A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Disneyhead'71]

Either way, be straight with your customers. Disney's problem was they over$old the event.

Universal could restrict the number of tickets sold for the autograph thing. Guests would know going into the Celebration whether they will get into the autograph session, and Uni would decrease the number of disappointed guests.

I don't understand why WDW and Uni struggle with these events. Out-of-touch management? Nah, couldn't be that.

Uni's problem was not limiting it to people that purchased event packages. It appears that a lot of folks wanted to get the perks without buying the event package. Uni. should not have opened the autograph lines to day guests.

 

[TalkingHead]

Are you sure package holders didn't get preferential treatment? Never really looked into it, but would be surprised if they didn't. Not to mention hella ****ed if I bought a package and didn't get autographs. I thought they made it pretty clear day guests go to the back of the line--the fact people lined up at 4 am shows they knew this--so you get what you get. Also, I hope by "day guest" you know we mean "Annual Passholders" who probably do the same thing at SWW.

Would the theme park fan community exist without arrested development? That's a chapter in a dissertation.

I admit I haven't researched the hotel packages, but I saw some Tweets that implied hotel guests didn't get the special treatment for the autograph sessions. Maybe they did. I know they get special access to the other Q + A's, etc.

Lotta ticked off people. Some OS reporter was saying how poorly the crowd control was. Wonder if that'll make it into the published copy.

 

[TalkingHead]

Uni's problem was not limiting it to people that purchased event packages. It appears that a lot of folks wanted to get the perks without buying the event package. Uni. should not have opened the autograph lines to day guests.

People wanted to "get the perks" because Universal advertised it that way. They sent emails to APs advertising the autograph sessions.

Universal acts surprised anytime a crowd shows up for a heavily-advertised Potter event. Makes me wonder about the people in this industry.

 

[Cesar R M]

Wise decision. We'd considered going but glad we didn't.

Evidently the autograph line this morning was mass chaos. People who showed up at 4:00 AM for the 7:30 ticket distribution didn't get tickets. Sounds like there was no crowd control, too, in CityWalk. (Really? I think Universal can expect large insane Potter crowds and prepare for them. Or, no, maybe Uni can't.)

I found it funny that there were plenty of complaints on Twitter but the official Uni account was only acknowledging the positive messages. Social media at its finest.

Speaking of social media, it's good to see that all of the usual suspects from the Disney events were there at the Potter event last night. Nothing like pampering the bloggers and giving a bad experience to the paying customers.

If Universal knew that the autograph tickers were going to be so limited, then they should have sold them as an upcharge or included it in the hotel packages. Because advertising something that is nearly impossible to experience as a day guest is really shady.

Kinda reminds me of when Amazon offers those Lightening Deals on Black Friday that are sold out two seconds after they go live. That's not an offer to your customer. That's a crapshoot. And without good crowd control, that's awful guest service.

Agree on everything, Disagree on Black Friday.
Unlike your every day town store. Amazon sells almost worldwide... and lets almost anyone buy instantly with a click.
Hence even if you had 1,000 units of a black friday offering.. it would go FAST.
Reminds me of BE OUR GUEST.

 

[PhotoDave219]

There is a polite way to ask for sources, or you can do it with implications of lying and making stuff up.

The poster in question went on and on about professionalism while opening her salvo by basically calling PO4 a lier.

Sounds like something a PR person with a doctorate in social media from UCF would do… I have no proof but that's where my immediate suspicion goes to…

 

[PhotoDave219]

I assume to avoid confusion with LeakyCon, the official (I think) "convention" for things Potter, with whom they seem to have a symbiotic relationship.

No leaky was nothing official. Yes, they have a very symbiotic relationship and had the blessing of JK.

 

[WDW1974]

I apparently missed some fun last night? Odd since you'd have to wade through pages of muck to even see it.

Now, I'm not saying anything is amiss or anyone is playing dirty. Really what kind of mind would suggest such a thing?

