theRIOT
Active Member
Corrus, I totally forgot about that dudeGood memory.
Yeah, he's and oldie, but goodie.
What we all really want to know is what the heck happened to General Grizz?
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A Spirited Valentine ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Yeah, he's and oldie, but goodie.
What we all really want to know is what the heck happened to General Grizz?
Quinnmac000
Well-Known Member
Disney has agreed to pay $3.8 million in back wages to thousands of Florida employees after the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company had deducted a uniform or “costume” expense that drove pay below the minimum wage and did not compensate for duties before and after shifts
http://deadline.com/2017/03/disney-agrees-pay-florida-workers-costume-expenses-overtime-1202045664/
http://deadline.com/2017/03/disney-agrees-pay-florida-workers-costume-expenses-overtime-1202045664/
Soarin' Over Pgh
Well-Known Member
This hurts my heart.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
You both make excellent points. I'm continuing the conversation here so I don't derail the Energy Pavilion/GOTG thread. I figure every Spirited thread has no tracks anyway, so how could I possibly derail one.
Since I'm (in)famous for graphs, I might as well start with one here...
This represents how much Disney invests in its domestic theme parks compared to company-wide net income. It's a bit deceptive. For nearly 20 years Disney was (surprisingly) an amusement park business. As recently as 1990, Parks & Resorts (P&R) made up 51.7% of company revenue. In 2016 it was at 30.5%, still a sizeable chunk but not where it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
To @njDizFan 's point, Disney has a ton of money available to invest in its theme parks, a lot more than it once did. Profits have skyrocketed while domestic theme park investments have remained a relative pittance since 9/11. I previously estimated (most recently here) that Disney has underinvested at WDW and DLR by $2.8B since Iger became CEO in 2005. For some perspective, that means Iger should have been building the equivalent of a New Fantasyland once every 1-to-2 years.
To @gljvd 's point, domestic theme park investment is up over the last 6 quarters, with Disney promising to spend even more during the next three years. There's a real possibility that by the time this is over, Disney will have caught up and even surpassed where I think domestic theme park investments should be.
Things have been bad for a long time but things have been picking up recently.
Disney has disappointed in the recent past but there is genuine reason for optimism today.
Some naysayers will argue that Disney is not spending efficiently or wisely. I'll defer these subjective debates to others. Me? I'm going to watch the numbers and let you know what I think based on those.
I suggest you watch patiently and see what happens. I know I will.
I do disagree with @gljvd 's statement that "From here on ou[t] if Disney is smart they just need to rehab older rides and perhaps add 1 to 2 rides a decade to the parks." Recent history has shown that attractions are not what the public wants. They want well-themed lands. They want immersive experiences. They want shops and food. The public wants (overpriced) butterbeer. They want (overpriced) wands that can be waved to make something happen. It's good business.
And whether it's attractions or lands, 1-to-2 per decade is too slow. With four theme parks, that means (for example), Disney's Animal Kingdom's next upgrade would be in 20 to 40 years!
With four theme parks, WDW should be opening the equivalent of a new land at one of its four theme parks every 2-to-3 years. At that pace, Disney's Animal Kingdom's next major upgrade would be in 2027.Let the endless debate continue ...
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JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
You both make excellent points. I'm continuing the conversation here so I don't derail the Energy Pavilion/GOTG thread. I figure every Spirited thread has no tracks anyway, so how could I possibly derail one.
Since I'm (in)famous for graphs, I might as well start with one here...
View attachment 194453
This represents how much Disney invests in its theme parks compared to company-wide net income. However, it's a bit deceptive. For nearly 20 years Disney was (surprisingly) an amusement park business. As recently as 1990, Parks & Resorts (P&R) made up 51.7% of company revenue. In 2016 it was at 30.5%, still a sizeable chunk but not where it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
To @njDizFan 's point, Disney has a ton of money available to invest in its theme parks, a lot more than it once did. Profits have skyrocketed while theme park investments have remained a relative pittance since 9/11. I previously estimated (most recently here) that Disney has underinvested at WDW and DLR by $2.8B since Iger became CEO in 2005. For some perspective, that means Iger should have been building the equivalent of a New Fantasyland once every 1-to-2 years.
To @gljvd 's point, domestic theme park investment is up over the last 6 quarters, with Disney promising to spend even more during the next three years. There's a real possibility that by the time this is over, Disney will have caught up and even surpassed where I think domestic theme park investments should be.
Things have been bad for a long time but things have been picking up recently.
Disney has disappointed in the recent past but there is genuine reason for optimism today.
Some naysayers will argue that Disney is not spending efficiently or wisely. I'll defer these subjective debates to others. Me? I'm going to watch the numbers and let you know what I think based on those.
I suggest you watch patiently and see what happens. I know I will.
