Bob Iger at WDW now ... BoD to Follow?

[JoeCamel]

Considering ST II didn't move any needles I continue to be skeptical Star Wars will provide a Potter level lift to the Studios. Sorry Dave...

Maybe if you did a pure percentage increase? The daily gate will be so poor by the time they get SWL open that they could certainly have a 30% change YOY. That would not be great numbers but they could crow about it along with the jewelers 1/2 off sales.

 

[Electricsoup]

Considering ST II didn't move any needles I continue to be skeptical Star Wars will provide a Potter level lift to the Studios. Sorry Dave...

ST2 is a ride re-skin. Even as a die hard Star Wars fan (the level of which is both awesome and embarrassing at times ;P) I didn't change plans to get to the park to see this.

An immersive themed area with multiple rides? I'll be there opening day and stay for 10 days no matter the time of year.

 

[Jahona]

ST2 is a ride re-skin. Even as a die hard Star Wars fan (the level of which is both awesome and embarrassing at times ;P) I didn't change plans to get to the park to see this.

An immersive themed area with multiple rides? I'll be there opening day and stay for 10 days no matter the time of year.

Unless I'm tied down I'll see you there as well. =D

 

[LAKid53]

The real reason is this is simply how Disney builds. It takes forever for anything to get done.

The only time they have been ahead of schedule is when HKDL (that's in China to some of my friends here) opened in fall of 2005 instead of spring of 2006 as was scheduled. Of course Disney cutting out 60% of the park's planned menu might have had something to do with that.

I think the last time something major at WDW was ready well ahead of time was Splash Mountain in 1992.

Disney-MGM was a rush job as well because Michael and Frank wanted to beat UNI to market in Central Florida.

I was finalizing my senior thesis in B school when Uni made that announcement, which happened to be on Disney Corp and takeover talks by Sony. So I revised my thesis to include a discussion on what Uni's entry into Orlando would mean to the Mouse and what Disney could/should do to mitigate the impact on their bottom line and presence. Utilize more of that acreage with additional gates & resorts. And admit Touchstone WAS Disney - the main focus of my analysis was the Studios because that was the part of the company dragging down everything else (and what Sony seemed to be most interested in). Always thought I should have mailed a copy out to Glendale...might have gotten me a job.

 

[gmajew]

All I can do is look at attendance, as its the only independent dataset that seems available. And even that is crowd distribution and all that tells us is whether or not its busy and the associated trends.

Thanks for spending the time in it.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Thanks for spending the time in it.

The interesting part is that this is the longest period of time since the turn of the most recent century where we've had economic stability.

Between the September 11 attacks and the burst of the housing bubble, They been able to put together a good couple of years.

I get te "why" the parks weren't invested in over the past 12 years. I just don't like it.

 

[gmajew]

Sorry, that's a load of crap. Anyone that just looks at bottom line and isn't critical of what drove that is a waste of space that can never form any insight into what will happen. They'll be the reaction guys instead of the forecast guys.

The bottom line is theme parks are incredibly expensive.. contrasted with other potential lines of investment they have a high cost of entry, high risk, and can take a long time to realize returns.

Yes they are high risk but they are also high reward. Especially when you are the most visited parks in the world. This is not Comcast trying to turn around universal back in the day. That is a risk to investors. Investing in a proper cap ex on a proven entity is required and smart money investors know this.

 

[SYRIK2000]

The interesting part is that this is the longest period of time since the turn of the most recent century where we've had economic stability.

Between the September 11 attacks and the burst of the housing bubble, They been able to put together a good couple of years.

I get te "why" the parks weren't invested in over the past 12 years. I just don't like it.

trying to juggle too many balls at once. Some got missed.

 

[doctornick]

Considering ST II didn't move any needles I continue to be skeptical Star Wars will provide a Potter level lift to the Studios. Sorry Dave...

Why would anyone think that ST 2 would "move any needles"? It's a quality replacement of an established ride, but it wasn't some significant new experience nor was it remotely anything close to a new immersive land.