Yet, a very logical Spirit who gets the long game being played can't help but ponder the whys of situations when the MO is always the same:

1.) Wait until the subject is serious enough that eyes in high places are reading and paying attention;
2.) Attack, but do so in a passive aggressive manner with loads of posts, so that the mods will have a good rationale for not coming in and stopping the antics before the train wreck is complete;
3.) Make sure you pick up a few 'rational' supporters who think you are making fair points and deserve to have your voice heard;
4.) Play the ''everything must be cited and proven'' card (like people who actually don't believe in science whether it is climate change or vaccinating their brats) like this is a PhD thesis;
5.) Sit back and watch the hilarity that ensues;

Me?

I'm taking the MAGICal afternoon off from these waters. But,rest assured, when I return the subjects will be squarely focused on Disney's corporate boardroom politics and business models and what industry people and Wall Street analysts think about what it means for the future. I wish to delve into just 'What is Disney?' and why that is important (see that great Huff Po op-ed/read from last week) as well as point out how medicore Bob Iger's tenure really has been if you take away his acquisitions.

 

[Nubs70]

My thoughts on the governance of Disney,

Iger is being evaluated on the performance of Disney stock and not exclusively on operational metrics. So in spite of Disney operational performance (as outlined by PO4 with substantial support from 10k filings as source material), the love affair with Iger is a result of acquisition and buybacks and his authority to execute said buybacks.

The lack of love for Rasulo and Staggs comes from the lackluster operational metrics. So I believe that many see what PO4 sees and those on Wall Street do not see them as dynamic personalities that have the ability to correct course before the inevitable materialises.

So Wall Street will ride the Iger train as long as possible, jump off right before it blows up, and swoop back in to extract value from the remains.

 

[drew81]

I apparently missed some fun last night? Odd since you'd have to wade through pages of muck to even see it.

Now, I'm not saying anything is amiss or anyone is playing dirty. Really what kind of mind would suggest such a thing?

Yet, a very logical Spirit who gets the long game being played can't help but ponder the whys of situations when the MO is always the same:

1.) Wait until the subject is serious enough that eyes in high places are reading and paying attention;
2.) Attack, but do so in a passive aggressive manner with loads of posts, so that the mods will have a good rationale for not coming in and stopping the antics before the train wreck is complete;
3.) Make sure you pick up a few 'rational' supporters who think you are making fair points and deserve to have your voice heard;
4.) Play the ''everything must be cited and proven'' card (like people who actually don't believe in science whether it is climate change or vaccinating their brats) like this is a PhD thesis;
5.) Sit back and watch the hilarity that ensues;

Me?

I'm taking the MAGICal afternoon off from these waters. But,rest assured, when I return the subjects will be squarely focused on Disney's corporate boardroom politics and business models and what industry people and Wall Street analysts think about what it means for the future. I wish to delve into just 'What is Disney?' and why that is important (see that great Huff Po op-ed/read from last week) as well as point out how medicore Bob Iger's tenure really has been if you take away his acquisitions.

That will be quite a read. I can't wait to hear all about it.

#Parentsof4speakstruth

 

[ford91exploder]

I swear every time someone says "Lier". reminds me of the botched chinese bootleg translation of Star Wars Episode III, translated as "Backstroke of the West".

Or the classic one in engineering where a hydraulic ram is translated as 'Water Sheep'

 

[PhotoDave219]

I apparently missed some fun last night? Odd since you'd have to wade through pages of muck to even see it.

Now, I'm not saying anything is amiss or anyone is playing dirty. Really what kind of mind would suggest such a thing?

Yet, a very logical Spirit who gets the long game being played can't help but ponder the whys of situations when the MO is always the same:

1.) Wait until the subject is serious enough that eyes in high places are reading and paying attention;
2.) Attack, but do so in a passive aggressive manner with loads of posts, so that the mods will have a good rationale for not coming in and stopping the antics before the train wreck is complete;
3.) Make sure you pick up a few 'rational' supporters who think you are making fair points and deserve to have your voice heard;
4.) Play the ''everything must be cited and proven'' card (like people who actually don't believe in science whether it is climate change or vaccinating their brats) like this is a PhD thesis;
5.) Sit back and watch the hilarity that ensues;

Me?

