A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Bairstow]

3D glasses? @WDW1974 wasn't kidding when he said screens will be used.

The article doesn't confirm that the ride is going to be predominantly screen-based, though. From the sound of things, the 3D screens are being used to demo the ride, as miniatures and mock-ups used to.

I'd be shocked if they incorporate 3D glasses into the final overlay, but stranger things have happened. Imagine how many pairs of glasses would end up in the water every day.

I wouldn't be surprised if the ride ends up being screen-based, but this wasn't confirmation.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

Just a hunch, but I see DCL's new ships coming aboard in 2021 and 2023.

I think they need to look at offering Mississippi River Cruises. None of the current ships or the future ships including Viking's big expansion have anything kid friendly.

Surge pricing will be a ploy to help on resort bookings as they will "discount" admission by booking a package like they "discount" rooms and offer "free" meal plans. Off site guest will get fleeced except during what's left of off peak seasons.

 

[71jason]

but even if it is going for cutting edge . . . Hello Kitty?

$800 million a year. That's still insanely popular. And the rare--possibly unique--IP that appeals to tween girls but is also a "nostalgia" IP for Gen X and Gen Y women.

(Men are allowed to hold onto their toys throughout adulthood--it's expected a 30-something guy will nerd out over an Optimus Prime statue or watch a Spider-Man movie or remember the Thundercats theme song. A grown woman obsessed with Barbie or My Little Pony like that? Not socially acceptable. Hello Kitty is the only exception to that social norm I can think of. I know plenty of grown women with HK keychains/purses/tattoos...)

 

[NormC]

and you again confused things.. Respect is one thing. Giving Courtesy is another.

I am not at all confused. I understand they are different but they are given to all and do not need to be earned. I guess that is where we disagree. I think you may be confusing respect with esteem. That is the respect given to someone that is highly regarded in their field or expertise or experience level. The respect given to a Veteran etc. I agree that is an earned respect also known as esteem or to hold someone in a high regard. I am talking about simple human respect for one another even someone you never met. The notion of not treating a stranger with respect because you do not know them and they haven't earned it is the problem I am talking about not the respect of their achievements or credentials. Online or face to face should be the same. You should not say anything online that you would not say to a strangers face. I am done with this topic as we have used up too much of Spirit's thread. Common courtesy is not as common as it should be.

 

[alphac2005]

Just popped in to say what Dave had hit here. Disney Parks was partly a money saver, partly the concept of Disney as a global conglomerate, rather than separate parks worldwide. It also was the push to purchase items in mass from the same supplier, rather than multiple suppliers.

Several of their mass used utilitarian items are still from multiple suppliers, East Coast/West Coast vendors.

 

[alphac2005]

My McDonald's uses plain brown napkins just like WDW. I think generic is a common sense trend.

Actually (I hate knowing this, but I deal with too many promo companies in my line of work), McDonald's now uses a recycled paper napkin, but the McDonald's golden arch "M" is printed in a lightly raised manner in the fabric throughout the napkin. You have to look harder to see it.

 

[asianway]

@WDW1974 did you watch the kickstarter video? Very rarely do I see something with no redeeming value.

 

[alphac2005]

I know I've brought the point up of "What is Disney today?'' and it usually devolves into a 23-page tangent on Disney content vs. Disney corporate (I'd really rather not have that again, please). But, at the end of the day, if BRANDS like ESPN and Marvel and Lucas are worth more than the company that was all stared with a Mouse, then Disney will be broken up at some point in the future. I think that may play into some of the desperation you see with Frozen 2 and all these live action versions of animated hits. But we shall see ...

Whether it is 5 or 10 years from now, but when some or one of these acquired brands is underperforming compared to Wall St. expectations, they'll be calling for spin-off companies to maximize shareholder value. Then give it a few years and they'll be screaming to have the companies combined again (e.g. CBS) to maximize cost savings, which would have already been there.

There are so many roads that this could go down and it will be interesting to see. I think it's incredibly likely that we see some sort of breakup at a point in the future. You have multiple stand alone entities: ESPN (people still forget that Disney doesn't own it outright), Marvel, LucasFilm, Pixar, ABC, along with the cluster of Disney companies. I will say on the TV side, though, they've integrated the heck out of ABC (Cap Cities) and the Disney side since I was in that business, so I look at those as one in the same.

 

[mahnamahna101]

Disney executives are hoping that “Frozen Ever After” will help boost Epcot, where attendance has grown just 4% in the last five years. “Epcot could use a shot in the arm,” said Ms. Mangum, the Imagineer executive who oversees Disney’s theme parks in Orlando.

