Rumor: No Festival of Fantasy February-April 2017

[ford91exploder]

Usually he exaggerates and/or is over-the-top negative, but I didn't think he'd resort to outright lies.

You are being very selective in the information that you quote, But it's completely out of context because the opening of Avatar the earnings call noted would position WDW for growth in LATE FY 2017 and EARLY FY 2018. The only growth seen in overall in 2017 was in the HOTELS sector.

 

[AndyS2992]

Rogue One isn't going to do anywhere near what The Force Awakens did.

Possibly, however Rogue One is just a cash grab spin off and is not a mainline Star Wars movie so doesn't really matter. It will still make Disney a ton of money. Episode 8 will come out next December and will no doubt do better, that is if everyone isn't suffering Star Wars fatigue by then.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You are being very selective in the information that you quote, But it's completely out of context because the opening of Avatar the earnings call noted would position WDW for growth in LATE FY 2017 and EARLY FY 2018. The only growth seen in overall in 2017 was in the HOTELS sector.

You're backtracking. I quoted every single reference to 2017 and the Parks & Resorts segment from the FY16 earnings call. I wasn't selective about anything. The comments you claimed they made about a challenging revenue year at the parks don't exist.

Possibly, however Rogue One is just a cash grab spin off and is not a mainline Star Wars movie so doesn't really matter. It will still make Disney a ton of money. Episode 8 will come out next December and will no doubt do better, that is if everyone isn't suffering Star Wars fatigue by then.

Okay, first of all, whether Rogue One is a saga (mainline) Star Wars film is irrelevant to its importance in Disney's bottom line. Second of all, it's not a "cash grab spin off," it's a fully canon film that's arguably better than anything since Empire. Third, Disney's fiscal year runs October through September so Episode VIII is irrelevant to FY17, which is what we're discussing.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I'm sure they'll keep Tiana's Riverboat Party, too. Honestly, the view will be largely the same.

Well as long as they keep the riverboat party they can just get rid of everything else

 

[jakeman]

The earnings call ALSO called out that P&R had a 'challenging' revenue outlook for 2017 , No detail provided but I assume bookings for 2017 are down. Remember I was doing the play by play for the FY 2016 earnings call.

It's just amazing what's down for refurbishment for almost a full quarter for next year,

It appears that TWDC is in panic mode and is now cutting anything and everything to attempt to make the numbers look good.

Your posts from the earnings thread regarding revenue:

Interestingly enough Iger notes that 2017 will be an 'anomaly' in the companys growth

Consumer Products Operating income down 20% but DIS expect growth for the year,

DIS expects 'modest' earnings growth 2017

Additionally, according to the transcript has the word challenging 3 times: once referring to the extra week in Q4 and twice regarding consumer products. The anomaly refers to modest as opposed to robust growth. (Source)

 

[Rodan75]

Why are you lying?

"As we look to fiscal 2017, we expect to deliver modest EPS growth for the year due to some comparability factors.

Let's start with Cable where we expect fiscal 2017 programming costs to be up about 8% versus fiscal 2016, driven primarily by the first year of our new NBA contract, which accounts for $600 million of that increase.

Our Parks and Resorts segment is positioned for continued growth in 2017 due in part to the opening of Avatar Land at Walt Disney World and a full year of results from Shanghai Disney Resort. There are three parks comparability items I'd like to mention. First, Hurricane Matthew disrupted our operations at Walt Disney World in early October, which resulted in the closure of our parks for about a day and a half. We estimate the impact of the hurricane on Q1 operating income to be approximately $40 million. Second, due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew and the conversion of rooms at Wilderness Lodge to Vacation Club units, Q1 total domestic resort reservations are pacing down about 2% while booked rates are pacing up 3%. And third, I'd like to point out that one week of the winter holiday period will fall in Q2, whereas the entire holiday fell in Q1 last year. As a result, this will shift about $20 million of OI from Q1 into Q2.

Turning to the Studio, Bob discussed the strength of our slate in Q1 and it's worth mentioning we will also release Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, and Cars 3 during the year. While we remain thrilled with our Studio business and the great films we have in the pipeline, I'll remind everyone that results in fiscal 2017 will comp against a record-breaking 2016, due in part to the phenomenal success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

At Consumer Products & Interactive Media, while we expect operating income growth for the full year, we expect OI to be down more than 20% in the first quarter due to the strength of Star Wars and Frozen merchandise licensing and our licensed Star Wars Battlefront game in Q1 last year. And finally, results in fiscal 2017 will be adversely impacted by about $175 million due to FX rates and higher pension expense. Also, in terms of net interest expense, the $100 million you saw in the fourth quarter represents a reasonable quarterly run rate for the year.

We're very pleased with our fiscal 2016 results which once again demonstrate that our strategy of investing in high-quality, branded content, coupled with great execution and a balanced approach to capital allocation continues to generate solid earnings growth. Once again, we expect to deliver modest earnings growth in fiscal 2017 and, as Bob said, we feel extremely confident that we'll return to more robust earnings growth in fiscal 2018 and beyond."

