Iger rumored to extend his term as CEO

[ford91exploder]

That's great and all, but you know what would have shown true leadership? I don't know, a land that's actually open today, something like:
View attachment 188348

Image source: http://thefairytaletraveler.com/2014/09/09/universal-studios-diagon-alley/

Am I impressed and excited by the massive plans coming in? Of course. The fact that they took so long is the problem. Before Disney could muster a proper response to Hogsmeade, they had already been outflanked by DA.

There are plans just waiting to be dusted off, and they haven't been built because Iger didn't believe in his assets and didn't invest.

Even after Star Wars, they'll need more. We'll see how serious they really are with Epcot. That's the big question.

The problem is that ALL that Iger cares about is movies and the STOCK PRICE building immersive lands will not boost the stock price in 90 days, 2 billion or so in share repurchases will though.

The movies are great for Iger's image as Movie Mogul but as for actual cash generated for DISNEY at MOST Disney gets a THIRD of the box office. So in reality WDW made more CASH for TWDC last year than the last 3 YEARS of Disney Movies. People see billion dollar box office figures but in reality that's only 300 Million for Disney and if the movie cost 150-200 million to make that leaves a paltry 100 million dollar profit in the end for TWDC not the Billions thrown off annually by P&R.

 

[LAKid53]

At the end of the day, who cares? Walt himself adapted existing properties -- many, many times, in both animation and live-action.

My thoughts exactly. Disney would have an uphill battle developing an IP that could compete with Marvel in a reasonable time frame to justify the outlay.

 

[LAKid53]

The problem is that ALL that Iger cares about is movies and the STOCK PRICE building immersive lands will not boost the stock price in 90 days, 2 billion or so in share repurchases will though.

The movies are great for Iger's image as Movie Mogul but as for actual cash generated for DISNEY at MOST Disney gets a THIRD of the box office. So in reality WDW made more CASH for TWDC last year than the last 3 YEARS of Disney Movies. People see billion dollar box office figures but in reality that's only 300 Million for Disney and if the movie cost 150-200 million to make that leaves a paltry 100 million dollar profit in the end for TWDC not the Billions thrown off annually by P&R.

The parks have always been the major contributor to Disney's bottom line. They are what kept the company afloat in the early 80s before Eisner's tenure. At the time Sony was seriously considering bringing Disney under its umbrella.

 

[ford91exploder]

On my hypothetical CEO chopping block
*Marvel
*ABC
*ESPN

Personally I'd radically restructure TWDC into a small holding company and have 4 independent Divisions each with their OWN CEO and their own tracking stocks.

Parks and Resorts
Disney Studios (Disney, Pixar, LucasFilm, Marvel,Imagineering)
Disney Networks (ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel, Streaming)
Disney Consumer Products

This would provide clarity to investors and would prevent a division 'going bad' and taking down the company as a whole.

I'd also go a bit further and spin the international parks off into separate companies

I put WDI under the Studios company as movies tend to push the envelope of what's possible in the real and virtual worlds it would attract the best and brightest and with movies as it's primary customer it would foster the cross pollination of ideas.

 

[L.C. Clench]

Disney, from what I can tell, isn't particularly worried about Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. They think longball, not short stick, and they've got Star Wars, and they're building it as we speak. I think Disney World fans were a bit hyperbolic and even panicky about the Wizarding World, as if Disney needed to respond immediately! Immediately! Immediately! No, they didn't need to rush out some knee-jerk response, and they now have the perfect response to Potter, and they aren't going to rush it. Wouldn't surprise me at all to one day see Harry Potter simply adding another day's stay at the WDW resort hotels, with families heading down to Universal Orlando for the day and then returning back to the resort, not too dissimilar from when I was a kid and we'd leave to go to Sea World, Wet 'n' Wild, etc. and then come back on property. Or skip Potter and Universal altogether in favor of Skywalker and Co. and all the other offerings at WDW.

This is implying that they will build a Star Wars Land to rival Potterville. We've already heard rumors of budget cuts for both HS lands and we've seen the concept are for TS cut significantly and the odds aren't good that they do more than the concepts. If they take their standard lowest possible addition it may well backfire. Star Wars may draw in new guests but if it doesn't blow them away it's going to be bad. New people won't be coming in looking for typical WDW "immersion" they'll want something like Potter and the fact they've already balked at playing off iconic locations people are already familiar with and decided to create a "new" land doesn't give me high hopes.

