A Spirited Perfect Ten

[asianway]

Agree to disagree. The street loves growth and recent growth has come from two places (primarily) in both Revenue and OI: Domestic Parks and ESPN. As ESPN faces rising pressures from cord cutters and rights costs, Domestic Parks become even more critical.

The street hates capital intensive businesses, real estate investment has slowly moved to be a specialty of private equity firms. See Dardens recent troubles...

 

[ford91exploder]

Agree to disagree. The street loves growth and recent growth has come from two places (primarily) in both Revenue and OI: Domestic Parks and ESPN. As ESPN faces rising pressures from cord cutters and rights costs, Domestic Parks become even more critical.

That does not change the dynamic on the 'Street, Wall Street guys would not be caught DEAD in a theme park and they assume everyone thinks like that, They are all about Miami Beach, The Hamptons, South of France, Vail - the list goes on.

 

[ford91exploder]

The street hates capital intensive businesses, real estate investment has slowly moved to be a specialty of private equity firms. See Dardens recent troubles...

Let's go a bit further and state the 'Street hates companies which have capital needs ie any company which builds something. It's why app companies are so big - no ongoing capital needs, Wall St has really gotten away from capital formation and business funding and now it's all gambling on a grand scale.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I see things a little differently. Why does everything have to be Harry Potter Land? There is no need to make a Star Wars Land as an exact replica of one of the movie sets. The land can be loosely based on Tatooine which would include the Cantina, but should also have some full size replicas of ships or vehicles. To me the ships are what makes Star Wars. If they have an X wing, and the falcon that would go a long way. They could also build replicas of the sand crawler or Jabbas sail barge. For me that stuff would be more interesting than just replicating a planet or a town from one of the movies. It wasn't until very recently that we expected theme park lands and rides to strictly follow the plots of movies.

Possibly the coolest part of Star Tours is that walker outside the building. The ride itself doesn't follow the plot of any movie which I think is the way to go for any new ride too. Create a story for the ride based on SW. They have to be careful not to make the ride too similar to Star Tours and I would hope it focused more on physical sets. No coaster. They need a ride that can slow down to allow you to take in show scenes.

As much as I love Les Mystères du Nautilus, it is not the sort of think that can be replicated repeatedly and anchor a land. The same land with the previously named walk through also has a huge X-Wing that hardly ever gets mentioned. People love Optimus Prine, but you don't see people begging to see inside the trailer he tows.

Being a place is not about copying what is already seen in film. It is about being able to continue being what is seen and remain engaging. Mos Eisley would be a few props with a lot of thick, windowless, sand colored walls and large sand covered walkways. That is where the worlds of Stars Wars start to fall apart, is when you go to past the iconic scenes and the spaceships. Mos Eisley would be the Morroco Pavilion with far less ornamentation, far fewer props and wider walkways.

 

[GoofGoof]

Agree to disagree. The street loves growth and recent growth has come from two places (primarily) in both Revenue and OI: Domestic Parks and ESPN. As ESPN faces rising pressures from cord cutters and rights costs, Domestic Parks become even more critical.

Remember that Analysts think short term. Large capital projects take decades to break even. Raising prices and cutting costs drive short term growth.

Recall that in 2013 Iger and Rasoulo made it a point to stress that P&R capital spend would slow down post Carsland. The street is highly sensitive to capital spend. As long as Iger keeps hitting home runs they accept whatever he says, but if things turn south they will start challenging him in a hurry.

We will have to agree to disagree on the point that success or failure in China will impact domestic spend. There is most definitely a direct correlation in my opinion.

For the record I still think Shanghai will end up being a financial success. It's just not a slam dunk, no brainer it will be a success. There's much more risk and many more moving parts than something like Carsland or even FLE.

 

[ford91exploder]

Remember that Analysts think short term. Large capital projects take decades to break even. Raising prices and cutting costs drive short term growth.

Recall that in 2013 Iger and Rasoulo made it a point to stress that P&R capital spend would slow down post Carsland. The street is highly sensitive to capital spend. As long as Iger keeps hitting home runs they accept whatever he says, but if things turn south they will start challenging him in a hurry.

