A Spirited Perfect Ten

[TalkingHead]

I haven't followed the lead-up to the DL 60th stuff, but was that all that people were expecting? New entertainment?

 

[asianway]

Disneyland Diamond Celebration Sleeping Beauty Castle and Carthay Circle Theater decoration concept art
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I'd've been ticked it lasted ten minutes? Was expecting more...

 

[FigmentJedi]

I haven't followed the lead-up to the DL 60th stuff, but was that all that people were expecting? New entertainment?

I'd've been ticked it lasted ten minutes? Was expecting more...

Yeah, I was hoping for peeks at the various bits of attraction plussing they've been planning.

 

[Travel Junkie]

While WDW tends to oversell its offerings, DLR tends to undersell theirs. They didn't even mention upgrades to the FL rides, or conversion of Condor Flats into Grizzly airfield at DCA.

 

[TalkingHead]

Yeah, I was hoping for peeks at the various bits of attraction plussing they've been planning.

So the attractions (Fantasyland dark rides?) are getting updates?

And hate to be snarky (yeah, right), but a decorated castle "makeover" -- I wonder how long it took the Disney creative brain trust to come up with that one.

 

[MonkeyHead]

I agree with some of your thoughts, but really, especially in that last line, you only echoed what I said. The public is still in love with that old Disney magic, and that magic is so powerful that, old as it is, it continues to pull in generation after generation. That's something the Universal parks, as wonderful as they are, will never have. I've raved about Universal on these boards - I'm very impressed with the park - but there's little there that connects with a person's inner child the way Disney does.

I'm not defending the current Disney administration - in fact, I pretty much despise it - and I agree that that administration leans heavily on public affection for Disney and believes that pixie dust blinds guests to the cost-cutting and cynical cheapness it tries to get away with. But what Walt built was built to last, and it has lasted, and as yet, Universal doesn't have anything - including Potter - that can really compete with it IMO.

I'm just hoping the successor to Iger will have at least some understanding and affection for what made Disney, Disney. I have no idea who that might be, however.

I'm in my 30s and love and have loved WDW... I can tell you that Universal absolutely connects with my inner child.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Ha, I've also encountered plenty of families that aren't exactly into being inundated by Disney. Whether that be staying in a 'Disneyfied' hotel room or even eating on site. A big part of that mis-impression is the result of Disney's own marketing efforts, reflecting places wherein you'll always be holding hands with Mickey and dancin' with the Seven Dwarfs...

Disney's marketing seems to be a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I don't feel they get honest feedback mostly because there's no way to get a representative sampling of the makeup and composition of their audience. There's no way to accurately survey 60k+ guests.

Sorry for the tangent, but there seems to be a lack of the "adult Disney" that you used to get at GFla, Contemp, PI, etc. Everything seems catered to the white, upper middle class family of four that plans six months out.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Maybe, just maybe, TSMM is so "popular" because they are targeting families with kids under 6 in their national media campaigns and yet they have one park that has exactly one ride for the demo they are pandering too.

Or that TSMM is the only real kids "ride" in that park.....

 

[Smiddimizer]

While WDW tends to oversell its offerings, DLR tends to undersell theirs. They didn't even mention upgrades to the FL rides, or conversion of Condor Flats into Grizzly airfield at DCA.

They're planning on unveiling all that over a future series of conferences. In the long run it probably will come across as overselling.

 

[Rteetz]

I think the new Disneyland forever fireworks show with main street projections, castle projections, and Matterhorn projections, along with two new Richard Sherman songs sounds spectacular. Also interested to see what the new world of color is like.

 

[bhg469]

I'm in my 30s and love and have loved WDW... I can tell you that Universal absolutely connects with my inner child.

From the moment I got a full view of Moe's tavern on my visit last year, I completely agree.

The colors look like they came straight off of my television. I loved those parks and I plan on going there in a month.

I am 35 and I have all but given up on wdw. Until an expansion opens up that isn't several areas crammed into fantasy land, I won't be back.

 

[Goofywilliam]

I think the new Disneyland forever fireworks show with main street projections, castle projections, and Matterhorn projections, along with two new Richard Sherman songs sounds spectacular. Also interested to see what the new world of color is like.

Projectors everywhere! I felt like the main street ones were distracting, but we will see when the show all comes together.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I think the new Disneyland forever fireworks show with main street projections, castle projections, and Matterhorn projections, along with two new Richard Sherman songs sounds spectacular. Also interested to see what the new world of color is like.

Only Kiss Goodnight is a Sherman song.

 

[ford91exploder]

The proxy statement doesn't include vesting of stock options.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tim-cooks-total-pay-2014-131040368.html;_ylt=A0LEVz.ns8lUzSEANQPBGOd_

Tech companies tend to skew executive compensation a lot more towards equity than traditional businesses.

I'm aware of that RSU's are a common form of payment but in many cases they are given as a 'signing bonus'. And Tim's pay package is still 25% of Iger's and he made FAR more money for AAPL shareholders.

 

[Cesar R M]

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

We've seen this hubris over and over again Kodak, GM and McDonalds are only the most recent examples, The executives looting the treasury are symptomatic,

Home Depot ALMOST went out because of this - Bob Nardelli's 220 million paycheck - in the year when HD Lost as I recall $300 million, Minus Bob's paycheck HD would shaved the loss by 2/3.

