A Spirited Perfect Ten

[RandySavage]

That kind of art could easily be done during Concept Development.

Third party architects get involved well before Construction Drawings are started (as they are continuations of Schematic Design and Dedign Development drawings) and Walt Disney Imagineering remains actively involved in that process.

Pro bases his trademark birdseyes off a sketch-up model (paint-over), which in turn is based off schematics and an illustrative site plan.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Pro bases his trademark birdseyes off a sketch-up model (paint-over), which in turn is based off schematics and an illustrative site plan.

A digital massing model and illustrated plan are not at all unusual for concept work.

 

[Phil12]

And if it is how long till it gets taken down with influence by Zenia??? @WDW1974 @Lee

Obviously Bob needs to send his people (and Willow) back to repeat their course in "Censorship 101".

 

[RandySavage]

A digital massing model and illustrated plan are not at all unusual for concept work.

Is your point it was in the Concept Phase and no further? It's possible, but I think it was further along.

 

[Clamman73]

@drew81 I was watching it online live on Bloomberg at the time it was on and that looks like it was the whole interview. When the magic bands question was asked, I was almost taken aback by that smoke and mirrors answer he gave, but also disappointed the Bloomberg interviewers didn't follow up to what he said since she states in her question that it was a big investment and Iger basically glossed over the answer for it.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Yes. He acknowledges the SDL rebuilds we've heard about here (which I was surprised by a bit - he could have easily gotten away with saying 'there are always challenges but things are looking great!' - the interviewers don't know or care about SDL like we do), but he does it about as diplomatically as one could.

And he is really sticking with Spring 2016.

He insulted his partners from the comfort of a Bloomberg tv studio in the US.

Bob: In China, we've had a number of challenges. We're bringing a product to market, meaning what we're actually constructing that's very unique. The structures that we build in a theme park are extremely complex. They're not just buildings, but they're shows and they're rides and they're aren't that many examples of the Chinese construction industry building things that are as complex as what we're building. So I'd say that's really been the biggest challenge. It's getting it right because what we're building is so complex, but we feel very good about where we are today and I said we'll open in the Spring and the rest will be history.

The weatherman has shown a tendency to project a great deal of confidence, or arrogance, when asked about Shanghai by the western press, but when in China...

What Bob says, and more important where he says it, displays his ineptitude with this whole debacle. Disney's Chinese partners have a long memory and will not forgot what he has said. These statements will further poison the two parties working relationship well into the future.

Also, since I see @WDW1974 is gracing us with a special Christmas appearance, a question. Would Bob have had the guts to say what he said on Bloomberg directly to his Chinese partners? And if he did how do you think that could play out based on your business experience in the Mainland?

 

[AEfx]

People don't generally care about digital wallets.. still. Even Apple couldn't break through that dam. Its going to take another round yet and a killer App yet to be defined.

(another round)...for "them" to realize that the vast majority of people don't give a fig about "wearables" and desire to be less attached to their electronic devices, not quite literally wearing them.

I said the same thing x-many years ago when the whole MM+ thing came about - and was assured, wearables are the future...and we're in the future, and we still have very few people who care.

There are only two segments out there that they are after financially - one, the payment market (even Disney - because if you are using a Disney payment system instead of, say Apple Pay coming to WDW, they aren't sharing payment revenues - the more folks between a POS and your credit card company, the less they make), and two, the health and fitness market. As we've seen, even the possible third "too cool for school" gadget crowd (i.e. those that upgrade their Apple devices yearly) doesn't seem particularly interested give how the Apple Watch looks like it's on it's way to being a footnote, not a cornerstone product.

And the average person? Couldn't. Care. Less. As I said, the trend is folks feeling they are too tethered to their devices, not asking to be even more intimate with them, one step away from implants. However, as long as they keep seeing possible dollar signs, the "industry" and the "media" will keep telling you how wearables exploding is just around the corner.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Is your point it was in the Concept Phase and no further? It's possible, but I think it was further along.

My point is that what Disney calls "concept art" has no bearing on when it was actually produced or where a project is in its development. Even the 2016 construction start doesn't mean much as Tokyo Disneyland required significant demolition and many Disney projects are "fast-tracked," where construction begins before design is finished.