We will have to agree to disagree on the point that success or failure in China will impact domestic spend. There is most definitely a direct correlation in my opinion.

For the record I still think Shanghai will end up being a financial success. It's just not a slam dunk, no brainer it will be a success. There's much more risk and many more moving parts than something like Carsland or even FLE.

Correct analysts want a dollar spent today to be worth 1.25 in 90 days, They are no longer looking at LT growth they would rather have the 1.25 next quarter than $20 bucks in 7 years.

 

[GoofGoof]

As much as I love Les Mystères du Nautilus, it is not the sort of think that can be replicated repeatedly and anchor a land. The same land with the previously named walk through also has a huge X-Wing that hardly ever gets mentioned. People love Optimus Prine, but you don't see people begging to see inside the trailer he tows.

Being a place is not about copying what is already seen in film. It is about being able to continue being what is seen and remain engaging. Mos Eisley would be a few props with a lot of thick, windowless, sand colored walls and large sand covered walkways. That is where the world's of Stars Wars start to fall apart, is when you go to past the iconic scenes and the spaceships. Mos Eisley would be the Morroco Pavilion with far less ornamentation, far fewer props and wider walkways.

My point is they can build something similar to Star Tours now but on a larger scale. The star trader shop and show building for the ride aren't from any movie, but put them next to a full size AT-AT and everyone knows it's Star Wars. So build a generic spaceport area with architecture similar to Tatoine/Mos Eisley but include iconic ships and things from the movies. I know the SW purists would hate that, but for the average park guest it will be a big hit. Build a land that transports you to the world of Star Wars not specifically to Tatoine or another specific set.

 

[lazyboy97o]

My point is they can build something similar to Star Tours now but on a larger scale. The star trader shop and show building for the ride aren't from any movie, but put them next to a full size AT-AT and everyone knows it's Star Wars. So build a generic spaceport area with architecture similar to Tatoine/Mos Eisley but include iconic ships and things from the movies. I know the SW purists would hate that, but for the average park guest it will be a big hit. Build a land that transports you to the world of Star Wars not specifically to Tatoine or another specific set.

That's essentially the studio concept that people don't really like.

 

[GoofGoof]

Correct analysts want a dollar spent today to be worth 1.25 in 90 days, They are no longer looking at LT growth they would rather have the 1.25 next quarter than $20 bucks in 7 years.

I think it also depends on the company and CEO. Elon Musk announced he is building a multi-billion dollar giga-factory to make batteries and Tesla stock shoots up. If you have the ear of the street you can get away with a lot. But that loyalty is fickle and can turn on a dime. Iger had their ear now...that could change fast.

 

[GoofGoof]

That's essentially the studio concept that people don't really like.

People here...who are purists. For the average park fan it will be a smash hit.

 

[wdisney9000]

Can I just ask a question?

Who the hell cares?

When the whole issue first came up I thought the same thing. But then I read articles with Iger talking about China and building in Shanghai and its quite obvious he wants this to be a big part of his legacy. He stated in one article that he has been involved in the China deal since 1999 and negotiations took over 11 years and all the obstacles they had to overcome.

If he put that much effort into this deal then why is he not there with a big smile on his face in front of the castle? Too hear him talk about it he sounds so extremely proud of this deal and you would think he would be there beaming with pride, but hes not. Why?

 

[Cesar R M]

I doubt "the street" is going to extrapolate any conclusions from the success or failure of a Shanghai project and apply them to Orlando or any of the domestic operations. Shanghai, cruise ships, and NGE are all unique animals that need to be evaluated on their own merits but don't carry much predictive power in terms of "normal" capital expenditures. When it comes to the long-term fate of WDW, it's much more important how Avatar and DCA play out than whatever happens in China.

I honestly believe it could have more repercussions based on trust towards the P&R top management. Might be used as an excuse to dont expand anymore.

 

[Cesar R M]

Correct analysts want a dollar spent today to be worth 1.25 in 90 days, They are no longer looking at LT growth they would rather have the 1.25 next quarter than $20 bucks in 7 years.

This is the bad thing that wall street created. full of clowns that have no responsibility with the company. if the company might start to stall, they can just bail/sell and be gone.
but what about the employees? the cms? the lower management? all the jobs?

wall street does not care.
Wall street is currently like a deadly virus.. sucks all then when there is nothing to suck.. it moves.. gone!
to infect something else.

