A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Kman101]

46.5 MILLION? Yuck

 

[George]

That is because the t-test and correlation
coefficient said therected is no significance between attendance and enjoyment.

I would like to see if a Bayesian analysis yields the same answer as this old school frequentist statistics approach.

 

[Clamman73]

46.5 MILLION? Yuck

Think of how much mini-golf one could play with that money.

 

[Nemo14]

For those of you who are interested, Disney released its 2015 proxy statement today.

Total Compensation:

• CEO Bob Iger: $46.5M, up 35%
• CFO Jay Rasulo: $16.2M, up 51%

Anyone care to calculate the CEO-to-CM pay ratio on that one?

 

[WDW1974]

I've seen Allain Litaye is ending his blog, which is sad as it was one of the better ones out there.

I read his column on DLP's future and he has heard many of the same things I've been told regarding upgrades to existing attractions and plans for new ones down the road as we move toward the 25th anniversary, which will kick off in HUGE fashion in just 27 months.

You do know the resort is closing down to be replaced by condos and Walmart, right?

 

[truecoat]

I've seen Allain Litaye is ending his blog, which is sad as it was one of the better ones out there.

I read his column on DLP's future and he has heard many of the same things I've been told regarding upgrades to existing attractions and plans for new ones down the road as we move toward the 25th anniversary, which will kick off in HUGE fashion in just 27 months.

You do know the resort is closing down to be replaced by condos and Walmart, right?

I'm not saying he won't but he has said that 2 or 3 times in the past.

 

[WDW1974]

For all the angst in the Twiverse over some of the recent 'creative' decisions in Anaheim (if you don't know what I am speaking of just ask Andy 'Fidel's 'wittle bro' Castro), understand that these things have happened since Tony Baxter was shoved (kicking and screaming) into retirement and out of the company.

Again, Disney doesn't care anymore about so many of the things that made it Disney. Walt would be drummed out of the company if he were alive today.

But you should see Bruce Vaughn rocking those Nordstrom at the Grove threads he bought at full price. He could make a fanboi drool ...

 

[WDW1974]

Ponder this: like it or loathe it, but DCA 1.0 was a more cohesive thematic product at opening than three out of four WDW gates are today.

 

[WDW1974]

Increasing capacity would be a smarter way to meet demand.

Everything happening at WDW now is largely designed to move capacity around rather than add it.

Much cheaper than adding new major attractions to the alleged No. 1 theme park in the world or adding compelling reasons for folks to spend time in Disney's other three gates and NOT parkhop to the MK.

It also makes that bottom line look better, which makes TWDC's exec leadership team look better.

Park-hopping was not the phenomenon in the 80s or 90s that it is today because people spent the whole day at EPCOT or Disney-MGM, which didn't close much earlier than the MK most of the year.

 

[WDW1974]

Staggs is the one in control of the theme parks.

Anyone who thinks that Iger has anything to do with them is soley mistaken. All Iger cares about is the numbers.

Of course, these are the exact same holes that are unwilling to green-light a Star Wars expansion until they see the numbers from the next movie. Ya know, to make sure its a succesful franchise and the whatnot. I mean, its only the most profitable & marketed IP ever made, but the Disney execs are quite sold on this so-called "Star Wars".....

Staggs runs P&R, but he reports to Iger and I can assure you and everyone here that any major (i.e capital expenditure goes by him). In other words, he has nothing to do with redoing the Beach Club rooms (while it is quite accurate to say his predecessor would have been picking out colors and fabrics for them). He has nothing to do with Peter Pan's new queue. Or adding entertainment (or taking it away) at EPCOT. BUT ...

Redoing DD yet again? Adding Pandora? Rebranding and revamping TPSTFBKaDHS? He sees all the plans and the numbers. And nothing happens without him saying so. He doesn't micro-manage like ME did. But a spinner doesn't get added to a park without him saying 'do it.'

 

[Nubs70]

The sad thing is Disney uses SAS (a powerful statistical software) in their parks division. They probably ran analysis to come up with that number. Obviously, there is something to be said about picking the right variables.

It all comes down to the survey.

I was tagged at HS this summer upon entering the park just prior to the daily Frozen parade. The surveyor was fishing so hard for me to give Frozen as the reason I was at HS. I refused to bite and she was almost in tears by the end of her statistically unbiased inquisition.

 

[WDW1974]

Yeah, I just don't get the over the top gushing about AAs and "practical" sets. I personally think the best use of AAs ever is still HoP. With Gringott's Bank Lobby being a close second. The rest feel like a variation on CoP usually in some sort of medium to small scale vignette. I personally think Gringott's is 1000 times more "immersive" than SSE or UTS:JOTLM.

I think AAs and real sets do a much better job of truly transporting you into an environment than screens do.

I think Gringotts is a great ride. I don't think it works nearly as well as PotC or HM, attractions that were created in Walt's day.

At the end of the day, you are watching a movie with characters yelling at you while wearing 3D glasses. It just isn't the same.

I long to experience MM ... but when everyone who I know and respect, INCLUDING people who worked on Gringotts, tell me it is better than DA's headline attraction, I believe it.

Clearly, the UNI's overseers in China see it the same way. The resort being planned there now stands to have a park that will likely compare favorably to TDS. A park that will not have the screen dependency that we have in FL ... Diagon Alley, as nice as it is, doesn't put UNI on that level.