With how low capacity this addition is, and the lack of compelling D/Es in World Showcase, and the dated attractions in Future World, this replacement is just going to be a nightmare.

I really think TDO has unintentionally discovered that making the ride low capacity will force guests to plan multiple days at Epcot to possibly have a chance at riding it.

Either that, or Epcot will need to be open from 8am-1am every day.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kong gets 2,800-3,000/hr compared to Frozenstrom's 900

 

[Shaman]

Whether it is 5 or 10 years from now, but when some or one of these acquired brands is underperforming compared to Wall St. expectations, they'll be calling for spin-off companies to maximize shareholder value. Then give it a few years and they'll be screaming to have the companies combined again (e.g. CBS) to maximize cost savings, which would have already been there.

There are so many roads that this could go down and it will be interesting to see. I think it's incredibly likely that we see some sort of breakup at a point in the future. You have multiple stand alone entities: ESPN (people still forget that Disney doesn't own it outright), Marvel, LucasFilm, Pixar, ABC, along with the cluster of Disney companies. I will say on the TV side, though, they've integrated the heck out of ABC (Cap Cities) and the Disney side since I was in that business, so I look at those as one in the same.

What about more acquisitions? I've seen Disney mentioned in rumors for Discovery Communications and even WB. I don't think Iger and the board are done.

 

[aladdin2007]

Is interesting that Mangum made that statement that Epcot could use a shot in the arm...yet things keep closing and being left for stale and its Disneys and TDO's own fault... So is she in charge of the project?

 

[Bairstow]

Is interesting that Mangum made that statement. So is she in charge of the project?

She's still the executive vice president producer at WDI, so ultimately she's in charge of all the attraction projects.

 

[mahnamahna101]

Would you really say that the MK is not the weakest castle park in the world, except, perhaps, in number of attractions?

Would you also not say that MK has the worst show quality (not talking peeling paint, dead bulbs or potholes in walkways) of any castle park?

Would you not say that MK has the most limited entertainment offerings -- and the most stale -- of any castle park?

I'd rather be in almost any Disney or non-Disney park than MK now because it in no way resembled the park I visited in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

MK definitely needs some refreshing if the park is going to be swamped all of the time.

The last Adventureland addition was 42 years ago.

The last Frontierland addition was 23 years ago.

The last Liberty Square addition was 44 years ago.

The last true Tomorrowland addition was 40 years ago.

Fantasyland finally returned to previous capacity levels... from 1994. 21 years ago.

Part of it is TDO's unwillingness to rework backstage infrastructure or to clear swamp lands. The other is their unwillingness to spend money.

Jungle Cruise and POTC may have longer lines due to FP+, but an expansion to Adventureland with 2-3 new attractions would bring them back to their old wait times. As the only two major attractions for Adventureland, they get swamped. Behind Jungle Cruise (with a little reworking), there's plenty of space for something new.

Same for Buzz and Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. Everything else is relatively dull compared to those two, and Buzz is something that should be replaced since there's a Toy Story dark ride at Hollywood Studios. Behind the Speedway and Space Mountain, there's a HUGE expansion pad that could be split between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Not to mention the space between Space and CoP.

Big Thunder and Splash are host to the biggest bottleneck in WDW short of the RnRC/ToT bottleneck in DHS. Fixing the bottleneck with an expansion and a new pathway to Liberty Square/Fantasyland (getting rid of the last dead end in all of MK) would ease waits for Big Thunder, Splash and even HM.

New Fantasyland definitely feels half-finished. All they did was make up for the removal of 20K and SWSA. The B&TB mini-land is the only true addition of this 'expansion'. I'd love to see backstage reworked to allow expansion behind IASW/Mermaid, not to mention the removal of Storybook Circus except for the two Dumbos.

MK pales compared to Disneyland's attraction count. And Disneyland still has room to expand their attraction count (Autopia/Submarines take up a HUGE plot of land, the Motor Boat Cruise area, Toontown is definitely a missed opportunity, Big Thunder Ranch/Circle D/the top left of backstage, Innoventions being a waste of space, the old PeopleMover track).

Disneyland Paris is definitely a beautiful park unfortunately plagued by declining attendance.

Tokyo Disneyland should easily trump MK once their Fantasyland/Tomorrowland revamps are finished.

And Hong Kong could easily equal MK if they had done Glacier Bay instead of TSPL and also added Pirate Mountain in addition to what they've already added (Iron Man too).

MK is so far from being the best Castle park.

 

[culturenthrills]

It's like a horror movie villian, you can't kill it no matter how many "final chapters" they advertise.

Oh, don't get me started about what they did to Spectromagic. It was dated too but to just allow it to rot and now run a 40 year old parade. What a joke.

