A Spirited Perfect Ten

[WDW1974]

Well after page after page of Universal news, I'm going to start discussing other business units that are part of the Comcast/Universal empire.

Mostly because I don't give a toss about Universal or whether they need a 3rd gate or have 15k hotel rooms.

And no offense but day after day after day of people turning this (And every other thread) into Disney vs Universal, It's gotten old. They didn't get the hit when they were suggested to go to Orlando United. Maybe they'll get the darn hint when I start discussing Jacob Vorachek's role within the Comcast/Universal Empire.

Universal news is fine here so long as it is context of what is happening in O-Town's tourism market as a whole. You are free to not care about what they are doing. I do care because it is the biggest news in O-Town arguably since EPCOT Center debuted and brought a period of unprecedented growth in the business that largely never stopped. I don't want anyone going to Orlando United because they feel they can't discuss what is going on at UNI here.

We both know almost nothing is happening at WDW these days. I really don't wish to talk about makeovers at The Disney-MGM Studios that will be timed to coincide with WDW's 50th --so they don't have to add a major E-Ticket to the MK for another decade -- ad nauseum. UNI is doing a lot and that is worthy of chatter in a Spirited thread.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Awhile back on this thread, there was a posting about Avatar Land and a odd rumor swirling around about it. Is there an update on this rumor?

 

[WDW1974]

EE needs to get his head out of a book and into the real world

I was always quite fond of EE. I know the individual behind the moniker. He's an intelligent -- and opinionated -- young man. But I do think his online personality has gone to his head some. He's like the 'reluctant Lifestyler' who will say he wants nothing free from Disney until Dr. Blondie comes a calling.

And he greatly overestimates the import of trivial historical footnotes like the Orange Bird and Disney's merchandising them to death now. These Dreamfinder/Figment comics would be another.

I care about the guy and wish him nothing but the best, but I think he could use a reality check and other mutual friends feel the same way.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I like Mermaid, but it's flawed at a very basic level. Think about how much space is dedicated to everything pre-Under the Sea compared with the battle between Eric and Ursula. You're introduced to your unnecessary narrator, then you get the unnecessary "underwater" transition, then Part of Your World (no problems there), then long hallway of nothingness. And the dramatic climax of the movie gets a door's width of space. I like those things in the beginning, but the space would have been better spent elsewhere. The ride is like when you're writing something and you realize you're running out of space and try to cram the last couple of words in the margin... that's fine for your 9th grade Bio homework, not so fine for your wedding invitations. Somebody should have figured this out before they built two of them.

I know I'm probably the first person to mention this

Totally. Mermaid shows the difficulty of literal translations from one medium to the next. The full narrative of a ninety minute movie is not easily told in a three minute ride. And Mermaid fails spectacularly in this regard. I think only Peter Pan pulls it off, and even that one relies on the intrinsic drawing power of mermaids, Indians and pirates, who you mostly merely encounter in the ride.

I do think the underwater transition is far from unnecessary. More underused at the moment, to the point where it feels redundant. Whereas to me, that transition is the gimmick the ride should've revolved around. Going from under to over the sea and reverse should be Mermaid's 'flying over London moment'. It should've been a show-stopper. And not even just as a show scene, but as the main determinant of the ride system. Baxter's proposed ride did it much better. What you want is to show life under the sea, followed by going up where the people are. It is the whole essence of the story, the physical expression of the mental longing of the protagonist. Literature is full of stories about longing to be part of another world, or even of growing up, leaving the nest. Disney gives it material form by the metaphor of leaving the sea, so direct and clear that it serves as a great introduction to the theme fit for a five year old. (And by five year old I mean to compliment Disney and the best of its storytelling tradition)
That is the story element, the transition from under to over the sea, that could so easily and powerfully be told in the darkride format. It also solves the old Snow White - Peter Pan dilemma: to have the guest step in the protagonist's shoes, as Snow did, or to show him the protagonist as an outside observer, as Snow 2.- and Pan do? By emerging from the sea oneself, even while watching Ariel do it too from a third person perspective, the rider herself personally experiences the transition as if he were Ariel. And etc etc blahblah

 

[WDW1974]

Awhile back on this thread, there was a posting about Avatar Land and a odd rumor swirling around about it. Is there an update on this rumor?

The odd rumor was that Disney was working on a THIRD attraction for the land. I've been sitting on it (like a fanboi with a favorite Imagineer) for months because no one can confirm. And Disney ADDING attractions to a project is almost unheard of. But I don't like being a tease, so place this strictly in the rumor basket for now. And sorry that I couldn't place out sooner (much like the Marvel Superhero Island redos coming up, I was protecting a source and didn't feel anyone just had to know!!)

