News Lou the manatee and three dolphins being relocated from EPCOT

[plutofan15]

Slightly off topic but is there really that much difference between dolphins in captivity and dogs or cats living inside a house or apartment? Those pets are restricted to an area that is a lot smaller than their natural territory and don't have the freedom to do much that they would do naturally.

What is the natural territory of a poodle?

 

[LittleBuford]

Slightly off topic but is there really that much difference between dolphins in captivity and dogs or cats living inside a house or apartment? Those pets are restricted to an area that is a lot smaller than their natural territory and don't have the freedom to do much that they would do naturally.

Domesticated dogs and cat are, as their name suggests, different from their wild counterparts. They have been cohabiting with humans for millennia in a mutually beneficial arrangement, one that they themselves may well have initiated by cosying up to our early ancestors for food and shelter.

Friendly though they may appear, dolphins are wild animals and cannot be domesticated. There is absolutely no evidence that they enjoy being in captivity or benefit from it. Even the National Aquarium in Baltimore has acknowledged as much and is sending its community of dolphins to a sort of retirement home carved out from the ocean.

 

[celluloid]

What is the natural territory of a poodle?

The same as any rehabilitated or changed animal due to interference. In human care.

 

[MisterPenguin]

What is the natural territory of a poodle?

How big is your lap?

 

[plutofan15]

How big is your lap?

Sadly, getting bigger every year.

 

[JoeCamel]

Sadly, getting bigger every year.

My lap is getting smaller each year......

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I have to wonder what the daily, monthly or yearly operational costs are for the entire Seas pavilion. "If" Burbank's goal is to reduce overall park operations costs to improve bottom-line revenue, maybe cutting the entire pavilion could be beneficial. How many people does it draw in a day vs how much does it cost to show that attraction to each guest?

A long-time insider (who I will not name) once told me that Burbank has calculations for how much an attraction costs them to show each guest every day. It goes like this:

Attraction X =

Cost to build + cost to operate and maintain every day versus how many people visit that attraction every day.

In other words: If Attraction "X" Costs $100 dollars a day (simple number) and 100 people use that attraction, this means that Disney spends $1 per customer to provide it to them. If it cost a guest $10 to get into the park, that attraction "X" absorbed $1 dollar of "profit" away from that customer. The calculations are FAR more complex than this, but you get the rough idea.

If attraction "X" has a very high operations cost and a low attendence, this produces bad "cost per guest" ratio. I had also heard that HarmonioUS specifically had a very bad "cost per guest" ratio.

Yes, I was very surprised to hear that Burbank calculates these "per-guest" cost consumption numbers like this.

I REALLY love the Seas pavilion but given the need for deep daily operational cuts, maybe it's time to bulldoze it to the ground? I dunno. I certainly hope not and hope it has favorable ratio numbers.

2025-2026 parks attendance numbers and Disney quarterly earnings reports are going to be FACINATING to watch in the next couple of years. "If" business divisions are down, deeper parks cuts WILL be required.

Only time will tell....

What you said about Living Seas also can be said about Rafiki's Planet watch. Also remember DAK's attendance numbers really decline since covid and Iger's answer is bringing more IPS to AK where Dinoland USA is going to be gone. I know the attendance numbers being down after Covid can be somewhat pointed operating hours being less compared to they were after Pandora opened.

If Dinoland USA isn't going to help Disney enough, the area at Rafiki's planet watch would be one of the big targets that can do since Disney don't want to use expansion pads if possible. What Said with Rafiki's Planet Watch would mean Wildlife Express would be gone too.

Disney has the motives to get a rid of animals AK such as being limited what they can do for night time shows and amount of money saved by not having animals.

 

[JoeCamel]

What you said about Living Seas also can be said about Rafiki's Planet watch. Also remember DAK's attendance numbers really decline since covid and Iger's answer is bringing more IPS to AK where Dinoland USA is going to be gone. I know the attendance numbers being down after Covid can be somewhat pointed operating hours being less compared to they were after Pandora opened.

