A Spirited Perfect Ten

[englanddg]

No, I would never just go to CA for Disneyland.

I wouldn't go to California for the Southern part, specifically the LA greater area, either.

If I'm going to Southern Cali, I'll go to San Diego, or I'll visit Anaheim (to see Disney).

Otherwise, I'd much rather spend my time inland or on the central and northern coasts.

LA is a disgusting sprawl.

 

[Bairstow]

In 2012, I went to California. Sure, I wanted to see Disneyland but I mostly wanted to see my daughter in San Francisco. California is huge and the geographic is diverse. We flew into LAX and rented a car. We stayed at a hotel near Knott's Berry Farm for four days during which we did one day at DL/CA, one day at USH and one day at Knott's Berry Farm. We then took our rental car up the Pacific Coast Highway almost to Oregon. We played it by ear and booked our hotels from my phone while on the road. We then moved inland and took the 101? down to SF where we had our lovely tour guide, my daughter show us around the city for four days and then dropped off the rental at the SF airport and flew home. Great two week trip.

No, I would never just go to CA for Disneyland.

We did a similar trip last month that was mostly Disneyland.
Three and a half days at the Disney parks, one at Knotts, and another at Huntington Beach.
I could have spent at least another 2 days just driving up and down the PCH and seeing the sights there.

 

[Mike S]

Quick movie thoughts.

Jurassic World was great. Easily my favorite of the JP sequels but it still doesn't touch the original. I don't think anything could.

Inside Out was just a fantastic hilarious movie that shows Pixar still has it. From what I've read about it I expected to cry at some point like in some other Pixar films. Didn't happen, don't know why. Still great though Lava was a great short as well that struck a chord with me.

 

[TalkingHead]

Jurassic World was great. Easily my favorite of the JP sequels but it still doesn't touch the original. I don't think anything could.

I liked it. Thought it was entertaining and didn't drag. Not sure how memorable it will be in the long run, but it's by far my favorite of the sequels. Audience burst into applause twice toward the end.

There was a lot of inside-baseball theme-park references. That stuff plays well in Orlando. It's funny to think about that park stuff being part of the biggest opening weekend in history.

 

[AEfx]

Once of the first assertions was that Bob Iger influenced his wife (Willow Bay) to censor an article critical of the Disney CEO's entry to China. "Censorship" was the word used most often by WDW1974. Yet that article is still available: http://yourfinancialnews.net/business/disney-ceo-fumbles-entry-to-china/ A conspiracy involves two or more persons in an evil surreptitious plan to cause some sort of subversion or plot. So yes indeed, he did allege that a conspiracy was afoot.

Good summary, except you left out the key point - another reason the article could very likely have been pulled.

The author, per the following disclaimer that ran below it and was completely initially ignored as even a possibility of why it happened, as well as was lopped off of various copy/paste jobs used to promote the "CENSORSHIP" cry after it was taken down (and for verification also appears at the link above):

Gary Snyder is a member of the Redstone family, whose company, National Amusements, owns Viacom and CBS, among other media assets. He is an advisor on Western media and culture to China.

Aside from the direct competition (Paramount Pictures/WDP, CBS/ABC, etc.), National Amusements also has 1,500 movie screens - ones that are having an ongoing and rather brutal battle with Disney over profit percentages (along with other chains).

Nah, it must have been the Evil Queen Willow's personal agenda. Couldn't have been the massive conflict of interest - no way. Big scandalous predictions were made - which so far, have not come true - and we should not even consider any other explanation other than "Darth Iger made the Evil Queen do it!" because that's the only logical thing that could have happened - it's almost as if folks are trying to build a specific narrative or something....



To answer @CaptainAmerica 's question - there are several instance like this, where there are several more obvious (and likely) possible explanations, and the least likely and/or most "conspiracy-sounding" reason is automatically assumed and entered as gospel. Any discussion, question, or interpretation that does not fall in lock-step with the agenda at hand is immediately dismissed and personally attacked as people with personal agendas, mental illness, and/or are being paid by Disney to defend Iger.

