Mini Lucas-Land?

[Lee]

Look at it this way...
Iger's goal wasn't just to gain new attractions.
He wanted to "land a big one", so to speak. Lucas is already in the Disney parks fold, having been landed years ago by Eisner.

Iger wanted to do the same thing, to bring in a big property/name to enhance his legacy. Wanted it badly, having missed out on JKR. (And yes, losing JKR was a factor in his desire to acquire a major property.)

 

[WDW1974]

I gotta feeling about Iger ... a feeling he won't see the end of that contract ... a feeling it was hastily put together to make it appear Disney has a succession plan in line ... before Bob decides to spe... spend more time with the voters in the fine state of NY.

He won't be near the opening ceremony for Avatarland (assuming it gets built) ...

~Iger isn't a GFCer~~

 

[huntzilla]

I gotta feeling about Iger ... a feeling he won't see the end of that contract ... a feeling it was hastily put together to make it appear Disney has a succession plan in line ... before Bob decides to spe... spend more time with the voters in the fine state of NY.

He won't be near the opening ceremony for Avatarland (assuming it gets built) ...

~Iger isn't a GFCer~~

I feel like these talks were awhile ago by now, but would Avatar play into his hope of selling the parks? It's somewhat genius that fact that, he can sign a deal with James Cameron for the Avatar brand, showing no concept art or plan, and instantly add a higher price and more potential buyers. I could be completely wrong but I feel this could be an extra incentive, for buyers, in his mind.

 

[WDW1974]

I feel like these talks were awhile ago by now, but would Avatar play into his hope of selling the parks? It's somewhat genius that fact that, he can sign a deal with James Cameron for the Avatar brand, showing no concept art or plan, and instantly add a higher price and more potential buyers. I could be completely wrong but I feel this could be an extra incentive, for buyers, in his mind.

Iger and Cameron were shown artwork before any deal/agreement was reached. Disney may not have released it, but it exists.

I have no idea whether it would make P&R more attractive to either equity investors or outright buyers. Hell, I'm not even sure what to make of it, so I wont guess about money people.

I have heard some surprising rumblings that the BoD isn't in Bob's corner at all and that his power base the last two years has largely all been Steve Jobs. So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[Lee]

I have heard some surprising rumblings that the BoD isn't in Bob's corner at all and that his power base the last two years has largely all been Steve Jobs. So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Care to tell them the part about how with Jobs gone, and his shares sort of in limbo, who is sitting on the biggest chunk of Disney stock at the moment?:drevil:

 

[WDW1974]

Care to tell them the part about how with Jobs gone, and his shares sort of in limbo, who is sitting on the biggest chunk of Disney stock at the moment?:drevil:

No, but only one reason: my numbers are a few years old ... and I am trying to see (or have others FIND them for me) if they are still accurate.

But, safe to say, I am pretty sure even if he isn't still #1 that he's top 5.

On the matter of stock, though, heard that Jay Rasulo dumped large amounts earlier this year ... guess he knows something we don't?:animwink:

~GFC: You WANT to be us!~

 

[huntzilla]

Iger and Cameron were shown artwork before any deal/agreement was reached. Disney may not have released it, but it exists.

I have no idea whether it would make P&R more attractive to either equity investors or outright buyers. Hell, I'm not even sure what to make of it, so I wont guess about money people.

I have heard some surprising rumblings that the BoD isn't in Bob's corner at all and that his power base the last two years has largely all been Steve Jobs. So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

It was just a theory I had been thinking, Avatar would be a set-up for his last big move in the company; selling the parks.

I am glad to see that the BoD is against Iger at this point. He has made some excellent moves in his reign but it comes with so many head scratchers. He is so concerned with pleasing stockholders he forgets about how Disney got so many stockholders in the first place. I know you rag on pixie sniffers, but that dust is what got them so many fans in the first place; Iger has lost that dust.

Care to tell them the part about how with Jobs gone, and his shares sort of in limbo, who is sitting on the biggest chunk of Disney stock at the moment?:drevil:

I am actually dying to know the answer to this question. Lasseter is to obvious, yeah?

 

[MarkTwain]

Care to tell them the part about how with Jobs gone, and his shares sort of in limbo, who is sitting on the biggest chunk of Disney stock at the moment?:drevil:

That just made me realize how between Jobs, Roy E., and soon Iger, how much of the BoD is leaving Disney.

I know Eisner still owns a huge percentage (about as much as Roy did, IIRC)... please don't tell me that puts him back in majority ownership... :lookaroun

 

[Lee]

I am actually dying to know the answer to this question. Lasseter is to obvious, yeah?

I just checked it to be sure.
Unless something has changed or the web is wrong, with Jobs' shares in a bit of limbo, Disney's largest individual shareholder is.....



Michael D Eisner.

 

[MarkTwain]

...Sigh.

 

[disneyrcks]

I just checked it to be sure.
Unless something has changed or the web is wrong, with Jobs' shares in a bit of limbo, Disney's largest individual shareholder is.....



Michael D Eisner.

Good piece of info! Thanks Lee





YRS~Glad I am not you

 

[huntzilla]

I just checked it to be sure.
Unless something has changed or the web is wrong, with Jobs' shares in a bit of limbo, Disney's largest individual shareholder is.....



Michael D Eisner.

Good. I feel a refreshed Eisner, would be a good adviser for the company. I know Mr. Wells isn't coming through the door to help him but I think at this point he knows what decisions were good, what decisions were bad, and most importantly WHY.