If Dinoland USA isn't going to help Disney enough, the area at Rafiki's planet watch would be one of the big targets that can do since Disney don't want to use expansion pads if possible. What Said with Rafiki's Planet Watch would mean Wildlife Express would be gone too.

Disney has the motives to get a rid of animals AK such as being limited what they can do for night time shows and amount of money saved by not having animals.

So if you take the animals out of Animal Kingdom what are you going to call it?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Can they just use projections and fool people into thinking there are fish and other creatures in the water? The 'ooo's and 'ahh's would be huge. The Living Seas rockets to the top of the GSAT numbers because the rubes many guests love projections SO much.

What?

 

[Cliff]

I would love to see the books on how much big cats, chimps and all the animals on the tour cost. I can only guess that the food, vet care, labor, monitoring and pharmaceuticals costs are extremely expensive.

I have to guess that Burbank financial analysts look at Animal Kingdom's books very hard. I wonder if they are happy with the ROI ratio in recent years.

 

[Cliff]

Can they just use projections and fool people into thinking there are fish and other creatures in the water? The 'ooo's and 'ahh's would be huge. The Living Seas rockets to the top of the GSAT numbers because the rubes many guests love projections SO much.

What?

It's not a bad idea. There are probably a few more things Burbank could do to get operations costs down at The Seas.

Maybe they could turn off the "Nemo" shell dark-ride part and just make it a back-door, walk-in attraction only. Shutting off the moving ride and not having to maintain those show mechanics could save a few dollars at the end of the year and you won't need to staff that anymore either. That could maybe get a dozen people off their books too and of course cut down on the power bill too.

Getting the dolphins and manatees out probably means they can cut down on constant veterinarian staff too. Having just fish to maintain probably requires minimal, less skilled staff for simple scheduled feeding. If a manatee or dolphin dies, it's a huge PR scandal and the state would investigate. Too much liability. Were those dolphins insured? If a jack, tarpon, shark or ray dies, nobody cares or even notices.

Maybe water filtering, PH balance checks can be outsourced to a once a week checkup? Also, anything paid to contractors or to a 3rd party company is an added tax write-off too. So, that's a good thing for Burbank.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

The same as any rehabilitated or changed animal due to interference. In human care.

What? No. It’s a domesticated animal. Poodles are not adapted to survive in the wild.

 

[Tha Realest]

I would love to see the books on how much big cats, chimps and all the animals on the tour cost. I can only guess that the food, vet care, labor, monitoring and pharmaceuticals costs are extremely expensive.

I have to guess that Burbank financial analysts look at Animal Kingdom's books very hard. I wonder if they are happy with the ROI ratio in recent years.

That, and the competition has gotten a lot better. Back in the mid to late 90’s I don’t recall there being as many world class zoos around. Now? The theming and wildlife variability in many mid to large size city zoos is quite impressive.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Slightly off topic but is there really that much difference between dolphins in captivity and dogs or cats living inside a house or apartment?

Quite a significant difference yes.

Oceanic creatures can travel thousands of miles in their lifetimes. They move constantly. This is why a lot of marine animals, especially the exceptionally intelligent ones, tend to get very restless when in captivity. They’re smart enough to recognize they’re enclosed.

Your dog or cat thinks of it as a chore to move from the living room to the bedroom.

 

[celluloid]

What? No. It’s a domesticated animal. Poodles are not adapted to survive in the wild.

Neither are injured wild ones.
That was the point.

 

[hismattjesty]

So if you take the animals out of Animal Kingdom what are you going to call it?

Disney's Adventure Kingdom? (This is only in jest, but I put nothing past Bob anymore......)

 

[cjkeating]

If zoos can exist with entry prices a quarter of DAK and with attendance of hundreds of thousands I don't foresee how Disney can't deal with the cost of animal upkeep.