 

[Iwerks64]

I think I'm the only one who got that - but I sure did appreciate it.

Oh, I got it. From there, to here. From here! To there!

 

[alphac2005]

What about more acquisitions? I've seen Disney mentioned in rumors for Discovery Communications and even WB. I don't think Iger and the board are done.

Hmm.. Let's talk about this while sort of avoiding politics, but being realistic. It appears that many in the media industry are starting to get the hint that this administration and if there is a Democratic administration after the next election have woken up to consolidation. You'll never see a Time-Warner purchase by Disney, it simply won't past regulatory muster.

Interestingly enough, the feds are now (finally) investigating NBCUniversal as they have flaunted the conditions that they agreed to when purchasing Universal. I believe that had 55 or 56 major pieces of agreement in terms such as selloffs, consumer guarantees, etc., and they've basically failed to do any except one where they realistically follow the terms. It will be interesting to see if there are finally any teeth from regulators.

Liberty Media has entered in to buy Time-Warner Cable after the failed Comcast bid. In any other time, it would be considered a proverbial slam-dunk, but there is going to even be a very watchful eye on this one. Malone, who is the master of Liberty, is nothing short of a business genius, although his brilliance at times is due to the flaunting or rather navigating of current law in very shifty ways. Still one if not the most impressive CEO or top exec that I've seen in person. The guy built TCI, which was the biggest cable operator at one time, divested himself of those assets, and is now ready to become the largest cable operator in the country again. There are only so many in the business that can pull one off like that. His top execs at his three major companies are amongst the highest compensated executives on the planet.

Liberty will have a majority stake in Discovery Communications once Liberty's purchase of BrightHouse is complete.

There is nothing like being in a room of loaded executives that are movers and shakers and when you speak of acquisitions and the line of mergers will save the money and are good for the consumers. They sell that garbage to regulators and the public while they behind doors laugh at how their bull is bought time and time again. M and A are to benefit the company and therefore the shareholder. It's never about the consumer. It's just gross and certainly adds to why people who get it are so cynical towards how corporate behavior is today. Go ask Chipotle and their supposed GMO free campaign, while that is totally bogus. There are plenty of items including the corn produced for the beverages that come from GMOs. (Not arguing about GMOs here; The vast majority of scientists agree that they are completely safe, the issue is the use of pesticides that have to increase on the GMOs.) All the same corporate garbage, made to fool the consumer, and ring up more sales. OHHHHHHHHHHH MY! I'm sorry for ranting here!

Dish & T-Mobile are likely to hook-up, but that one is one of the few telecom deals that could ever go down that would actually lead to a major shakeup in the industry that is good for consumers. Ergen, who is the COB and founder of Dish, basically wants to build a nationwide TV provider that you can get anywhere in the country by mobile, TV, you name it. They've already debundled Disney's cash cow ESPN for SlingTV, which I've been told is doing extremely well for them.

 

[Shaman]

You'll never see a Time-Warner purchase by Disney, it simply won't past regulatory muster.

I believe the article I read a while ago mentioned just Warner Bros. not the parent company. Could be wrong. Still all that IP under Disney would be crazy.

I wonder if Disney might make a play for Netflix or some other media streaming service.

 

[bhg469]

The first “Frozen” ride is the latest example of Disney’s transformation under Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Igerinto a company that tries to turn each big hit into its own successful business. Mr. Iger has refocused Disney around what it calls “franchises”—or entertainment juggernauts that live on for many years as theme-park rides, toys, videogames, television shows, pajamas and just about anything else that keeps revenue rolling in.

Wait... Disney calls them franchises? I'm pretty sure successfull films and books were considered a franchise outside of disney.

 

[mahnamahna101]

I hope they don't get WB. They already have Marvel and Star Wars. Now HP, LOTR, Looney Tunes and DC Comics?

I'm definitely impressed by just how many announcements UNI has made over the last month.

Kong
Nintendo
Volcano Bay
NBC Sports Bar
Hello Kitty to replace Lucy
NBA City to be closed and replaced

They just drop the announcements, too. No real thunderous applause/self-congratulation. Looking forward to what else Comcast has up their sleeve!

 

[ford91exploder]

I heard that Disney certainly did rest on their laurels (don't tell Sandra) when it came to getting in orders for the two new ships and spaces at MW were taken by other liners. Disney wanted to have newer ships sooner but waited around too long.

Is this the camel's nose in the destruction of DCL quality in search of ever greater profit?, "We can get 10 more years on our oldest ships in the fleet imagine the PROFIT!!!! and no addtional CAPEX perhaps a short drydock in 5 years".