News Bob Iger talks about attendance declines, ticket pricing, the feud with Ron DeSantis, and his huge optimism for Disney Parks and Resorts

[DisAl]

Not mentioned in the article, but during this interview Iger states that WDW is "where the Disney brand lives in its most sublime form."



lol

If I owned any Disney stock I would sell it.
I was looking to move some investments a few years back and almost bought some Disney stock. I'm sure glad I didn't because the Disney brand is no longer what it used to be.

 

[Lilofan]

If I owned any Disney stock I would sell it.
I was looking to move some investments a few years back and almost bought some Disney stock. I'm sure glad I didn't because the Disney brand is no longer what it used to be.

65% of Disney stockholders are institutional investors. Its a better bet in that the exposure of a downfall is not as extreme as a person who has their monies tied directly into the company stock.

 

[SirLink]

The entire industry has changed. Not only is the cable industry dead but so is over the air TV and the movie industry is shrinking. People will soon have 100 inch TV's with great sound. Then add the reality that free ad supported streaming services and a few paid streamimg services being the revenue source for all this. Plus internet service costs will be lower as cord cutting 2.0 takes off. No longer will people pay $100 plus a month for cable and another $50 plus for internet. The future is $25 for internet and $25 for paid streaming along with a few free streaming services. Where will the money come from to pay all the people who work in the industry? The highest paid actors will have to take pay cuts as will all executives.

Aye, don't think decent internet will be at that price. Movies will still come out but it will only be the blockbuster VFX heavy productions going into cinemas, might mean cinema owners have to take a lower percentage. But some of the striking folks complaining seasons of tv are only 10 episodes instead of 22 and that they are only working 5 months instead of 9 months now. Its like welcome to non bloat tv. Or someone said they had a deal of the back end of Daredevil on Netflix - its like bro what back end it made nothing.

 

[John park hopper]

I can't remember the last time I watched network TV. I have no use for the reality staged shows or the comedy shows with canned laughter. Can't remember th last time I went to the movies. All of my viewing is Netflix or Prime IMO sit down movie theaters will go the way of VHF tape players

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Kind of amazing that in the span of one week Iger's carefully manicured personal and professional persona has taken such a beating simply by saying too many bad talking points in a row.

I understand following a script, but who reads something on paper like "It's too hot in Florida" and thinks that's a good thing to say out loud?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just to be clear, Disney says those photos are not from their production.

"When asked by The Daily Beast for comment on the Daily Mail’s article, which touts photos of what it claims is Snow White’s cast, a Disney spokesperson said, “The photos are fake and not from our production. We are currently trying to have the Daily Mail issue a correction.”"

‘Snow White’ Set Pics Stir Anti-Woke Criticism

Disney initially claimed the pictures from the live-action set were “fake” but later backtracked.

www.thedailybeast.com

Good…

Unfortunately that article describes a terrible product as well…so there’s that too

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just to be clear, Disney says those photos are not from their production.

"When asked by The Daily Beast for comment on the Daily Mail’s article, which touts photos of what it claims is Snow White’s cast, a Disney spokesperson said, “The photos are fake and not from our production. We are currently trying to have the Daily Mail issue a correction.”"

‘Snow White’ Set Pics Stir Anti-Woke Criticism

Disney initially claimed the pictures from the live-action set were “fake” but later backtracked.

www.thedailybeast.com

Good…

Unfortunately that article describes a terrible product as well…so there’s that too.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Kind of amazing that in the span of one week Iger's carefully manicured personal and professional persona has taken such a beating simply by saying too many bad talking points in a row.

I understand following a script, but who reads something on paper like "It's too hot in Florida" and thinks that's a good thing to say out loud?

I think it more speaks to his general disinterest in the parks. As laughable as it seems at first, the summer heat in Florida is an issue that is going to increase in the future. What makes it worse is that he just ignored how much work Disney under his leadership has worked to shift visitation away from summer and spread it through the year. It would have been easy to sell it as not a point of worry, that they have successfully spread out visitation, that too many super slammed days create negative experiences and perceptions. On top of all that, the even easier answer is that tourism across Florida seems to be soft/down.

Even with things being down, the parks remain a cash machine. Despite their ability to be presented as a positive, Iger still doesn’t really get them in any way and can’t be bothered with the basics. He has no understanding of why the public is so infatuated with the stupid rides and how much they remain an outsized portion of Disney’s unique image.

