A Spirited Perfect Ten

[GoofGoof]

I appreciate that you want to cause as much damage to Eisner's successor as possible, but I'm afraid you are barking up the wrong tree.

Here's a thought: if poor billionaire Gary Snyder was censored, then why isn't he screaming murder? That's right. Why is he silent? He is still sitting on those 'censored' articles (that he retracted...). If he wants them out in the open, why doesn't he distribute them?

It takes five seconds to put them on a blog, so the world can read his poor 'censored' words. Five minutes if he needs to rephrase to avoid rights issues with his publisher.

None of that though.

Not even any threats of sueing, despite playboy Snyder having a history of unleashing his shark lawyers on everybody who looks at him funny.

Because Gary 'flashy' Snyder simply overplayed his hand. As an advisor and large owner of Disney competitor stock, he needs to be prudent in what he writes professionally. He needs to be able to back up his assertions with facts when writing as a business advisor in manners pertaining to his competitors. It is fine for you and I to write nonsense about Disney on a cult fan forum, but not for somebody with competing business interests in a negative published article. When TWDC threatened libel - as they should, they are supposed and expected to protect their shareholders' interests - it turned out billionaire baby Snyder couldn't put his money where his mouth was. He had published unsubstantiable allegations for or at least with private gain, leaving Huff no option but to withdraw. Like a petulant child throwing the entire Monopoly board from the table, Snyder then withdrew all his articles and went sulking in the corner.

Who is Gary Snyder? Is he a real person or is that a pseudonym someone was writing under. He claimed to be affiliated with the Redstone family, but then when they pulled the article the Huffington Post put up a statement that seemed to imply he was not who he claimed to be. That was almost immediately pulled. Shortly after all of his articles were pulled from the site. I think a while back @WDW1974 explained that his lawyers requested that all of his articles be pulled when the article in question was censored.

The whole thing smells rotten to me. What did he write in that article that was factually inaccurate? He clearly has a personal axe to grind with Iger and/or TWDC, but there's no law against that. I do agree with your first point that it's odd that the writer hasn't surfaced anywhere else to complain or state his case. Imagine the fireworks we would see if he did resurface.

 

[ParentsOf4]

A Tokyo two park annual passport is five times (!) the price of my DLP passport.

That's interesting. A Tokyo 2-park annual pass is about $680 (¥82,000), which means you pay only about $136 for your DLP passport.

Pretty amazing since a 1-day ticket at DLP is $109 for Americans while a 4-day ticket is $230. Impressive that you pay nearly $100 less for your AP than a 4-day ticket. Any special discount?

Of course, a WDW PAP is about $100 more than a TDL AP, so that means it's nearly 6 times your DLP passport.

As for WDW, who goes there for a day? And a 10-day ticket for WDW is cheaper than ten days TDL.

Perhaps surprisingly, I've been told that WDW's 1-day ticket is one of its biggest sellers.

Unfortunately, most Americans haven't seen a 10-day vacation since they were children. The typical vacation is 4-to-5 days, meaning Americans pay considerably more for a 4-day MYW hopper ($369) than you pay for your DLP passport.

We can only dream of Tokyo Disneyland's $137 4-day hopper ticket.

Most European countries have mandatory minimum number of paid vacation days, typically 20 days or more. (Is France still 25 days?) In the U.S., it's 0 days. Unfortunately, most U.S. workers are 'at will' employees, meaning they can be terminated at any time without having to establish just cause.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Who is Gary Snyder? Is he a real person or is that a pseudonym someone was writing under. He claimed to be affiliated with the Redstone family, but then when they pulled the article the Huffington Post put up a statement that seemed to imply he was not who he claimed to be. That was almost immediately pulled. Shortly after all of his articles were pulled from the site. I think a while back @WDW1974 explained that his lawyers requested that all of his articles be pulled when the article in question was censored.

The whole thing smells rotten to me. What did he write in that article that was factually inaccurate? He clearly has a personal axe to grind with Iger and/or TWDC, but there's no law against that. I do agree with your first point that it's odd that the writer hasn't surfaced anywhere else to complain or state his case. Imagine the fireworks we would see if he did resurface.

