Could Disney face another hostile takeover attempt?

[mharrington]

Again, while this doesn't necessarily involve a hostile takeover, I do wonder if Disney can actually be able to keep their parks (the few open right now) going with such a limited capacity without the risk of shutting down again (which can happen, as Hong Kong has proven).

And that is to say nothing of the continued shutdown of movie theaters, which is why "Mulan" was pushed out yet again. At this point, they might just as well swallow their pride and just settle for Disney Plus already.

 

[tirian]

Again, while this doesn't necessarily involve a hostile takeover, I do wonder if Disney can actually be able to keep their parks (the few open right now) going with such a limited capacity without the risk of shutting down again (which can happen, as Hong Kong has proven).

And that is to say nothing of the continued shutdown of movie theaters, which is why "Mulan" was pushed out yet again. At this point, they might just as well swallow their pride and just settle for Disney Plus already.

The complication is, Disney+ isn’t expected to turn a profit for another 4–6 years. I agree that at this point, Disney should start dumping more theatrical releases onto Disney+, but the company probably feels it won’t make any money off those releases.

 

[mharrington]

Once more, this next part doesn't involve a hostile takeover in the regular sense, but is it likely that Disneyland would be written off as part of its business portfolio and sold to another operator?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Once more, this next part doesn't involve a hostile takeover in the regular sense, but is it likely that Disneyland would be written off as part of its business portfolio and sold to another operator?

If Disney doesn't want to run it... who would? And would they want to run it if they didn't have access to Disney IP?

 

[mharrington]

In any case, if Disneyland doesn't open soon, doesn't it face an uncertain future where it could never reopen again, as it would just be too unfeasible?

 

[Dead2009]

Just come out and say you want someone to buy Disney already, lol.

 

[John park hopper]

Who has that kind of money to buy Disneyland or WDW ?

 

[Lilofan]

Who has that kind of money to buy Disneyland or WDW ?

Disney is worth a little over $100B. Jeff Bezos is worth $176B. Not bad for a guy many years ago driving around in a Honda Accord to start a company with his ex wife called Amazon. And that is after he gave his wife $35B in the divorce settlement.

 

[networkpro]

If Disney doesn't want to run it... who would? And would they want to run it if they didn't have access to Disney IP?

Well just for the land alone would be significant. Bulldoze and build something else. Theres a 1.5 acre lot ( for sale nearby 779 S Peralta Hills Dr, Anaheim, CA 92807 for $1.299 Million. Disneyland is 333 times that size so you'd be looking at minimally half a billion not even counting structures or infrastructure improvements.

 

[Disney Irish]

I'm sorry but Disney is not offloading, selling, or whatever other term you'd like to use, the Disney Parks and Resort division. If you believe that I got a couple bridges to sell you. Enter some person on this forum that will point out that Iger contemplated it before. But to that I say, he didn't pull the trigger now did he. Why you might ask? Well its because as Iger saw, which is still the same today, they can make more money with the Disney Parks inside the company than selling them and licensing the IP back to the buyer.

So any talk about Disneyland or any of the domestic parks being sold is just pure fearmongering and fanciful speculation that is meaningless. COVID19 while a painful issue right now is not going to last forever. There will be treatments (already are some), and hopefully a vaccine here in near future. Yes, its a weird time of uncertainty which leads to doom and gloom thoughts about our favorite Disney locations being shutdown forever. But that is just our minds playing tricks on us. Thinking about this logically, Disney has lots of things it could sell long before Disneyland if it needed to sell something.

Now with all that being said, if Disney gets desperate I could see them divesting themselves of either Shanghai Resort or Hong Kong Resort or both. I know of the thread about the Red Button, and while I don't believe there is some plan called "Red Button" (sounds like some Bond villain plan name) is being formulated. It does make sense they would consider divesting their interest in one or both resorts if needed. But I think we're a ways off from that happening. Too many things would have to go very badly in order for that gloomy scenario to play out.

 

[Lilofan]

I'm sorry but Disney is not offloading, selling, or whatever other term you'd like to use, the Disney Parks and Resort division. If you believe that I got a couple bridges to sell you. Enter some person on this forum that will point out that Iger contemplated it before. But to that I say, he didn't pull the trigger now did he. Why you might ask? Well its because as Iger saw, which is still the same today, they can make more money with the Disney Parks inside the company than selling them and licensing the IP back to the buyer.

So any talk about Disneyland or any of the domestic parks being sold is just pure fearmongering and fanciful speculation that is meaningless. COVID19 while a painful issue right now is not going to last forever. There will be treatments (already are some), and hopefully a vaccine here in near future. Yes, its a weird time of uncertainty which leads to doom and gloom thoughts about our favorite Disney locations being shutdown forever. But that is just our minds playing tricks on us. Thinking about this logically, Disney has lots of things it could sell long before Disneyland if it needed to sell something.