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

The odd rumor was that Disney was working on a THIRD attraction for the land. I've been sitting on it (like a fanboi with a favorite Imagineer) for months because no one can confirm. And Disney ADDING attractions to a project is almost unheard of. But I don't like being a tease, so place this strictly in the rumor basket for now. And sorry that I couldn't place out sooner (much like the Marvel Superhero Island redos coming up, I was protecting a source and didn't feel anyone just had to know!!)

Thanks a lot for the update.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Has anyone from Disney ever publicly said this? They certainly seem to act that way some times but I don't recall a public statement calling the market mature.

Eh, actions speak louder than words. No new theme or water park for decades and only limited expansion in the existing ones means one consider(s/ed) the market mature.

I wonder if the Orlando market isn't booming, or even ready to explode. If I see what Potter did for a theme park with no name recognition this side of the pond, then I I can only imagine what a ten billion dollar capital infusion in WDW would've done. Then again, I can also understand Disney's position that it does WDW little good to go from its status as World's Largest Theme Park Resort to World's Largest Theme PArk Resort, But Now a Little Bit Bigger Yet. People drawn to the second would've been drawn to the first.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Universal news is fine here so long as it is context of what is happening in O-Town's tourism market as a whole. You are free to not care about what they are doing. I do care because it is the biggest news in O-Town arguably since EPCOT Center debuted and brought a period of unprecedented growth in the business that largely never stopped. I don't want anyone going to Orlando United because they feel they can't discuss what is going on at UNI here.

We both know almost nothing is happening at WDW these days. I really don't wish to talk about makeovers at The Disney-MGM Studios that will be timed to coincide with WDW's 50th --so they don't have to add a major E-Ticket to the MK for another decade -- ad nauseum. UNI is doing a lot and that is worthy of chatter in a Spirited thread.

And I'm just saying that I've had people come to me and basically say that all we discuss is universal. Which I'm fine with doing, I'm just going to discuss the parts of universal that interest me. Which is HHN.... And their hockey playing corporate cousins.

Plus it's every thread, usually turned into the Disney vs Universal by the same cast of characters. It's obnoxious anymore.

 

[WDW1974]

I read the 10Q and have to admit that there is a grey cloud hanging over what I thought were some great numbers at WDW.

Please recall that P&R revenue was up a weak 5.6% (the lowest increase in 5 years) but operating income was up an impressive 23.9% (the highest in 2 years). I was hoping this was a result of improved operational efficiency due to higher volumes at WDW. However, looking at the 10Q, there were several special factors that conspired to inflate operating income, even while Disney struggled to contain core operating expenses.

For background, Disney reports 3 categories of expenses against P&R revenue. These are operating expense (opex), selling, general, administrative & other (SG&A), and depreciation.

Quoting from the 10Q:

Operating expenses include operating labor, which increased $76 million from $1,032 million to $1,108 million [up 7.4%], cost of sales, which increased $14 million from $334 million to $348 million [up 4.2%], and infrastructure costs, which decreased $19 million from $475 million to $456 million [down 4.0%]. The increase in operating labor was due to inflation, new guest offerings and higher pension and postretirement medical costs. The increase in cost of sales was due to inflation and higher volumes. The decrease in infrastructure costs reflected higher costs in the prior-year quarter in connection with the launch of MyMagic+ and the absence of costs that were incurred in the prior-year quarter for the dry-dock of the Disney Wonder. Other operating expenses, which include supplies and commissions, increased driven by new guest offerings and inflation. Operating expense growth was partially offset by a 2% decrease from foreign currency translation due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro.​

Selling, general, administrative and other costs decreased $32 million from $488 million to $456 million [down 6.6%] primarily due to the impact of foreign currency translation due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro and lower marketing costs.​

In other words, like last year, some of the operating income gain simply was the result of an absence of expenses associated with the rollout of MyMagic+ rather than an improvement in operational efficiency.

Looking at the SG&A decrease of 6.6%, let's compare it to the previous quarter, which saw a 6.6% increase:

Selling, general, administrative and other costs increased $27 million from $408 million to $435 million [up 6.6%] driven by higher marketing costs.​

It appears some of P&R's gain came from favorable currency transactions on expenses (which also adversely affected overseas revenue) and lower marketing expenses. Tack on the reduced costs associated with completion of the MyMagic+ rollout and the operating income number doesn't look as impressive as it did at first glance. It's still good but not 23.9% good.

Finally, depreciation was up only 1.6%, a depressing number since this represents actual capital projects. This unusually low number (the lowest increase in 4 years) means that Disney simply didn't build much to be depreciated.

WDW still had a great quarter but it seems that without these special transactions, P&R's financial performance would have lost some of its luster.

Funny, that's what a Wall Street type emailed to me this afternoon. It's very close to verbatim what you write in regard to simply removing the My Magic Plus ''financial shackles'' from development and implementation.

