News Dismal Q3 Earnings

[ABQ]

That's because Feige is a genius. Geniuses are exceedingly rare. Lucasfilm is lacking a genius. Lucasfilm had unprecedented control over SWGE.

Agreed, which is why I get more and more antsy at the fact that Feige's contract is still not yet renewed and expires in the next few months.

 

[doctornick]

If your only reason for purchasing Lucas Films was for the SW movies, you may be true.... There is alot more to the investment.

That reminds me, when we are talking about Lucasfilm... I would think Disney makes some decent money from Industrial Light & Magic and maybe even Skywalker Sound. We don't typically include them when thinking about revenues from the Lucasfilm purchase, but ILM in particular isn't some small mom and pop thing. Do they ever break down revenue/profit numbers for divisions like that?

 

[mikejs78]

Seems like Chapek could be on his way out

If true, can he go before they tear up Epcot and then reassess?

 

[bartholomr4]

If true, can he go before they tear up Epcot and then reassess?

I think the plan for Epcot will be good, I just think it would happen quicker and be more complete without him

 

[eddie104]

Chapek is a moron who is full of S***

His actions speak more than words and there ARE people in very high places who want him out. He's hurt the Disney brand!

Honestly, for all the park's faults, I hope Universal's third park stabs Disney's arrogance in the deepest place possible: the wallet. If he's even remotely in tune with Disney then props to him, he's reading this or knows his criticisms, but if not, hey, he has no one to blame but himself when the inevitable comes.

But it doesn't stop with him. Lucasfilm's leadership (or lack of thereof) is so focused on secrecy (on and off the set) and shoving their heads up their a**es that they refuse to focus on creativity and art in their filmmaking, making both a quality product and a meaningful one within Star Wars Universe.

Disney+ will be successful, but Star Wars is a monster IP and they've mishandled that somehow. Maximizing it, they have not, and that's frankly because the product isn't loved by many of the people making it. We need the Dark Knight of Star Wars. We need DisneySea level of storytelling in the parks. We need good leadership like Marvel. We need people that understand what their working with. For all its faults, Marvel understands what it IS, and what bringing in talented individuals who love the material can do. Investing hundreds of millions in those films make sense because they are surefire

I worry that if these things do not get addressed it could prove to be a very large problem for Disney lovers and shareholders alike.

We all know what happens what good leadership becomes stagnant. I feel Bob Iger (albeit a bit out of 'touch with the parks') is a talented businessman, but many of his cohorts are less than desirable.

In the end Disney will be fine because things are cyclical, but if we go into a recession, or some people don't clean up their act, we'll reap the consequences of it for a decade+.

#SaveDisney?

You make a lot of great points but how is DisneySea storytelling any better than the rest of the parks ?

 

[Walrus from Paris]

You make a lot of great points but how is DisneySea storytelling any better than the rest of the parks ?

Star Wars Land does a lot of things right, but all the criticisms can find solutions in better design ala DisneySea; particularly that it wasn't micromanaged to oblivion. And it's also the highest attended non-Castle park. Ignore TEA's numbers. TWDC fudges them to make themselves look better. Oriental Land, to back up my initial point, reaping the benefits. They're making bank.

 

[eddie104]

Star Wars Land does a lot of things right, but all the criticisms can find solutions in better design ala DisneySea; particularly that it wasn't micromanaged to oblivion. And it's also the highest attended non-Castle park. Ignore TEA's numbers. TWDC fudges them to make themselves look better. Oriental Land, to back up my initial point, reaping the benefits. They're making bank.

It’s no doubt the most immersive Disney park but you didn’t answer my question.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

More on the history of Al Lutz, and "Al Lutz" and they helped certain key people within the Disney company:

https://medium.com/@snydergary310/the-dis-influencer-2ec902b53c77

 

[Dan Deesnee]

Well, yes for Pixar and Marvel.

Whether LucasFilm is going to make back the investment is yet to be seen, depending on merch sales. Because, for the films so far, the *profit* hasn't made up for the $4B price tag. And that's because of the budget and advertising and theater-profit-sharing that eats into the Box Office. Disney has only made $660M in profit in the theatrical window for their new SW movies.

