEASLES OUTBREAK, WHICH WAS TRACED BACK TO DISNEYLAND, HAD ON DISNEYLAND AND THE PARKS IN GENERAL?
IGER: WE REALLY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DISCERN ANY IMPACT AT ALL FROM THAT. IN FACT, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT DISNEYLAND, THE QUARTER THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN, WE'RE UP FROM WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR IN BOTH ATTENDANCE AND IN BOOKINGS OR IN RESERVATIONS SO WE JUST HAVEN'T SEEN AN IMPACT.
BOORSTIN: PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THAT KIDS WHO ARE TOO YOUNG TO BE VACCINATED SHOULD NOT GO TO DISNEYLAND OR OTHER CROWDED PUBLIC PLACES. IF YOU TAKE ME I HAVE A 3 1/2-YEAR-OLD WHO WOULD LOVE TO GO TO DISNEYLAND BUT I ALSO HAVE A BABY WHO IS TOO YOUNG TO BE VACCINATED. WE'RE GOING TO BE HOLDING OFF ON TAKING OUR FAMILY FOR NOW. DO YOU THINK SITUATIONS LIKE THIS COULD HAVE AN IMPACT IN THOSE PUBLIC HEALTH WARNINGS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT?
IGER: WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A TIME FOR PARENTS LIKE YOURSELF WITH KIDS UNDER THE VACCINATION OR INOCULATION AGE TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT TAKING THEIR KIDS TO PUBLIC PLACES, NOT JUST THEME PARKS. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER PLACES. YOU KNOW, MASS TRANSPORTATION AND MOVIE THEATERS. YOU COULD PROBABLY NAME A NUMBER OF THEM. I THINK IT'S TIME TO BE CAREFUL. I HAVE A GRANDCHILD UNDER 1 ACTUALLY, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SMART THING TO DO. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE VISITATION THAT WE SEE TO DISNEYLAND AND DISNEY WORLD, THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE THAT COME WITH KIDS THAT YOUNG IS NOT PARTICULARLY LARGE, BUT SO FAR, AGAIN, WE HAVE NOT SEEN A REAL IMPACT.
BOORSTIN: WE'RE OUT OF TIME NOW BUT ONE QUICK FINAL QUESTION, THIS MEASLES OUTBREAK HAS PROMPTED A NEW DEBATE ABOUT VACCINATION. WHERE DOES DISNEY STAND?
IGER: WELL, WE'RE NOT IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OBVIOUSLY. WE'RE NOT DOCTORS. THE RESEARCH THAT I HAVE SEEN AND WHAT I HAVE READ FROM PLACES LIKE THE CDC SUGGESTS THAT GETTING INOCULATED IS A SMART THING. IT'S A PROVEN STRATEGY IN TERMS OF COMBATTING A DISEASE THAT, YOU KNOW, CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOUNG CHILDREN. SO I WOULD -- PERSONALLY, I WOULD ADVISE IT.
BOORSTIN: WE APPRECIATE YOU WEIGHING IN, BOB IGER.
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