 

[LAKid53]

This is implying that they will build a Star Wars Land to rival Potterville. We've already heard rumors of budget cuts for both HS lands and we've seen the concept are for TS cut significantly and the odds aren't good that they do more than the concepts. If they take their standard lowest possible addition it may well backfire. Star Wars may draw in new guests but if it doesn't blow them away it's going to be bad. New people won't be coming in looking for typical WDW "immersion" they'll want something like Potter and the fact they've already balked at making a "new" land rather than playing off iconic locations people are already familiar with doesn't give me high hopes.

Yup. If the new SW Land doesn't reach the same level of design, detail and story that both Hogsmeade and DA have, Disney will have some explaining to do...

 

[PB Watermelon]

This is implying that they will build a Star Wars Land to rival Potterville. We've already heard rumors of budget cuts for both HS lands and we've seen the concept are for TS cut significantly and the odds aren't good that they do more than the concepts. If they take their standard lowest possible addition it may well backfire. Star Wars may draw in new guests but if it doesn't blow them away it's going to be bad. New people won't be coming in looking for typical WDW "immersion" they'll want something like Potter and the fact they've already balked at making a "new" land rather than playing off iconic locations people are already familiar with doesn't give me high hopes.

I disagree - I think walking on board the Millennium Falcon and sitting in the cockpit and flying off for an adventure will set people's hair on fire. No disrespect intended to Potter and the great job Universal Orlando did with Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

 

[PB Watermelon]

Yup. If the new SW Land doesn't reach the same level of design, detail and story that both Hogsmeade and DA have, Disney will have some explaining to do...

I really wouldn't worry.

 

[CJR]

WDW is pretty great, and construction afoot in overhauling DHS, Animal Kingdom's overhaul opens in May and will be a literal and figurative zoo when it opens. Epcot will follow. And no, Iger isn't a visionary, he's a steward. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm going to rant for a moment, and it's not completely directed at your post, because there's much more to Disney than just the Florida parks... but letting the parks run so stale that they're now having to play catch up isn't an indication of good leadership.

Really, Disney's parks should have grown to great proportions never seen before given the attendance boost it received over Iger's tenure. However, instead of growing the property by adding assets (like the 80's-90's), Iger pushed to grow revenue by milking existing assets (charging more for pretty much everything), something that was going on during the end of Eisner's era.

So yeah, stuff's finally happening today, after (over) a decade of neglect. DHS was ready for a huge revamp in 2005 when Iger became CEO (arguably before that). Animal Kingdom really should have had Beastly Kingdom added in Eisner's tenure; it's really sad that only Everest and Nemo were the only real notable additions to date. My point, the two big Florida projects some people are praising Iger for are both over a decade late.

If the parks were ran properly by reinvesting the money they generated back into the product, we'd be about ready for that fifth gate right now. As the matter of fact, I remember people predicting a fifth gate for 2020, back around 2000, two years after Animal Kingdom opened. It's sad that Disney leadership decided to go in a different direction because Walt Disney World could have been so much more amazing today (and I'm not saying that it's not amazing) had it tapped its full potential back in the 2000's.

Because Iger and other Disney leadership failed to properly invest in the parks over his tenure three out of four parks are begging for attention, and arguably two still will be (DHS and Epcot) over the next ten years. SWL and TSL will be welcome additions, but the park will still feel only half built and it opened in 1989.

It's great attention has been turned towards these things, but it's getting closer and closer to fifteen years late.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm going to rant for a moment, and it's not completely directed at your post, because there's much more to Disney than just the Florida parks... but letting the parks run so stale that they're now having to play catch up isn't an indication of good leadership.

Really, Disney's parks should have grown to great proportions never seen before given the attendance boost it received over Iger's tenure. However, instead of growing the property by adding assets (like the 80's-90's), Iger pushed to grow revenue by milking existing assets (charging more for pretty much everything), something that was going on during the end of Eisner's era.

So yeah, stuff's finally happening today, after (over) a decade of neglect. DHS was ready for a huge revamp in 2005 when Iger became CEO (arguably before that). Animal Kingdom really should have had Beastly Kingdom added in Eisner's tenure; it's really sad that only Everest and Nemo were the only real notable additions to date. My point, the two big Florida projects some people are praising Iger for are both over a decade late.