Interesting. If he is not who he claims to be, then there is no case. No censorship, no drama, just nothing. Except a fake identity duly exposed.

 

[tirian]

I like much more than you, but I think your Pixie Dust quotient is higher than mine!

I'm not sure if that's possible. You seem to spend more time in the parks than I do.

As to those islands, um ... Um ... I'd expect significant changes to both in the years ahead!

#firewillowbay #disneycensors

That's good to hear!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

That's interesting. A Tokyo 2-park annual pass is about $680 (¥82,000), which means you pay only about $136 for your DLP passport.

Pretty amazing since a 1-day ticket at DLP is $109 while a 4-day ticket is $230. Impressive that you pay nearly $100 less for your AP than a 4-day ticket. Any special discount?

Of course, a WDW PAP is about $100 more than a TDL AP, so that means it's nearly 6 times your DLP passport.

Perhaps surprisingly, I've been told that WDW's 1-day ticket is one of its biggest sellers.

Unfortunately, most Americans haven't seen a 10-day vacation since they were children. The typical vacation is 4-to-5 days, meaning Americans pay considerably more for a 4-day MYW hopper ($369) than you pay for your DLP passport.

We can only dream of Tokyo Disneyland's $137 4-day hopper ticket.

Most European countries have mandatory minimum number of paid vacation days, typically 20 days or more. (Is France still 25 days?) In the U.S., it's 0 days. Unfortunately, most U.S. workers at 'at will' employees, meaning they can be terminated at any time without having to establish just cause.

1-day tickets the best seller? Who buys those!?

I do plead guilty to projecting my lengthy European vacations. I was checking prices for a 14 and 21-day WDW passport for my upcoming trip just last week...

Edit: yes, I paid $130 for my DLP passport. I got the supercheap citizen of the Paris region one.

 

[GoofGoof]

Interesting. If he is not who he claims to be, then there is no case. No censorship, no drama, just nothing. Except a fake identity duly exposed.

I'm not saying he is or isn't who he claims to be. I honestly have no clue who the guy is and a quick Google search doesn't show anything else written by a Gary Snyder. There is an old poet with that name who comes up a lot. I don't think they are the same person. I thought based on your post that you knew who he was.

 

[tirian]

Yes, they absolutely did. Amazing what a difference and a fast one that made.

Do you think they will for Shanghai's debut just because Bob Iger wants 'Walt Weather' for the opening?
More to the point, do you think thee will be many (any?) smog-free days at the resort?

#firewillowbay #disneycensors

That makes laser shows easier, right?

 

[ParentsOf4]

1-day tickets the best seller? Who buys those!?

With median household income around $51K, a trip to Florida is a once-in-lifetime vacation for many Americans. They squeeze in 1 day at WDW, 1 day at Universal, and spend their other vacation days elsewhere.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I'm not saying he is or isn't who he claims to be. I honestly have no clue who the guy is and a quick Google search doesn't show anything else written by a Gary Snyder. There is an old poet with that name who comes up a lot. I don't think they are the same person. I thought based on your post that you knew who he was.

Yes, sorry. Gary Snyder of the Redstone family, who own Viacom and CBS. A direct competitor of Disney. Gary is an advisor on media corporations entering China, and has a vested competing business interest to, and an axe to grind with, Disney.

 

[Nubs70]

Unfortunately, most U.S. workers are 'at will' employees, meaning they can be terminated at any time without having to establish just cause.

Or better yet trade in 1 American for 2 Indians and pay each Indian a little less than half of what the American was paid. Instant margin improvement.

 

[GoofGoof]

Yes, sorry. Gary Snyder of the Redstone family, who own Viacom and CBS. A direct competitor of Disney. Gary is an advisor on media corporations entering China, and has a vested competing business interest to, and an axe to grind with, Disney.

Yep. I did another search and found this. I assume this is the guy. He is a real person.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jun/10/local/me-bevhillshotel10

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Fun numbers, thanks!

Disney's overseas P&R margins are not clear cut. Disney artificially keeps its foreign Park and Resorts margin low for tax evasive reasons.