There is only one acceptable agenda to follow - that of "Darth Iger the Acquirer, The Villain Who Crapped On Disney". (Oh, and Iger is VERY aware of this thread, it's part of their morning meetings every day and the "highest of the high" in the Disney company are "terrified" of the information here - and that's not me using hyperbole, these are the actual claims made here that you can go back and see.)

Instead of rationally looking at each of these points, no matter what the circumstances, they are assumed to be blunders or insidious schemes (depending on the day) on Iger's part. Even when new information comes to light and it has to be flipped - he should vs. he didn't both being spun as negatives - "danged if you do, danged if you don't" - and suddenly the sands of time erase the past and we all just "misunderstood" what was meant to begin with even though it's right there to read.

This all has somehow been patched together into a narrative that runs the gamut from "Darth Iger is so powerful he dictates what the media says about him" to "Darth Iger is so weak and pathetic he let China bully him". If you are looking for consistency, you are SOL - there is no consistency past "everything Darth Iger does is negative".

Another example was just yesterday when it was asserted that the "missing pictures" that pretty much everyone agrees simply were not taken in Shanghai (LackOfPictureGate) did not appear in a new internal 8-page company newsletter, this was further evidence of...something. That these other photos did not magically appear (though, in fact, one that was supposedly "banned" of Iger, in the shop, was indeed there) even though we don't believe the others were even taken in the first place...that they didn't appear means - something bad about Darth Iger.

And so on, and so on. You are now up to speed.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Excel makes me want to throw things.

I just want to make a simple comparison chart but Oh no, it has to be a PITA tonight.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Good summary, except you left out the key point - another reason the article could very likely have been pulled.

The author, per the following disclaimer that ran below it and was completely initially ignored as even a possibility of why it happened, as well as was lopped off of various copy/paste jobs used to promote the "CENSORSHIP" cry after it was taken down (and for verification also appears at the link above):

Gary Snyder is a member of the Redstone family, whose company, National Amusements, owns Viacom and CBS, among other media assets. He is an advisor on Western media and culture to China.

Aside from the direct competition (Paramount Pictures/WDP, CBS/ABC, etc.), National Amusements also has 1,500 movie screens - ones that are having an ongoing and rather brutal battle with Disney over profit percentages (along with other chains).

Nah, it must have been the Evil Queen Willow's personal agenda. Couldn't have been the massive conflict of interest - no way. Big scandalous predictions were made - which so far, have not come true - and we should not even consider any other explanation other than "Darth Iger made the Evil Queen do it!" because that's the only logical thing that could have happened - it's almost as if folks are trying to build a specific narrative or something....



To answer @CaptainAmerica 's question - there are several instance like this, where there are several more obvious (and likely) possible explanations, and the least likely and/or most "conspiracy-sounding" reason is automatically assumed and entered as gospel. Any discussion, question, or interpretation that does not fall in lock-step with the agenda at hand is immediately dismissed and personally attacked as people with personal agendas, mental illness, and/or are being paid by Disney to defend Iger.

There is only one acceptable agenda to follow - that of "Darth Iger the Acquirer, The Villain Who Crapped On Disney". (Oh, and Iger is VERY aware of this thread, it's part of their morning meetings every day and the "highest of the high" in the Disney company are "terrified" of the information here - and that's not me using hyperbole, these are the actual claims made here that you can go back and see.)

Instead of rationally looking at each of these points, no matter what the circumstances, they are assumed to be blunders or insidious schemes (depending on the day) on Iger's part. Even when new information comes to light and it has to be flipped - he should vs. he didn't both being spun as negatives - "danged if you do, danged if you don't" - and suddenly the sands of time erase the past and we all just "misunderstood" what was meant to begin with even though it's right there to read.

This all has somehow been patched together into a narrative that runs the gamut from "Darth Iger is so powerful he dictates what the media says about him" to "Darth Iger is so weak and pathetic he let China bully him". If you are looking for consistency, you are SOL - there is no consistency past "everything Darth Iger does is negative".

Another example was just yesterday when it was asserted that the "missing pictures" that pretty much everyone agrees simply were not taken in Shanghai (LackOfPictureGate) did not appear in a new internal 8-page company newsletter, this was further evidence of...something. That these other photos did not magically appear (though, in fact, one that was supposedly "banned" of Iger, in the shop, was indeed there) even though we don't believe the others were even taken in the first place...that they didn't appear means - something bad about Darth Iger.