Now, the old movies and the post-theatrical window and the merchandising are certainly bringing in big buck. But, I don't know if all that has surpassed the $4B investment (plus another billion for SWL).

Also, Disney Movie Studios, my usual whipping boy, is still only breaking even on average in the theatrical window (I'm sure post-theatrical puts it far into the black). But, that studio still needs to be straightened out as much as the current Fox movie studio, IMO.

Star Wars merchandise is a multi Billion dollar industry annually. They've likely already made their 4 billion back.

https://fortune.com/2015/09/03/star-wars-disney-toys-force-awakens/

 

[flynnibus]

More on the history of Al Lutz, and "Al Lutz" and they helped certain key people within the Disney company:

https://medium.com/@snydergary310/the-dis-influencer-2ec902b53c77

That is some serious bombshell stuff if it all is true. Calling out @TP2000 as a conduit... Zenia as the puppetmaster... where is @WDW1974 when the other shoe drops. @wdwmagic your attention plz...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

where is @WDW1974 when the other shoe drops.

Maybe @WDW1974 IS Gary Snyder?


(no I have no idea and nothing to back this claim)

 

[Ravenclaw78]

More on the history of Al Lutz, and "Al Lutz" and they helped certain key people within the Disney company:

https://medium.com/@snydergary310/the-dis-influencer-2ec902b53c77

It certainly is enlightening. Explains a lot about the directions in which certain posters on this board steer conversations. I know others have taken note of brand new "insider" accounts that popped up out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago with tons of very detailed information and a narrative crafted to depict Galaxy's edge as a disaster of such epic proportions that it could destroy the company if one scapegoat executive isn't fired, immediately followed by Lutz coming out of a decade long retirement to write a hit piece on that same scapegoat.

(Btw, it's entirely possible that Chapek was responsible for all the poor choices he's being accused of. The narrative doesn't necessarily have to be wrong to still be manipulative. Decisions like these don't happen in a vacuum, they are part of a corporate culture that all the executives and the Board have a hand in creating.)

(Also, I am aware of how it looks that my account was created just before the aforementioned insider accounts. I don't think there's any way of proving I'm not a shill for someone's counter-narrative, so I'll just have to ask you to take my word about that. I'm just a random fan who understands that there are a lot of systemic problems in the House of Mouse but doesn't believe they're as bad as people on messages boards tend to think they are. Neither a pixie duster nor a doom and gloomer.)

 

[Animaniac93-98]

(Btw, it's entirely possible that Chapek was responsible for all the poor choices he's being accused of. The narrative doesn't necessarily have to be wrong to still be manipulative. Decisions like these don't happen in a vacuum, they are part of a corporate culture that all the executives and the Board have a hand in creating.)

Indeed. As I said in another thread if Chapek goes he'll be the third P&R head to be kicked out while Iger has been CEO, to say nothing of the previous blunders when Eisner/Pressler opened DCA, WDSP and HKDL.

Parks and Resorts has had leadership and corporate culture issues for a long time and they don't appear to be solved any time soon.

 

[larryz]

Indeed. As I said in another thread if Chapek goes he'll be the third P&R head to be kicked out while Iger has been CEO, to say nothing of the previous blunders when Eisner/Pressler opened DCA, WDSP and HKDL.

Parks and Resorts has had leadership and corporate culture issues for a long time and they don't appear to be solved any time soon.

Perhaps Parks and Resorts should be renamed "Parks and Recreation"... ?

 

[Magenta Panther]

Iger really expected Star Wars fans to flock to GE like a bunch of pilgrims travelling to Mecca. They're suckers to him. He felt he could open the land with only 1 ride, no real street atmosphere, and ridiculous prices, and the fools would come. Ha! Bucket of ice-cold water to the face, Iger!

 

[Rodan75]

It certainly is enlightening. Explains a lot about the directions in which certain posters on this board steer conversations. I know others have taken note of brand new "insider" accounts that popped up out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago with tons of very detailed information and a narrative crafted to depict Galaxy's edge as a disaster of such epic proportions that it could destroy the company if one scapegoat executive isn't fired, immediately followed by Lutz coming out of a decade long retirement to write a hit piece on that same scapegoat.

