A Spirited Perfect Ten

[ford91exploder]

Exactly which is why most of us look it is raining into different time periods… Before 94 and after 94.

Exactly - but you have to wonder how much of the post 94 malaise was driven by the emerging Wall St culture which led to the tech bubble popping and the 2008 meltdown, And yet they still have not learned their lessons.

 

[flynnibus]

So Celebration Place totally didn't tip that Lifestyler off, right?

Shes in the College Program - probably a CP thing to network/etc

 

[Rodan75]

The following charts the number of empty hotel rooms at WDW and DLR. (Keep in mind that WDW has nearly 90% of domestic room inventory, so this number really is about what's happening at WDW.)

View attachment 82539



WDW & DLR had more empty hotel rooms in 2013 than they did in the post-9/11 economy. For a management team with a laser-like focus on optimizing operations, 2013 was a shocking number.

With record crowds at WDW, 2014's 83% occupancy rate is disappointing but 1Q2015's 89% is strong.

More than anything, I'm guessing the improving economy has been the biggest factor for occupancy gains in 2014 and 1Q2015. Hotel occupancies are up at both onsite and offsite hotels. Another guess is that gas prices have helped tremendously because of the psychological effect they've had on consumer spending.

In addition, slower price increases and WDW hotel discounts have helped. In 2014 and 2015, WDW rack rates are up only about 3%. I don't have numbers in front of me but I think it the average increase for offsite hotels was around 5.5% in 2014. Disney management is being more market-conscious in its pricing strategy.

A third factor for 1Q2015 is that WDW took 361 rooms at the Polynesian out of service for conversion to DVC, a little more than 1% of inventory.

Just looking at the 2013 number, you can see that all of this is a relatively recent development. Before 2014, the number was going in the wrong direction.

If the number stay at 89% for the rest of 2015, then I suspect occupancy is right where Disney wants it.

Now I'm wondering if I said what I meant...the commentary for the last few months has been that the hotel occupancy rates would be even worse than previous years because of the advertising. I agree that decreasing gas prices and the improving economy in general helped in Q115, but gas prices weren't falling as fast as they were last quarter in 2014. I think Disney gets some credit here for their efforts to improve occupancy...and those efforts seem to coincide with some of your earlier analysis and criticism.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Exactly - but you have to wonder how much of the post 94 malaise was driven by the emerging Wall St culture which led to the tech bubble popping and the 2008 meltdown, And yet they still have not learned their lessons.

They seem to expect that the way the economy is going is the way it will always go. Similar to the divine right of kings it's the same mentality… "It will always be this way"… And in every instance they've been wrong. Since the Middle Ages.

The thing that really really really really really irritates me about Disney right now is that they are taking their sweet time with everything. Not out of a desire for a higher quality or better attraction… They're doing it for accounting reasons.

 

[ford91exploder]

They seem to expect that the way the economy is going is the way it will always go. Similar to the divine right of kings it's the same mentality… "It will always be this way"… And in every instance they've been wrong. Since the Middle Ages.

The thing that really really really really really irritates me about Disney right now is that they are taking their sweet time with everything. Not out of a desire for a higher quality or better attraction… They're doing it for accounting reasons.

That is the single most annoying thing about WDW vs UNI and OLC both OLC and UNI believe in getting attractions online QUICKLY so they can strike while the iron is hot so to speak.

If Uni gets the Star Trek franchise they are going to get every geek in the known universe there, I work with a LOT of Chinese and Indian colleagues and they are 'Meh on Star Wars but they can describe in detail EVERY episode EVER of all Star Trek series and NCC1701x is well represented as screen savers and physical models, You need to go to the help desk to find a TIE fighter or the 'Falcon

Once again It will be a license to print money and UNI can probably build a third gate around that, And screens are not a problem because in a spacecraft you interacted with the world through screens, Just look at how ENORMOUSLY popular the 'The Star Trek Experience' was in Vegas it had 2 hour lines at 10PM!! up to when it closed.

The only reason it closed is the executives on both sides (after Paramount sold their P&R division) got too greedy and could not make a deal.

 

[ford91exploder]

Now I'm wondering if I said what I meant...the commentary for the last few months has been that the hotel occupancy rates would be even worse than previous years because of the advertising. I agree that decreasing gas prices and the improving economy in general helped in Q115, but gas prices weren't falling as fast as they were last quarter in 2014. I think Disney gets some credit here for their efforts to improve occupancy...and those efforts seem to coincide with some of your earlier analysis and criticism.

Yes and TWDC does read THIS board especially this section.

 

[matt78]

That is the single most annoying thing about WDW vs UNI and OLC both OLC and UNI believe in getting attractions online QUICKLY so they can strike while the iron is hot so to speak.

If Uni gets the Star Trek franchise they are going to get every geek in the known universe there, I work with a LOT of Chinese and Indian colleagues and they are 'Meh on Star Wars but they can describe in detail EVERY episode EVER of all Star Trek series and NCC1701x is well represented as screen savers and physical models, You need to go to the help desk to find a TIE fighter or the 'Falcon

Once again It will be a license to print money and UNI can probably build a third gate around that, And screens are not a problem because in a spacecraft you interacted with the world through screens, Just look at how ENORMOUSLY popular the 'The Star Trek Experience' was in Vegas it had 2 hour lines at 10PM!! up to when it closed.

The only reason it closed is the executives on both sides (after Paramount sold their P&R division) got too greedy and could not make a deal.

Loved Star Trek the Experience. I would be happy if Universal just rebuilt the whole thing.