 

[AEfx]

I just do not understand how there is not a Star Wars land by now. Do the suits think it will not make enough money? Is George the one who is preventing this from fruition? I just want to know where the buck stops on this. Who is the one who is saying no to this?

Sorry rant over.

I think it's more of, they already make so much dang money on Star Wars, that the huge capital investment they'd have to make wouldn't substantially increase the merchandising revenue in correlation.

So, for example (completely making up numbers), if Disney makes 75M on Star Wars merch already due to year-round sales as well as the massive influx of dough with Star Wars weekends (where people voluntarily wait in line for many hours at a theme park instead of doing attractions just to spend money on merch), is it worth it for them to invest 500M if the new attractions would only net them say 125M in merch vs. the 75M they already get.

I'm not explaining that terribly clearly, I apologize, but the gist is that they already milk that cow so much, that a huge expenditure may not increase the revenues enough to make it worthwhile. That's at least always been the feeling I got from the situation.

Iger took a huge gamble with Avatar. As has been pointed out, Avatar isn't even a "franchise" yet. It was a cultural phenomenon, the right film at the right time with the right tech at the right place in the 3-D bubble. It could end up being the greatest franchise of all - or it could end up being "The Matrix". What's interesting is that we largely won't know until Iger has already moved on.


A Star Wars-land would be beyond amazing if done properly. A large dark ride going through famous scenes from the films, a more action-oriented ride/coaster, and the ancillary attractions (shopping, dining) could be really spectacular. Imagine a "Jabba's Palace Restaurant" with a dinner/show combo - animatronic Jabba (using the "living character" tech a la Turtle Talk so he can interact with patrons, perhaps the meal includes a meet/photo op with Jabba), Max Rebo Band performing, etc. It would be incredible.

 

[menamechris]

I feel like these talks were awhile ago by now, but would Avatar play into his hope of selling the parks? It's somewhat genius that fact that, he can sign a deal with James Cameron for the Avatar brand, showing no concept art or plan, and instantly add a higher price and more potential buyers. I could be completely wrong but I feel this could be an extra incentive, for buyers, in his mind.

Not to dredge this up again, but...

One would have nothing to do with the other. In fact, it doesn't make much business sense at all. If the parks were to sell, it is safe to assume Disney would still be responsible for all of their licensing fees they have acquired. So they would be paying more licensing fees than they were last year - but making only a percentage of the profit from P&R. And if they want to unload P&R - the last thing they would want to do is hike UP the price at this point. Higher price tags usually don't bring about more potential buyers - quite the opposite actually.

 

[jt04]

I just checked it to be sure.
Unless something has changed or the web is wrong, with Jobs' shares in a bit of limbo, Disney's largest individual shareholder is.....



Michael D Eisner.

Ummm, so Jobs' shares are in "limbo" because........he was too busy to do estate planning? Or, he had no warning he was in ill health? Or, he figured out a way to "take it with him"! :lookaroun Or, he did not believe in the capitalist system?

C'mon man! :lol:

PS- not that having Eisner as the largest share holder would be a bad thing necessarily. He did give us ToT, Test Track, Soarin', Mission:Space, DAK, etc etc.

 

[Lee]

Ummm, so Jobs' shares are in "limbo" because........he was too busy to do estate planning? Or, he had no warning he was in ill health? Or, he figured out a way to "take it with him"! :lookaroun Or, he did not believe in the capitalist system?

C'mon man! :lol:

PS- not that having Eisner as the largest share holder would be a bad thing necessarily. He did give us ToT, Test Track, Soarin', Mission:Space, DAK, etc etc.

In limbo meaning we don't know where it's going.

It's safe to assume he didn't leave it all to one person, meaning that his block of shares will be broken up and distributed according to the terns of his estate.

That would leave Eisner as the largest shareholder.
I wonder if he's gonna want a seat on the board...

 

[baanman]

Oh a SW Land would so put Disney over the top! They would make seriously serious insane money. Especially if it was a well themed immersive world. SW could be an entire park all by itself. I'd live in a Star Wars park and sleep on a bench and eat out of a trash can...that's how freakin' awesome it would be!

Well, you get enough food at Disney restaurants that it would be easy to feast out of a dumpster with the amount of food that can't be eaten. :lol:

 

[huntzilla]

Not to dredge this up again, but...

One would have nothing to do with the other. In fact, it doesn't make much business sense at all. If the parks were to sell, it is safe to assume Disney would still be responsible for all of their licensing fees they have acquired. So they would be paying more licensing fees than they were last year - but making only a percentage of the profit from P&R. And if they want to unload P&R - the last thing they would want to do is hike UP the price at this point. Higher price tags usually don't bring about more potential buyers - quite the opposite actually.

I certainly understand the concept of higher price, less buyers. My point was that, with the Avatar announcement, they may have been able to accomplish both. Mostly having more buyers, and then because of that, a higher price.

To be honest, I don't really believe that they will sell the parks. This was just something I had theorized because it felt as if the two things may have went together. I think if Iger were to sell the parks if would be politcal suicide. He would always be the evil guy that sold off the American institution of Disney Parks.

 

[sublimesting]

Well, you get enough food at Disney restaurants that it would be easy to feast out of a dumpster with the amount of food that can't be eaten. :lol:

Oh, don't I know it. That is why Disney is my go to homeless destination.

 

[Silver Figment]

Or just don't build Avatar and give all the money to the franchise that deserves it.:lookaroun

I agree with you on that one.