News Disney’s Q1 FY25 Earnings Results Webcast

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No, I’ve outed myself as a physician in the past. No horse in the race other than it interests me greatly and I’ve thus far been right…

It’s not just Dis, I went through the same song and dance on Netflix when the market turned on it a couple of years ago that it wasn’t seeing the huge money spigot they were turning on and hitching their wagons to the totally wrong metric (subscriber numbers). Something Chapek fudged to his great undoing.



It depends on whose definition we’re using. I was hyper critical of the stock bubble in 2021. I just think the pendulum of negativity (by Wall Street, not here) overshot the other direction.



The trajectory has done what you all said it wouldn’t do. We’ve just seen a 1.75B OI swing in 8 quarters.

Who said it would never turn upward?

I’m sure some did…but it wasn’t me

What I’m saying is it can’t replace the profit engine they built the last 40 years on

$9 a month for every house on espn and name their price advertising…and you had to take lifetime and A&E too


Two questions:
1. Are you holding too much worthless $140 Disney stock?
2. Are you a Psychiatrist?…I could use one

 

[monothingie]

I don’t disagree. But they’ve already done the former. It didn’t initially feel like they needed Hulu, but in hindsight I don’t think the American D+ product is that great.

D+ Star or D+ Hulu is a fairly fortified product.

It's a good solid number 3 or number 4 ranked streaming service for the target demographic.

If you only consider 12 and under, then D+ is number 1. (But that doesn't work to well for the advertisers.)

 

[HauntedPirate]

The night events are things they have been doing regularly for like 30 years

Night events such as... ?

 

[BrianLo]

Who said it would never turn upward?

Many, but yes your position has been pretty clear on DTC replacing linear.

Two questions:
1. Are you holding too much worthless $140 Disney stock?

Fair questions! No I have a small stake at a book price of 86.65 largely executed summer/fall 2023.

I don’t really believe in individual stock picking by and large… but if I want to actually brag it’s the Royal stock I bought for the shareholder benefit that’s gone up so much I’m practically uncomfortable about it.

2. Are you a Psychiatrist?…I could use one

Peds. Though one could basically say that’s an internist, intensivist, neonatologist and psychiatrist these days… (it’s quite a different model than the US, it’s not primary care).

But sorry, you are out of my league

 

[Agent H]

Night events such as... ?

The Halloween and Christmas parties

 

[HauntedPirate]

The Halloween and Christmas parties

You mean the Halloween party that was held only on Halloween until 2000 and the Christmas party that was limited to 7-8 evenings until 2001, and not the combined 50+ evenings the park closes early every year now for the two? Sure, if that's your definition of "regularly" and "30 years".

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I would love it if they were limiting attendance to make the lines more manageable and the parks more fun but in my experience they’ve offset any advantage of fewer guests with fewer CMs, fewer shows, fewer parades, etc.

The attendance at the parks is down and other than less crowded paths the guests experience hasn’t gotten any better.

If their goal is to limit attendance to make the parks more enjoyable for their guests they are failing miserably.

My opinion…just that…is that they are not “limiting attendance” at all. And never had any intention to

They are publicly traded and have fallen down the well of chasing quarterlies. There is only one way to get out of that and it will never happen

They are absolutely not permitted to not chase customers. Ever.

It’s not limiting…it’s losing

Those are not synonyms

 

[Jrb1979]

I understand your point, but that wasn't my experience. We went for a week and there was plenty for us to do; we could have used another couple of days. But that was my particular experience with a large, multi-generational group. If it was a younger couple who spent more time in the parks, maybe we would have felt differently.

We did everything we wanted to with fewer people crowding the pools, water park, buses, restaurants, etc. For us the lower attendance made the experience much better.

The expense was significantly higher than we paid in 2018, but we had a better experience. Again, I don't speak for anyone but myself. Also, I am surprisingly indifferent to Disney's business problems and whether or not it can stay in business.

That makes sense. It feels like you view that parks different than most here. For your family it's less about Disney but more that it's a place that has something for every age group of your family.

 

[Chi84]

That makes sense. It feels like you view that parks different than most here. For your family it's less about Disney but more that it's a place that has something for every age group of your family.

