On layoffs, very bad attendance, and Iger's legacy being one of disgrace

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
Can you speculate on why attendance is so low? Anecdotally I know of four separate parties who cancelled trips due to the one park per day limit and the reservation system.

Expecting people to pay thousands and only get into the parks guaranteed for 3 days of their trip is lunacy. If they want people in the parks, OPEN the parks and resorts. This is not Ebola.

I'm simply not convinced the low attendance is due to covid. I've seen too many packed with people places.
I think it's because the Quarantine of 14 days when guests arrive from various States such as NJ, NY and CT has really affected attendance as this area of the country makes up a large attendance group for WDW. We have a trip scheduled for the end of October but unless they lift the quarantine restriction, we will have to cancel our trip.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
I think it's because the Quarantine of 14 days when guests arrive from various States such as NJ, NY and CT has really affected attendance as this area of the country makes up a large attendance group for WDW. We have a trip scheduled for the end of October but unless they lift the quarantine restriction, we will have to cancel our trip.
That's a big part of it. Also a part is many aren't interested in going to theme parks at all. Look at the regional parks. Their attendance is much lower then expected as well. Usually when people can't afford a Disney trip many will opt for their local park and people aren't even doing that. Many are opting for cheaper staycations like going to state parks.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
I think it's because the Quarantine of 14 days when guests arrive from various States such as NJ, NY and CT has really affected attendance as this area of the country makes up a large attendance group for WDW. We have a trip scheduled for the end of October but unless they lift the quarantine restriction, we will have to cancel our trip.
The quarantine was the final nail in the coffin for me cancelling our upcoming trip. Even though I have enough spare vacation days saved up, I'm not spending 14 extra days afterwards at home. On a practical level, too much work would pile up while I was away to make it feasible.
 

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
I think it's because the Quarantine of 14 days when guests arrive from various States such as NJ, NY and CT has really affected attendance as this area of the country makes up a large attendance group for WDW. We have a trip scheduled for the end of October but unless they lift the quarantine restriction, we will have to cancel our trip.
The quarantine also applies to individual companies. I am in sales and do not reside in a state with quarantine requirements. All my customers will not allow me on site for 14 days if I have been out of the country or visit an area classified as a hotspot.
 

BlackCauldron

Well-Known Member
I think it's because the Quarantine of 14 days when guests arrive from various States such as NJ, NY and CT has really affected attendance as this area of the country makes up a large attendance group for WDW. We have a trip scheduled for the end of October but unless they lift the quarantine restriction, we will have to cancel our trip.

According to reports (as seen in the other Covid thread), DeSantis just rescinded the quarantine for travelers from the NY tri-state area.
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
I've always thought that Eisner's decline stemmed almost entirely from the tragic death of Frank Wells, one of the most underrated Disney execs ever. He kept Eisner in check, and we saw what happened without that voice of reason whispering in his ear.
Watch “Waking Sleeping Beauty” on Disney+. Eisner’s legacy was a mixed bag for various reasons, not the least of which was Katzenberg’s ineptitude. Of course, he failed upward to co-create Dreamworks SKG.
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
You’re not wrong...but the amount of revisionist history with Eisner on boards is insane.

And that will be “ok” only when the same broad brushes are applied to Iger.
Yes, I suspect those are younger fans* who think Eisner invented TLM, BATB, and TLK and don’t know the company was a shell of itself by 1998. Home video has also convinced fans the cookie-cutter Disney movies post Lion King are “A+ Disney” because Childhood Nostalgia covers a multitude of sins. (Disney has plenty in their A- and B+ tiers, which is where most of that era belongs.)

The same fans also seem ignorant of Pressler’s years at DL, and Phil Holmes’ reign over the MK.

Let’s also not forget the current business strategies started under Eisner’s tenure. Sure, they ramped up considerably under Iger, but it was Eisner who allowed the MBAs to sell Disney widgets before moving on to other companies. There’s a reason so many of us were thrilled when Iger became CEO. We just didn’t know he’d transform the company into the greedy IP conglomerate critics had long accused the company of being, although it never really was until Iger made it that way.

His first decade was great, and then things slid from mixed to awful, resulting in a “Save Disney” campaign that was mostly focused on quality-control issues. I wonder how Roy Jr. would’ve reacted to Iger’s last few years.

*Of course it could be any age. Human memory is terribly fickle.
 
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Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Home video has also convinced fans the cookie-cutter Disney movies post Lion King are “A+ Disney” because Childhood Nostalgia covers a multitude of sins. (Disney has plenty in their A- and B+ tiers, which is where most of that era belongs.)

