News Josh D’Amaro Named Next CEO of The Walt Disney Company

[Jrb1979]

That’s wishful thinking. Thats not happening.

I'm not saying that they are going to have a huge drop. I can see them losing a million guests a year or so. They will continue to be the most attended parks but IMO the gap between them and Universal will be closer.

 

[JD80]

You read my mind, I had to edit my OP as it was meant to say “bring back lost value”.

It’s a dead horse, but bringing back resort perks or adding new ones; getting creative with perceived or concrete discounts and deals as you mentioned; and so on, would really ease my cynicism.

Will probably be resuming my AP again after a two year hiatus as my family fell into the DVC black hole and will be going to the WDW 5-6 times a year. Will be very curious to get a boots on the ground feel for how things are

I've got a trip coming up this summer ONLY because of the 4 and 2 deal. If they added in a discounted AP while on vacation discount. I'd seriously consider it.

No way am I spending $1600 on one. I'd never break even.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Iger intentionally did not expand capacity…he actually allowed it to fail as a price control tactic

There was definitely a long period under Iger where they didn't see the value in expanding capacity which has had long-term repercussions. That's what makes the recent shift in strategy so notable, however.

This is true…the problem is the parks cannot support themselves as “boutique”…and they will never be “luxury”

What has been surprising to me is not that the last quarter was soft for the parks, but that up until now they have been more or less filling the parks and resorts and making huge profits despite all the price rises, bad press, and controversies. You can tell from how they're acting the moment that there is some internal sense that they pushed things too far and have to work on the perception of value if they want people to keep coming back. On the other hand, it seems they can still attract tens of thousands of people a day at these premium prices to the point where capacity remains an issue.

 

[Tom P.]

Remember that, despite the indications that they have been having trouble getting the number of hotel bookings and park admissions they want, as evidenced by their aggressive promotions, it also remains true that the parks are viewed as the cash cow of the Disney empire. Not the media side, but the parks. Why are they insisting on shoving IP into everything at the parks? IMHO, it's not because they think the IP draws people to the parks. I think it's because they want to use the parks to draw people to the IP.

And, ultimately, for better or worse, they chose to promote a guy into the CEO position who has basically spent his entire career on the parks side of the business.

 

[Lilofan]

I'm not saying that they are going to have a huge drop. I can see them losing a million guests a year or so. They will continue to be the most attended parks but IMO the gap between them and Universal will be closer.

Josh is a past interview advised it’s a growth opportunity for WDW with Epic opening. More guests that come to Central Florida with tourism the main driver. Reality is more to come visit and eventually make their way to WDW.

Bring it on!!

 

[Jrb1979]

Josh is a past interview advised it’s a growth opportunity for WDW with Epic opening. More guests that come to Central Florida with tourism the main driver. Reality is more to come visit and eventually make their way to WDW.

Bring it on!!

Reality has shown the opposite. Florida has been booming with tourists the last year yet Disney and Universal are seeing lower attendance. Cruises say bring it on.

 

[Lilofan]

Reality has shown the opposite. Florida has been booming with tourists the last year yet Disney and Universal are seeing lower attendance. Cruises say bring it on.

Many areas of tourism benefit from tourist dollars. Not all just drive to the ship. Money is being spent to support Florida critical economy driver - tourism. Disney getting on board with many cruise ships. How many ships does Universal have ??

 

[Tom P.]

Reality has shown the opposite. Florida has been booming with tourists the last year yet Disney and Universal are seeing lower attendance. Cruises say bring it on.

Cruising is a much more niche market than theme parks. Everyone in America still thinks about going to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. That's not true of cruises.

Yes, attendance has struggled somewhat over the past year, but as I mentioned the parks are still seen as Disney's cash cow. Over time, and with proper leadership, I think you're going to see another boom in the parks.

 

[Jrb1979]

Cruising is a much more niche market than theme parks. Everyone in America still thinks about going to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. That's not true of cruises.

Yes, attendance has struggled somewhat over the past year, but as I mentioned the parks are still seen as Disney's cash cow. Over time, and with proper leadership, I think you're going to see another boom in the parks.

Not if they continue with their pricing structure. That's why their has been a decline in attendance. Til they change that it's going to continue

 

[Disstevefan1]

Reality has shown the opposite. Florida has been booming with tourists the last year yet Disney and Universal are seeing lower attendance. Cruises say bring it on.

