News Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says Disney will continue to focus on existing intellectual property for new park investments

[einlanzer]

Oh man! They're using corporate data and analytics to become less creative and make mundane decisions that adversely impact their long term appeal.

How magical!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says Disney will continue to focus on existing intellectual property for new park investments

Disney CFO Christine McCarthy says Disney will continue to focus on existing intellectual property for new park investments

www.wdwmagic.com

At least she is claiming there will be new park investments sometime this millennium. That’s something I guess.

 

[BagOfGroceries]

Can we just get the Bluey theme park rights already?

 

[NotCalledBob]

Man if they came out with just one original attraction I might just give old Bob a kiss

....in other news. I was inactive on the forums a while so I am not familiar with Josh as much. What is he doing wrong?

Just my take, but, Josh was so full of promise.

Strangely, I re-read the old thread from when he was promoted at the weekend when I was searching for something else. Everyone was genuinely excited. The feeling that someone was finally going to be in charge that actually 'got it'.

I think that feeling continued initially through the closures. As he seemed to connect to fans. And CMs at DLR, and WDW were big cheerleaders.

Alas, as time has worn on he has proven himself to be a continuation of the Iger/Chapek school of thinking. Doubling down on unpopular initiatives such as park reservations, and Genie + (defending them in interviews etc). I don't think his D23 presentation did him any favors.

He has repeatedly said that good things will come to the parks under his watch, turns out he thinks good things is Zootopia at DAK.

It's been 2 years of disappointment.

The shiny self promotion (A1 PR game, I'll certainly give him that), that worked so well for him at the beginning seems shallow, even a bit slimy now. Say one thing with my fingers crossed behind my back and then, do another.

It's a shame. I was one of the people that was hopeful.

 

[BlakeW39]

Just my take, but, Josh was so full of promise.

Strangely, I re-read the old thread from when he was promoted at the weekend when I was searching for something else. Everyone was genuinely excited. The feeling that someone was finally going to be in charge that actually 'got it'.

I think that feeling continued initially through the closures. As he seemed to connect to fans. And CMs at DLR, and WDW were big cheerleaders.

Alas, as time has worn on he has proven himself to be a continuation of the Iger/Chapek school of thinking. Doubling down on unpopular initiatives such as park reservations, and Genie + (defending them in interviews etc). I don't think his D23 presentation did him any favors.

He has repeatedly said that good things will come to the parks under his watch, turns out he thinks good things is Zootopia at DAK.

It's been 2 years of disappointment.

The shiny self promotion (A1 PR game, I'll certainly give him that), that worked so well for him at the beginning seems shallow, even a bit slimy now. Say one thing with my fingers crossed behind my back and then, do another.

It's a shame. I was one of the people that was hopeful.

I'm sorry to hear that, I sincerely hope that in the future we recieve leadership that you're more happy with.

That said, from what I have seen....Josh just always seemed like the typical yes man...just saying what he needs to or is expected to say by higher ups in order to get promotions. And ofc $$$. He seemed like a nice guy when I saw him but eh that's about it, never struck me as someone who would seek to affect change in the company.

Thank you for your information.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

While I read these boards daily, I rarely post. But, I have to agree with the fact that IP is where Disney is going...And it is the right direction.
When Sue from West Virginia, or Maddy from Massachusetts plan their family trip to finally see Disney World, all they care about is IP. They do not know the acronym IP, but it is what they want. Which parks do I visit? Which park has Star Wars? Which park has Avengers? Which park has the princesses? Which park has Harry Potter?

Then, when they get home, which attractions are they telling their neighbors about? Elsa was in EPCOT. Mickey Ride was in the Studios. I could not ride the Harry Potter World ride because I could not find it. Oh and I waited online for 1 hour and Jungle Book sucked. What was up with the stupid fake bird show and the old teddy bear show. They are so dated and need to go.

