GoofGoof
Premium Member
No mention of money for EPCOT, but he did mention a continuation of stock buybacks of roughly 20% of cash generated or an estimated $5B to $6B for 2015.
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Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2014 results - Record $48.8 billion revenues
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MarkTwain
Well-Known Member
And with these revenues they couldn't budget enough to have Olaf out for sets?
Thanks Creative
Entertainment is, by its own definition, an unprofitable division of the WDW Company. Like the attractions themselves, there's almost no entertainment act at WDW that collects a profit. That doesn't mean it'd be acceptable to cut "unprofitable" acts like the Dapper Dans, Voices of Liberty, or character M&Gs. Of course having an Olaf M&G or a quality World Showcase band will never directly make money, but there's a reasonable expectation by guests for the parks to provide both, given the popularity of the character and the price of admission, and whether or not they're provided could affect the decision to buy a park ticket.
drew81
Well-Known Member
I agree with you on some of that. Autograph books are one of the biggest money makers on property. Character dining is extremely profitable. The characters cost a lot but their draw makes money for the company.
Unless you're in charge of the project, I'd be very suspicious of how that 2B is being spent.
You've got to be careful when negotiating character salaries though. Remember how Meeko went nuts and ripped that sofa apart when he felt he was being lowballed?
Frankie The Beer
Well-Known Member
Has Disney ever dramatically lowered hotel rooms in the past like some people wish they would do now? For some reason, I highly doubt it. People are going to fill those $400+ a night hotel rooms no matter what, even at 50% occupancy I bet they are still raking in easy profits it really makes no sense for Disney to lower those prices.
SirLink
Well-Known Member
Not long to go until we might have CEO who will actually do this Martin.
2018?
unkadug
Follower of "Saget"The Cult
The only thing predictable is your post.Where are the TDO haters? Cat got your tongue?
I told you TDO would get the last laugh. It was all so easily predictable.
TDO will always get the last laugh as they take our money to their personal bank accounts.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
$75 mil - Update Maelstrom into something other than Frozen
$75 mil - Update for Soarin'
$25 mil - Fix Spaceship Earth
$400 mil - Fix Imagination
$400 mil - New World Showcase pavilion w/ride
$125 mil - Universe of Energy replacement
$150 mil - Reflections of Earth upgrades/replacement
$50 mil - Relocate it's a small world
$700 mil - Phase 2 of Fantasyland expansion including Frozen on former it's a small world plot
I'm going on break.
Crazydisneyfanluke
Well-Known Member
The money they make they can fix what ever they want. They just choose not to.
SirLink
Well-Known Member
Well I'm hoping sooner even though he has been asked to stay on till 2018 ...
unkadug
Follower of "Saget"The Cult
No they can't, because that would decrease the yearly bonuses of those in charge of not spending any money.
If it is an exec, it is almost certainly because immediately following an earnings release is almost the only safe time to sell without potentially running into insider trading problems. So if you want to diversify (never a good move to have all your eggs in one basket, even if you manage the basket and think it's the best basket in the world), immediately following an earnings release is the best time.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
As you nicely describe, hotel profitability is linked to total revenue, which is a multiple of room rate and occupancy rate. However, at a resort such as WDW, there are other important factors to consider.
A typical family of 4 spends more at the theme parks than at the hotel. Getting them to stay onsite, especially without their own transportation, results in tremendous added revenue. Conversely, driving them offsite means not only lost hotel revenue but also lost theme park revenue since consumers have fewer barriers preventing them from spending their Orlando vacation dollars elsewhere.
The issue facing WDW today is that the Orlando theme park market has changed, yet the bloated bureaucracy that Disney has become refuses to acknowledge it.
Prior to 2010, WDW had little difficulty achieving occupancy rates above 90% in good economic times. This was a banner summer in Orlando; both WDW and Uni had record attendance. Offsite and Uni hotels had their best summer ever.
Not WDW hotels.
Disney domestic occupancy came in at 83%. Factor in the 5% of rooms WDW has taken out-of-service along with an occupancy artificially inflated by Disney's timeshares, and WDW's hotel occupancy rate was below the average of surrounding hotels.
WWOHP and the renaissance at Universal has changed the landscape yet Disney doesn't want to acknowledge it. WDW's high rack rates are costing Disney revenue, not growing it. It's driving guests offsite, encouraging them to spend elsewhere.
Disney must recognize that it now has legitimate competition in Orlando, and must start acting like a business rather than a monopoly.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
This is a very valid point and it's not just Universal. There was a time when off property hotel options at WDW were truly for the value shopper. There were some hidden gems even back in the 80s, but it was nothing like I-Drive is today. Now there are really nice resorts (not just motels, but full service resorts) that are pretty reasonably priced that Disney's hotels have to compete with. No longer just a Howard Johnson's or Motel 6 for the coupon clipping crowd.