I do disagree with @gljvd 's statement that "From here on ou[t] if Disney is smart they just need to rehab older rides and perhaps add 1 to 2 rides a decade to the parks." Recent history has shown that attractions are not what the public wants. They want well-themed lands. They want immersive experiences. They want shops and food. The public wants (overpriced) butterbeer. They want (overpriced) wands that can be waved to make something happen. It's good business.
And whether it's attractions or lands, 1-to-2 per decade is too slow. With 4 theme parks, that means (for example), Disney's Animal Kingdom's next upgrade would be in 20 to 40 years!
Let the endless debate continue ...
Great, I will be watching your posts.
Thanks for the excellent insight as always!
DznyRktekt
Well-Known Member
Well stated and easy to digest. Thank you!
You both make excellent points. I'm continuing the conversation here so I don't derail the Energy Pavilion/GOTG thread. I figure every Spirited thread has no tracks anyway, so how could I possibly derail one.
Since I'm (in)famous for graphs, I might as well start with one here...
View attachment 194453
This represents how much Disney invests in its theme parks compared to company-wide net income. However, it's a bit deceptive. For nearly 20 years Disney was (surprisingly) an amusement park business. As recently as 1990, Parks & Resorts (P&R) made up 51.7% of company revenue. In 2016 it was at 30.5%, still a sizeable chunk but not where it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
To @njDizFan 's point, Disney has a ton of money available to invest in its theme parks, a lot more than it once did. Profits have skyrocketed while theme park investments have remained a relative pittance since 9/11. I previously estimated (most recently here) that Disney has underinvested at WDW and DLR by $2.8B since Iger became CEO in 2005. For some perspective, that means Iger should have been building the equivalent of a New Fantasyland once every 1-to-2 years.
To @gljvd 's point, domestic theme park investment is up over the last 6 quarters, with Disney promising to spend even more during the next three years. There's a real possibility that by the time this is over, Disney will have caught up and even surpassed where I think domestic theme park investments should be.
Things have been bad for a long time but things have been picking up recently.
Disney has disappointed in the recent past but there is genuine reason for optimism today.
Some naysayers will argue that Disney is not spending efficiently or wisely. I'll defer these subjective debates to others. Me? I'm going to watch the numbers and let you know what I think based on those.
I suggest you watch patiently and see what happens. I know I will.
I do disagree with @gljvd 's statement that "From here on ou[t] if Disney is smart they just need to rehab older rides and perhaps add 1 to 2 rides a decade to the parks." Recent history has shown that attractions are not what the public wants. They want well-themed lands. They want immersive experiences. They want shops and food. The public wants (overpriced) butterbeer. They want (overpriced) wands that can be waved to make something happen. It's good business.
And whether it's attractions or lands, 1-to-2 per decade is too slow. With 4 theme parks, that means (for example), Disney's Animal Kingdom's next upgrade would be in 20 to 40 years!
Let the endless debate continue ...
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
He had a website set up when he was still posting here, and it remained up for a while after he departed.
He then probably migrated over to social media like many did at the time since it was 'new' back then.
I could have sworn I came across him posting somewhere I did not expect to find him, but my memory is a bit foggy to exactly where that was.
I spend some very late evenings reading online sometimes and cannot always place where I read what.
It was some sort of Disney related website...and it was likely 'old posts',..but it was still good to 'find him' there after all these years.
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Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
There was a special event at Be our Guest tonight to celebrate the film, and Josh Gad stopped by. So fun!
Bob Harlem
Well-Known Member
He also showed up at the AMC dine it at disney springs and spoke before the movie audience right before the film started today.
Phil12
Well-Known Member
After running D-Troops.com for a short period, General Grizz dropped off all the Disney websites about 12 years ago. His passion for the theme parks consumed a great deal of his time and like so many others, his fuse burned out. It was probably good for his mental health. Also do you remember the guy that ran wdwblues.com? He suffered the same fate as his passion for parks (by posting photos of burned out light bulbs) overcame his common sense.
It happens to most of these "Save Disney" crusaders. Their arguments about the decline of Disney parks are specious but are misleadingly attractive to their audience. Rumors and facts are often massaged to stir the angry audience into action against the evil monsters that run the Disney empire.
Other crusaders that are unable to bridle their passion and are unable to write such eloquent prose as Spirit, end up being banned in short order from most Disney websites. They're unable to control their emotions. Heavy duty artistic passion eats away at these people and some fall victim quickly. Others take many years before they succumb.
But in the end, the crusaders run out of steam and just fade away. Spirit has already taken his first steps in that direction. But never fear. It's been my experience that there is always a new crusader to pick up the sword when Spirit drops his pitchfork and goes through anger management training.
CJR
Well-Known Member
He did indeed, was a lot of fun!