 

[ford91exploder]

When the whole issue first came up I thought the same thing. But then I read articles with Iger talking about China and building in Shanghai and its quite obvious he wants this to be a big part of his legacy. He stated in one article that he has been involved in the China deal since 1999 and negotiations took over 11 years and all the obstacles they had to overcome.

If he put that much effort into this deal then why is he not there with a big smile on his face in front of the castle? Too hear him talk about it he sounds so extremely proud of this deal and you would think he would be there beaming with pride, but hes not. Why?

Because the Chinese OWN him and he's just beginning to realize this.

 

[wdisney9000]

Because the Chinese OWN him and he's just beginning to realize this.

Feels more like they just completely used him and TWDC to get the park they wanted in their continuing effort to spruce up the entire county. Multi-billion dollar projects are happening all over. The largest bridge, biggest airport, longest gas pipeline all being built. Why not throw in a huge Disney park to boot.

 

[WildcatDen]

the potential quagmire that Disney is getting into

. . .
. . .
Giggity?

 

[FigmentFreak]

Long time listener, first time caller here.

Admittedly I am a huge SW fan, so I will be in line to open DHS (or whatever it's going to be called by then), as soon as any SW expansion is added to the park. Whatever it may be. And I guess I agree with the "SW is all landscapes, not places" argument. However, I do believe that there are specific places you could pull from each planet that could work.

8. Naboo: The Palace. Although this would be a complete waste of space, because it isn't heavily covered in the films.

I know that 7 & 8 are complete trash, I just added them to the list for kicks & giggles. Do I know exactly what type of attraction could be in each location? Nope. But I've obviously done enough armchair imagineering for the night. Plus, it's all probably moot, because aren't they planning on using stuff from the new films?? I do believe that SW certainly has enough "places" to be able to pull off a fantastic area. And I don't see a problem with transition, for reasons that other have stated, but I don't feel like quoting.

The Naboo Palace is perfect. They make Amadala the newest Disney Princess and set it up ala Beasts Castle with a restaurant and think of the fun twist on bibbity bobbity boutique with everyone getting their face's painted in all the different styles Amadala had, wigs galore, and oh my all her costumes. $$$$$$ The perfect new Disney up-charge.

 

[FigmentFreak]

Maybe we could see Rock-N-Roller Coaster re-themed to Star Wars. The fact that its a Dark Coaster opens up so many possibilities for Star Wars. Also they could re-theme that end of the park a little and do more with the RNR building itself outside and queue area. Bring the SW experience to opposite ends of the park.

Change R-N-R to the X-wing coaster. The set up room is the prep talk where Leia plugs in R2 and shows you the death star plans and explains the the small intake hole that is the Death Star's achilles heal. You board your x-wing and then you're part of Red squadron and you hear all the pilot chatter while flying with Luke trying to get destroy the Death Star and all the cardboard cutouts could be changed to Darth Vader and storm trooper fighters, or the gun turrets from the death star..

 

[lazyboy97o]

People here...who are purists. For the average park fan it will be a smash hit.

Based on what? Decoration and light immersion have consistently failed for Disney.

 

[Phil12]

I'm assuming you're being sarcastic....

I was making light of and reference to Spirit's assertions:

Nah. I am sure it's simply tinfoil hat stuff. No billion dollar international media conglomerate could possibly ever track someone and get inside their systems.

You see, Spirit wasn't talking about a random virus or Trojan being put on his computer from China or Russia. He was specific about the alleged clandestine infiltrator. And as it turned out, he was right about the tinfoil hat aspect. It was just a matter of incorrectly interpreting the evidence. However, his intent was to cast aspersions by inference rather than really seeking a solution to the problem.

If I was infected by a virus, I would attempt to find how I became infected and take the needed security measures to remediate the problem and make sure it didn't happen again. If, during the course of virus remediation, I discovered the person or persons responsible for the infection, I would report the information to the appropriate authorities. I would not under any circumstances even suggest that a person or company was responsible for infecting my computer unless I had evidence of their involvement.