I must be ignoring whoever you are arguing with...but good arguments. =-)

 

[jakeman]

You are being very selective in the information that you quote, But it's completely out of context because the opening of Avatar the earnings call noted would position WDW for growth in LATE FY 2017 and EARLY FY 2018. The only growth seen in overall in 2017 was in the HOTELS sector.

From the transcript:

"Our Parks and Resorts segment is positioned for continued growth in 2017 due in part to the opening of Avatar Land at Walt Disney World and a full year of results from Shanghai Disney Resort."

"Per capita spending was up 7% on higher admissions and food and beverage spending. Per room spending at our domestic hotels was up 1% and occupancy was up over 2 percentage points to 86%."

(Source)

 

[Rodan75]

Really??!!??........

I know...lots of people love the parades. I hate them. I like looking at them, but I hate dealing with the obnoxious parade crowds holding up their iPads to film it. As well as the fact that you can't maneuver through mainstreet because of them.

I can't imagine the park ops people like them much.

 

[FerretAfros]

There is no "Pavement" at WDW Parks. All walkways and "streets" in the park are all poured reinforced concrete, which in Florida's climate (no freezing and rock salt) can have a very long life span. Parts that crack or pose a saftey hazard are cordoned off and redone. The last major project at the MK on Main Street I believe was removal of the curbs.

I’m an engineer and work on transportation and pedestrian projects on a daily basis. The word “pavement” is used interchangeably to describe asphalt, concrete (reinforced or unreinforced), or any other poured-in-place impermeable ground covering (typically called out as "asphalt pavement" or "concrete pavement" accordingly). I’m well aware that there are no asphalt walkways; among other issues, asphalt is too soft to deal with the concentrated point loads associated with heavy pedestrian use.

The Town Square curb removal projects impacted the curbs and sidewalks, but largely left the “road” part of Main Street untouched. There was some minor repair required right along the curb & gutter, but the large slabs remain. Parades ran during this work, showing how minor it was.

I was thinking primarily of the (reinforced concrete) pavement in Frontierland, which appears to be more-or-less original to the park. There have been some repairs to it over the years, resulting in uneven coloration, but it doesn’t seem like there’s been a large-scale repaving project. Looking at photos of Main Street specifically for the pavement, it also shows a variety of colors and exposed edges where slabs meet.

Regardless of why the parade isn’t running for a couple months, they would be wise to take advantage of that time to replace the pavement. It’s a thankless task, but one that would really help with long-term maintenance needs and would do a lot for aesthetics as well

 

[WishStar]

Just thinking out loud here but maybe they need to enlarge the float warehouses to accommodate larger floats for a new night time parade that will debut this summer? How large are the Paint the Night floats?

 

[Lets Respect]

So if this is a test, what would they look for see if they can get away with this? Complaints at GR?

Is it possible they recently built this parade and aren't going to use it every day?

 

[HauntedPirate]

If the parades were generating revenue, what do you want to bet that temporary warehouses would be erected?

Exactly! I mean, look at the warehouses they used for the floats for Spectrom... oh wait... It's that kind of short-sighted thinking that got TDO into the current mess with parades, and so far they have shown no signs of out-growing that line of thinking to get them out of it.

 

[IMFearless]

They erected big white tents at DLR to house the MSEP floats when they arrived.

The big white tents are all being rented out for $600 an hour in Tomorrowland!! ...They're fresh out!!

 

[JoeCamel]

There will still be parades. That is high season for the HS bands to parade

 

[Bandini]

There will still be parades. That is high season for the HS bands to parade

That's right! It's a win-win for Disney: the HS bands pay to play and stay at WDW and Disney doesn't have to pay those pesky CM's.

 

[ABQ]

<SARCASM> They need to keep the parade off the route to make more room for all the beer and wine kiosks they'll announce to be placed in the MK just in time for the spring break season to begin. That's where the big money is. </SARCASM>

 

[PhotoDave219]

Erm.... the OP suggested work on the warehouses, not the floats themselves.

Last time i was back there - 10 years ago - it was pretty damn cramped then. Seems prudent that they continue maintenance..... especially if a night parade is coming back to MK.

 

[ABQ]

Erm.... the OP suggested work on the warehouses, not the floats themselves.

Last time i was back there - 10 years ago - it was pretty damn cramped then. Seems prudent that they continue maintenance..... especially if a night parade is coming back to MK.

Was back there 2 weeks ago, both sheds, the smaller for Move It, Shake it and the much larger for FoF were jammed, but still there's room to work around for the most part. However, the bigger issue, and there's little that can be done, is the proximity to the AVAC system. Ugh did it stink back there.

 

[drizgirl]

Erm.... the OP suggested work on the warehouses, not the floats themselves.

Last time i was back there - 10 years ago - it was pretty damn cramped then. Seems prudent that they continue maintenance..... especially if a night parade is coming back to MK.

Isn't there room where the MSEP used to be stored?

 

[LL2WDW]

The warehouse that holds FOF is separate from the larger warehouse that housed DEP, and the former was refurbished prior to the FOF floats being delivered. So, I don't buy this story. Additionally, if they did need to work on the FOF warehouse, they could move the floats to the exterior covered pad where CDCT used to park.