A Spirited Perfect Ten

Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Desperate? As my beloved Sarah would say ''You betcha!!!''

But if you weren't there last summer or if you have brats who love the franchise (and they could be 31-year-old brats), then you'll love it.

But it is so weak. Really why not just host 'Tubing With Dr. Blondie'' meet-ups and cupcake parties every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at Typhoon Lagoon all summer long for only $94 a person, including a photo with Cupcake and Olaf!
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I didn't attend last summer and don't have brats so ... yeah, I'm not in the demo they're targeting.

It's very weak. I'm dying over 'Tubing with Dr. Blondie'. I won't look at her picture the same now. LOL
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I was a wee bit shocked that no one mentioned the following by Seth Kubersky (@skubersky) in the Orlando Weekly on the subject of the Washington Post piece that ran on Friday. Generally, I find that Seth is pretty even-keeled and fair, but I am not sure what the point of this was (Clickbait? As he accused the the WaPo of the same thing ... Guess what? Everyone who puts something online is looking for attention. That's why my million-plus threads drive many people crazy, because they know they couldn't do the same, draw those eyes. Maybe he was just looking to do a favor for a friend? I dunno ...)

@ParentsOf4 should be happy since he or actually one of his childr... I mean charts was quoted in the piece.
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Hey, don't sell me short. Two of my childr .., er, I mean charts were quoted.

I'm old-fashioned though; real quotes only matter in print or on tv. Getting "quoted" on the web is like taking your sister to prom. :D
WDW1974 said:
My issue really boiled down to 'what's the point?' (yes, I fully expect Seth to explain himself here and garner 32 likes by people who feel my criticism is somehow an attack ... but maybe he should ask his friends at Celebration Place for a photo of Bob Iger at Shanghai Disneyland if he wants to do bigtime journalism or really generate clicks!)

Nothing was all that off in Seth's column. It just has all been said. ... Until his final graph as follows:

<<Finally, for a much more thoughtful dissection of the article’s basic premise, check out this piece from Robert Niles on Theme Park Insider. His basic point is that Disney didn’t abandon the middle class, America did. Rising theme park prices, and the relative shrug they are greeted with by visitors, might be a symptom of our nation’s growing income inequality, but it’s unreasonable to pin Mickey as its poster child.>>

I've already poked holes in Robert's weak piece in other posts, but I need to just jump on that faulty conclusion yet again. Mickey is the PERFECT poster child to attack for zealously working to enact laws, policies and lowered industry standards that have decimated the ranks of our middle class.
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Yes, Disney is the poster child for the destruction of the middle class, both as a business and as an employer.

They constantly raise prices at double the rate of inflation while squeezing the benefits of their exempt and non-exempt employees even as they report record profits.

They pretend to support unfettered capitalism while spending umpteen millions on lobbyists to garner favorable terms and squash competition, while laying off hundreds as they run to Washington demanding more H-1B visas to fill those jobs.

They spend billions of domestic profits on a China capex project, money that has exited the U.S. forever, even as one of their domestic theme parks has large swaths that are shuttered and others are allowed to slowly decay.

And, of course, they spend tens of billions on stock buybacks to inflate the stock because the CEO's compensation is tied directly to stock price, rather than invest in growth initiatives that create thousands of well-paying jobs and long-term value for the company.

Yes, corporate Disney is the poster child for what's wrong with Corporate America.
 
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PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
Hey, don't sell me short. Two of my childr .., er, I mean charts were quoted.

I'm old-fashioned though; real quotes only matter in print or on tv. Getting "quoted" on the web is like taking your sister to prom. :D

Yes, Disney is the poster child for the destruction of the middle class, both as a business and as an employer.

They constantly raise prices at double the rate of inflation while squeezing the benefits of their exempt and non-exempt employees even as they report record profits.

They pretend to support unfettered capitalism while spending umpteen millions on lobbyists to garner favorable terms and squash competition, while laying off hundreds as they run to Washington demanding more H-1B visas to fill those jobs.

They spend billions of domestic profits on a China capex project, money that has exited the U.S. forever, even as one of their domestic theme parks has large swaths that are shuttered and others are allowed to slowly decay.

And, of course, they spend tens of billions on stock buybacks to inflate the stock because the CEO's compensation is tied directly to stock price, rather than invest in growth initiatives that create thousands of well-paying jobs and long-term value for the company.

Yes, corporate Disney is the poster child for what's wrong with Corporate America.
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Well, My point is that Disney is a trendsetter, Whatever they do, the market will follow.

If they choose to be a good corporate citizen, Its likely that others will follow.
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
If people are seriously suggesting that China is going to simply take over SDL, that's like World War 3 material.
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No, no, not take over.

However, Disney is the minority partner. The majority partner essentially is the world's largest Communist government.

Business partners have disagreements all the time. Sometimes, they even take their partners to court to settle those disputes.

In the case of Disney/China, who do you think is going to win every dispute?