 

[PhotoDave219]

That is the single most annoying thing about WDW vs UNI and OLC both OLC and UNI believe in getting attractions online QUICKLY so they can strike while the iron is hot so to speak.

If Uni gets the Star Trek franchise they are going to get every geek in the known universe there, I work with a LOT of Chinese and Indian colleagues and they are 'Meh on Star Wars but they can describe in detail EVERY episode EVER of all Star Trek series and NCC1701x is well represented as screen savers and physical models, You need to go to the help desk to find a TIE fighter or the 'Falcon

Once again It will be a license to print money and UNI can probably build a third gate around that, And screens are not a problem because in a spacecraft you interacted with the world through screens, Just look at how ENORMOUSLY popular the 'The Star Trek Experience' was in Vegas it had 2 hour lines at 10PM!! up to when it closed.

The only reason it closed is the executives on both sides (after Paramount sold their P&R division) got too greedy and could not make a deal.

*Truck? Did I say I got damn thing about Star Trek? No… Because it's his second rate, wanna be franchise.

So say we all.

Edit: I just love voice to text when I'm yelling into the phone… Hilarious.

 

[ford91exploder]

Loved Star Trek the Experience. I would be happy if Universal just rebuilt the whole thing.

So did I - had a great time discussing bottled water with one of the Ferengi and how some Hew-mons got other Hew-mons to pay for what is free. Also had some nice chats with the Klingon Warriors who posited that 'this miserable planet was not worth the effort to invade.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The issue with Trek is that there's very little casual interest. There are hardcore fans, people who are indifferent, and people who outright mock the hardcore fans. Something like Potter or Star Wars is more likely to get the casual fan to say "hm... maybe I'll go check out that Harry Potter thing" rather than "lol Trekkies are the worst."

 

[ford91exploder]

*Truck? Did I say I got **** thing about Star Trek? No… Because it's his second rate, wanna be franchise.

So say we all.

But it's fans have more money than the Star Wars fans and they SPEND...

 

[ford91exploder]

The issue with Trek is that there's very little casual interest. There are hardcore fans, people who are indifferent, and people who outright mock the hardcore fans. Something like Potter or Star Wars is more likely to get the casual fan to say "hm... maybe I'll go check out that Harry Potter thing" rather than "lol Trekkies are the worst."

Oh absolutely agree and DW is going to the Star Wars convention in LA in April so both franchises are well represented here. For some real fun Trekkie vs Trekkers and 'Spiner Fans'

 

[matt78]

But it's fans have more money than the Star Wars fans and they SPEND...

How many of those life size Locutus statues do you think they sold? Didn't they go for like $3000 or something.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

These days he'd be against the dumb hipsters with curly mustaches. I knew I liked Eisner.

Or as I like to call them, "creatives". You know, the people with the actual ability to "create". Without the much maligned "creatives", the money guys would have nothing to exploit. That is why money guys HATE "creatives". Money guys absolutely need "creatives". The inverse? Not so much. Money is annoyingly unimportant to "creatives".

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Oh absolutely agree and DW is going to the Star Wars convention in LA in April so both franchises are well represented here. For some real fun Trekkie vs Trekkers and 'Spiner Fans'

It's also much easier to be a Star Wars fan and not feel like you're missing anything. It really only takes ~12 hours of your time to watch the bulk of the canon (six films). You don't need to know the plots of Clone Wars, Rebels, Knights of the Old Republic, Rogue Squadron, or The Thrawn Trilogy to be "caught up."

Conversely, Star Trek's main canon is enormous, consisting of The Original Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, Voyage Home, Final Frontier, Undiscovered Country, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis, Star Trek, and Star Trek: Into Darkness. Rough math puts that at 703 TV episodes and 12 films. Assuming roughly one hour per episode and two hours per film, you have 30 days worth of material to catch up on. There's no good "jumping on" point because you won't get the jokes about tribbles, Captain Pike, or "he's dead, Jim." I personally discovered The Original Series about five years ago and I absolutely loved it, but it's just too daunting of a task to get caught up with the whole universe.

Not to go too far off on a tangent, but I'll be interested to see how Marvel handles this issue as their cinematic universe grows. I think they've done a good job so far of integrating Agents of Shield and Agent Carter into the universe without making either one "essential reading" to one's enjoyment of the main film continuity. I hope the same will be true with the Netflix series.

 

[matt78]

Not to go too far off on a tangent, but I'll be interested to see how Marvel handles this issue as their cinematic universe grows. I think they've done a good job so far of integrating Agents of Shield and Agent Carter into the universe without making either one "essential reading" to one's enjoyment of the main film continuity. I hope the same will be true with the Netflix series.

I hope now that Spider-Man is in the MCU that we will get a Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up movie. Or a Spider-Man/Blade vs Morbius the Living Vampire movie.

 

[ford91exploder]

How many of those life size Locutus statues do you think they sold? Didn't they go for like $3000 or something.

Yes and I believe ALL of them were sold as they were a limited edition!

 

[matt78]

Yes and I believe ALL of them were sold as they were a limited edition!

Do you remember how many they made?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Yes and TWDC does read THIS board especially this section.

I know this for a fact. You are correct. There are people within side of celebration that read these boards and particularly this thread.

Of course they look at us with amusement, Snark, and condescension… But they still continue to read it.

There are a considerable amount of things we do continue to get wrong. Like this entire concept of "TDO"... That's long gone.

 

[Sped2424]

Like this entire concept of "TDO"... That's long gone.

Could you elaborate on that?