I'm taking the MAGICal afternoon off from these waters. But,rest assured, when I return the subjects will be squarely focused on Disney's corporate boardroom politics and business models and what industry people and Wall Street analysts think about what it means for the future. I wish to delve into just 'What is Disney?' and why that is important (see that great Huff Po op-ed/read from last week) as well as point out how medicore Bob Iger's tenure really has been if you take away his acquisitions.

You're not suggesting that someone connected with TWDC would intentionally come in and try to disprove or discredit PO4's work, are you?

Because I sure am.

 

[Nemo14]

Hey @PhotoDave - we looked for you tonight at WaWa where we grabbed sandwiches for dinner.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

And the Annies just wrapped up. HTTYD2 took home lots of golden zoetropes including Best Director and Best Feature. Not to be outdone, TVA's Mickey Mouse shorts crushed it on the TV side. Also, Alex Hirsh gave a faced acceptance speech for Gravity Falls, The Walt Disney Family Museum won a special achievement award, and Ron and Jon were the best awards presenters possibly ever.
Full list of winners:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/award-se...ouse-shorts-dominate-annie-awards-108511.html

 

[ParentsOf4]

I'm taking the MAGICal afternoon off from these waters. But,rest assured, when I return the subjects will be squarely focused on Disney's corporate boardroom politics and business models and what industry people and Wall Street analysts think about what it means for the future. I wish to delve into just 'What is Disney?' and why that is important (see that great Huff Po op-ed/read from last week) as well as point out how medicore Bob Iger's tenure really has been if you take away his acquisitions.

The lack of love for Rasulo and Staggs comes from the lackluster operational metrics. So I believe that many see what PO4 sees and those on Wall Street do not see them as dynamic personalities that have the ability to correct course before the inevitable materialises.

Returning to the point I was making earlier, under CEO Michael Eisner, corporate Disney's revenue grew 15.1% annually while net income grew 16.8% annually. Under Eisner, Disney focused on improving profitability through increased sales. Give the customer more of what they want, and they'll buy more.

Since Bob Iger became CEO, corporate Disney's revenue has grown by only 4.8% annually while net income has grown by 12.8% annually. Under Iger, the focus has been on Leaning operations. The focus has been on getting the customer to pay more while offering less.

No matter how you slice-and-dice it, a 4.8% compound annual growth rate is unremarkable. There's only so much you can do with Lean. There's only so much you can grow the bottom line if you ignore the top line.

Witness the recent large layoff of IT professionals at WDW. WDW has record crowds yet Disney terminates U.S. employees. The triumvirate of Iger, Rasulo, and Staggs has focused far too much energy on squeezing pennies instead of growing dollars.

Iger was needed to stabilize a company that was reeling under a CEO who had lost his way, but those years have passed.

The Walt Disney Company now needs a CEO with vision, not a CEO who runs the company like a Wall Street investment banker.

The Walt Disney Company needs another Walt Disney.

 

[ford91exploder]

Returning to the point I was making earlier, under CEO Michael Eisner, corporate Disney's revenue grew 15.1% annually while net income grew 16.8% annually. Under Eisner, Disney focused on improving profitability through increased sales. Give the customer more of what they want, and they'll buy more.

Since Bob Iger became CEO, corporate Disney's revenue has grown by only 4.8% annually while net income has grown by 12.8% annually. Under Iger, the focus has been on Leaning operations. The focus has been on getting the customer to pay more while offering less.

No matter how you slice-and-dice it, a 4.8% compound annual growth rate is unremarkable. There's only so much you can do with Lean. There's only so much you can grow the bottom line if you ignore the top line.

Witness the recent large layoff of IT professionals at WDW. WDW has record crowds yet Disney terminates U.S. employees. The triumvirate of Iger, Rasulo, and Staggs has focused far too much energy on squeezing pennies instead of growing dollars.

Iger was needed to stabilize a company that was reeling under a CEO who had lost his way, but those years have passed.

The Walt Disney Company now needs a CEO with vision, not a CEO who runs the company like a Wall Street investment banker.

The Walt Disney Company needs another Walt Disney.