Starbucks doesn't turn a profit in Europe. Google Europe doesn't either. Despite both being used daily by every European below 55. DLP doesn't turn a profit in Europe either, despite operating the largest and most successful tourist attraction in Europe.

The European tax landscape is complex, infinitely more so than America's. For example, Disney operates several holding companies in Amsterdam that license Disney to Disney in Paris. Because of the Netherlands being an intellectual property tax evasion haven (The Rolling Stones and U2 are officially registered as Amsterdam acts too...) DLP pays vast license agreement fees for IP and ride development to these holding companies, which are simply Disney itself. Some of these holdings in turn are then owned by holdings in Luxembourg, where tax rates for capital gains run as low 0%.

The French government agreed to plain evasive ownership structures because it satisfied itself with employment and secondary tourism income. The tax havens that Disney uses, the UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, do it because they are, well, crooks who would 'beggar their neighbours' for a few pennies and would acquiesce to any large business shafting their tax payers, or, more neutrally put, because their politics are the most neo-liberal.

Basically, DLP's European shareholders, who forked up 49% of DLP investment, saw their shares plummet to just 5% of their value. The European taxpayer does not even get that five percent of what is owed to him/her.

Disney has won a foothold in Europe, a storefront for its merchandise and media properties, and prime access to 500 million consumers.

The U.S. parent company has also made money from its French adventure. Since 1992, royalty and management fees have added up to 975.69 million euros for the Walt Disney Company, according to Reuters calculations based on financial reports. Euro Disney said 285 million euros of that was not paid as of 2014, but still owed to Disney.

Add to that other Related-Party Transactions such as those for developing and building rides, other services and financial charges, and total charges reach at least 1.481 billion euros. Most of that revenue goes to other holding firms in the Netherlands, which has a tax-friendly policy for intellectual property. Disney says such services are crucial to maintain high and consistent standards at Euro Disney.

Over the same period, Euro Disney has incurred total net losses attributable to shareholders of more than 2 billion euros. As a result, it has paid no corporate taxes. Even in its profitable years, Euro Disney used “tax loss carry forwards,” which allow firms that have incurred losses to avoid taxes.
[...]
The U.S. parent firm uses a corporate structure known as the "societe en commandite par actions," or SCA. This set-up, used by a handful of firms in France, allows Disney to manage Euro Disney via a 100-percent-owned subsidiary. It charges what Leroy and others call "enormous" fees for Related-Party Transactions including royalties, management, development, maintenance and other services.
[...]
All the fees add up to around 10 percent of Euro Disney’s revenue. And that’s set to climb even further. As part of Euro Disney’s turnaround plans, one of those charges, the management fee, will rise to 6 percent on Oct. 1, 2018 from 1 percent now.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...reholders-specialreport-idUSKBN0L60UU20150202
​

Great post! Related, but not directly is that this is similar to how "Hollywood Accounting" works. To avoid taxes on profits generated by a motion picture, the film is placed in a corporation which is often its sole asset. When a film does generate profits, the dividends/royalties are classified as expenses with each group (investors, director, writer, producer, actors, union crew, etc.) receiving their agreed upon percentage of the gross. The name of the game is legal tax evasion.

 

[steve2wdw]

I'm not saying he is or isn't who he claims to be. I honestly have no clue who the guy is and a quick Google search doesn't show anything else written by a Gary Snyder. There is an old poet with that name who comes up a lot. I don't think they are the same person. I thought based on your post that you knew who he was.

Gary Snyder (and brother Michael), are members of the Redstone family (their grandmother is a Redstone-married name Snyder). If you search his name along with Sumner Redstone, it will bring up more background info. More digging brings info regarding his involvement with media. He "is" a real person.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Because Gary 'flashy' Snyder simply overplayed his hand. As an advisor and large owner of Disney competitor stock, he needs to be prudent in what he writes professionally. He needs to be able to back up his assertions with facts when writing as a business advisor in manners pertaining to his competitors.

Versus, say, financial journalists who often own stock in the companies they write glowing articles about.