 

[lazyboy97o]

He insulted his partners from the comfort of a Bloomberg tv studio in the US.

Bob: In China, we've had a number of challenges. We're bringing a product to market, meaning what we're actually constructing that's very unique. The structures that we build in a theme park are extremely complex. They're not just buildings, but they're shows and they're rides and they're aren't that many examples of the Chinese construction industry building things that are as complex as what we're building. So I'd say that's really been the biggest challenge. It's getting it right because what we're building is so complex, but we feel very good about where we are today and I said we'll open in the Spring and the rest will be history.

The weatherman has shown a tendency to project a great deal of confidence, or arrogance, when asked about Shanghai by the western press, but when in China...

What Bob says, and more important where he says it, displays his ineptitude with this whole debacle. Disney's Chinese partners have a long memory and will not forgot what he has said. These statements will further poison the two parties working relationship well into the future.

Also, since I see @WDW1974 is gracing us with a special Christmas appearance, a question. Would Bob have had the guts to say what he said on Bloomberg directly to his Chinese partners? And if he did how do you think that could play out based on your business experience in the Mainland?

I'm not sure it's insulting when some of those same partners are bragging about their involvement and how that clearly sets them above others.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

I don't doubt WDI's ability to turn out an amazing project...

I used to feel that way before the Yeti transformed into a gigantic furry doorstop.

... but I do question the wisdom of shoehorning this popular franchise into a dead end.

Wisdom? In this decision? Brain cells function very poorly when your head is shoved far up between your... sitz bones.

I'd really, really like to take Tony Baxter to Hearthstone and ask his opinion on this, about five drinks into the evening. It would be the Ultimate TB Diatribe that fanboys would pay hundreds of Disney Dollars to witness at D23.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Interesting info. I'm sure there will be those to come along and rip it to shreds, but good none the less.

Forbes insists that I turn off my ad-blocker so I guess that means they dont want it read....

 

[doctornick]

I don't doubt WDI's ability to turn out an amazing project, but I do question the wisdom of shoehorning this popular franchise into a dead end.

A couple of people have said something like this, but I'm not sure I understand or agree. How is Star Wars going into a "dead end" in DL? If anything, it's actually addressing that issue of the park layout by getting rid of a dead end. The land will have 2 entrances at opposite sides of the land which should work well for guest flow. There's the possibility of a third entrance as well -- it's not clear to me if it would be accessible from around the Fantasyland Theater, but if not I fully expect that they will connect FL and SWL in the future when Toontown gets replaced with a FL expansion.

I don't disagree that the land would potentially be congested, but that would probably be true regardless of where it is placed.

 

[ParentsOf4]

From where does your information (that nothing's been "designed" for OLC to approve) originate? I thought I read in a press release that the initial plan was to break ground in early 2016 which means design would have been happening for 2+ years prior (and before any public announcement).

Below is the plan presented by OLC at the April 28, 2015 earnings call:

And the latest plan presented at the October 29, 2015 call:

The two provide some perspective on what the OLC made public on those dates and how it evolved.

 

[John]

Great interview with Charlie Rose and George Lucas. Rather long but a great interview. Its worth the time for all you SW geeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/george-lucas-says-sold-star-wars-white-slavers-213813307.html

 

[Quinnmac000]

Great interview with Charlie Rose and George Lucas. Rather long but a great interview. Its worth the time for all you SW geeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/george-lucas-says-sold-star-wars-white-slavers-213813307.html

While Disney has to be pleased with the way its*$4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm is turning out, thanks to the galactic success of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the man who created the “Star Wars” universe doesn’t feel the same way.
In an interview with Charlie Rose, George Lucas spoke about everything from his and Disney’s branching vision to*the deal itself. Lucas, who has always been protective of his series and even refers to them as his “kids,” hasn’t been looking back well on the deal with Disney (via Collider).

“I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and…,” Lucas said before laughing and deciding it better not to finish.

Yikes, thats a harsh statement

 

[Phil12]

I'm not sure it's insulting when some of those same partners are bragging about their involvement and how that clearly sets them above others.

You have to adopt the correct mindset first.