Notwithstanding Iger's unremarkable performance, The BOD STILL voted him a huge pay increase much larger than the one Apple's board voted Tim Cook - who has grown both revenue and profitability who just had the most profitable quarter of ANY COMPANY in US corporate history.

Another reason why in the US shareholders need a executive compensation approval law, And an end to interlocking BOD's ONE individual ONE directorship.

 

[GoofGoof]

Notwithstanding Iger's unremarkable performance, The BOD STILL voted him a huge pay increase much larger than the one Apple's board voted Tim Cook - who has grown both revenue and profitability who just had the most profitable quarter of ANY COMPANY in US corporate history.

Another reason why in the US shareholders need a executive compensation approval law, And an end to interlocking BOD's ONE individual ONE directorship.

You gotta let the Apple thing go. It's simply not true and really an unnecessary analogy to paint Iger's compensation in a bad light. No need to twist facts to make his pay seem bloated.

The shareholders do get to vote every year on executive compensation now. It's considered an advisory vote and is non-binding. I really doubt the shareholders are going to vote no on compensation in March considering the year DIS stock had. They are also voting this year on a proposal to require an independent Chairman. That has little hope of passing either...but it should.

 

[ford91exploder]

You gotta let the Apple thing go. It's simply not true and really an unnecessary analogy to paint Iger's compensation in a bad light. No need to twist facts to make his pay seem bloated.

The shareholders do get to vote every year on executive compensation now. It's considered an advisory vote and is non-binding. I really doubt the shareholders are going to vote no on compensation in March considering the year DIS stock had. They are also voting this year on a proposal to require an independent Chairman. That has little hope of passing either...but it should.

ALL Shareholders need a BINDING vote on compensation, Make the BOD actually justify the compensation packages to the shareholders.

As to your other point

Iger's compensation IS bloated for a CEO who's growth of 4.8% has only managed to barely outpace inflation over 9 years while buying back 40 THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS of stock (That's Billion for the Americans). Minus the buybacks TWDC's EPS would look a LOT worse than it does today.

What I would like to see @ParentsOf4 would be a plot of TWDC's actual growth corrected for inflation and the value of the USD. I think that would be even more interesting than the CAPEX numbers.

 

[ParentsOf4]

You gotta let the Apple thing go. It's simply not true and really an unnecessary analogy to paint Iger's compensation in a bad light. No need to twist facts to make his pay seem bloated.

Iger's compensation IS bloated for a CEO who's growth of 4.8% has only managed to barely outpace inflation over 9 years while buying back 40 THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS of stock (That's Billion for the Americans). Minus the buybacks TWDC's EPS would look a LOT worse than it does today.

In 2005, Iger came in and provided the type of corporate stewardship that was needed at that time. Iger brought calm to a company that was in chaos. As CEO, Iger has earned his pay. I think the obsession with Iger's compensation package is overblown.

The real question is whether Iger or his most commonly mentioned successors are right for the future of The Walt Disney Company. From this perspective, it might be a bit fairer to compare The Walt Disney Company with Apple.

This is the kind of dynamic performance today's investors want to see:

Since 2005, Apple’s revenue has increased from $13.9 billion to $182.8 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 33.1%.

With Iger, this is what they got:

Since 2005, Disney’s revenue has increased from $31.9 billion to $48.8 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 4.8%.

Many point to Disney President Frank Wells' death in 1994 as the beginning of Eisner's 'bad' years. Yet even during those 'bad' years, Eisner grew company revenue by a compound rate of 11.1% annually, more than double Iger's.

In 2005, Iger provided the rational mind and steady hand that the company needed. However, the need for that type of CEO has passed. Rasulo or Staggs would be more of the same. Disney needs dynamic leadership, not “Iger lite”.

Iger has been a fine administrator for the company as a whole but not a dynamic leader. The Walt Disney Company now needs a dynamic leader.

 

[GoofGoof]

ALL Shareholders need a BINDING vote on compensation, Make the BOD actually justify the compensation packages to the shareholders.

ALL shareholders do have a vote. It's just a non-binding, advisory vote. This is something that came out of Dodd-Frank. It's a way for shareholders to inform the BOD that they are unhappy with the current executive comp plan. To my knowledge TWDC has never received a negative vote from shareholders on executive pay since this started in 2011. The vote is typically dictated by the advisory services who suggest which way shareholders should vote.