Attendance may be down, but revenue for both Disney and Universal is up. Whatever number of folks are showing up are spending money!

Personally, I think attendance for the sake of attendance is no longer the focus of the theme parks.

I think todays focus is per capita spending at the parks.

I will be honest, I remember standing shoulder to shoulder in EPCOT in 2019, just before the shutdowns and saying to myself “what am I doing here?”

I know I will be eventually priced of the theme parks out due to costs, but when it’s way too MOBBED, that’s no fun either.

 

[flynnibus]

Also, I'm sorry, but a lot of the pricing strategies and upcharges also respond to changing demographics which have seen a hollowing out of the middle class who were traditionally their bread and butter. It is also a challenge from their perspective to figure out how to bring in a demographic they want to keep consuming their films, products, etc. but who have less money than previous generations for things like a vacation to Walt Disney World at the same time another segment of the population that seems large enough to fill the parks and resorts has more money than they know what to do with. Hence, more capacity, dynamic pricing, etc.

It's another macro trend Disney is following..

Remember all the uncertainty and volatility the economy has been facing over the last 7 years or so? Which segments have done the best? The high end. It's a sad reality that the rich are generally doing well, while the mid to lower suffer.

During COVID, etc people spent more and more on big goods. People continue to 'buy their way' out of things they don't like more than ever... This is all driven by people being willing to SPEND to avoid hassle/work/pain.

Disney clearly knows this and continues to track with that. This is not just a Disney topic - it's a macro trend.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There was definitely a long period under Iger where they didn't see the value in expanding capacity which has had long-term repercussions. That's what makes the recent shift in strategy so notable, however.

It was more than that. Travel in the US has risen across the board on a steady trajectory since VJ Day. You can plot it. It’s not an opinion. With the noted exception of times of recession. That wasn’t much of an issue for Bobby because Wall Street doesn’t allow recession anymore…so no excuses. Not adding for the steady growth was deliberate and malfeasance.

But strap in…the bashing of Bobby is just warming up…and many of the defenders who flipped the switch off this week will be the loudest.

Watch it play. Past is prologue.

What has been surprising to me is not that the last quarter was soft for the parks, but that up until now they have been more or less filling the parks and resorts and making huge profits despite all the price rises, bad press, and controversies. You can tell from how they're acting the moment that there is some internal sense that they pushed things too far and have to work on the perception of value if they want people to keep coming back. On the other hand, it seems they can still attract tens of thousands of people a day at these premium prices to the point where capacity remains an issue.

They haven’t been “filing them” in Orlando since probably Q3 2022. It’s buried (internally)…but if you soft through it…it’s there. And That’s After a 15%+ plague drop.

SOFFF and underperforming at best.

This is where Bob-ites say: “yeah…but That doesn’t count”

It sure as hell does. 1000%. Travel has risen and you are the outlier.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Remember that, despite the indications that they have been having trouble getting the number of hotel bookings and park admissions they want, as evidenced by their aggressive promotions, it also remains true that the parks are viewed as the cash cow of the Disney empire. Not the media side, but the parks. Why are they insisting on shoving IP into everything at the parks? IMHO, it's not because they think the IP draws people to the parks. I think it's because they want to use the parks to draw people to the IP.

And, ultimately, for better or worse, they chose to promote a guy into the CEO position who has basically spent his entire career on the parks side of the business.

Threes no doubt they are entirely dependent on travel revenue…though they have been loathe to admit it until now

The problem is Bob completely mishandled the segment. Lit the Bridge to the customer pool on fire behind him.

We can autopsy how it Happened forever…and oh…we will.

D’Amaro’s problem is this…it’s not overpaying RDJ or a stream that yields nothing

 

[Disney Irish]

It was more than that. Travel in the US has risen across the board on a steady trajectory since VJ Day. You can plot it. It’s not an opinion. With the noted exception of times of recession. That wasn’t much of an issue for Bobby because Wall Street doesn’t allow recession anymore…so no excuses. Not adding for the steady growth was deliberate and malfeasance.

But strap in…the bashing of Bobby is just warming up…and many of the defenders who flipped the switch off this week will be the loudest.

Watch it play. Past is prologue.

They haven’t been “filing them” in Orlando since probably Q3 2022. It’s buried (internally)…but if you soft through it…it’s there. And That’s After a 15%+ plague drop.