 

[celluloid]

The fact that the temp of FL hitting a hundred in the summer is silly, as a hot fourth of July time period is certainly not untypical, and August would have no hope of guests in theme parks if this were the case. There are plenty of days where the real feel hits around 110.

It could have to do with the hubris of management creating unappealing vacation styles for many guests, and the hit attraction of ...Tron...and nothing else really coming in the near future except for Princess and The Frog's redo of something that was already an E ticket people associate with visiting Walt Disney World.

I am also disheartened that he makes it sound like he had to undo a lot in two years. All the major issues he needs to address and fix, but has yet to do much, are his own doing.

Hotel parking went away...yayy. That is the only compliment I can give and he was a part of creating it.

 

[brb1006]

I remember last summer both Jim Hill and Drew Tailor briefly brought up the then upcoming book "The Disney Revolt" in an episode of "Fine Tooning" Podcast which gave an in-depth look at "The 1941 Animator's Strike" at Disney Animation Studios. They mentioned that Disney refuses to fully discuss the strike since it might cause a ripple effect with Disney of today (since families of the animators are still alive). While the book itself has much more detail compared to previous mentions on occasional Disney documentaries and The Disney Family Museum.

In light of Iger's comments and negative publicity combined with the SAG-AFTRA Strike that just kicked off. I hope Jim mighty finally discuss "The Disney Revolt" book for next week's episode of "Fine Tooning" or "The Disney Dish Podcast" alongside @lentesta.

 

[some other guy]

The fact that the temp of FL hitting a hundred in the summer is silly, as a hot fourth of July time period is certainly not untypical, and August would have no hope of guests in theme parks if this were the case. There are plenty of days where the real feel hits around 110.

yeah I recall a few years back when I was going really lean on a third floor apt without AC and it was up to legit (not ReeelFeel TM junk) 98.
it ain't pleasant out there but it's been worse in recent memory
I'd put RESERVATIONS EVERYWHERE ahead of "it's hot! in Florida!" as a more immediate speedbump

 

[celluloid]

yeah I recall a few years back when I was going really lean on a third floor apt without AC and it was up to legit (not ReeelFeel TM junk) 98.
it ain't pleasant out there but it's been worse in recent memory
I'd put RESERVATIONS EVERYWHERE ahead of "it's hot! in Florida!" as a more immediate speedbump

And the more tier requirements than ever APs and the fact that they were hard to get for a long while. That turns some loyalty away for at least a bit. That mixed with lackuster new things since pandemic for general guests too.

 

[AEfx]

It’s funny watching multi-millionaires fight over money isn’t it.

It is funny, isn't it?

Strikes need public support, and the writers might have continued to get it, but now that the Actors (capital A on purpose) are involved, public opinion is going to go to heck.

First, they lose a lot of people automatically because "Hollywood" and the fact that even the worst life working on Hollywood films is a way higher standard of living than an actual real person in the rest of the country.

And then, when they claim "this is really about the little guy!" and you see the "little guy" talk, it's so eyeroll inducing you can't even watch without wanting to smack them. I'm sorry, if you aren't making a living at something, it's a hobby, not a career.

I'm very pro-worker, believe in an actual living wage for people who actually work, etc. I'm exceedingly liberal on that topic.

But when I see some young spray-tanned dude in a tank top with his muscles showing off, on a picket line saying "I deserve full health care, a living wage, and a pension (!!!!!)" because they manage to stay a SAG member by getting a role of a corpse every few years on NCIS, it's so disgustingly entitled I don't even have words for it. I think everyone should have health care (a different issue), but a "living wage" when you can't score jobs for years on end? Or, my goodness - a PENSION? Pensions have all but disappeared in the private sector.

In any other profession, in any other circumstances, what they do would be correctly be referred to as a hobby, and the idea that somehow because they think they are a "working actor" they deserve to be taken care of is just a joke.

 

[Nubs70]

That's a great big - "Yup!"

I don't think people realize the transformation that is going on around us, in so many industries. As always (I need a hat that says this...), the pandemic accelerated trends that were already happening.

People are going to be writing books for many years to come about the "Great Transformation" going on right now.

Yes, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs, especially in the middle, middle-upper tiers. Companies have already spent the last decade or so bringing the front of the line, on the ground jobs to their breaking points by staffing as a little as possible. They can't squeeze any more out of that end, so they are moving up the toothpaste tube.

A lot could be said about why the current state of Hollywood is what it is - why budgets are so high, and how it's gotten so out of control - and it's not just because of executive pay.