 

[WDW1974]

And I'm just saying that I've had people come to me and basically say that all we discuss is universal. Which I'm fine with doing, I'm just going to discuss the parts of universal that interest me. Which is HHN.... And their hockey playing corporate cousins.

Plus it's every thread, usually turned into the Disney vs Universal by the same cast of characters. It's obnoxious anymore.

I don't disagree. But that is because of two things that you know as well or better than many here:

1.) WDW is stale and stagnant and saying they're slow to add new things would be a crime against the word 'slow';
2.) UNI is in the midst of a period of amazing growth (second only to when they added IOA, City Walk and the resorts) and they're adding quality, not overhyped crap;

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Just think how deluded you have to be to think buying a Figment comic book can do "a lot of good" and will show Disney how "beloved and relevant" these characters are.

Boy, the crap that swirls in the Twitter toilet bowl.

I bought the whole run for five bucks on Comic Book Day and just can't believe folks think creating backstory for the characters was a good idea.
Serious question: if Shanghai's eventual second gate is an EPCOT Center like park with new versions of fanboy favorites like Horizions or Journey into Imagination, would they visit?
EDIT: also want to add that there were many, many copies of Figment available in the dollar comic bin when I picked them up.

 

[WDW1974]

Yeah, we all got together years ago and planned out how we would lie about Disney surveys for years on several different websites...

I still remember the cupcakes that you brought to the party. They were FABULOUS!!!

 

[WDW1974]

I bought the whole run for five bucks on Comic Book Day and just can't believe folks think creating backstory for the characters was a good idea.
Serious question: if Shanghai's eventual second gate is an EPCOT Center like park with new versions of fanboy favorites like Horizions or Journey into Imagination, would they visit?

Serious answer: they won't, so unburden yourself from thinking that way. I believe when SDL gets a second gate that it will be the most 'foreign' Disney Parks experience yet. No, I have no info, simply opinion. ... But since you want to play 'what if?', the answer for 99.9% of them is NO. They will never visit regardless of what Disney builds there.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I still remember the cupcakes that you brought to the party. They were FABULOUS!!!

Now I want a cupcake...

Just to keep this connected to Disney, the free cupcakes on Disneyland's 50th were awesome since they were "while supplies last." The crowds never came (I doubt that is the case this year) and many of those that did were waiting in line for merchandise.

 

[WDW1974]

Universal doesn't care about others getting a cut. That's why the resort is full of so many licensed properties.

I wish Disney fanbois could/would get this through their heads. It would end the endless Marvel debates for good.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

It did always seem that there were CMs in a restroom ''back in the good, old days'' but you'd have to talk to individuals who work/ed in custodial or MK Ops for an answer.

I can say that EVERY major theme park restroom facility needs 1-2 CMs permanently assigned to it, even if they rotate throughout a land.

Speaking of park upkeep. I once asked @Alektronic how park maintenance used to be staffed and organized. His reply below

Well, at MK, they have changed throughout the years also. First, there was a LOT more people there to do the work. Second, there was a lot more SKILLED people doing the work, now they are diluting the workforce with cheaper and unskilled labor.

At MK, there was a attractions maintenance dept for each land like Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland and they split up Fantasyland and Main Street. Then they merged them into just East and West and that didn't work too well, then they separated them again into West, Central, and East and now they are trying just North and South. Now that is just Attractions Maintenance.

They are different maintenance depts that take care of the whole park like Carpenters, Painters, and Support shop(they take care of merchandise and kitchens). They had a separate lighting crew, but I'm not sure now. And a seperate dept for Parade Maintenance.

 

[WDW1974]

Now I want a cupcake...

Just to keep this connected to Disney, the free cupcakes on Disneyland's 50th were awesome since they were "while supplies last." The crowds never came (I doubt that is the case this year) and many of those that did were waiting in line for merchandise.

Yes, they were. And I did get multiples. I think you're right about merchandise. I had no desire to stand in a 3-hour line to buy a pin that would have been simply celebrated that fact I stood in line on July 17th, 2005 to buy a ten cent pen for $15.

I am almost certain that was the first time I ever had a Disney cupcake.

We should all sing '''Do You Want to Eat a Cupcake ...''

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

There are rumors that Kong will contain more sets (and maybe AA's) and less reliant on video screens than previously suspected, could this indeed be true? People over at Orlando United are citing something like 70% of the ride being comprised physical real sets, with only 30% of the ride being screen based. A stark contrast to most other recent Uni attractions where the numbers are switched around to being mostly video screens. I'll be excited if there's truth to that statement, it's also nice to see a ride with such a low height requirement (likely something most people of any height, health or aversion to physical thrills can enjoy).

 

[WDW1974]

I had to highlight this bizarre exchange regarding MyMagic+ during the earnings call.