And so on, and so on. You are now up to speed.

Seriously? We're going back there? Again? Really?

 

[TP2000]

No, I would never just go to CA for Disneyland.

Going to California and only seeing Disneyland is like going to New York City and only seeing Rockefeller Center.

California had a booming tourist industry long before Disneyland was built, and if Disneyland ever closes the tourism industry in California will continue on without it. It's a famous place that people want to see, regardless of what theme parks it also has.

In 2014, California had 16.4 Million international visitors, and these are the top 10 countries they came from, in order: Mexico, Canada, China, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, France, Scandinavia, India. While anyone who has stood in the Standby line for Radiator Springs Racers can tell you those are generally the accents and cultures you'll observe at Disneyland, aside from various Western states and SoCal locals, I would hazard a guess that the majority of those international tourists in 2014 did not go to Disneyland while they were in California.

As a point of reference, Florida had 15.3 Million international visitors in 2014. Florida's country mix favors Canada and Western Europe, with Asia and Australia sending fewer tourists to Florida than they do to California.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So in an effort to try and show something different and an interesting relationship..... Lets look at Domestic Attendance vs Domestic Capex, Shall We?

(Total PITA to get Excel to play nice tonight) (Thanks @ParentsOf4 for the help with the CapEx data)

Twenty Years of Domestic CapEx, in $10M. (To make it fit on the chart). $846M in 1994 & $1.184B in 2014.

Twenty Years of Domestic Attendance. All six parks. 39M guests in 1994 & 77M guests in 2014.

The giant spike on the left is DAK & DCA. The giant spike on the right is DCA makeover, FLE & MM+.

(It still doesn't visualize quite right tho....)

And of course, your Six Park breakdown. Disney has come pretty close to doubling attendance Domestically in 20 years.

 

[WDW1974]

Spirited Jurassic Musings:

Saw Jurassic World tonight, a bit later than planned because ... well, it truly seems to be that type of summer blockbuster that really gets people out beyond the crazy diehards who do previews and/or the first 48 hours. Wound up seeing a showing 45 minutes later because the the three in between were all sold out. Now, this is a 24-screen multiplex. One that had the film showing in about 14-16 at once.

The crowd was electric in a way that I can't recall seeing in a long time. It was a fun experience.
I believe some of my MAGICal readers were in the audience with me, and no I am not kidding (to my haters, it's just pure ego, the same reason you can't quit me!)

Couldn't help but note how many people were in the 25-34 demo that would have been kids when the the first film came out back in 1993. I know we've had lots of chatter about how great Star Wars will do with us kids of the 70s and 80s, which I think is true, and I think many people underestimated just how important a film Jurassic Park was to a generation as well. I'm sure the two lousy sequels didn't help the matter at all.

Sorta surprised that no one in the fan community has notices or mentioned the 'Thanks' in the credits that went to Kathleen Kennedy and Brad Bird or that the latter had a 'voice' role in the film.

It's easily the best film I've seen this summer. It's what a summer film should be. Age of Ultron was all fighting and 'splosions and 'in' jokes for the Marvel fanbois. Not bad, but not particularly good either. Tomorrowland had such promise, and I give credit for that, but ultimately faltered badly in the third act.

JW had it all. The nods to the original film. The commentary on everything from theme park crass commercialization to man playing God again. Plenty of action, but not much gore (there's generally more in one scene of The Walking Dead than in the entire film). I even enjoyed the ending, which felt a bit convenient and went for the fanboi desire, but brought it home.

I think this film is going to have some legs. And when all is said and done, I'm not so sure that The Force Awakens will make more $$$. But that remains to be seen.

In an era where we are going to be seeing (sadly) more and more films based on franchises at least it's comforting to know that the world of dinos is back on track and was well worth waiting the extra few years as they got it all together.

The other big takeaway is that Chris Pratt, who I've always felt had breakout star potential, is going to be making just HUGE money now every time he signs on the line. Between Guardians last summer and JW this summer, he just has the look of a rising mega-star. And from what I've been told, he really is a great guy, which makes it all the better.

