Politics 28000 Layoffs coming to Disney's domestic theme parks - statement from Josh D'Amaro

[crispy]

-No live entertainment
-No new attractions
-No night shows
-No seasonal events except food booths

Universal is somehow doing all of these. I really can’t believe it, but it’s looking more and more like I’ll be celebrating WDWs 50th by being a Universal AP holder. WDW cannot compete with other parks on their rides alone, management is doing irreparable harm to the brand.

Same here. We bought one of the 15 month passes for Universal for a trip in November. They seem to want my business.

Disney is a creative company, but their only solution is to cut, cut, cut. This is a time to be creative. Sure, there would still need to be layoffs, but there have to be ways to mitigate some of this. Universal offered 15 month passes at a discount and added their haunted houses to the parks even though they had to cancel HHN. Dollywood (where we are season passholders) offered to extend our passes for the price of one day's admission. Someone mentioned that Knott's Berry Farm has events even if they can't open their rides. Disney has done nothing at all as far as I can tell. No discounts, no special events, nothing. That's why I suspect that they are taking advantage of the panic to accelerate their long range plans.

 

[TrainChasers]

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Lol, Thank you. I didn't intend for it to be confrontational in nature at all, and hopefully folks don't take it that way. Just an observation I've had for a long time. Happy to be here

It’s not confrontational just an interesting first post. Do you visit the parks often?

 

[MisterPenguin]

I hate saying this...

Not exactly sure what you're saying if we have dark mode on...

Please stick to default color.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They’re starting to get mentioned - Indy is one. Jedi was news to me.

ETA: Since Mermaid was just mentioned, that’s out of the bag.

Well.. someone had that one right....

I mentioned a few months back that super high resolution pictures of the props from Voyage of the Little Mermaid we taken for archival purposes to prepare for the eventual closure. Just found out from the same source the plan is to not open it again once Hollywood Studios re-opens. It is done.

Sad that some castmembers won't be rehired for it, but the writing has been on the wall for a bit I think.

 

[Mike B]

It’s not confrontational just an interesting first post. Do you visit the parks often?

Not recently, but we used to visit every couple weeks or so. My wife and I were annual-pass holders for years, but we let them expire this summer since Covid hit. We really don't have any interest in going to the parks right now, and even before Covid we were debating whether the increased cost of passes is worth it. The Covid situation just made the decision much easier for us.

 

[Mike B]

Not exactly sure what you're saying if we have dark mode on...
View attachment 508825

Please stick to default color.

Oh wow! Sorry, I didn't realize I changed the default color. Thanks for letting me know

 

[Mousertainment]

It's all just so. damn. sad.

I have no words. Just sorrow and sympathy for what the parks and the people have lost.

 

[photoginit]

It's amazing how Universal has managed to figure out a way to do their entertainment and even add additional characters to places they weren't before while Disney has just slashed and burned their entire entertainment department. Without streetmosphere and other entertainment the parks are just a shell of what they once are.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

There are a few things to note. Universal is still in the hole by millions of dollars, and their parent is a lot better off than Disney when you look at Disney's income pipeline vs Comcast. Plus Comcast saved many billions of dollars not buying fox. Secondly, Universal is still laying people off as well, and are preparing for another batch if the rumors over there have it. Lastly, Universal doesn't care, and they will have the blessing from the State since they hosted all of Desantis' meetings and pressers on the park.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It's amazing how Universal has managed to figure out a way to do their entertainment and even add additional characters to places they weren't before while Disney has just slashed and burned their entire entertainment department. Without streetmosphere and other entertainment the parks are just a shell of what they once are.

There are a few things to note. Universal is still in the hole by millions of dollars, and their parent is a lot better off than Disney when you look at Disney's income pipeline vs Comcast. Plus Comcast saved many billions of dollars not buying fox. Secondly, Universal is still laying people off as well, and are preparing for another batch if the rumors over there have it. Lastly, Universal doesn't care, and they will have the blessing from the State since they hosted all of Desantis' meetings and pressers on the park.

How much did Comcast save by buying Sky?

Comcast has about $25B in cash. And $125B in debt (thanks to Sky).

Disney has about $30B in cash. And $80 in debt (thanks to Fox).

And given: the several rounds of layoffs that Uni already went through (including their imagineers), the one year (at least) delay of Epic Universe, and the huge park discounts to attract guests... it's pretty clear that Comcast ain't showering Uni with cash to tide it over.

It's only a matter of time that Uni has similar cuts in entertainment. Their park division is similarly hobbled as Disney's with their inability to open up their California park.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

How much did Comcast save by buying Sky?

Comcast has about $25B in cash. And $125B in debt (thanks to Sky).

