A Spirited Perfect Ten

[alphac2005]

Journalism in the USA is dead. Period.

You need to read or watch coverage from overseas to truly get a picture of what is going on here and abroad. And, no, obviously having Disney controlling ABC News and Comcast controlling NBC News and Sumner Redstone controlling CBS News and Rupert Murdoch controlling FOX just isn't good for anyone looking for truth.

And reporters flat out don't want to do their jobs or they believe their jobs entail making sure they continue to have access and cooperation (whatever the eff that means) versus covering stories that paint the government or industries or corps in a bad light.

I've spoken with people at numerous news orgs. Two being the NYT and the WSJ. They both believe the HuffPo 'cleansing' and Willow Bay's roll in it is absolutely a story. One (who I am fairly certain reached out to both Bay and the author) went so far as to say that it could be ''potentially huge'' and then went on to say they weren't going to touch it. Why?

No, I doubt Disney is paying off any real reporter ... not with cash or checks ... or likely free trips or even vinyls. But they are influencing the reporters just the same by saying things like ''If you continue down that path, I can't promise that you'll have that five minutes with Tom Staggs the next time he is in town.''

It's all the same. Reporters all thinking about self-interest and not the importance of their positions in a democracy.

I can tell you that I have a good inside track at CBS News and Redstone isn't much of an issue nor has he been for some time, rather it's entertainment king Les Moonves. CBS hasn't put the editorial skids on as much stuff as most of the other news organizations and it took some time for Leslie to see that the news isn't an entertainment division. He is the one and only reason that the disaster that was Katie Couric became the anchor of the 'CBS Evening News.' Internally, Scott Pelley was the clear choice and favorite, but Les overrode the news division, which when it comes to true journalism and content, it should have never happened.

She brought "her" people, which were basically retreads with an attitude from NBC, and isolated them all from the CBS News team. The nicest thing that I can say about her time there was the news set was a cool place to sit and visit. Why CBS is actually producing a news program in the morning that actually does hard news (as much hard news that a domestic can seemingly produce today) is because of the Couric debacle as the hard news team won out over the entertainment wing. CBS News has had their own issues of journalistic missteps and retractions over the past few years.

People shouldn't expect things to get better as news divisions are now major profit centers for networks whereas they historically were instituted for the public good and giant margins weren't of concern. As with Disney, all of these corporations are beholden to maximizing their returns to h--- with exposing truths to society.

As for the Bay issue, look at your favorite Barnes at the NYT. His general fawning could make dimmest bulb in the lot question whether he is on Disney corporate PR payroll.

 

[Nubs70]

I think @ParentsOf4 posted something on this not too long ago. If I remember correctly domestic attendance (meaning Americans visiting the domestic parks) was at worst flat in recent history.

The point is that Disney parks all over the world are considered expensive, high end vacation spots. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Chinese would feel that way too.

This is true, but the target audience is the middle and upper class. The percentage would almost definitely drop if you included more of the lower class (which is still the vast majority of the population), but since they aren't the target demographic it would be less relevant.

WDW also targets the middle/upper class. So I wonder about the Chinese middle class. Is the Chinese middle class more multi lingual than the US middle class? If the percentage of the Chinese multi lingual middle class is similar to that of the US multi lingual middle class, the survey of Disney brand recognition in the study could be way off.

 

[Nubs70]

I know this is probably way to early to tell or have information on, but do we know what the cost of a one day ticket will be in Shanghai? I'd be very interested to know what the price difference is for the Disney park over any of their other numerous theme parks.

Ticket price is relative to the target demographic income level. The price needs to be evaluated in reference to the target demographic average household income.

 

[wogwog]

However with the rapidly strengthening dollar, I see a drop in foreign travel to O-town.

Yes please.

 

[ford91exploder]

WDW also targets the middle/upper class. So I wonder about the Chinese middle class. Is the Chinese middle class more multi lingual than the US middle class? If the percentage of the Chinese multi lingual middle class is similar to that of the US multi lingual middle class, the survey of Disney brand recognition in the study could be way off.

The upper middle Chinese are more multi-lingual than their comparable cadre in the US, Generally at least English (in addition to at least one additional major dialect of Chinese as there are at least 7 main dialects) and French and Russian are quite common.

 

[wogwog]

I know this is probably way to early to tell or have information on, but do we know what the cost of a one day ticket will be in Shanghai? I'd be very interested to know what the price difference is for the Disney park over any of their other numerous theme parks.

The price will be set by the Chinese, not Burbank.

 

[BrianLo]

I know this is probably way to early to tell or have information on, but do we know what the cost of a one day ticket will be in Shanghai? I'd be very interested to know what the price difference is for the Disney park over any of their other numerous theme parks.

The current ticket price for HKDL is approximately 65USD (just recently significantly raised), Ocean Park in HK is approx $45. Happy Valley Shanghai comes in at 30 USD.

If I had to place a bet 60-75USD would be the range I'd expect of Shanghai.

 

[ford91exploder]

The price will be set by the Chinese, not Burbank.

Yes it will - I imagine it will be low to encourage visits by the average 'factory worker'.

 

[SirLink]

Yes it will - I imagine it will be low to encourage visits by the average 'factory worker'.

Nah it'll be set to the average wage of their 'faux' middle class in order to subdue them with the shiny new thing.