While we may enjoy the classic attractions without IP, that is not what most Disney visitors want to see. They do not go to EPCOT because they have been taught it is boring and a waste of money. The original concept for EPCOT was a failure within the first few years. People do not want to pay 100 or more dollars for something they are not familiar with. They want the comfort of their favorite shows. and characters. Why do you think that when they opened Disney/MGM studios they licensed the MGM library? Because they learned their lesson with EPCOT. Joe Rhode tried again with Animal Kingdom and created all new IP and what happened? The safari lost its Red and its message. Then Kali lost its story. Edutainment is a big goal but not what people want, so it is not what is produced. IP is what guests want and it is what is being produced now.

Welcome to the boards!

Your post mischaracterizes the early years of EPCOT and its successes rather heavily - EPCOT's most successful years ever were prior to 1996, when World of Motion shut down to become Test Track. I don't say that to link those two things - guest attendance and satisfaction didn't necessarily start trending downward specifically because World of Motion closed. But it also didn't suddenly jump back through the roof when Test Track finally opened. The move to replace the EPCOT Center Dark Rides was at least as much based in trying to shave down operational costs in the wake of the EuroDisney Resort financial troubles as much as it was about the abstract "guests want thrill rides!" movement that never made them as much money overall as the Dark Rides did.

EPCOT Center did gangbusters out the gate, and given how expensive it was to build it basically needed to or the greater Walt Disney company would have been facing financial jeopardy. Disney MGM was built not too long after because the Resort was doing so well, not because its second park was flailing.

There is obviously a place for Disney Film IP within the parks, generally speaking, since they've been in the parks in some way since Day 1. But that doesn't mean it makes sense everywhere all the time always, and certainly doesn't mean no non-IP attractions have made an impression. People have spent decades coming home telling their neighbors about Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, it's a small world, Big Thunder, Space Mountain . . . many of Disney's Park-Original attractions are legitimately world famous, and I would argue that the originality, exclusivity, and surprise of such rides is not an insignificant part of what made the parks so successful in the first place and to this day.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Fans tend to be very forgiving, especially when the occasional positive thing is done.

Look at the false hope that Josh Damaro brought......and how quickly that failed. Fix the culture of rot starting at the top down at the TWDC and maybe you'll see a turnaround.

Wait…don’t you know Josh is gonna fix it?

Man if they came out with just one original attraction I might just give old Bob a kiss

....in other news. I was inactive on the forums a while so I am not familiar with Josh as much. What is he doing wrong?

Fake prophet from 3 years ago.
He’s a nothing…as most P&R heads tend to be. He doesn’t do anything nor should the expectation be that he will

 

[BlakeW39]

Wait…don’t you know Josh is gonna fix it?

Fake prophet from 3 years ago.
He’s a nothing…as most P&R heads tend to be. He doesn’t do anything nor should the expectation be that he will

Lol, that's about what I thought then, thanks. He never really struck me as being all that important or as someone who would do anything all that great for the company. I got a lot of complaints for Disney and so far Josh is on track to solve all none of them

 

[Casper Gutman]

It's amazing that the company that has a blockbuster franchise based on Pirates of the Caribbean, a hit film based on Jungle Cruise, and an upcoming release based on Haunted Mansion has such an idiotically narrow view of what an IP is. At some point, you have to stop blaming corporate culture and echo chambers and Wall Street fixations and consider that the core problem might be that the people with a lot of power lack self-awareness and are kinda dumb.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I’ve been saying it for years. IP works in the right place and in moderation. There was always a balance between IP and originality. Without the latter there would be no Jungle Cruise. No POTC. No BTM. No HM. No Space Mountain. No Horizons. No SSE. No Journey into Imagination (ironically). And so on.

The suits of todays company can’t see beyond their next quarterly. They’re floundering. And it shows.

They're just "executives." Not "entertainment executives" or "movie studio executives" or "theme park executives," just generic "executives." They might as well be running an insurance company.

 

[Jrb1979]

It's amazing that the company that has a blockbuster franchise based on Pirates of the Caribbean, a hit film based on Jungle Cruise, and an upcoming release based on Haunted Mansion has such an idiotically narrow view of what an IP is. At some point, you have to stop blaming corporate culture and echo chambers and Wall Street fixations and consider that the core problem might be that the people with a lot of power lack self-awareness and are kinda dumb.