SOFFF and underperforming at best.

This is where Bob-ites say: “yeah…but That doesn’t count”

It sure as hell does. 1000%. Travel has risen and you are the outlier.

You might have buried the lead there chief, travel might be on the rise, but its the who is actually spending on traveling that is the question, because it sure ain't the middle ow lower class. The Travel Industry is now being driven by the top 10%, and has been for awhile now. This is why Disney has gone after these consumers, its an industry wide shift not isolated to Disney, and unfortunately that means leaving behind the middle and lower classes. You may think that is bad, but again its not isolated to Disney, its an industry wide shift in consumer spending.

 

[monothingie]

What has been surprising to me is not that the last quarter was soft for the parks, but that up until now they have been more or less filling the parks and resorts and making huge profits despite all the price rises, bad press, and controversies.

Really? This is what you're going to go with?

 

[Jrb1979]

You might have buried the lead there chief, travel might be on the rise, but its the who is actually spending on traveling that is the question, because it sure ain't the middle ow lower class. The Travel Industry is now being driven by the top 10%, and has been for awhile now. This is why Disney has gone after these consumers, its an industry wide shift not isolated to Disney, and unfortunately that means leaving behind the middle and lower classes. You may think that is bad, but again its not isolated to Disney, its an industry wide shift in consumer spending.

I don't disagree the shift is happening. It makes sense in theory but in reality a lot of the top 10% either have no interest in the product or will visit once. Most aren't repeat visitors. The Disney/ Universal model was built on repeat visitors not once in a lifetime visitor.

 

[DisneyHead123]

This is kind of a random thought, but now that he is CEO I took the time to watch a couple of D'Amaro's interviews / talks (there's surprisingly little out there, in this intrawebz era) and see what Reddit posters are saying. Previously I had a vague image of him as a corporate type following Iger around at events.

I have to say after, I actually really like him after learning more about him. I think he's the real deal, in terms of being a genuine open-minded creative and a warm person who seems to genuinely like other people. (A strange stance from my perspective, as I generally hiss at other people and scuttle back under my rock when I see them, but I appreciate that it's a good trait.)

That doesn't change the fact that he probably has a fairly narrow window to work with, in terms of the direction he can take Disney. I'm still anticipating mostly "this IP or that IP?", especially in the first few years. But I am happy that he seems like a really good guy.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Cruising is a much more niche market than theme parks. Everyone in America still thinks about going to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. That's not true of cruises.

I’m not sure this is as true as we old timers remember? That certainly was the way…

But another piece of collateral damage with overpricing is larger chunks of the police never consider it. It’s not happening…it’s a waste of thought.

Yes, attendance has struggled somewhat over the past year, but as I mentioned the parks are still seen as Disney's cash cow. Over time, and with proper leadership, I think you're going to see another boom in the parks.

It sounds simple…but it’s a huge problem. I’ve been predicting major park crash for most of the reign of emperor Napoleon…
But I also understand time has Always benefited Disney.

In summary: the parks headwinds are stronger and quicker than I thought.

That’s “bad”

 

[BrianLo]

Steaming has a 5% margin. The Parks are never getting that investment those profits made into streaming back.

8.4% this most recent report -> 10% forward guidance by April-June’s quarter.

Margins are just the latest current vogue excuse that suddenly everyone will stop talking about in 6-8 quarters when it continues the transition. Though no one will own accountability.

Also worth mentioning that experiences ran a 4B deficit in 2020 after capital spending that entertainment covered up. Entertainment has never been negative, linear was largely footing the streaming bill intra-segment.

 

[el_super]

Yes, attendance has struggled somewhat over the past year, but as I mentioned the parks are still seen as Disney's cash cow. Over time, and with proper leadership, I think you're going to see another boom in the parks.

There's only so many people you can funnel down Main Street. Eventually the bigger crowds leads to decreases in satisfaction. The demand for the parks is and will remain pretty high for the foreseeable future, but the actual access still needs to be carefully controlled.

It's easier and more efficient to spin up capacity on cruise ships. You can move them across the globe to meet the demand in specific regions, or if the demand is not there, move them to a new region to test waters.

I think the audience has responded positively to the cruise ship experience as a direct counter to how busy and chaotic the parks feel. The cruises feel like real vacations.