AP - Comcast challenging Disney's hold on tourism trade

[ABQ]

I think so... competition is a good thing

Heh heh, are you making a pun on competing threads or competing theme parks? I just need to make sure I'm laughing out of the correct side of my mouth.

 

[marni1971]

I think so... competition is a good thing

Absolutely!

 

[WDWDad13]

Heh heh, are you making a pun on competing threads or competing theme parks? I just need to make sure I'm laughing out of the correct side of my mouth.

no I'm serious... although I personally think Uni has to go to infinity and beyond to get close to Disney #'s....I think them putting a lot of attention and money into their theme parks can only be a good thing for Disney and all of us that want more there too

 

[marni1971]

The most telling quote is basically we don't care about matching Disney. We just want our share.

Excellent.

 

[prberk]

I have always said that they need to go back to having TV shows and events at Walt Disney World. They are both media companies. But Disney has forgotten how to host anything there that reminds you of it. (Walt was king of that with his "Disneyland" show and later "Wonderful World of Color" show with segments hosted from Disneyland.) Right now Universal has "Family Feud" produced at Universal Orlando, and has unteen reasons for "on the street" things there (and from Universal Hollywood). But Disney has forgotten how to do that.

I would love to see some cable shows on culture or science eminating from EPCOT, with a live audience. And I mean Disney-produced shows, not just Travel Channel specials. Such a live show, done right, would remind people of thinking of EPCOT as an exciting place showcasing exciting things. Same would be true of Animal KIngdom. Hollywood Studios should clearly being doing something like the MMC again, with a built-in live studio audience, and new talented kids. And, of course, more guest shots of prime-time shows "on vacation" is always fun.

So far, though, Universal is kicking up television more often for now.

 

[WDWDad13]

The most telling quote is basically we don't care about matching Disney. We just want our share.

Excellent.

As it should be....plenty of tourists for both to thrive and thrive well

It's not really about competition it's about entertaining and maybe moreso making money

Of course on the flip side if it were Disney people would be saying all they do is raise prices and want it to take our money how dare they lol

 

[CDavid]

CEO Brian Roberts said Comcast is "doubling down on theme parks" because the investment will pay off for many years to come.

This is the applicable part of the message for Bob "Blue-Ocean" Iger. The investment will pay off for many years to come. You couldn't have said that about Magic Bands even if they weren't the boondoggle they have become, but imagine what $2.5 billion could have accomplished if invested properly (and spent more wisely).

 

[Captain Neo]

I have always said that they need to go back to having TV shows and events at Walt Disney World. They are both media companies. But Disney has forgotten how to host anything there that reminds you of it. (Walt was king of that with his "Disneyland" show and later "Wonderful World of Color" show with segments hosted from Disneyland.) Right now Universal has "Family Feud" produced at Universal Orlando, and has unteen reasons for "on the street" things there (and from Universal Hollywood). But Disney has forgotten how to do that.

I would love to see some cable shows on culture or science eminating from EPCOT, with a live audience. And I mean Disney-produced shows, not just Travel Channel specials. Such a live show, done right, would remind people of thinking of EPCOT as an exciting place showcasing exciting things. Same would be true of Animal KIngdom. Hollywood Studios should clearly being doing something like the MMC again, with a built-in live studio audience, and new talented kids. And, of course, more guest shots of prime-time shows "on vacation" is always fun.

So far, though, Universal is kicking up television more often for now.

The catch is though in order to have a big tv show or event for WDW you would have to have new content to show for it. Universal can easily do a tv special where they walk you through the newly expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter or give you a sneak peak at Skull Island and the massive new King Kong attraction being built at IOA. But what does Disney have? The same tired parades and fireworks shows they have been running since the mid 90s and a bare bone refurb where they repainted some sets and added a few effects? That's not good enough. It was never good enough and Disney is going to learn it the hard way.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The most telling quote is basically we don't care about matching Disney. We just want our share.

Excellent.

I think the word "yet" is missing from the end of the sentence. Universal is making significant strides, but they still have a long way to go to exceed Disney's total market share in Orlando. They can't do it all at once, but they're making up a lot of ground relatively quickly.

 

[prberk]

The catch is though in order to have a big tv show or event for WDW you would have to have new content to show for it. Universal can easily do a tv special where they walk you through the newly expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter or give you a sneak peak at Skull Island and the massive new King Kong attraction being built at IOA. But what does Disney have? The same tired parades and fireworks shows they have been running since the mid 90s and a bare bone refurb where they repainted some sets and added a few effects? That's not good enough. It was never good enough and Disney is going to learn it the hard way.

I agree to an extent, but only really when it comes to special event programming (for which there needs to be a special event as you note). But I would still kickstart it all with weekly or regular programs like science shows or Disney Channel live shows (like The Mickey Mouse Club re-done) and other shows that could have a studio audience in a studio or other theatre on property. The key is that they have a ready, receptive studio audience, and the phrase "recorded live at Walt Disney World)" would be repeated over and over. I really think that an science/discovery-based show would also be a natural for a studio audience at EPCOT.