One interesting thing to think about - you notice how it's always the creatives who have union problems in Hollywood? Everyone on a Hollywood set is unionized, with dozens of trade unions, yet...they never come up because they are very happy. They have such sweetheart deals in place that have movie sets way over-staffed. If you start to look up the rules as to how many people they require you to hire (you can't just have one camera assistant, you have to have 3, etc.) it's really eye-opening.

I have friends who work on movie sets every day and their biggest complaint is boredom, because most of the time you work a few minutes every few hours. They are long days, but most of it is doing absolutely nothing, when if one person was allowed to do the tasks required they could replace 4 or 5 of the jobs that the union mandates they have. And they literally are not allowed to do anything else - they can't touch anything, they can't even hold a dang door open for someone. In a few select circumstances (prop weapons, or electrical work, etc.) that makes sense, but it's just everywhere. The goals of all the trade unions have always been to make sure the movie sets are employing as many people as possible.

Thing is, Hollywood can afford creatives to go on strike, but not them - so those bloated costs are not going anywhere. With the creatives - let's face it, they can all be replaced by YouTubers. We are far from the days where you had to schlep out to LA or NY to be discovered. There are so many content creators out there across the spectrum - actors, directors, writers, etc. There are very few names these days that sell tickets or streaming subscriptions on just that name alone. And there are a nearly infinite amount of aspiring talents out there in all the creative fields that are just a click away - it's just finding the ones that don't suck.

That's why the studio's are totally willing to play hardball with them. That said, obviously, while they are replaceable, they are not completely irrelevant - and as it goes on public opinion is going to be interesting. On one hand, at the moment it's very much "support the unions!", but on the other - once the content drought really hits (and Iger is right on that one, they were just beginning to recover from the pandemic, and this is really catastrophic) and people are sick of hearing about it, it's going to be hard to find sustained support from the general audience.

I mean, the average writer in Hollywood makes $250K a year. Sure, some make less, but some make more - and while writers will tell you about all the costs of living in LA (at least to their preferred lifestyle...) - it's really difficult for the average person who makes $50K a year to have an endless amount of sympathy, regardless of how much they want to stick it to the corporations. Especially when they aren't getting any new movies or TV shows for a year or more because of it.

Will anyone really care???

 

[DonniePeverley]

Hopefully the go to option won't be to reinstate perks for free loading locals - allowing them to come to the parks all year long and contribute year long crowds, and mass dissatisfaction for high paying tourists.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Hopefully the go to option won't be to reinstate perks for free loading locals - allowing them to come to the parks all year long and contribute year long crowds, and mass dissatisfaction for high paying tourists.

These takes are always so funny…. I’m a “free loading local”, I pay $75/mo for my AP, visit the parks 1-2 times per month and spend anywhere from $300-$500 on F&B/Merch each trip. Some trips I spend more and stay at a Disney hotel, sometimes I buy special event tickets, like I just purchased for Jollywood Nights. There is no “free-loading”. I’m also one person, so think about families who are local, they’re spending more.

 

[celluloid]

These takes are always so funny…. I’m a “free loading local”, I pay $75/mo for my AP, visit the parks 1-2 times per month and spend anywhere from $300-$500 on F&B/Merch each trip. Some trips I spend more and stay at a Disney hotel, sometimes I buy special event tickets, like I just purchased for Jollywood Nights. There is no “free-loading”. I’m also one person, so think about families who are local, they’re spending more.

It is a dumb take and gets so old. There are a few major reasons walt built in CENTRAL FL.

He loved the "free loading locals" He always knew the most potential visitors would always be in that state.

 

[flynnibus]

These takes are always so funny…. I’m a “free loading local”, I pay $75/mo for my AP, visit the parks 1-2 times per month and spend anywhere from $300-$500 on F&B/Merch each trip.

Ok, maybe you do spend $12,000 a year on disney sales within the parks... but do you really think that is representative?

 

[SamusAranX]

Hopefully the go to option won't be to reinstate perks for free loading locals - allowing them to come to the parks all year long and contribute year long crowds, and mass dissatisfaction for high paying tourists.

I hope this continues to keep you up at night.

 

[matt9112]

Hopefully the go to option won't be to reinstate perks for free loading locals - allowing them to come to the parks all year long and contribute year long crowds, and mass dissatisfaction for high paying tourists.

They could have just built capacity to trend with attendance and they could fit both groups of people comfortably into the parks without dishonoring your family name.