 

[Figments Friend]

For all the angst in the Twiverse over some of the recent 'creative' decisions in Anaheim (if you don't know what I am speaking of just ask Andy 'Fidel's 'wittle bro' Castro), understand that these things have happened since Tony Baxter was shoved (kicking and screaming) into retirement and out of the company.

Again, Disney doesn't care anymore about so many of the things that made it Disney. Walt would be drummed out of the company if he were alive today.

But you should see Bruce Vaughn rocking those Nordstrom at the Grove threads he bought at full price. He could make a fanboi drool ...

I for one would rather hang out with Tony.
Much more entertaining company.

 

[WDW1974]

Disney's theme parks have not been "more successful now than they have ever been".

During the WDW era prior to Michael Eisner, Disney's Parks & Resorts business averaged a gross margin of 18.8%.

During Michael Eisner's 21 years as CEO, Disney's Parks & Resorts business averaged a gross margin of 22.2%.

Under current CEO Bob Iger, Disney's Parks & Resorts business has averaged a gross margin of 15.0%.

The domestic parks continue to age while investment levels at WDW have averaged less than 2% of domestic Parks & Resorts revenue, less than one-fifth of what they averaged under Eisner. Quality cut after quality cut is made at WDW while ride elements are allowed to remain broken for years. Disney no longer can fill its hotels and has stooped to filling them using shady timeshare practices. WDW's ticket prices are up a whopping 63% since Iger took charge. Meanwhile, domestic Parks & Resorts revenue is up by 62%, meaning Iger's "success" is driven by higher prices.

Under Bob Iger's leadership, Disney has forgotten how to run its theme parks.

Disney's Parks & Resorts has never been less successful.

Thanks again for all you do with number crunching. I admit I'm terrible at simple math (good thing I make up for it in countless other ways!) ... but when you explain things in cold hard numbers, I find it much easier to focus on other aspects behind those numbers.

BTW, Idina Menzel is singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Any truth to the rumor that Bob Iger is slipping her some stock if she belts out Let It Go instead?

 

[WDW1974]

By the way, it's been months since they announced some new up charge event. What's up?

Sadly, they're coming.

Almost every event (a few Food and Wine events were largely busts, but more than made up for by the dozens of others that were not) they add winds up being very, very $uce$$ful and that only leads to more. A few I expected haven't happened yet, but I'm confident they will.

 

[ChrisFL]

I love Ocean Park, some of its vistas are just breathtaking (the gondolas from the back of the park to the front), the coaster that has track over the South China Sea. But it is a hodgepodge of 70s amusement park and aquarium along with 90s theme park rides and incredible new animal exhibits with top notch theming, all on multiple levels.

It is interesting and I can't wait to experience it again (the Grand Aquarium was just being started on my last visit). Not looking forward to the mess the new Aberdeen MTR construction is causing.

But, as a Disney fan, I'd never visit HK and not go to DL. The place won me over on my first visit on a wretchedly hot and humid and sunny August day in 2008. And I fell in love when I lived there for part of 2010 and watched the construction start on the three new mini-lands. All HKDL has done is get better every year since opening. ... Can you say the same thing about the MK? You know, the world's (cough ... cough ... choke ... ) No. 1 attended theme park? OK, can you say it without the medicinal marijuana? Can you say it without Mickey's Lifestyler henchmen holding a giant turkey leg at your head?

I think Ocean Park is great as well, I didn't really eat the food there either, but despite having lots of food kiosks and places to eat, it was the McDonald's on property that had like a 45 minute line when I went, everywhere else was practically empty.

The gondola ride and the steampunk themed express train (which is the same company that made Universal's Hogwarts Express) is also quite cool.

Anyway, I think the park has a lot of local pride and nostalgia associated with it, which is why it pulled in good attendance numbers no matter what HKDL did.

 

[WDW1974]

Well my first visit was 1972. My son's first visit was 2005. He's 11 now. He told me last year that he liked WDW, but not as much as I seem to. A lot of my WDW love is residue of days gone by. I recognize the decline. I still have hope for the future but, perhaps, that hope is misplaced. I've had hope for so long now, I could start a series of movies with the title; "Theme Park Wars: An Old Hope". When we finally got around to making prequels, they would kick the original trilogy's butt, so here the analogy breaks down. :lookaroun

I bolded the important part, to me, @George. Because we're close in age and while I have no children (that I am aware of), I think a lot of my love is based on decades of great times.

 

[flynnibus]

Ponder this: like it or loathe it, but DCA 1.0 was a more cohesive thematic product at opening than three out of four WDW gates are today.

And a large part of Dca v2 consisted of ignoring overall themes to put in what they wanted (characters). Same thing we keep seeing in wdw too... But without the improvement over what it was before...

 

[Disneyhead'71]

/sigh

There's no such thing as "fake sugar". Corn syrup is fructose. Cane sugar is sucrose. They are both sugar. In fact, just to blow your mind a little bit more, sucrose is made of fructose.

Corn syrup is 100% glucose. High Fructose Corn Syrup has had some of it's glucose enzymatically changed to Fructose. What has been found is that for the body to actually use complex carbohydrates the body must first turn it into fat before it can burn it.

 

[flynnibus]

Thanks again for all you do with number crunching. I admit I'm terrible at simple math (good thing I make up for it in countless other ways!) ... but when you explain things in cold hard numbers, I find it much easier to focus on other aspects behind those numbers.

BTW, Idina Menzel is singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Any truth to the rumor that Bob Iger is slipping her some stock if she belts out Let It Go instead?

I hope she raises her goal of hitting at least 75% of her notes. I wonder why Disney hasn't favored the Demi version of the long..