(Btw, it's entirely possible that Chapek was responsible for all the poor choices he's being accused of. The narrative doesn't necessarily have to be wrong to still be manipulative. Decisions like these don't happen in a vacuum, they are part of a corporate culture that all the executives and the Board have a hand in creating.)

(Also, I am aware of how it looks that my account was created just before the aforementioned insider accounts. I don't think there's any way of proving I'm not a shill for someone's counter-narrative, so I'll just have to ask you to take my word about that. I'm just a random fan who understands that there are a lot of systemic problems in the House of Mouse but doesn't believe they're as bad as people on messages boards tend to think they are. Neither a pixie duster nor a doom and gloomer.)

I think it is also possible that Chapek demanded what we all think is possible...Bigger, Cheaper and Faster. WDI isn’t engineered for cheaper and faster and so I suspect everyone agreed to cut items that Ops already indicated would be problematic. In the end I blame WDI for not coming up with more practical, operational ideas that could have been executed on budget and on time.

And for as much as WDI is spending on project governance and management things like the cooling issues in Pandora’s server room and the rumored Health and Safety issues on ROTR shouldn’t be possible. Those execs should be removed and those teams completely re-evaluated.

It is easier to blame Chapek and Iger than it is to see fault in the invisible middle management tiers, but WDI has some big issues and until Chapek clears house in those areas these projects will be plagued with issues. UC isn’t in much better shape given their last few projects. It is hard to build experiences, but they still need to do better.

 

[Rodan75]

Iger really expected Star Wars fans to flock to GE like a bunch of pilgrims travelling to Mecca. They're suckers to him. He felt he could open the land with only 1 ride, no real street atmosphere, and ridiculous prices, and the fools would come. Ha! Bucket of ice-cold water to the face, Iger!

Yes, Iger bought into his own Star Wars GE hype. But he does genuinely seem to be a fan of Star Wars, he has an energy when describing SW that he doesn’t have for Pixar or Marvel.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It is easier to blame Chapek and Iger than it is to see fault in the invisible middle management tiers, but WDI has some big issues and until Chapek clears house in those areas these projects will be plagued with issues.

It absolutely is, but if he doesn't or Iger doesn't realize that is part of the problem and is really just looking for a "fall guy", than that is a failure on their part. There seems to be many misunderstandings with how WDI should operate and it's obvious from both larger scale projects like SWGE and even little ideas like those bounce pads in the WDW Pooh queue that were installed and quickly removed because nobody realized or was willing to listen until the last minute it was a bad idea.

With a company as large as Disney with so many steps in the decision making process it's not any one person's fault, but poor leadership can allow bad decisions to go unchecked until it's too late. I mean leadership in both the literal and figurative sense.

 

[alex0c]

Maybe @WDW1974 IS Gary Snyder?


(no I have no idea and nothing to back this claim)

That was definitely my thought reading the article. Sounds like his writing style and the article used some phrases like “the weatherman” that he’s used before. Plus I believe he’s said he “works in the industry” (apparently this guy is a consultant to media/ theme park companies) and that he’s met George K.

 

[WDWTank]

I think it is also possible that Chapek demanded what we all think is possible...Bigger, Cheaper and Faster. WDI isn’t engineered for cheaper and faster and so I suspect everyone agreed to cut items that Ops already indicated would be problematic. In the end I blame WDI for not coming up with more practical, operational ideas that could have been executed on budget and on time.

And for as much as WDI is spending on project governance and management things like the cooling issues in Pandora’s server room and the rumored Health and Safety issues on ROTR shouldn’t be possible. Those execs should be removed and those teams completely re-evaluated.

It is easier to blame Chapek and Iger than it is to see fault in the invisible middle management tiers, but WDI has some big issues and until Chapek clears house in those areas these projects will be plagued with issues. UC isn’t in much better shape given their last few projects. It is hard to build experiences, but they still need to do better.

What’s the rumored health and safety issues?