Prior to this venture, corporate Disney always was careful to retain control over its ventures, even in the days of Roy & Walt when it was a much smaller company. Now China is the 800 pound gorilla in the room; Disney is along for the ride.
 
ThemeParkJunkee

ThemeParkJunkee

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica said:
If people are seriously suggesting that China is going to simply take over SDL, that's like World War 3 material.
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It doesn't seem like you have read all the material and links regarding this subject. There is concern that TWDC will be unable to leverage their entry into China for "play" on the stock price due to the ChiComs refusal to allow publicity in the west regarding the Disney Brand. It is likely the Chinese government, as majority owner of the park will simply co-opt the BRAND as "distinctly Chinese". Check out all the links.

I have been most concerned, as a stockholder, that the financial media is not covering the recent visit of Iger and Staggs, the altered itinerary of their visit, the overreaching optimism of Iger on Disney's entry into China.

In short, the Chinese dissed DIS and nobody wants to cover it.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
And, of course, they spend tens of billions on stock buybacks to inflate the stock because the CEO's compensation is tied directly to stock price, rather than invest in growth initiatives that create thousands of well-paying jobs and long-term value for the company.
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ParentsOf4, you still got a like...but I hate to see you falling for the Darth Iger thing, too.

You know as well as I do that the entire job of a corporate CEO hinges on keeping that stock price high - it's about stockholders. The higher your stock, the better job they consider you are doing.

Putting it down to his only motive being personal compensation is just a cheap shot - it's unnecessary, and it detracts from the excellent other points. And it's always been this way - this is not new.

For those that are awed by Iger's salary, I think a history lesson is necessary - like when in 1988 the two highest paid executives in the country were Michael Eisner ($40.09M) and Frank Wells ($32.13). When you consider those are 1988 numbers, in 2014 dollars Eisner made in excess of $80M - in one year. Most of which was stock options, just like it is today. Suddenly, Darth Iger's $34.3M (2013) and $43.7M (2014) doesn't seem so astronomical.
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
ParentsOf4, you still got a like...but I hate to see you falling for the Darth Iger thing, too.

You know as well as I do that the entire job of a corporate CEO hinges on keeping that stock price high - it's about stockholders. The higher your stock, the better job they consider you are doing.

Putting it down to his only motive being personal compensation is just a cheap shot - it's unnecessary, and it detracts from the excellent other points. And it's always been this way - this is not new.

For those that are awed by Iger's salary, I think a history lesson is necessary - like when in 1988 the two highest paid executives in the country were Michael Eisner ($40.09M) and Frank Wells ($32.13). When you consider those are 1988 numbers, in 2014 dollars Eisner made in excess of $80M - in one year. Most of which was stock options, just like it is today. Suddenly, Darth Iger's $34.3M (2013) and $43.7M (2014) doesn't seem so astronomical.
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not if you consider how Eisner expanded Disney at unprecedented rate.
While Iger just "bought" things and maintained others that were given to him.. in a very shoddy way.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
Prior to this venture, corporate Disney always was careful to retain control over its ventures, even in the days of Roy & Walt when it was a much smaller company. Now China is the 800 pound gorilla in the room; Disney is along for the ride.
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Except for TDS, of course - right? Which the WDC doesn't even own, they just license out the rights to.

This isn't entirely new. ;)
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
not if you consider how Eisner expanded Disney at unprecedented rate.
While Iger just "bought" things and maintained others that were given to him.. in a very shoddy way.
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You are thinking very parks-centric, which I understand - but the point is, CEO compensation being tied into stock prices is a) nothing new Darth Iger invented, and b) Disney CEO's having huge compensation packages led by stock options has been going on for many, many decades.
 
Prince-1

Prince-1

Well-Known Member
Just saw this posted online....

image.jpg


Very classy Marvel...very classy!!!! And very funny too!!
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
ParentsOf4, you still got a like...but I hate to see you falling for the Darth Iger thing, too.

You know as well as I do that the entire job of a corporate CEO hinges on keeping that stock price high - it's about stockholders. The higher your stock, the better job they consider you are doing.

Putting it down to his only motive being personal compensation is just a cheap shot - it's unnecessary, and it detracts from the excellent other points.
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Let's put it this way. If Iger's compensation package was tied to increased capex at WDW, do you still think he'd have spent $6.5B last year on stock buybacks?

Investing in WDW today will pay dividends years from now. Buying back stock increases today's stock price, "value" that will be completely erased by the next recession.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Tahu said:
So Maleficent 2 is gonna be a thing.
http://movieweb.com/maleficent-2-angelina-jolie-disney/

But oh, we can't do Tron 3 because there's no room on the schedule...
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And because Disney can't make a good Sci fi movie... Having said that, Maleficent was a worse movie than Tron 2: The Cluquel, but it made money. This shouldn't be a surprise. Disney and Hollywood play everything safe.
 

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