Disney has about $30B in cash. And $80 in debt (thanks to Fox).

And given: the several rounds of layoffs that Uni already went through (including their imagineers), the one year (at least) delay of Epic Universe, and the huge park discounts to attract guests... it's pretty clear that Comcast ain't showering Uni with cash to tide it over.

It's only a matter of time that Uni has similar cuts in entertainment. Their park division is similarly hobbled as Disney's with their inability to open up their California park.

Comcast bought Sky for 39B, which is nearly half that of what Disney paid for Fox. Additionally, Comcast is still able to make an income from their utility business whereas Disney’s main income is their media (television) business.

 

[LSLS]

What exactly can he do? He can advocate for them sure but in the end Chapek is his boss.

I admittedly have very little understanding of the workings of management in the park. However, if this was a year ago, I can guarantee chapek would be taking the majority of the blame while being in the same position as Josh.

 

[gerarar]

Weren’t they rehearsing Indy for a resumption soon? At least that’s what I remember reading a couple weeks ago from some posters here..

The fact that I saw most of these shows and the talented CMs that play the roles everyday not so longer ago last December is very heartbreaking. My parents especially loved seeing all the various shows and entertainments since they’re not much rides people (anymore). There is a place for these type of shows/entertainment at WDW.

I also asked a current schoolmate of mine since she was a CP last fall, and asked her about some things and she said she knows/has many friends that have been affected. Please keep everyone in your thoughts, this is a very rough time....just no words really....

Like Green Army Men....really?! They add a lot of value and atmosphere to Toy Story Land, just unbelievable really..

 

[Lilofan]

I hate saying this and people don't like to hear it, but Disney has already learned and seen that plenty of guests will still come and spend plenty of money at their properties without these very costly shows running. After a couple weeks of some guests complaining, most guests will totally forget about the shows and go about doing all the other attractions. It's the same cycle no matter what Disney eliminates, but the attendance numbers don't take a hit because of it. It's unfortunate, but true. Whether it be price increases or eliminations, people come no matter what. I think Disney will test the waters with this to see if it's even worth ever bringing back the expensive big live shows.

Disney started testing the waters immediately after 9/11/01 when park attendance took a dive. Shortened park hours, staggard hours and days of operations of dining areas, live shows. Some examples are

Epcot World Showcase opening time moved from 9am to 11am
Fantasmic show operating 3-4 nights a week
Not all dining areas open in theme parks operating 7 days a week

 

[MaximumEd]

On one side you have Disney saying they can’t run all these expensive shows until they have enough paying customers in the door. On the other side you have a lot of paying customers saying they won’t come back to the parks until they offer more entertainment. Who blinks first? I’m afraid I already know the answer.

 

[toonaspie]

I’d expect some more nonsensical PR stunts from corporate soon. The company’s spin doctors are going to be blaming California and waving Twitter-friendly announcements — anything to downplay the reality of layoffs in Florida.

We know Disney will eventually restore some entertainment after Covid, but how much is anyone’s guess. The CEO canceled all planned Batuu entertainment to save a buck long before Covid was on anyone’s radar.

so they're going for the "make the cast members the entertainment" approach ? We all know how well that worked for GE.

 

[seascape]

Comcast bought Sky for 39B, which is nearly half that of what Disney paid for Fox. Additionally, Comcast is still able to make an income from their utility business whereas Disney’s main income is their media (television) business.

You are ignoring the fact that Comcast paid Disney 19 billion for their portion of Sky plus Disney got another 5 billion for the RSNs. So Disney paid about 47 billion for what they got and Comcast paid 39 billion for what they got, both not including assumed debt.

The big difference iui s 38 billion of Disney's purchase price was in stock while none of Comcast was in stock. Therefore, on tge profit and loss side of the equation Disney hss less debt and more assets for what they ended up with and that is why their balance sheet is better off.

Looking forward, I. would take Disney's worldwide streaming services over Comcast's Us cable operations and Europe's Sky business. Asia is the future and since India alone ha a bigger population than the US and Europe combined show Rupert Murdoch's foresight was a genius. All Disney has to do is not blow it. Covid19 stinks and is delaying things a bit but Disney's plus will be profitable in 2021 and provide over 7.2 billion in revenue. Add in ESPN+, Hulu and Hotstar and it's possible they could have more streaming revenue than Netflix in 2021.

 

[marni1971]

^ and yet they continue to decimate the magic.

And it’s not even a Friday afternoon.

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

^ and yet they continue to decimate the magic.

And it’s not even a Friday afternoon.

Meaning more to come?

 

[DVCakaCarlF]

Until an 80s/90s era Eisner shows up at the CEO role, it’s only going to get worse.