If the parks were ran properly by reinvesting the money they generated back into the product, we'd be about ready for that fifth gate right now. As the matter of fact, I remember people predicting a fifth gate for 2020, back around 2000, two years after Animal Kingdom opened. It's sad that Disney leadership decided to go in a different direction because Walt Disney World could have been so much more amazing today (and I'm not saying that it's not amazing) had it tapped its full potential back in the 2000's.

Because Iger and other Disney leadership failed to properly invest in the parks over his tenure three out of four parks are begging for attention, and arguably two still will be (DHS and Epcot) over the next ten years. SWL and TSL will be welcome additions, but the park will still feel only half built and it opened in 1989.

It's great attention has been turned towards these things, but it's getting closer and closer to fifteen years late.

^^THIS

 

[ford91exploder]

I really wouldn't worry.

I would because JL used ALL of his political clout and favors within the company to get Carsland/RSR done the RIGHT way. WDW has no champion like JL. Hence the 'Value Engineering' which is occurring at TSL and SWL Orlando even now.

 

[LAKid53]

I really wouldn't worry.

Both built or started before rumored budget cuts to the two latest projects...

 

[PB Watermelon]

Letting the parks run so stale that they're now having to play catch up isn't an indication of good leadership.

Ever play chess? You panic, you lose your head, only respond instead of strategize, you lose. Animal Kingdom is about to become a full day park, the DHS overhaul with Star Wars and Pixar will make DHS a full-day park, Magic Kingdom is larger than ever...only thing left is Epcot. What you call playing catch up, I call smart patience, and it's paying off. I think Universal has more to be worried about than WDW.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Adding to what others stated earlier about the BoD and Iger's true legacy - Buyback of a total of 450 million shares of DIS stock from 2006 to 2016. Combine that with the $14 or so billion in P&R profit generated over the past 7 years and you have a clearer picture of just how neglected WDW has been under Iger. But the BoD is happy, so The Weatherman stays.

More of the usual paid-shill excuses with WDW, I see. "They expanded MK!" Hourly capacity-wise, not much, but my recollection of the numbers is admittedly a bit fuzzy and I could be wrong there. "They're building SWL!" A net-zero gain in number of attractions. Pandora is, what, 2 attractions for AK? And an IP that isn't all that and a bag of chips, to boot. Sure, SWL and Pandora will look pretty, but they pale in comparison as to what could have been built before the bean counters stepped in. It's just DCA 2.0 - Theme park design by spreadsheet, but by Iger, they'll do it better this time! And it'll be MAGICAL!!! WDI has to get better about pricing and time frames, cuz their former co-workers at Uni are laughing at them these days.

What makes my stomach churn even more than the thought of The Weatherman in charge for a few more years? Chappie as CEO.

 

[PB Watermelon]

Both built or started before rumored budget cuts to the two latest projects...

Cynicism and WDW rumors are a dime a dozen. I really wouldn't worry.

 

[RobbinsDad]

I would because JL used ALL of his political clout and favors within the company to get Carsland/RSR done the RIGHT way. WDW has no champion like JL. Hence the 'Value Engineering' which is occurring at TSL and SWL Orlando even now.

Or even a James Cameron for WOA.

 

[ford91exploder]

Both built or started before rumored budget cuts to the two latest projects...

And Pandora's rumored to be hundreds of millions over budget, With the start-stop construction being responsible for much of the overruns due to needing to do things over because of weather damage at least according to rumor (which makes sense as you can't leave rebar exposed for too long because it's damaged by corrosion and that wicks into the concrete and damages rebar and the concrete adhered to the rebar).

 

[PB Watermelon]

Pandora is, what, 2 attractions for AK? And an IP that isn't all that and a bag of chips, to boot.

What makes my stomach churn even more than the thought of The Weatherman in charge for a few more years? Chappie as CEO. [/QUOTE]

Harry Potter is two rides at Islands of Adventure (one of which is just a re-dressed Dueling Dragons coaster), then a train ride to Diagon Alley, which has one ride. As for the Bag of Chips, they start shooting the first of four Avatar sequels this summer.

 

[ford91exploder]

Cynicism and WDW rumors are a dime a dozen. I really wouldn't worry.

Obviously you have not seen NFL or the (Failure To) Launch Bay, Or the Star Wars Fashion Show.

 

[RobbinsDad]

Obviously you have not seen NFL or the (Failure To) Launch Bay, Or the Star Wars Fashion Show.

I actually kind of like the Launch Bay for what it is - a mini-SW museum. Hopefully they keep some of that stuff for SWL.