There is nothing demonstrably false in the Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China article. It's an opinion piece, like thousands of other opinion pieces that are published every day without drama. Perhaps the most derogatory statement in it is calling Iger 'vanilla on toothpaste' but that's just a less complimentary rephrasing of the 'solid as a rock' image Iger likes to foster. Certainly, no one would call Iger a dynamic, exciting CEO.

Really, besides calling into question the financial wisdom of Disney investing billions in China, exactly what is so controversial about the article?

 

[Lee]

Who is Gary Snyder? Is he a real person or is that a pseudonym someone was writing under. He claimed to be affiliated with the Redstone family, but then when they pulled the article the Huffington Post put up a statement that seemed to imply he was not who he claimed to be. That was almost immediately pulled. Shortly after all of his articles were pulled from the site. I think a while back @WDW1974 explained that his lawyers requested that all of his articles be pulled when the article in question was censored.

I believe Mr. Snyder is who he represented himself to be. A Google search seems to reveal that.

What did he write in that article that was factually inaccurate?

Nothing.
The question is, what did he write that Iger/Disney doesn't want out there? What is so troublesome that Iger would jeopardize his wife's position?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Versus, say, financial journalists who often own stock in the companies they write glowing articles about.

There is nothing demonstrably false in the Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China article. It's an opinion piece, like thousands of other opinion pieces that are published every day without drama. Perhaps the most derogatory statement in it is calling Iger 'vanilla on toothpaste' but that's the just a less complimentary rephrasing of the 'solid as a rock' image Iger likes to foster. Certainly, no one would call Iger a dynamic, exciting CEO.

Really, besides calling into question the financial wisdom of Disney investing billions in China, exactly what is so controversial about the article?

You mean aside from the fact that someone in the financial/media community isn't going to kiss the Weatherman's feet?

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Really, besides calling into question the financial wisdom of Disney investing billions in China, exactly what is so controversial about the article?

We shall have to ask billionaire bunny Snyder, who has not dared repeat his fluff little piece. In all likelihood at the advice of his attorneys.

Waste of a read anyway. Misplaced triumphant trash-talking of a competitor. Meanwhile, Viacom's massive investments in China aren't doing all that hot. One would get the impression Beverly Hills Gary is seeing green with envy at the prospect of a competitor succeeding where he and his ilk largely failed.

 

[BrerJon]

Pretty amazing since a 1-day ticket at DLP is $109 for Americans while a 4-day ticket is $230. Impressive that you pay nearly $100 less for your AP than a 4-day ticket. Any special discount?

Annual Passes are exceptionally cheap for Disneyland Paris, and I think it's due to a different business model.

A DLP vacation is quite expensive upfront, and because there's only four or five days of things to do, it's hard to tempt people back within a year.

Having cheap passes is a good way to hook people into returning, as much of that upfront cost is gone.

In the USA, because of shorter vacation times, or the tendency to blow thousands of dollars on one trip, few families would do two trips and annual passes tend to be mainly used by locals for day trips, whereas in DLP they're primarily offered as an incentive to get families to do a second vacation there within a year, instead of just one.

 

[GoofGoof]

I believe Mr. Snyder is who he represented himself to be. A Google search seems to reveal that.

Nothing.
The question is, what did he write that Iger/Disney doesn't want out there? What is so troublesome that Iger would jeopardize his wife's position?

I think he is who he says he is now too.

As far as what got Iger so upset, that's a mystery to me. Nothing in that article was all that controversial. It must have been something he planned to say next.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

The funny thing about Disney CEO Fumbles Entry To China is that who wrote it, even if there is a Redstone connection, doesn't matter. I doubt that Gary Snyder is alone, within the context of financial/media circles, in noticing that Disney has had troubles getting the Chinese public interested in its BRAND and products. Anyone could have written that Op-Ed with a similar background. Honestly I'm not all that sure him being a Redstone can be considered having an ulterior motive. Despite media speculation on Viacom/CBS's future post Redstone, which is really a non factor given that long term plans are in place, the Redstones don't need to attack Disney. They are doing just fine and have a strong and growing international portfolio. Plus, I hear Nickelodeon has a cable channel in China. Jealous Bob?