You’re absolutely correct, but don’t underestimate how many visitors out there are looking for exactly that.

It’s part of the reason people here get upset when someone says they enjoy Disney as it is without regard to what it was or what it could be.

You can see the disconnect when someone says they enjoy the parks with fewer people and someone else answers that it’s not what Disney wants and isn’t sustainable.

 

[Jrb1979]

My opinion…just that…is that they are not “limiting attendance” at all. And never had any intention to

They are publicly traded and have fallen down the well of chasing quarterlies. There is only one way to get out of that and it will never happen

They are absolutely not permitted to not chase customers. Ever.

It’s not limiting…it’s losing

Those are not synonyms

I'm more shocked how many actually believe they want lower attendance.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It’s part of the reason people here get upset when someone says they enjoy Disney as it is without regard to what it was or what it could be.

not everyone, but I feel like most are like me. When we go to Disney we enjoy it for what it is. But also remember how it used to be and wish they had gone a different direction.

 

[Chi84]

I'm more shocked how many actually believe they want lower attendance.

How many people have said they want lower attendance?

 

[Jrb1979]

How many people have said they want lower attendance?

It's brought up a lot cause Iger had said in the past they want to lower attendance for guest satisfaction.

That's another disconnect, while the parks are better when they aren't over crowded, it's not how the parks are meant to run.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I understand some people have experiences like this, but it hasn't been mine. Whether or not they meant to do it, they 100% made the parks more enjoyable for us by slowing the return to pre-2020 levels. Again, we went from not going to going every year.

That doesn't mean I don't want a nighttime parade, shuttered attractions to be used, better maintenance around property, quality of merch/food improved, or want to see employees overloaded. It just means my experience does not match what you are describing.

The 2017-2019 days were sometimes truly miserable at Disneyland. I remember waiting 80 minutes for HM because it and Pirates were the lowest queues in the area.

 

[Agent H]

I do NOT want lower attendance cause lower attendance might mean Disney Parks would start to fail and that’s obviously bad for me

 

[Chi84]

It's brought up a lot cause Iger had said in the past they want to lower attendance for guest satisfaction.

That's another disconnect, while the parks are better when they aren't over crowded, it's not how the parks are meant to run.

Other than Iger, I don’t remember a lot of people saying Disney wants to lower attendance.

It’s the same disconnect in reverse. You say it’s not how the parks were meant to run and I answer that the parks are better now that they aren’t overcrowded.

 

[monothingie]

You can see the disconnect when someone says they enjoy the parks with fewer people and someone else answers that it’s not what Disney wants and isn’t sustainable.

That's where you're wrong.

The disconnect that you don't seem to understand is from the belief that more people is alway a good thing, if capacity is built to support it.

The frustration is that Disney would rather minimize their operational cost and monetize (and incentivize) their lack of capacity rather than building out and expanding. We see the end-result of this right now with the increasing negative perception about Disney, not just from the haters, but from the normies.

 

[Jrb1979]

Other than Iger, I don’t remember a lot of people saying Disney wants to lower attendance.

It’s the same disconnect in reverse. You say it’s not how the parks were meant to run and I answer that the parks are better now that they aren’t overcrowded.

As a guest they are better. It's better for guest satisfaction. Had they continued to add attractions yearly they could sustain those crowds from 2019. Then relying on LLs for majority of guests means most are wandering around waiting in pathways instead of standby like the parks were originally built.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm more shocked how many actually believe they want lower attendance.

That was all a throw away line by Bob from years back when he needed a convenient excuse.

Say this for him: he’s not a good ceo anymore…but he knows his audience. That was like throwing meat to his rather feeble brand of lions in the audience

How many people have said they want lower attendance?

It’s been regurgitated by fans in environments such as this for almost 10 years…though not as much the last few when even the last defenders of the Alamo have realized they’ve been had

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

As a guest they are better. It's better for guest satisfaction.

I’m more satisfied at a crowded park with all attractions operating the full day, all food and beverage open and fully staffed, lots of live entertainment, etc.

Now there is a true tipping point when the parks are truly packed - like New Year’s Eve, and it is miserable for first time guests who don’t know what they are getting into.