 

[prberk]

I think the word "yet" is missing from the end of the sentence. Universal is making significant strides, but they still have a long way to go to exceed Disney's total market share in Orlando. They can't do it all at once, but they're making up a lot of ground relatively quickly.

And to a degree in the mind of the vacationing public also, I think. The public may not think about the sheer size of Walt Disney World, or even care about its hotels. Many do, but a lot won't. And Universal is making serious strides in the mind of the public as a good, perhaps more exciting alternative to Walt Disney World. Sad, but true, I think.

 

[ScoutN]

The most telling quote is basically we don't care about matching Disney. We just want our share.

Excellent.

It's almost as if this board was read!

Replying directly to those who think numbers overall say it all.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think the word "yet" is missing from the end of the sentence. Universal is making significant strides, but they still have a long way to go to exceed Disney's total market share in Orlando. They can't do it all at once, but they're making up a lot of ground relatively quickly.

They are bending the curve and that will do more harm to Disney's strategy than anything else, Right now its probably taking away 1 day from disney when Potter 2.0 an 3.0 open, It will probably be 2-3 days taken from WDW So where WDW had them in the past for 5 days they may be only getting them for 2-3 days out of a week's vacation.

 

[PeterAlt]

http://news.yahoo.com/comcast-challenging-disneys-hold-tourism-trade-194455453.html
"Comcast Corp. will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in California and Florida theme parks, stepping outside its core business of telecommunications in an effort to boost revenue and profits.
In a story published Sunday, The Philadelphia Inquirer said recent moves by the Philadelphia-based, cable-TV company represent a challenge to the Walt Disney Co.'s tourism business in Orlando.

Comcast took over Universal Orlando Resorts as part of its NBCUniversal acquisition in 2011. This summer, it plans a new Harry Potter ride at a second theme park that will share the same 750 acre Universal complex.

Comcast is also financing construction of the 1,800-room Cabana Bay Beach Resort with 50-50 partner Loews Corp., allowing guests to eat, sleep and swim on the same 750-acre Universal complex.

Once fully open later this year, Cabana Bay will boost Universal's hotel room count in Orlando by 75 percent, to 4,200 rooms. The first 600 are scheduled to open this month.

CEO Brian Roberts said Comcast is "doubling down on theme parks" because the investment will pay off for many years to come.
"We think there is a lot there in the theme park business for many years to come, and that we have the low market share and only one way to go," Roberts said at an investor conference in January.

In 2013, Comcast's theme parks and resorts unit, part of NBCUniversal, reported $2.2 billion in revenue and $1 billion in operating cash flow — a measure of the division's profitability.
Between the second Potter attraction and Cabana Bay, the Universal theme park complex is expected to add 3,500 jobs this year, bringing its Orlando-area employment to about 17,000.

Universal executives in Orlando do not say they are targeting Disney, the tourism giant with more than 20,000 hotel rooms and four theme parks. But they believe there is additional revenue — more room stays, more visitors, and more themed merchandise to sell them.
"We don't have to win," Thomas L. Williams, chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Parks & Resorts, said in a recent interview. "We just have to get our share.""

When I was young, we had a name for this kind of game Comcast is playing. We called it "cow tipping". Disney is the cow. Moo.

 

[PeterAlt]

Though, as many have noted, this is a bit of a rehash of the same article linked here http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...will-compete-aggressively-with-disney.878827/ it is funny to read the, at the time 57 comments on this new one as most are focused on Comcast's crappy cable services and not the theme park industry at all. Though a number that do mention tourism are not very interested in Universal. It strikes me as a bit ironic that many dislike Disney's use of its money on things like NextGen, while fleecing the guests with room costs, but people are not complaining of Comcast's constant cable premium increases to fund their theme park. I guess it's just the tangible growth that makes that cable bill easier to swallow. But then, I'm lucky they don't offer Comcast in my town....yet. That monopoly to be is just being let grow and grow by a well funded FCC, I assume.

COMCAST'S NEW CORPORATE SLOGAN:

"Our cable service may suck, but our theme parks rock!"

 

[PeterAlt]

DISNEY'S NEW CORPORATE SLOGAN:

"Our theme parks may be old, stale, and in disrepair, but our movies are out of this world!"

 

[JohnD]

Actually, this is good news. It will give a swift kick in the rear to Disney to compete. Now that the rollout of MM+ is almost complete, they can get back to improving the parks, building rides, etc.

 

[ford91exploder]

When I was young, we had a name for this kind of game Comcast is playing. We called it "cow tipping". Disney is the cow. Moo.

Yes nothing like being charged by 1200 pounds of highly annoyed cow - who can move quite quickly when aroused (as by a cow tip)

For those who DID NOT go to a land grant college - "cow tipping" is pushing cows over while asleep (they sleep on their feet)

 

[Figment2005]

I have both at my disposal so I enjoy the competition.

 

[The Crafty Veteran]

Just to add some perspective to this Comcast love in. I have no desire to ever set foot in a Universal park. Most people I know will never visit them. Disney World? I try to go every year. Nothing in the Universal parks appeals to me.

And on top of it all, my age bracket is the ones Universal should be trying to seduce, the "older" guest with the better than average resources to spend.