Once again - Companies performance seems to be inversely related to the size of the CEO's paycheck, Apple's Tim Cook gets 9.2 Million and they had a 18 Billion QUARTERLY PROFIT.

but, doesnt Tim Cook gets paid by Shares just like Steve Jobs used to?
I remember many top ceos were "paid" only 1 USD, so they could get fully by shares.

 

[Cesar R M]

I agree, it's relatively subtle and tasteful outside of the main lobby statues and the kids clubs. But I'm talking the perception of potential guests. When I tell non-hard core Disney fans I've sailed DCL, the two questions I get are variations on (1) isn't it all Mickey and princesses? and (2) aren't you surrounded by kids all the time?

Until DCL convinces the general public those aren't the case, I think they have a limited market that will stay centered on Port Canaveral. (Not that they don't do very, very well there.)

I went to Alaska via DCL, and I can tell you that these cruises are 80% or more ADULTS.
Most of them were above 40 years old.. and a big bunch of them were very old couples (70+ years)

Not exactly a kiddy Cruise imho.

I think both Alaska's and Panama's are more adult geared.

 

[TP2000]

So the attractions (Fantasyland dark rides?) are getting updates?

Yes, and big updates at that. Read the last year's worth of Miceage Updates for the details.

Also a total retheme of all of Condor Flats into the new "Grizzly Peak Airfield" while they convert Soarin' to a 4K digital format and redo the interior queue.

Also a return of the Hatbox Ghost via a new animatronic at the Haunted Mansion, and a full redo of the interior show scenes and Harold animatronics at Matterhorn Bobsleds. Plus closing Luigi's Flying Tires and remaking it into a new trackless dancing car ride called Luigi's Festival of the Dance. This has all been covered for the last year or so on Miceage Updates at Micechat.com

But Tom Staggs didn't mention any of that at tonight's big press event at Disneyland. Tonight it was just Staggs, Steve Davison and others announcing the new Diamond Celebration entertainment offerings;

• Paint The Night Parade
• Disneyland Forever! fireworks spectacular
• World of Color - Celebrate The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

That last one wins for the longest show title in Disney history.

 

[asianway]

Yes, and big updates at that. Read the last year's worth of Miceage Updates for the details.

Also a total retheme of all of Condor Flats into the new "Grizzly Peak Airfield" while they convert Soarin' to a 4K digital format and redo the interior queue.

Also a return of the Hatbox Ghost via a new animatronic at the Haunted Mansion, and a full redo of the interior show scenes and Harold animatronics at Matterhorn Bobsleds. Plus closing Luigi's Flying Tires and remaking it into a new trackless dancing car ride called Luigi's Festival of the Dance. This has all been covered for the last year or so on Miceage Updates at Micechat.com

But Tom Staggs didn't mention any of that at tonight's big press event at Disneyland. Tonight it was just Staggs, Steve Davison and others announcing the new Diamond Celebration entertainment offerings;

• Paint The Night Parade
• Disneyland Forever! fireworks spectacular
• World of Color - Celebrate The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

That last one wins for the longest show title in Disney history.

I just don't get why this got all the hype and they held back, are there more press events today?

 

[stlphil]

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

We've seen this hubris over and over again Kodak, GM and McDonalds are only the most recent examples, The executives looting the treasury are symptomatic,

Home Depot ALMOST went out because of this - Bob Nardelli's 220 million paycheck - in the year when HD Lost as I recall $300 million, Minus Bob's paycheck HD would shaved the loss by 2/3.

Once again - Companies performance seems to be inversely related to the size of the CEO's paycheck, Apple's Tim Cook gets 9.2 Million and they had a 18 Billion QUARTERLY PROFIT.

"If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock." Tim Cook, Apple, May 2014.

When asked why initiatives to connect African countries should matter to investors, the response was "It matters to the kind of investors we want to have". "If we were only focused on making money we might put all of our energy on just increasing ads to people in the U.S. and the other most developed countries," he said. "But that's not the only thing that we care about here." Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, Jan. 29, 2015.

"Hello Wall Street, what should I do next. How much stock should I buy back now". Bob Iger, Disney, every day.

 

[Rutt]

From the moment I got a full view of Moe's tavern on my visit last year, I completely agree.

The colors look like they came straight off of my television. I loved those parks and I plan on going there in a month.

I am 35 and I have all but given up on wdw. Until an expansion opens up that isn't several areas crammed into fantasy land, I won't be back.

I agree, for me the Simpsons area was just totally awesome, and my boys liked most of Universal.

That being said, we brought our niece with us too (it's the closest I have to a princess of my own) and after Potter, she had no real interest in anything else at Uni.

On the other hand, at WDW she was absolutely jaw dropped nearly the entire time. From the hotel to the dining to the meets to the rides, it's non stop at WDW. As an adult I can say the same. While Uni is cool, Disney is a full experience. It's like living ones favourite childhood memories.

As for the 'it's not what it once was', that seems to become a mantra as we get older. I'm only 35, but often find myself saying the same thing about nearly everything in life already.