A Spirited Perfect Ten

PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Spark70 said:
For the record - yes, I did read the article, in it's original (if brief) publication on the Huffington Post.

The title of the article, the paragraph you quoted, as well as the anecdotes Mr. Snyder cited from Hong Kong Disneyland paint a picture of a Disney that is tone-deaf to the culture and foreshadows the events that unfolded in the material @WDW1974 shared. That qualifies as prescient in my book.

Not sure how the conflict of interest discussion has any bearing on whether the content of the article was prescient (I get points every time I use the word) or not. It was an Op-Ed piece which expressed...an opinion.

In regards to "Shady Iger", his "big thing" and "puppy beating sessions" - well, I'll just leave that to @PhotoDave219 !
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What the hell did I do?! LANA!?!?
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
hopemax said:
Why not? Disney is so big here, that it's hard to think of them as anything but. China may not need a Disney Store to be as big as we might assume. It can still be "theirs" with a more modest opening, and still meet their expectations and needs. Maybe, better, actually. China needs people to like Disney well enough to make some money. But they can't be liking them too much, otherwise you get too much "Western influence." The presence of a more important person, might be saying too loudly, "Disney is important."

But like I say, I know very little about how China views things.
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The current issues of Party image very much make what you suppose a good possibility. It's something I've been saying.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
There is a difference between extravagance and basically nothing. A middle ground, if you will. That was what was seemingly planned and then ...well, I stand by my sources.

This was not supposed to be a show of power by Disney in China or to China. This was supposed to be a coming out joint celebration WITH the government and for Disney (and especially Bob Iger and Tom Staggs) to look strong to people back home with their BRAND building.

Putting their characters on a stage, be it in Shanghai or out at the SDL site, isn't an extravagance. That's their product. It would be like Apple opening a store without having iPhones or iPads on display (I hesitate to use the word 'spotlight' lest it be turned around and against me, but it is appropriate here) in the spotlight.



To be clear (for the umpteenth time), no one has publicly come out and accused Disney of being involved in graft (unless you consider some posters). It is another discussion, but one that seems to very much unsettle people at the highest levels of Disney.

That fact, knowledge of the crackdown by the CCP, plus my own experiences in China lead me to believe that it would be extremely (almost incredibly so ... like being struck by lightning) unlikely that no graft has happened on this project. Indeed, one of the men involved in the early stages of land acquisition/development was recently detained and brought up on charges.

I placed that information out here ... months ... hundreds of pages ago? ...
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Does this mean there isn't a back room deal for Pandas going to DAK?
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
Does this mean there isn't a back room deal for Pandas going to DAK?
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Actually..... I asked a friend about that once. They told me that China will only send their pandas for permanent display (or rental, as is more like it) to zoos, educational facilities and non-profits.

Here's something fun. The cubs? They belong to China and China dictates where they go once the cub hits 4 years old. Plus a one-time fee on $600,000 for a "Baby Tax".... on top of the $1M/yr rental fee.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
hopemax said:
Why not? Disney is so big here, that it's hard to think of them as anything but. China may not need a Disney Store to be as big as we might assume.
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From the reading I have done, many people in China don't even know what "Disney" as a whole is.

Disney characters were banned period until 1978, and while they certainly seem to love the Marvel films, traditional Disney just dosen't have anywhere near the presence. So they may know some characters now, but they don't see it as some over-arching umbrella of "Disney" branding as we know it. They might know who Mickey Mouse is, they might know who Pooh is - but they don't commonly associate that both are "related" under the "Disney family".

In my travels I found this fascinating website - apparently one way Disney wanted to enhance the exposure of Disney characters is through an educational program - check out disneyenglish.com.
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OK ... I see nothing much is going on. Have we figured out the strip loin/pot roast debate yet? FWIW, I love the meatloaf at Primetime. Yummy!

I'm wondering if I should even wade back in just yet. I'm enjoying reading the posts so much ... besides, in 12 hours time you'll all be debating DAK's attendance and just how much UNI gained etc etc. At this point, since he has done so much research, I'm putting my money down on @PhotoDave219 's numbers. He's gotta be damn close.

Had a very interesting conversation with a media member this evening regarding Disney and its fumbles and foibles in entering China. I can't really talk about it more yet, but I certainly do hope that something happens with it (beyond the person and his family having two free weeks at Aulani this Christmas, all expenses paid!)

Small unconfirmed WDW rumor: something else may be closing at The Park Without a Name or Identity But Thankfully No Cartoon Hat in the very near future. Think before the end of summer.
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DrActorKJ said:
Wow. This one sentence says it all, doesn't it? I really hope people can wrap their heads around what is truly happening here.
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Disney is already on the record that this will be their most 'foreign' park (my word, but their belief). But that really shouldn't be surprising. How many people are going to put Shanghai Disneyland on their vacation plans beyond the huge immediate catchment zone? Now, Shanghai is pretty much considered to be the NYC of China (I have never been. Most of my time has been spent in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macao.), so plenty of people who may be tourists (be they from other regions of China, Australia, Thailand or Canada) may want to spend a day there.