Btw, thank y'all for lowering my expectations, loved the movie!
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Agreed. There's also It's Tough to Be a Big, but DAK could use another family ride or two to round things off. I'm curious as things will play out during night time hours once the park is busier with Pandora opening as it loses quite a bit of capacity between the animal trails and shows.
I wouldn't be surprised to see some character dance party or such show up in, say, the FOTLK theater in the evening.
TiggerDad
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say I loved it but my expectations were sky high until I saw the posts here. That helped bring them to more realistic levels, which it was able to meet for us. We had a huge group of our girls' friends and they really enjoyed it. The treatment of Josh Gad's character was more subtle than I had been led to expect. Also we saw the 3D version. The detail was phenomenal in that format.
DDLand
Well-Known Member
http://www.barrons.com/articles/exclusive-disneys-iger-on-movies-parks-espn-1489744355
Interesting interview with Bob talking about the Company's position. The big takeaways for parks are:
1) Parks are doing really well
2) Shanghai has officially crossed 8 Million attendees, so they weren't lying when they said "just under 8 Million"
3) They have "ambitious plans [they] haven't announced yet" in Shanghai
Also this particular section may raise some eyebrows:
“And there are opportunities for other places in China given the response we’ve gotten from the Chinese people.”
That's peculiar. If he had meant other businesses he would have said that. It also doesn't make it sound like Shanghai park 2. In the context of the article it makes it seem like he's saying "there are opportunities for other Resorts and Parks in China..."
If he's saying that, that's very interesting. There have been rumors that cities across China have been trying to attract Disney for the next big Resort. With Shanghai doing so well, Disney could probably get extremely good terms; better than even Shanghai's. The Chinese municipalities aren't afraid of big construction projects, and as Shanghai has proven, if you build big people will come.
Or maybe I'm overthinking this...
I'm just excited for future plans at Shanghai Disney. They can add several new E-Tickets to the already excellent park and really round it out. Then there's enough spots for at least a half dozen more hotels and two theme parks. Very exciting.
Interesting interview with Bob talking about the Company's position. The big takeaways for parks are:
1) Parks are doing really well
2) Shanghai has officially crossed 8 Million attendees, so they weren't lying when they said "just under 8 Million"
3) They have "ambitious plans [they] haven't announced yet" in Shanghai
Also this particular section may raise some eyebrows:
“And there are opportunities for other places in China given the response we’ve gotten from the Chinese people.”
That's peculiar. If he had meant other businesses he would have said that. It also doesn't make it sound like Shanghai park 2. In the context of the article it makes it seem like he's saying "there are opportunities for other Resorts and Parks in China..."
If he's saying that, that's very interesting. There have been rumors that cities across China have been trying to attract Disney for the next big Resort. With Shanghai doing so well, Disney could probably get extremely good terms; better than even Shanghai's. The Chinese municipalities aren't afraid of big construction projects, and as Shanghai has proven, if you build big people will come.
Or maybe I'm overthinking this...
I'm just excited for future plans at Shanghai Disney. They can add several new E-Tickets to the already excellent park and really round it out. Then there's enough spots for at least a half dozen more hotels and two theme parks. Very exciting.
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EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Hey WDW1974, any news on when we'll see a new attraction for DLP? That Magic Kingdom is so beautiful, but it deserves something big and new. It's been ignored too long besides refurbs.
HMF
Well-Known Member
Well, considering Disney's recent track record I personally think DLP is fine the way it is.
JDL30
Well-Known Member
It would be nice for a couple of additions to the Disneyland Park in Paris - but post the refurb programme - it really is good for now. All the effort needs to go into place making and expansion of WDSP and Disney Village. If they can get those up to scratch Disneyland Paris could be one of the best resorts in the portfolio
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
The last five years we've received 3 attractions worldwide that, many who've experienced them, would put in their top ten attractions, all time. There are at least three-five more in the next three years that most people who know better admit stand a good chance of meeting that high bench mark. The whole last decade had a grand total of two truly top notch new additions, and a third that's still broken.
WDI is so much more than a single overlay the millennials are losing their over.
The track record in the last few years at DLRP is actually positive, for once. Can't speak to the ride, but I've stared at the facade of Rat in person on more than one occaison, and that's easily the best thing in WDS by a mile.
I've said the same thing in the past about WDW when people applied the swamps to the whole. The problem was/is corporate, not for true lack of talent from creative.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
So my brother is in Epcot and he sent me a video of the Voices of Liberty singing "Let it Go." He said they also did Newsies.
When did this start? And please tell me it's temporary. Even he agrees that these aren't songs they should be singing and he's much more lenient than I am on what works well in the theme of the parks.
When did this start? And please tell me it's temporary. Even he agrees that these aren't songs they should be singing and he's much more lenient than I am on what works well in the theme of the parks.