Agreed. I think a lot of that stems from the fact a lot of those people don't understand the parks.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Agreed. I think a lot of that stems from the fact a lot of those people don't understand the parks.

At best, they think of them as pricier Six Flags. They have absolutely no awareness of or concern for Disney parks' absolutely unique cultural role. The people running Dollywood understand Dolly's cultural position much better then the people running Disney understand Disney's.

 

[BlakeW39]

It's amazing that the company that has a blockbuster franchise based on Pirates of the Caribbean, a hit film based on Jungle Cruise, and an upcoming release based on Haunted Mansion has such an idiotically narrow view of what an IP is. At some point, you have to stop blaming corporate culture and echo chambers and Wall Street fixations and consider that the core problem might be that the people with a lot of power lack self-awareness and are kinda dumb.

Meanwhile they have half the people on the internet totally convinced that "non-IP" rides (i.e. rides that aren't tied to a major film franchise) are some risky move that may not be popular with Disney guests and therefore are a stupid business decision. And that all attractions being franchise-based is just a business no brainer.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Meanwhile they have half the people on the internet totally convinced that "non-IP" rides (i.e. rides that aren't tied to a major film franchise) are some risky move that may not be popular with Disney guests and therefore are a stupid business decision. And that all attractions being franchise-based is just a business no brainer.

A lot of Americans are utterly convinced companies and the executives who run them are omniscient and unfailingly wise, and when they seem to do something very stupid its actually an act of brilliance stemming from the perfect, dispassionate analysis of infinite data. In a world where professors, doctors, and all other experts are considered utterly untrustworthy, nothing can shake public faith in executives.

 

[Tha Realest]

He’s great at performative empathy and has a high EQ, which is useful when you want an entire fan base to call you daddy even after firing all of the Parks’ front line cast members.

 

[MrPromey]

Set aside Disney. When / what was the last new original non-IP attraction developed by a major theme park?

Whatever the last thing was that opened at Busch Gardens or Sea World, probably.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's amazing that the company that has a blockbuster franchise based on Pirates of the Caribbean, a hit film based on Jungle Cruise, and an upcoming release based on Haunted Mansion has such an idiotically narrow view of what an IP is. At some point, you have to stop blaming corporate culture and echo chambers and Wall Street fixations and consider that the core problem might be that the people with a lot of power lack self-awareness and are kinda dumb.

Well there’s a definite indication that much of the problem is a top down directive to push what has been bought/made during the tenure of a particular sweatered weasel at the EXPENSE of what came before it.

For instance - the elephant - is building billion dollar minilands for a particular franchise while trying to “skirt” using the original movies…which are of course some of the most iconic/most recognizable films on the planet ever.

Just a thought.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

He’s great at performative empathy and has a high EQ, which is useful when you want an entire fan base to call you daddy even after firing all of the Parks’ front line cast members.

…you noticed that too huh?

Chapek was unqualified, awful, and a demon…
This guy is personable.

Is there a lot of practical differences to the park employees and customers?

You judge

 

[BlakeW39]

A lot of Americans are utterly convinced companies and the executives who run them are omniscient and unfailingly wise, and when they seem to do something very stupid its actually an act of brilliance stemming from the perfect, dispassionate analysis of infinite data. In a world where professors, doctors, and all other experts are considered utterly untrustworthy, nothing can shake public faith in executives.

Lol...perfect explanation. When it comes to corporate decision making, a lot of the people on the internet commit the inductive fallacy that because these big shot, highly compensated executives are making x decision, x decision must therefore be the right decision. Not so. While it's certainly true that people like Iger and Chapek have (had) access to information we don't, they too have personal biases and can make midguided decisions based on how they interpret data and consumer behavior/market dynamics. The stance that many are taking on this thread that somehow the theme parks are only really economically viable when they're synergized with movie IP, or that movie IP tie ins are the only or best way to create successful theme park attractions is, respectfully, bull .

 

[networkpro]

Welcome to the boards

And yet another rehashing of the edutainment was better event though the world as experienced by the majority of the public was a much different place than it is today.