Anyway, didn't want to post anything with spoliers and they aren't needed. But if you want a fun summer action flick that doesn't require buying into a BRAND and another 112 films, then JW is for you. Especially if you love dinos!

Now, I can look forward to Inside Out next week!

 

[WDW1974]

Why is Frozen fandom illegitimate? Do you feel the same way about people who love Nickel Mouse? What about The Lion King? Mary Poppins? Toy Story? What's the cutoff for scorn?

Um, I never said it was. It is a quality animated film. One that has hit on the cultural zeitgeist and it should be lauded for that. I'm not sure how you got that negativity and viewpoint from me making a comment on the Frozen promotion being back in The Corpse of The Disney-MGM Studios for the second summer in a row.

So you're saying the ChiComs are going to usurp SDL with no recourse available to TWDC?

No, again, I wish people wouldn't put words in my mouth (or, worse, outright lie about what I have said or what they think I believe -- not accusing you, they know who they are). What I am saying is that Bob Iger loves to tell the world about Disney's new resort in China. There isn't one, though. There is a Chinese Disney resort being built in Shanghai. There's a huge difference in the two. And one I have explained many, many, many to the 8th power times.

And I'm not sure what you mean by ''usurp'' ... the Chinese government controls the resort and will always control it barring a major change in the political system in China. The illusion of control by Disney is amusing.

 

[WDW1974]

Its easy to find Tom in the parks, just be there very late He was always nice to me whenever we crossed paths.

Or very early. And since that ain't happening unless we're in Tokyo at the same time, it will have to be late!

 

[WDW1974]

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

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

Just wanted to repeat those two sentences for emphasis. Nothing more needs to be said. (Oh, except I'd love to see you quoted in real media saying those two things!)

 

[WDW1974]

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.

Another point that both Robert and Seth totally missed.

We can all talk about how great UNI's product in O-Town now is - and it is! But they are not close to being in a position to set pricing for the market, for example.

How Disney acts and reacts, supports and opposes various things, trickles down to almost every major business (and many minor ones) in this state ... and to a large degree in this country.

If Disney can gouge its customers and make them feel like they're getting a worthy product while giving less and charging ever more and treat its cast like animals who should be thankful just to be employed, then that trickles down ( see: Ronnie was right, trickle down economics works after all!)

 

[WDW1974]

Disney has had partners for many of its ventures. The OLC is just a company (which happens to be much smaller than TWDC) and Disney has a reasonably good chance of enforcing the terms of its contract in Japan.

Ultimately, doing business with a company in Japan is very different than doing business with the Chinese government in China.

Yep. And totally different situation.
Despite not owning a single bit of the TDR, Disney can hold and enforce the OLC to much higher standards for quality and showmanship than it practices in all the parks it either owns outright or owns a large percentage of. And if there is a disagreement, then democratic legal institutions would deal with that if an agreement couldn't be reached by the two parties.

You can't compare it to China, unless you admit to comparing tangerines to Toyotas.

 

[xstech25]

Disney uses the same strategic planning and revenue management techniques that you can learn in any thorough business program - the difference being they are really good at it (as evidenced by their performance the past 5 years). Just because they provide a lot of low-wage jobs does not mean they are doing anything unethical, that's just the nature of the tourism business. It doesn't take a whole lot of professional training to operate a ride or sweep the grounds and smile.

Now here come the inevitable "all people with MBAs are evil, everyone deserves a living wage, Bob Iger doesn't care about black people, Disney is purposely trying to condition their customers to have lower standards" posts from all the experts

 

[WDW1974]

Obviously interests matter. I'm saying I myself don't understand why anyone would travel to certain states just to see one thing. I like to explore, so I personally don't see the fun in just visiting one place, but I understand the significance. In saying that, i find it hard to believe one couldn't visit California without finding at least one thing to do besides Disneyland.

I fine that notion thoroughly insane.

Of course as much as I bash Florida, I also would find it bizarre if someone came to the state for a first visit and the entire visit was spent at Dizzy World. And guess what? For countless people, that is reality.

I'm no fan of the Everglades because I practically live in them. But I appreciate the amazing ecological treasure we have in them and can't fathom how people from all over the world wouldn't want tp spend at least part of a day checking out the amazing bio-diversity ... or the same with the reefs in SoFla and the Keys ... or the history, including the place where we sent men to the moon. ... Or you can fly down from New Jersey, take the DME to the BW where you spend nine nights and ride the crappiest Space Mountain in the world 23 times.