But I would expect the park/resort to be the least-welcoming to outsiders of all the Disney Resorts. That doesn't mean they wouldn't want a wealthy O-Town Lifestyler (who isn't afraid to travel) to visit. Just that if they do, that Guest won't be catered to and may well feel out of place if not unwelcome. The marketing will be heavily (basically exclusively) pushed on Chinese mainlanders. I would expect that making reservations and buying tickets from the USA will be very difficult. Think TDL in the 1980s or 90s ... only worse due to some obvious governmental restrictions.

This is China's Disney park. This isn't Disney's park in Shanghai. This is where the Bob Iger/Tom Staggs/Wall Street disconnect happens.

That is a huge distinction and I'm not sure how many people on forums grasp it.
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
From the reading I have done, many people in China don't even know what "Disney" as a whole is.

Disney characters were banned period until 1978, and while they certainly seem to love the Marvel films, traditional Disney just dosen't have anywhere near the presence. So they may know some characters now, but they don't see it as some over-arching umbrella of "Disney" branding as we know it. They might know who Mickey Mouse is, they might know who Pooh is - but they don't commonly associate that both are "related" under the "Disney family".

In my travels I found this fascinating website - apparently one way Disney wanted to enhance the exposure of Disney characters is through an educational program - check out disneyenglish.com.
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I wondered when Disney English was going to be mentioned. As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_English
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
OK ... I see nothing much is going on. Have we figured out the strip loin/pot roast debate yet? FWIW, I love the meatloaf at Primetime. Yummy!

I'm wondering if I should even wade back in just yet. I'm enjoying reading the posts so much ... besides, in 12 hours time you'll all be debating DAK's attendance and just how much UNI gained etc etc. At this point, since he has done so much research, I'm putting my money down on @PhotoDave219 's numbers. He's gotta be damn close.

Had a very interesting conversation with a media member this evening regarding Disney and its fumbles and foibles in entering China. I can't really talk about it more yet, but I certainly do hope that something happens with it (beyond the person and his family having two free weeks at Aulani this Christmas, all expenses paid!)

Small unconfirmed WDW rumor: something else may be closing at The Park Without a Name or Identity But Thankfully No Cartoon Hat in the very near future. Think before the end of summer.
Click to expand...
menacing_grin_grinch.gif
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
OK ... I see nothing much is going on. Have we figured out the strip loin/pot roast debate yet? FWIW, I love the meatloaf at Primetime. Yummy!

I'm wondering if I should even wade back in just yet. I'm enjoying reading the posts so much ... besides, in 12 hours time you'll all be debating DAK's attendance and just how much UNI gained etc etc. At this point, since he has done so much research, I'm putting my money down on @PhotoDave219 's numbers. He's gotta be damn close.

Had a very interesting conversation with a media member this evening regarding Disney and its fumbles and foibles in entering China. I can't really talk about it more yet, but I certainly do hope that something happens with it (beyond the person and his family having two free weeks at Aulani this Christmas, all expenses paid!)

Small unconfirmed WDW rumor: something else may be closing at The Park Without a Name or Identity But Thankfully No Cartoon Hat in the very near future. Think before the end of summer.
Click to expand...

Thanks..... I'm just analyzing the data. Again, its based off @lentesta's work so gotta thank him for even examining the crowds in the first place. But We'll see. If anything, its making me learn basic excel again. Just fun.... though I will gladly sell out and take a job doing this as a new career.

IMO, based on the first 5 months of data from 2015, (which is lining up nicely with 2013) DHS simply cannot handle another attraction closure.
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Animaniac93-98 said:
My random guess? Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground or Lights, Motors, Action.
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Nope. Although they both have very limited time left (most things that are left in that park do ... but since someone resurrected a two-year-old thread saying the same thing, this is going to be a long and drawn out process, which truly will likely not be done until the early 2020s.)
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
PhotoDave219 said:
Thanks..... I'm just analyzing the data. Again, its based off @lentesta's work so gotta thank him for even examining the crowds in the first place. But We'll see. If anything, its making me learn basic excel again. Just fun.... though I will gladly sell out and take a job doing this as a new career.

IMO, based on the first 5 months of data from 2015, (which is lining up nicely with 2013) DHS simply cannot handle another attraction closure.
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I see multiple attractions closing before the end of the fiscal year. That is largely opinion -- but very, very educated opinion.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
I wondered when Disney English was going to be mentioned. As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_English
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It's definitely rather smart. Not entirely different than what Disney has done in the US in the past, with all the children's learning book series and such. I'd have to dig it out, but I have an entire set of them (teaching the ABC's, etc.) that used to come out one or two volumes a week at the grocery store, with a free mini-bookcase to hold them all shaped like a school house.

Thinking back on it, that's how I knew who the Disney characters were in the first place - this was in the pre-Disney Channel days, and the very early life of VHS before the Disney films were widely available. I also had the hardcover Golden Books sets. That was all I knew of Classic Disney until the latter part of the 80's when stuff started to finally come out on home video.
 

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