A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Nemo14]

I was out there at 5am last Sunday morning with New 13 covering the cold weather.

We were there Saturday morning. I think we were the only 2 people not wearing winter coats.

 

[ford91exploder]

At what point (if ever) do they realize that they would not be profiting an insane amount of money from this empire that was built by a man with the exact opposite ideals as they currently employ? What on Earth will it take

Today's Wall Street is more about gambling than capital formation and the funding of new companies, Before most companies would pay dividends now cash is used for M&A.

Real world risks disrupt the casino so it's seen as unwelcome.

It's going to take an overhaul of our tax system to reward job and product creation instead of creating 'paper' wealth.

 

[Progress.City]

I believe the repurchased shares have been cancelled, ie they no longer exist.

So, does that increase ownership percentage per outstanding shares?

 

[Progress.City]

Today's Wall Street is more about gambling than capital formation and the funding of new companies, Before most companies would pay dividends now cash is used for M&A.

Real world risks disrupt the casino so it's seen as unwelcome.

It's going to take an overhaul of our tax system to reward job and product creation instead of creating 'paper' wealth.

Haven't they learned anything from 2008?

 

[lazyboy97o]

The second big issue here is who, in the legal sense, owns the property and is in charge of raised funds. While Dina and Brent purchased the home, they have created a corporation called WDB Restorations LLC to collect donations, pay contractors/consultants, etc. If this "historic landmark" is going to become a museum, why not establish a non-profit organization which owns the home, collects donations, and wouldn't have to pay corporate income and property taxes?

Also, as @the.dreamfinder pointed out, it is really strange that there is only such vague information about what the purpose of that renovation is going to be. I was a bit shocked that this is not a not for profit organisation, but a private company asking for donations.

It is not possible to just start a non-profit company. To become a non-profit means first creating the company and then applying to the IRS for non-profit status, something that can and does drag on for some people.

Birthplace museums, often run by small groups/companies, are not anything unusual. While Walt may have left when he was four, this would be where Roy grew up. Walt was in a series of perpetual busts until he teamed up with Roy.

 

[ford91exploder]

Haven't they learned anything from 2008?

No

 

[GoofGoof]

They could always use the repurchased stock to merge with other companies, like they did with Pixar and partially with LucasFilm.

I believe the repurchased shares have been cancelled, ie they no longer exist.

So, does that increase ownership percentage per outstanding shares?

When they buy shares back they are kept by the company and can be used for future activities like acquisitions or stock based compensation for executives (options, RSUs, etc). They refer to the shares as treasury stock. As of year end (9/30) they had 1.1B shares in treasury stock with a value of $41.1B on the balance sheet. The balance sheet value represents the amount paid to buy the shares back not the market value of the shares.

Treasury stock is not considered part of outstanding shares so each time they buy back shares it increases the ownership percentage for all of the other shareholders.

 

[Darth Sidious]

My only question is why Alabama?

So a tornado can hit it? I hear Bill Paxton wants to create Twister The Ride 2.0

 

[Darth Sidious]

When they buy shares back they are kept by the company and can be used for future activities like acquisitions or stock based compensation for executives (options, RSUs, etc). They refer to the shares as treasury stock. As of year end (9/30) they had 1.1B shares in treasury stock with a value of $41.1B on the balance sheet. The balance sheet value represents the amount paid to buy the shares back not the market value of the shares.

Treasury stock is not considered part of outstanding shares so each time they buy back shares it increases the ownership percentage for all of the other shareholders.

^ this is correct. Shares aren't cancelled because they can be reissued as stated above. The balance sheet item would be Treasury Stock in Shareholder's Equity.

Here it is for DIS:

@ford91exploder

 

[ford91exploder]

^ this is correct. Shares aren't cancelled because they can be reissued as stated above. The balance sheet item would be Treasury Stock in Shareholder's Equity.

Here it is for DIS:

@ford91exploder

Thanks, Interesting that DIS kept them as treasury shares

 

[NearTheEars]

Spirited Super Bowl MUsings:

Don't say you don't care about the game if you watched it, the halftime or commercials. Or if you even know who won. If you spent the night making love or giving your three spaniels baths or cleaning out your closet in your den etc then you have the right. Otherwise, you were part of the 100 million plus who proved yet again that live/event TV will never go out of style.

Frank Bruni had an interesting op-ed in the Sunday NYT. The subject, which I don't want to debate, is those crazy folks who don't vaccinate their brats and put all of us at risk. But the point I took from it is something I tend to dwell on here, and in real world circles, and that is how despite having more information at their hands than at any time in human history, people are dumber than ever. Technology and the internet has allowed everyone's voice to be heard when guess what? All opinions shouldn't be heard, all opinions aren't equal, and while it seems fair and noble to push this agenda all one has to do is look at the Disney/UNI Twitverse to see what a quaint and dumb notion that one is.

Anyone go to the parks today? They are never empty on Super Sunday despite a myth that everyone is watching the game.

Hey, McDonalds, I always pay with love yet you always demand cash or credit too. Have I been overcharged all these years?

Oh, hey, it's my pal Will Ferrell. If I say that will it be on the Twitter tomorrow? Yes, I do know him (not VERY well).

Super Bowl live in Hong Kong at 7:30 a.m., but with none of those commercials according to an associate there.

Jay Rasulo may well bully his way into the No. 2 position at TWDC. But don't read a thing into that about Bob's successor.

I believe there was a big misunderstanding here over the weekend involving my personal and MAGICal CFO, @ParentsOf4, but seriously, I don't know how people can question conclusions reached when using his pointed, accurate and analytical numbers.

By the numbers, Iger has been a lousy CEO for WDW, in particular, and P&R in general. If you remove his acquisitions, he's been a very poor CEO all around.