 

[WDW1974]

WDW1974s posts are unbelievably pathetic and filled with demagoguery. Disney uses the same strategic planning and revenue management techniques that you can learn in any thorough business program - the difference being they are really good at it (as evidenced by their performance the past 5 years). Just because they provide a lot of low-wage jobs does not mean they are doing anything unethical, that's just the nature of the tourism business. It doesn't take a whole lot of professional training to operate a ride or sweep the grounds and smile.

Now here come the inevitable "all people with MBAs are evil, everyone deserves a living wage, Bob Iger doesn't care about black people, Disney is purposely trying to condition their customers to have lower standards" posts from all the experts

The fact that Disney is helping create a giant mass of working poor IS unethical or, at least, immoral and antithetical to their wholesome image, past and current PR spin. I don't care how great they are at screwing workers and customers as if that should be lauded because their stock is so highly valued. Disney did just fine when it treated its employees and its consumers with far more respect. So, please, save the business school pablum for someone who gives a damn. It isn't me. It isn't most people with brains who realize what that mentality does to our society.

And bringing race into the discussion? Really? I do wonder if your post will last until afternoon. To be fair, what you should have said was that Bob Iger doesn't care about people of any color/race who can't personally enrich him. That would have been accurate.

And I'm sorry, but I guess in my old age I've gone from being a fiscal conservative to a bleeding heart because I do believe that everyone who works a full time job deserves a living wage. And Disney has been actively conditioning its Guests to accept every lower quality for ever higher prices.

But thanks for trolling on by. Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split ya! Buh-bye!

 

[Californian Elitist]

I fine that notion thoroughly insane.

Of course as much as I bash Florida, I also would find it bizarre if someone came to the state for a first visit and the entire visit was spent at Dizzy World. And guess what? For countless people, that is reality.

I'm no fan of the Everglades because I practically live in them. But I appreciate the amazing ecological treasure we have in them and can't fathom how people from all over the world wouldn't want tp spend at least part of a day checking out the amazing bio-diversity ... or the same with the reefs in SoFla and the Keys ... or the history, including the place where we sent men to the moon. ... Or you can fly down from New Jersey, take the DME to the BW where you spend nine nights and ride the crappiest Space Mountain in the world 23 times.

As do I. I understand there are recreational activities at WDW, but 2-3 WEEKS? What are guests doing that entire time? I'd really love to know because I can't fathom the idea. Seriously, for those who spend 2-3 weeks solely at WDW, how do you spend your time? I'm curious.

The way you feel about the Everglades is the way I feel about Hollywood. I recommend tourists go there because there are some pretty neat things to see, but it's not on my list of top favorite hangout spots.

 

[Longhairbear]

Ah, another moron heard from. If my posts are so pathetic, then what kind of loser must you be to read them? Really? And don't give me the entertainment BS because it doesn't fly. It didn't take me more than a few times listening to Rush Limbaugh to realize what an idiot he was; so I don't tune back in. You should do likewise.

The fact that Disney is helping create a giant mass of working poor IS unethical or, at least, immoral and antithetical to their wholesome image, past and current PR spin. I don't care how great they are at screwing workers and customers as if that should be lauded because their stock is so highly valued. Disney did just fine when it treated its employees and its consumers with far more respect. So, please, save the business school pablum for someone who gives a damn. It isn't me. It isn't most people with brains who realize what that mentality does to our society.

And bringing race into the discussion? Really? I do wonder if your post will last until afternoon. To be fair, what you should have said was that Bob Iger doesn't care about people of any color/race who can't personally enrich him. That would have been accurate.

And I'm sorry, but I guess in my old age I've gone from being a fiscal conservative to a bleeding heart because I do believe that everyone who works a full time job deserves a living wage. And Disney has been actively conditioning its Guests to accept every lower quality for ever higher prices.

But thanks for trolling on by. Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split ya! Buh-bye!

I hit ignore after reading the first line. I'm saving internet trees by not wasting internet paper with all the extra pages of posts I don't care to read.