Question from Alexia Quadrani, an analyst at JP Morgan:

It seems like MyMagic+ has really improved capacity at Disney World. And you've had a number of record attendance quarters lately. I guess how much can you continue to see those gains? And any color on how international visitors may have trended in the quarter?
​

Answer from CEO Bob Iger:

Sure, Alexia. So as you know that MyMagic+ has had an impact, especially as we've now started to anniversary the startup costs that we had there. And it really is integrated into the total Walt Disney World guest experience. So it's difficult to say just how much it contributed because it's so integrated, but it clearly was a contributor to results.

We've got roughly half of our guests now entering the parks with Magic Bands and the response from those guests has been overwhelmingly positive. So we are very pleased with that.

My Magic Band -- or MyMagic+ as a driver going forward, will still be a factor, but perhaps not with as great an impact as we've seen just in this quarter. Again, as it becomes even more integrated into the base experience.

Looking forward, I think that we're most excited about what we see in terms of the prospects outside of the United States, with the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort next year, and that should drive growth well into the future.

Having said that, though, we saw strong international attendance this year at our domestic parks. There's no question that those results have been strong. And the top line growth, coupled with the close mining of the expense line, has resulted in strong growth and we hope to see our results continue there.
​

Huh?

Last quarter, Iger reported:

We did see in the quarter a positive impact to the bottom line from MyMagic+, just the beginnings of it. We will continue to see more of that. But we do not have data that we can share with you right now about specific guest spending.​

More than 2 years after Staggs introduced MyMagic+ to the public, Disney was seeing "just the beginnings of" "a positive impact to the bottom line from MyMagic+." Yet, as Iger said pretty much every quarter before that, "But we do not have data that we can share with you right now."

This quarter, Iger reports "So as you know that MyMagic+ has had an impact, especially as we've now started to anniversary the startup costs that we had there." So as I mentioned in my earlier post about P&R's expenses and quoting from Disney's 10Q:

The decrease in infrastructure costs reflected higher costs in the prior-year quarter in connection with the launch of MyMagic+​

In other words, Iger is echoing what's in the 10Q, which is that the only financial 'improvement' from MyMagic+ occurred because they don't have rollout costs anymore. More than a year after they first started making MyMagic+ available to Guests, I sure hope not.

Then we get the even more bizarre:

MyMagic+ as a driver going forward, will still be a factor, but perhaps not with as great an impact as we've seen just in this quarter.​

WHAT????!!!!!

Last quarter, you reported "just the beginnings of" "a positive impact to the bottom line from MyMagic+." This quarter you reported that MyMagic+'s 'improvement' was the result of an absence of "startup costs" while, at the same time, stated that MyMagic+ will "perhaps not with as great an impact as we've seen just in this quarter."

But the only "impact" you reported this quarter was that you stopped throwing money at MyMagic+!

Now you're telling us that in the future, MyMagic+ will "perhaps not with as great an impact" as the quarter that you just stopped throwing money at it!

I don't curse on these threads but I was tempted to write one when I read this double-speak.

Then we get this strange statement from Iger:

So it's difficult to say just how much it contributed because it's so integrated, but it clearly was a contributor to results.​

During numerous earnings calls you've been telling us about all these great metrics that show that MyMagic+ is 'working', even though you don't want to discuss them with us. Now you are sure that "it clearly was a contributor to results" even though "it's difficult to say just how much it contributed."

What about all those great metrics you kept hinting at? How the heck do you know it "clearly was a contributor" if it's "difficult to say just how much it contributed?"

"Our wide receiver played a great game even though he didn't catch a pass or make a downfield block. But he clearly was a contributor."

Oh, and then Iger follows up that gem with essentially "Let's talk about Shanghai instead (even though you didn't ask about it) because I don't want to talk about MyMagic+ anymore."

I hate to say it because I really wanted to wait for Iger's great announcement that MyMagic+ was a rousing success, but if this is the best we're going to get, then it's time to declare MyMagic+ a financial failure.

Yet again, Iger lies. Disney lies. I feel bad you had to spend so much time crafting this fine response to illustrate clearly those points.

 

[WDW1974]

There are rumors that Kong will contain more sets (and maybe AA's) and less reliant on video screens than previously suspected, could this indeed be true? People over at Orlando United are citing something like 70% of the ride being comprised physical real sets, with only 30% of the ride being screen based. A stark contrast to most other recent Uni attractions where the numbers are switched around to being mostly video screens. I'll be excited if there's truth to that statement, it's also nice to see a ride with such a low height requirement (likely something most people of any height, health or aversion to physical thrills can enjoy).

I hope so. I don't know that much about the project. I do know that folks at UNI Creative have fought to make this less screen dependent. If the above is true, and OU tends to be very good about these things, then I'd guess Coup and Woodberry were talked into some smart choices. I'll ask around ...