I know of several companies personally that did receive negative votes. In the cases I'm aware of the companies did overhaul their executive plans. I'm not aware of any company that simply ignored a no vote on executive pay. It is however within their legal rights to ignore the vote and do nothing.

 

[flyerjab]

In 2005, Iger came in and provided the type of corporate stewardship that was needed at that time. Iger brought calm to a company that was in chaos. As CEO, Iger has earned his pay. I think the obsession with Iger's compensation package is overblown.

The real question is whether Iger or his most commonly mentioned successors are right for the future of The Walt Disney Company. From this perspective, it might be a bit fairer to compare The Walt Disney Company with Apple.

This is the kind of dynamic performance today's investors want to see:

View attachment 80991


Since 2005, Apple’s revenue has increased from $13.9 billion to $182.8 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 33.1%.

With Iger, this is what they got:

View attachment 80992


Since 2005, Disney’s revenue has increased from $31.9 billion to $48.8 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 4.8%.

Many point to Disney President Frank Wells' death in 1994 as the beginning of Eisner's 'bad' years. Yet even during those 'bad' years, Eisner grew company revenue by a compound rate of 11.1% annually, more than double Iger's.

In 2005, Iger provided the rational mind and steady hand that the company needed. However, the need for that type of CEO has passed. Rasulo or Staggs would be more of the same. Disney needs dynamic leadership, not “Iger lite”.

Iger has been a fine administrator for the company as a whole but not a dynamic leader. The Walt Disney Company now needs a dynamic leader.

I remember one time at a meeting where I work we were trying to define a data set such that we could develop a new set of acceptance criteria for a test set we were working with. We were asked to go find a statistician to work with as none of us had the requisite experience with number crunching. Our department actually had one - Fred was his name - who had worked with the company for 25 years in statistics and data analysis. We set up a meeting with him and introduced what we were trying to accomplish. I remember Fred sitting back and listening and then asking "well what do you want the data to show? I can make the data show just about anything you want." I looked at the other guy that I set up the meeting with and we looked back at him with this lost look on our faces. Fred immediately broke out laughing. He really went on to say how you should have a thorough understanding of your end goals when data mining and that people in statistics that have a biased agenda will definitely be able to put numbers together to make their point.

That's why I am so leery of you numbers guys! Just kidding (although that is a very true story).

The part of your post that sticks out to me is what I bolded. I actually find myself agreeing with you on this significant point. Numbers (and unsourced graphs ) aside, you can tell that this company for the past decade has been following this slow-n-steady strategy, with a heavy emphasis on acquisitions to add to the Disney lumberyard of IP - Marvel, Star Wars, PIXAR, etc.., with the long term goal of adding said IP to the parks in terms of attractions. This will ultimately be Iger's big legacy, he grew the longterm IP of this company.

Moving on, though, I think that the strategy would do well with a shift. I think that bringing in someone from outside the 2 usual suspects would be a boon to the company, so long as the person is dedicated, and understands the legacy of the company while interweaving the new properties that Iger brought on board. Shifts in focus or direction are almost a must-do for a company of this size and complexity. A new vision, not one that was crafted over the last several years by Iger, I think is needed frankly. A lot has been done at WDW over the past several years that to me were always more infrastructure related - more resorts, busses, monorail improvements, refurbed shopping (DS), more and more DVC, with very little park expansion. With the addition of MM+, they now might have a better understanding and/or control of crowd behavior within the resort. With this in mind, they would do well by bringing in someone from outside Iger's personal shell that would drive new park additions/refurbs, that actually involve new experiences. I good start would be with DHS. The budget has been rumored to be significant…significant enough to really elevate that park. Perfect timing for a new CEO to come in, see the number shift created by a new, amazing park experience of a grander scale, and take off in that direction moving forward. They certainly have the money to do it. Now they need a leader that isn't afraid to make more 'risk-based' decisions to help build revenue through the introduction of new attractions in the older mold of WDW.