That's why the people thinking Mulan live-action was going to make $1 billion worldwide confused me.

in 2000, Mulan was not one of Disney's top 14 selling animated home video titles*. Mulan has never been the top Disney Princess, the original movie bombed in China.

It had potential, yes, but there was no guarantee of it being a smash.

*The list was:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Bambi
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Jungle Book
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
Watch “Waking Sleeping Beauty” on Disney+. Eisner’s legacy was a mixed bag for various reasons, not the least of which was Katzenberg’s ineptitude. Of course, he failed upward to co-create Dreamworks SKG.
Speaking of Waking Sleeping Beauty, the same director also worked on "Howard" (about Howard Ashman). Which will arrive on Disney+ tomorrow, which I been looking forward to watching for years now.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Yes, I suspect those are younger fans* who think Eisner invented TLM, BATB, and TLK and don’t know the company was a shell of itself by 1998. Home video has also convinced fans the cookie-cutter Disney movies post Lion King are “A+ Disney” because Childhood Nostalgia covers a multitude of sins. (Disney has plenty in their A- and B+ tiers, which is where most of that era belongs.)

The same fans also seem ignorant of Pressler’s years at DL, and Phil Holmes’ reign over the MK.

Let’s also not forget the current business strategies started under Eisner’s tenure. Sure, they ramped up considerably under Iger, but it was Eisner who allowed the MBAs to sell Disney widgets before moving on to other companies. There’s a reason so many of us were thrilled when Iger became CEO. We just didn’t know he’d transform the company into the greedy IP conglomerate critics had long accused the company of being, although it never really was until Iger made it that way.

His first decade was great, and then things slid from mixed to awful, resulting in a “Save Disney” campaign that was mostly focused in quality-control issues. I wonder how Roy Jr. would’ve reacted to Iger’s last few years.

*Of course it could be any age. Human memory is terribly fickle.
Roy E would have likely dusted off his old website on Iger as well...

Though he made a couple of billion off stocks and corporate raiding...and Iger has been good for those types...so maybe not.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
That's why the people thinking Mulan live-action was going to make $1 billion worldwide confused me.

in 2000, Mulan was not one of Disney's top 14 selling animated home video titles*. Mulan has never been the top Disney Princess, the original movie bombed in China.

It had potential, yes, but there was no guarantee of it being a smash.

*The list was:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Bambi
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Jungle Book
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Mulan was not going to do well at the box office...just my humble O...

I think this release works out in their favor.

But it was yet ANOTHER attempt by Iger to kiss Chinese butt. For the 500th time. I wish we could understand where they think el dorado is located in the Gobi desert??

They partially ruined their most valuable IP chip at least in part chasing a market that isn’t there...
 
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GoneViral

Well-Known Member
I follow this stuff for a living, and Mulan had a real chance to be Disney's biggest non-Marvel movie in China. It was probably going to break $1 billion in global revenue thanks to that one market. I think $800 million was its basement.

That's why the studio had no interest in going straight to video until Coronavirus proved implacable.

This topic is one that will never be proved either way now, though. If you think it's more Cinderella than Beauty and the Beast, I totally respect that. I just disagree.

You may not realize that China's film market has matured to the point that Aquaman can earn the equivalent of $300 million.

The only possible sticking point was Liu Yifei's Hong Kong kerfluffle. If Chinese officials didn't make a stink about that, the real unknown here, it could have approached the box office of My People, My Country.

The weird part of this discussion is more that American studios don't get much of a cut from Chinese film box office. When corporations cut those deals, they started 25% and went down from there based on exhibitor splits. So, Disney's revenue stream would have come from renewed interest in Mulan merchandising in China over time. That mitigates the opportunity cost loss quite a bit.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I follow this stuff for a living, and Mulan had a real chance to be Disney's biggest non-Marvel movie in China. It was probably going to break $1 billion in global revenue thanks to that one market. I think $800 million was its basement.

That's why the studio had no interest in going straight to video until Coronavirus proved implacable.

This topic is one that will never be proved either way now, though. If you think it's more Cinderella than Beauty and the Beast, I totally respect that. I just disagree.

You may not realize that China's film market has matured to the point that Aquaman can earn the equivalent of $300 million.

The only possible sticking point was Liu Yifei's Hong Kong kerfluffle. If Chinese officials didn't make a stink about that, the real unknown here, it could have approached the box office of My People, My Country.

The weird part of this discussion is more that American studios don't get much of a cut from Chinese film box office. When corporations cut those deals, they started 25% and went down from there based on exhibitor splits. So, Disney's revenue stream would have come from renewed interest in Mulan merchandising in China over time. That mitigates the opportunity cost loss quite a bit.
I realize all that stuff...

And yet - Disney tent poles don’t have a good history in China outside of marvel and Pixar
 

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