Now with all that being said, if Disney gets desperate I could see them divesting themselves of either Shanghai Resort or Hong Kong Resort or both. I know of the thread about the Red Button, and while I don't believe there is some plan called "Red Button" (sounds like some Bond villain plan name) is being formulated. It does make sense they would consider divesting their interest in one or both resorts if needed. But I think we're a ways off from that happening. Too many things would have to go very badly in order for that gloomy scenario to play out.

Disney may stay around but the surrounding businesses in Central Florida that directly and indirectly support WDW may not survive. Many that have been closed are slowly reopening but some will never reopen. We could have a better picture during the Aug 4 quarterly earnings call.

 

[Disney Irish]

Disney may stay around but the surrounding businesses in Central Florida that directly and indirectly support WDW may not survive. Many that have been closed are slowly reopening but some will never reopen. We could have a better picture during the Aug 4 quarterly earnings call.

That might be true, but "out of the ashes" as they say. As things go back to normal 12, 18, 24 months from now you'll have new businesses pop back up that'll replace the ones permanently shuttered. This is how things have worked after every global crisis previously. So unless the human population becomes decimated (at which point who cares about the Disney Parks anyway), we'll get through this and so will Disney.

 

[mharrington]

So any talk about Disneyland or any of the domestic parks being sold is just pure fearmongering and fanciful speculation that is meaningless. COVID19 while a painful issue right now is not going to last forever. There will be treatments (already are some), and hopefully a vaccine here in near future. Yes, its a weird time of uncertainty which leads to doom and gloom thoughts about our favorite Disney locations being shutdown forever. But that is just our minds playing tricks on us. Thinking about this logically, Disney has lots of things it could sell long before Disneyland if it needed to sell something.

I had brought up this topic to my family time and again, and my mother, who firmly believed that Disneyland wouldn't remain closed forever, was getting fed up with it. So on a recent update from MiceChat (on July 17th, yet), she showed me pictures of the park with various projects going on right then (Haunted Mansion, Snow White, repaving, etc.), to show that attention was being given to it, and that this was actually the best time to do them, when no one else is around. Splash Mountain remains the same right now; they won't be doing anything with it until some time after the park reopens.

As great as it is that Disneyland is getting the care it so desperately needs, what does it mean if its reopening is at the mercy of the government, which in turn is at the mercy of the currently-raging COVID19, which they are scared to death of that they would go back on their promise not to close anything down again? Not much, I'm afraid. Projects do eventually get completed, and then what will they do once they're completed and the park is not open yet? Do they just sit around and do nothing?

As for treatments and such, if some are available already, why haven't they been made to the public yet?

 

[Disney Irish]

I had brought up this topic to my family time and again, and my mother, who firmly believed that Disneyland wouldn't remain closed forever, was getting fed up with it. So on a recent update from MiceChat (on July 17th, yet), she showed me pictures of the park with various projects going on right then (Haunted Mansion, Snow White, repaving, etc.), to show that attention was being given to it, and that this was actually the best time to do them, when no one else is around. Splash Mountain remains the same right now; they won't be doing anything with it until some time after the park reopens.

As great as it is that Disneyland is getting the care it so desperately needs, what does it mean if its reopening is at the mercy of the government, which in turn is at the mercy of the currently-raging COVID19, which they are scared to death of that they would go back on their promise not to close anything down again? Not much, I'm afraid. Projects do eventually get completed, and then what will they do once they're completed and the park is not open yet? Do they just sit around and do nothing?

I'm not sure what your point is other then your normal doom and gloom feeling sorry for yourself posting. So I'll just say that Disneyland will not stay closed forever. And that they have enough short term projects, as well as medium term and long term large projects, in the Parks to last a lifetime. Something will always need fixing, something will always need painting, etc. So when the current round of short term maintenance projects are done, then they just wait until the Parks reopen for the next round of short term maintenance projects. Medium and long term large projects are still going on, such as Avengers Campus and Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. And then there are the even longer term projects (both announced and unannounced) that are still in some form moving forward. We'll see what happens but I expect projects like Splash Mountain and such move forward without much issue.

As for treatments and such, if some are available already, why haven't they been made to the public yet?

Since a large majority of infected people have no symptoms most don't need them. But potential new treatments are being announced almost daily, such as Remdesivir, as new ways to combat the severe infections are found. Trials are going on all the time to find the next new better treatment.

 

[mharrington]

I'm not sure what your point is other then your normal doom and gloom feeling sorry for yourself posting. So I'll just say that Disneyland will not stay closed forever. And that they have enough short term projects, as well as medium term and long term large projects, in the Parks to last a lifetime. Something will always need fixing, something will always need painting, etc. So when the current round of short term maintenance projects are done, then they just wait until the Parks reopen for the next round of short term maintenance projects.

One concern was the rehab projects going right now, such as for Snow White, the Carousel and the Haunted Mansion. Once those projects are done, they are going to have to keep constantly maintaining the projects before they reopen, aren't they? (Of course, they will have to maintain them regardless.)

The other big thing was that I was genuinely looking forward to the parks allegedly reopening on July 17, which they had announced, pending government approval. But not only did the approval never come in time, but the virus raged out of control. Unlike Florida, which went ahead with reopenings anyway (and whose government apparently has different standards than CA's), California's government responded by going back on its word to reopen further. That, to me, felt like a promise broken, and I was hurt.