Of course, I have been saying this as long as I've been part of this community ...

Gotta say that the new Dino World film really has me much more excited then I ever thought possible.

Sorry, was planning a more serious post, but my heart and mind just ain't into it. Hey, it's Super Sunday ... Maybe tomorrow.

I missed the game yesterday as well.

I went ahead and forfeited my Man Card and took my fiancé to the 6:30 p.m. performance of "Newsies" at the new Dr. Phillips Center.

They show was great and the Walt Disney Theater was packed.

Much of the story and lyrics have changed from the original film (a box office bomb turned cult classic).

 

[Darth Sidious]

Thanks, Interesting that DIS kept them as treasury shares

They could retire them, but I believe it is common practice to put them in treasury. I don't have any figures on that though. It also isn't surprising given the company pays executives largely in shares.

 

[shannon12]

The same could be said for some state parks too. We were at Blue Springs State Park the other day to see where the manatees hang out in the winter. They had counted 401 of them that morning. Here's just a few of the ones we saw:

Thats something I'd love to see!

 

[Rteetz]

Finally going to admit Shanghai is behind?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/03/walt-disney-disneyland-launch-idUSL4N0VD19520150203

 

[choco choco]

With all the hype about Disneyland's 60th and the upcoming WoC tribute to Walt Disney, I took particular interest that the owners of Micage have bought the the house in Chicago where Walt Disney was born in and they are seeking donations.

This is the first time I've heard that Miceage bought Walt's birth-house and is trying to pass it off as something worthy of "historical merit."

There's no other way to put it. This is really, really, really, really creepy. Jane Eyre creepy. Rebecca creepy. On the "obsessing over a long dead person whom one has never met to the point where one tries to recreate the conditions of said dead person's life so that one may like, interact with said made-up conditions and then imagine that the ancient deceased would be there to enjoy it with them" scale, this is Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo-level creepy.

And I thought the hagiographies of the man was bad. Here it's just incrementally more...unhealthy.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Spirited Housekeeping Quickees:

First, I love the National Parks and absolutely think they are a treasure beyond compare. From Denali to St. John, I have soaked in the beauty and all it has done is made me want to spend more time in them. My favorite is Yosemite although the Grand Canyon feels unreal, so awe-inspiring are its vistas. I will say that in my years of living in 90210, I spent most if my NP time in Sequoia since you can get there from LA in about four hours (sometimes less). I always stayed in tiny Three Rivers, which features one of the best Mexican restaurants north of the border.

I will never get why anyone would rather stand in a 75 minute queue of smelly tourists to ride Peter Pan's 1971 Flight for the 234th time versus being in our beautiful NPs, but there is no accounting for brains or tastes. So, no, @WDWFigment,, no problem with you giving a shout out to the treasures we have at all. Just don't want a long tangent on them.

Also, I apologize to you since I owe you multiple emails. Things have been crazy again, but I will write to you this week.

And thanks for the comments on the Rat ride. Consensus is that it is good, but not as good as it could have, should have, been.

Also, am so looking forward to the quarterly earnings report. Disney will report record profits and Wall Street will nod and silently pray that Bob doesn't slip in the shower and die and every management apologist 'fan' will somehow equate earnings with the real health of the company. OK, no, I am not.

A Super Bowl championship and snow days, it doesn't get any better for kids in New England.

Now, onto a dicey subject for me that is going to require a separate post ...

Here are some photos I took of Denali/Alaska on my honeymoon...

 

[kpilcher]

Shanghai Disneyland's opening has been pushed back... just as @WDW1974 said it would be. http://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghai-disneyland-opening-pushed-to-first-half-of-2016-1422924412

 

[kpilcher]

Red Rock Canyon's a great spot. Valley of Fire State Park is a short drive from Vegas and well worth visiting, too.

Valley of Fire is one of my Laughing Places. Went there to kill a couple of hours. Wish I could have stayed for days.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Pie in the Sky project for Norf Bama drops the Spirit of Walt in it's planning. True fantasy or will it happen? I say no way:
http://yellowhammernews.com/business-2/rumors-swirl-around-worlds-biggest-theme-park-coming-alabama/

Hmmm....could somebody be trying for a Wizard of Oz park again?

 

[Magenta Panther]

In my view they already tried and failed (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1697478835/the-walt-disney-birthplace-preservation-project) to raise money from fans for this project and they just need to stop. While it's totally admirable that someone would want to do this, I would encourage folks to look at how Dina and Brent and their "Executive Director" Dusty Sage have gone about this project. Take a look at this quote from their kickstarter page regarding post renovation plans:

Why so cagey? If it's going to become a museum, then why won't you outright state it as such?

The second big issue here is who, in the legal sense, owns the property and is in charge of raised funds. While Dina and Brent purchased the home, they have created a corporation called WDB Restorations LLC to collect donations, pay contractors/consultants, etc. If this "historic landmark" is going to become a museum, why not establish a non-profit organization which owns the home, collects donations, and wouldn't have to pay corporate income and property taxes?

This may be going out on a lark, but are Dina and Brent raising funds for their second home that occasionally gives tours to the public so it can be called a museum? I raise this question because they are manipulating a narrative, that the world, TWDC included, is abandoning Walt and destorting his legacy, I as a fan, as well as many others, are sympathetic to and are using it to raise funds. If they truly want to raise half a million dollars to create a permanent museum for Walt's birthplace, they need to have better answers than "we need to save Walt's old house and give us your money".

And frankly, I don't get why it's going to cost so much to "restore" it. It's not that big a house and not in that bad of a shape, from the pictures I've seen. There's a lady on HGTV called "Rehab Addict" who restores old homes "back to their former glory". Maybe Dina, Brent and Dusty ought to contact her. Heck, it'd make a great episode for her show...