 

[tirian]

A couple of people have said something like this, but I'm not sure I understand or agree. How is Star Wars going into a "dead end" in DL? If anything, it's actually addressing that issue of the park layout by getting rid of a dead end. The land will have 2 entrances at opposite sides of the land which should work well for guest flow. There's the possibility of a third entrance as well -- it's not clear to me if it would be accessible from around the Fantasyland Theater, but if not I fully expect that they will connect FL and SWL in the future when Toontown gets replaced with a FL expansion.

I don't disagree that the land would potentially be congested, but that would probably be true regardless of where it is placed.

You make a good point, and I suspect that many of us think of it as a dead end in the same way we see Toontown as one. The land will be set far to the back of the existing park, on the opposite corner of its closest thematic equivalent (Tomorrowland). Guests will have to walk and walk and walk to get there because it won't be connected to the existing hub.* Eventually, there will probably be a second half-circle over the north side of DL.

None of this affects the land's success. It will be an achievement.

An achievement in the wrong place. In the wrong park. Landlocked to prevent future growth.

*Edit: and Disney marketing will finally get its pictures of long queues like Uni enjoyed when HP opened.

 

[tirian]

I used to feel that way before the Yeti transformed into a gigantic furry doorstop.


Wisdom? In this decision? Brain cells function very poorly when your head is shoved far up between your... sitz bones.

I'd really, really like to take Tony Baxter to Hearthstone and ask his opinion on this, about five drinks into the evening. It would be the Ultimate TB Diatribe that fanboys would pay hundreds of Disney Dollars to witness at D23.

Thanks to you, I pretty much choked on coffee.

 

[DDLand]

In 2014, the OLC announced a 10-year plan to invest ¥500B (about $4.2B) at Tokyo Disneyland. OLC's annual revenue was ¥466B in the most recently completed fiscal year.

With Disney's domestic Parks & Resorts annual revenue at $13.6B, it would be like TWDC announcing plans to spend $14.6B at WDW and DLR.

Yeah, that would take some time.

From what I'm reading they reported Capital Expenditures of 37 Billion Yen in the last fiscal year. That was after years of investing in the 20-30 Billion Yen Range. According to their annual report, they're committing to spend 500 Billion Yen over the next ten years or on average 50 Billion Yen a year.

Compare that to domestic P&R CAPEX that in the most recent fiscal year stood at 1,457,000,000. Assuming that Domestic Investment stayed relatively constant for the next ten years you'd arrive at 14,570,000,000 in domestic CAPEX. That's actually fairly close to the number you calculated using the Tokyo Revenue numbers. Seeing as Disney should be keeping spending levels high because of DHS, Disneyland Downtown Disney redo, the new Disneyland Parking Structure, and whole bunch of other projects it's reasonable to expect these higher CAPEX numbers longterm.

So with a decade maybe they would have enough time?

I feel like there's lots of lingering goodwill for the company that brought us one of the world's best theme parks. I think it's well deserved too. However, it's hard to ignore their investing activities in the last several years are comparable to Disney's. That's not to say the quality of service or staff aren't spot on, but from a purely investing standpoint they leave something to be desired. Deprecation and Amortization have consistently been outpacing CAPEX up until the most recent year. I think they fell into a similar trap as Disney. Thinking they could soak up the cash will just maintaining what they had (which is admittedly more than what Disney did, which was soak up the cash while not maintaining what they had...). I think they're correcting things, but they do need to follow through. Which I have no doubt they will.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Disney gets to keep the films it distributed for Dreamworks live-action, including Lincoln and Bridge of Spies, in its library permanently.

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/steven-spielberg-amblin-investment-1201669720/
In another wrinkle to the new Amblin deal, not previously disclosed, Disney did not come away from DreamWorks’ departure empty-handed. The Mouse House will retain in its library the 13 films it released for Spielberg’s company, including “Lincoln,” “The Fifth Estate” and the upcoming “The BFG,” Spielberg’s fantasy film based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Disney loaned DreamWorks roughly $100 million, while also agreeing to pay some advertising and marketing costs for the Spielberg venture’s films, during the 2009 launch of the partnership. The total amount outstanding on those loans has not been reported, but two sources said Disney gets to keep the DreamWorks titles as compensation for the money owed. “The pictures they are keeping go to pay off the credit line,” said one of the individuals. While the final value of the films over time can’t be known, the source said: “Disney is not expecting to make money off this. All they are doing is attempting to recoup their debt.”