 

[SirLink]

WDW also targets the middle/upper class. So I wonder about the Chinese middle class. Is the Chinese middle class more multi lingual than the US middle class? If the percentage of the Chinese multi lingual middle class is similar to that of the US multi lingual middle class, the survey of Disney brand recognition in the study could be way off.

Could of fooled me last time I was in a Disney park.

 

[ford91exploder]

Nah it'll be set to the average wage of their 'faux' middle class in order to subdue them with the shiny new thing.

Well that WAS the point all along...

 

[SirLink]

Well that WAS the point all along...

The 'average factory worker' isn't the faux middle class though ....

Actually if The Weatherman saw this Monsoon of a Bad Deal, why sign it? What fiscal benefit do they get? I'm doubting they are getting more than 49% of sales in the park.

 

[Cesar R M]

Spirit continues to push my interest in this subject. @the.dreamfinder, I am tagging you to let you know that I continue to dig through the trash on this subject.

I am adding a link to a college report completed in 2011 by a Chinese student on the introduction of Shanghai Disneyland into mainland China. He wrote this during his time at the University of Lancashire in the UK. Why I do this is because this topic has started to interest me, and some of the lesser known bits of information on the subject can have interesting nuggets to share. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that the author of the study designs a questionnaire and hands it out to 50 residents living in and around Shanghai. The questions are all Disney-centric obviously, and it provides a rather innocent peak into the thoughts of the everyday citizen in Shanghai at the time concerning their opinions of the Disney BRAND entering into their culture.

http://www.academia.edu/5830139/BAS...sneyland_Project_The_Third_Disneyland_in_Asia

I honestly think the numbers are too low for the "sample" target. 50 people only?

 

[asianway]

I missed 20-something pages due to real life and then some insanity that began last night, so I am missing entirely what you are speaking of.

But I could use some new shirts. I haven't been to my tailor in China in a bit (you have never lived until someone makes clothes to fit your current body shape ... at least until you put on 20 pounds and are a world away!)

Well then you're in luck! As part of the #MarchMagic promotion you too can have 32 tshirts showcasing hastily drawn clip art promoting your favorite Disney Parks (tm) team!

 

[lazyboy97o]

The 'average factory worker' isn't the faux middle class though ....

Actually if The Weatherman saw this Monsoon of a Bad Deal, why sign it? What fiscal benefit do they get? I'm doubting they are getting more than 49% of sales in the park.

Disney gets a licensing and operations contract. They also tie in the commitment of the local government in a way that does not happen in Anaheim, Orlando or even France.

 

[Phil12]

Spirit continues to push my interest in this subject. @the.dreamfinder, I am tagging you to let you know that I continue to dig through the trash on this subject.

I am adding a link to a college report completed in 2011 by a Chinese student on the introduction of Shanghai Disneyland into mainland China. He wrote this during his time at the University of Lancashire in the UK. Why I do this is because this topic has started to interest me, and some of the lesser known bits of information on the subject can have interesting nuggets to share. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that the author of the study designs a questionnaire and hands it out to 50 residents living in and around Shanghai. The questions are all Disney-centric obviously, and it provides a rather innocent peak into the thoughts of the everyday citizen in Shanghai at the time concerning their opinions of the Disney BRAND entering into their culture.

http://www.academia.edu/5830139/BAS...sneyland_Project_The_Third_Disneyland_in_Asia

That was a great case study. One thing really stuck out to me: "Besides, when the restaurants in the park are built, it should consider the different diet cultures between western and Chinese. It should have different kinds of food to meet different demands."

If they attempt to sell giant turkey legs, the guests will never buy those. I really think they're going to have to consider selling giant emu legs to try and bridge the cultural gap.

 

[Nubs70]

I honestly think the numbers are too low for the "sample" target. 50 people only?

A sample set of 50 can be a statistically relevant sample size depending on what is acceptable for a margin of error. A larger sample set would be better but may not meaningfully change the trends. I think the report is interesting, shows some trends, but most importantly, this are findings that further knowledge can be built upon.

 

[Nubs70]

That was a great case study. One thing really stuck out to me: "Besides, when the restaurants in the park are built, it should consider the different diet cultures between western and Chinese. It should have different kinds of food to meet different demands."

If they attempt to sell giant turkey legs, the guests will never buy those. I really think they're going to have to consider selling giant emu legs to try and bridge the cultural gap.

Or sell dog bones.
(Talk about cultural differences between East and West)

 

[SirLink]

Disney gets a licensing and operations contract. They also tie in the commitment of the local government in a way that does not happen in Anaheim, Orlando or even France.

The licensing contract over/under on it being less than what they get from OLC ... probably less. Operations why would Disney even want the operations contract. They tie themselves to the CCP this ain't local this is The Government, Disney doesn't get anything of benefit.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The licensing contract over/under on it being less than what they get from OLC ... probably less. Operations why would Disney even want the operations contract. They tie themselves to the CCP this ain't local this is The Government, Disney doesn't get anything of benefit.

The Oriental Land Company deal is so disliked by Disney in part because the licensing deal is so small. Disney gets all of the infrastructure for the park paid for by someone else without it being passed off as debt onto the Disney managed ownership company, like happened with Euro Disney SCA.

Sorry, but this sudden "revelation" of all of the horrors of this deal is people trying to pretend like they are up to date on information that is not new or unexpected. The deal is patterned after the Hong Kong deal, that was signed in 1999, sixteen years ago. Anyone who has been watching expected the Party to be more demanding and watchful of Disney following the park openings of Disney's California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios Park and finally Hong Kong Disneyland.