And now (to try and get this thread back on track), I have heard from @WDW Pro that the virus has taken its toll on Disney, with them facing the threat of having to push the so-called "big red button" (https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-red-button-option.966421/) and get rid of the Shanghai and Hong Kong parks, because by September (two months away, mind you), they will have only $6 billion on hand, which apparently is unsustainable.

And that's just on the theme park front. They are not able to even film, much less release, any new films because most theaters have been rumored to remain shut down until at least mid-2021. That means no "Mulan", no live-action "Jungle Cruise", not even animated movies ("Soul", "Raya"). There's just no way they can be released anywhere in any way, shape or form until then (except maybe on Disney Plus, but even then there's no guarantee).

Since a large majority of infected people have no symptoms most don't need them. But potential new treatments are being announced almost daily, such as Remdesivir, as new ways to combat the severe infections are found. Trials are going on all the time to find the next new better treatment.

Well, they can't just keep doing trials indefinitely. Sooner or later (preferably sooner), they're going to need to put one of them out on the market. It seems things will not reopen until life can get back to normal (not close to normal, but normal, period (as in before the pandemic)), and the only way that can happen is with some way to directly control the virus. Also, as some have pointed out, just because one doesn't have symptoms, does not mean they don't have it.

 

[Dead2009]

And that's just on the theme park front. They are not able to even film, much less release, any new films because most theaters have been rumored to remain shut down until at least mid-2021. That means no "Mulan", no live-action "Jungle Cruise", not even animated movies ("Soul", "Raya"). There's just no way they can be released anywhere in any way, shape or form until then (except maybe on Disney Plus, but even then there's no guarantee).

AMC Theaters are opening up at the end of the month.

 

[mharrington]

AMC Theaters are opening up at the end of the month.

Take a look at this article here (for starters): https://screenrant.com/movie-theaters-closed-reopen-when-2021/.

And the two main markets for movies, New York and California, are the ones hit hardest by the virus. I believe they are the ones that really matter here.

"Mulan" has been pushed back to August, but everyone keeps thinking that that's optimistic. It seems as though "optimistic" has taken on a negative connotation, indicating false hope.

 

[Dead2009]

Take a look at this article here (for starters): https://screenrant.com/movie-theaters-closed-reopen-when-2021/.

I looked at this article (for starters): https://www.gamespot.com/articles/amc-theaters-postpones-reopening-again-following-m/1100-6479104/

 

[lazyboy97o]

One concern was the rehab projects going right now, such as for Snow White, the Carousel and the Haunted Mansion. Once those projects are done, they are going to have to keep constantly maintaining the projects before they reopen, aren't they? (Of course, they will have to maintain them regardless.)

You say that as if it is some big additional effort. New construction is usually easier to maintain.

The other big thing was that I was genuinely looking forward to the parks allegedly reopening on July 17, which they had announced, pending government approval. But not only did the approval never come in time, but the virus raged out of control. Unlike Florida, which went ahead with reopenings anyway (and whose government apparently has different standards than CA's), California's government responded by going back on its word to reopen further. That, to me, felt like a promise broken, and I was hurt.

There was no promise. And of course Florida and California have different regulations.

And now (to try and get this thread back on track), I have heard from @WDW Pro that the virus has taken its toll on Disney, with them facing the threat of having to push the so-called "big red button" (https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-red-button-option.966421/) and get rid of the Shanghai and Hong Kong parks, because by September (two months away, mind you), they will have only $6 billion on hand, which apparently is unsustainable.

If true, this would be an issue far beyond the pandemic.

Well, they can't just keep doing trials indefinitely. Sooner or later (preferably), they're going to need to put one of them out on the market. It seems things will not reopen until life can get back to normal (not close to normal, but normal, period (as in before the pandemic)), and the only way that can happen is with some way to directly control the virus. Also, as some have pointed out, just because one doesn't have symptoms, does not mean they don't have it.

The process of approving medications for us is not a simply one and for good reason. Medications can cause serious side effects and end up hurting people more than what they are treating.

 

[mharrington]

You say that as if it is some big additional effort. New construction is usually easier to maintain.

I just wonder how they can do rehabs, finish them, and then not be able to actually open afterwards.

There was no promise. And of course Florida and California have different regulations.

Then they shouldn't have gotten people's hopes up with any announcements and such.

If true, this would be an issue far beyond the pandemic.

Unfortunately, the fallout from the pandemic will surely outlast the pandemic itself, just as the fallout from 9/11 outlasted 9/11 itself.

The process of approving medications for us is not a simply one and for good reason. Medications can cause serious side effects and end up hurting people more than what they are treating.

But it seems as though places cannot truly reopen until things can go back to normal (as in, before the pandemic hit), and the only way to do that, in this case, is with a medication or something that can actually, directly, literally control the virus. I was told that various types of medications have been treated, with much success.[/QUOTE]