Totally different situation than a fleshed out Star Wars land with new rides and experiences. Considering the people that SWW draws years after years for just some merch and meeting some C level actors, how could a well done Star Wars land not "move the needle"?

 

[gmajew]

The interesting part is that this is the longest period of time since the turn of the most recent century where we've had economic stability.

Between the September 11 attacks and the burst of the housing bubble, They been able to put together a good couple of years.

I get te "why" the parks weren't invested in over the past 12 years. I just don't like it.

I don't like the lack of investment either but like you I get it.

 

[BrerJon]

The best move by Bob and the BOD was banning Selfie Sticks.

I'd love it if the reason this policy has been enacted is because some Brazilian guest accidentally smacked one of the board members in the head with one when they were visiting the parks this week.

 

[stretchsje]

I suppose this thread is as good of a place as any to say this:

Thank you, and continued thanks in advance, to all that are bringing information about this new "golden age" of WDW to the forums. I really appreciate the information, history, and excitement that you bring into my life by sharing the stories of what's going on behind the scenes.

 

[twebber55]

ST2 is a ride re-skin. Even as a die hard Star Wars fan (the level of which is both awesome and embarrassing at times ;P) I didn't change plans to get to the park to see this.

An immersive themed area with multiple rides? I'll be there opening day and stay for 10 days no matter the time of year.

which goes to the point that IP does not matter a much as execution and willingness on the part of Disney to fully fund a project

 

[englanddg]

which goes to the point that IP does not matter a much as execution and willingness on the part of Disney to fully fund a project

Exactly. Most kids born post mid 80s have no idea who the characters are in song of the south, but Splash is universally loved!

Sortof tosses the "relevant and recent IP" arguement out of the window.

And, while I am not a fan of Avatar, if they do Pandora well, Ill be very pleased.

 

[WDWdream97]

Florida has 6 simulator bays as opposed to California's 4. The queuing differences (time wise) in Florida and California are reflections of that as Florida has 80 more people worth of capacity every 4.5 minutes. I can tell you that the change to ST2 cranked up the wait times in California. (*snark*) Maybe the east coast doesn't like Star Wars? (/*snark*) The lineup on that side of the park will drive attendance. Just like the TSPL carney stuff will...

*1023*

Is ST II that different from the one in DHS? Or is the one in DHS basically the same thing just minus the II tag?

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'd love it if the reason this policy has been enacted is because some Brazilian guest accidentally smacked one of the board members in the head with one when they were visiting the parks this week.

The policy had nothing to do with the Board of Directors. I assure you.

Step over to that thread and listen to @NowInc as it has been in the works for a while…

 

[englanddg]

The policy had nothing to do with the Board of Directors. I assure you.

Step over to that thread and listen to @NowInc as it has been in the works for a while…

<whacks @PhotoDave219 with a selfie stick>

 

[SYRIK2000]

The policy had nothing to do with the Board of Directors. I assure you.

Step over to that thread and listen to @NowInc as it has been in the works for a while…

is it because the self-absorbed idiots are dumber than normal?

 

[1023]

Is ST II that different from the one in DHS? Or is the one in DHS basically the same thing just minus the II tag?

In the context of the conversation, Star Tours 2 is referring to the second version of essentially the same attraction. Star Tours 2.0 would perhaps be a better way for me to refer to it. The differences between California and Florida is the exterior queuing area and the number of simulators. The number of simulators would have an impact on queuing times.

For the record, the facade leading up to the attraction in DHS is more attractive than the facade at Disneyland's version. Again that's all aesthetics...

*1023*

 

[Electricsoup]

which goes to the point that IP does not matter a much as execution and willingness on the part of Disney to fully fund a project

I see what you're saying, and that's true - to a point. But I won't schedule a trip around even a FANTASTICALLY executed Pandora. Moderate to great SW will get me there 3x a year.