So Comcast was the highest bidder for FOX, but FOX picked Disney instead...

[Disney Irish]

If Iger is so worried about having enough content he could...oh, I don't know...hire people who can create Disney's own vs. being an acquisition machine. But maybe that's just old-fashioned thinking.

Also, I realize this isn't a parks-minded purchase, but given how many of the recent parks developments have seen budget cuts en route to completion, it's sure strange that Iger can casually wave around $35 billion in cash at this purchase.

I get what you are saying, but its not how business works in today's landscape, especially in media. The media companies are consolidating, its been happening for a couple decades now. Fox wasn't going to remain on its own, it just wasn't. So I rather Disney get it then Comcast. This is about bringing content and the content makers in-house instead of them going to a competitor. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, get most if not all of their content from companies like Disney, Fox, Universal, etc. So I rather Disney be a seller and distributor of content then having to buy content.

Also Iger has to worry about the entire TWDC and its long term strategy not just P&R. I know the focus of this board is parks, but a healthy TWDC is a good thing for all aspects of the company. Without a healthy company there is no parks.

I mean just imagine what would have happened if Comcast really did buy Disney back in 2004. DLR as we know it today would be gone, I guarantee it.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I get what you are saying, but its not how business works in today's landscape, especially in media. The media companies are consolidating, its been happening for a couple decades now. Fox wasn't going to remain on its own, it just wasn't. So I rather Disney get it then Comcast. This is about bringing content and the content makers in-house instead of them going to a competitor. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, get most if not all of their content from companies like Disney, Fox, Universal, etc. So I rather Disney be a seller and distributor of content then having to buy content.

Also Iger has to worry about the entire TWDC and its long term strategy not just P&R. I know the focus of this board is parks, but a healthy TWDC is a good thing for all aspects of the company. Without a healthy company there is no parks.

I mean just imagine what would have happened if Comcast really did buy Disney back in 2004. DLR as we know it today would be gone, I guarantee it.

But Disney HAS bought content. Litearally Billions of dollars worth. Iger's entire reputation is staked on the content he's bought.

Trust me, I get that an overall healthy Disney is best for all divisions. But it just strikes me as odd that a company that has (let's be honest) some rather striking issues with its current park's development (budgetary reasons being a common issue) could then just take such a large sum of its money and go out and spend it on more content. Bad analogy, but that seems to me like someone who pinches pennies on their home repairs and then goes out and drops cash on a new Ferarri.

 

[SuddenStorm]

This is just idiotic.

Imagine the theme parks they could build with this money.

That's.... not how this works.

 

[Disney Lover Addie]

Let the marvel fans rejoice!

 

[SuddenStorm]

But Disney HAS bought content. Litearally Billions of dollars worth. Iger's entire reputation is staked on the content he's bought.

Trust me, I get that an overall healthy Disney is best for all divisions. But it just strikes me as odd that a company that has (let's be honest) some rather striking issues with its current park's development (budgetary reasons being a common issue) could then just take such a large sum of its money and go out and spend it on more content. Bad analogy, but that seems to me like someone who pinches pennies on their home repairs and then goes out and drops cash on a new Ferarri.

Amazing how corporate finances work. Obviously, Disney thinks spending billions on purchasing Fox will offer a much larger ROI than dumping that money into amusement parks. And I think they're right.

Not to mention the disadvantage Disney would have if Comcast got Fox and started using all those properties in their Universal parks.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Amazing how corporate finances work. Obviously, Disney thinks spending billions on purchasing Fox will offer a much larger ROI than dumping that money into amusement parks. And I think they're right.

Not to mention the disadvantage Disney would have if Comcast got Fox and started using all those properties in their Universal parks.

But that still doesn't really answer my question...why is/was Disney so quick to hack park budgets when it so clearly had the money??? I guess it really does show where their priorities lay.

 

[SuddenStorm]

But that still doesn't really answer my question...why is/was Disney so quick to hack park budgets when it so clearly had the money??? I guess it really does show where their priorities lay.

Because they realized that they can hack the budgets without reducing their income- making the parks more profitable. It's simple and effective business practice.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Because they realized that they can hack the budgets without reducing their income- making the parks more profitable. It's simple and effective business practice.

Good for the bean counters, good for Iger's bonus check, and we get Pixar Pier.

yaaaaaaay.

Let's just disspell with the silly notion that they could, oh, I don't know...increase their profits by putting something truly awe-inspiring on the table.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Good for the bean counters, good for Iger's bonus check, and we get Pixar Pier.

yaaaaaaay.

This deal is completely separate from the parks division. It isn't the Parks Division bidding billions for Fox.

It kind of sounds like y'all think that if Disney didn't bid on Fox, that money would somehow go to the Parks- which I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty isn't the case. So yeah, I think it's great that Disney is putting up the money needed to acquire Fox.

But yeah, we're getting Pixar Pier- which is Disney spending money to enhance an area that arguably didn't need it. And, we're getting Star Wars land next year, and Marvel land within the next 5 years if they get their act together.

Let's not act this is 2000 and we're getting stuck with DCA 1.0.

Edit: Not to mention the new structure, Downtown Disney overhaul and hotel getting built. Not sure how much more investment y'all could reasonably expect Disney to make in Anaheim?

 

[Disney Irish]

But Disney HAS bought content. Litearally Billions of dollars worth. Iger's entire reputation is staked on the content he's bought.

Trust me, I get that an overall healthy Disney is best for all divisions. But it just strikes me as odd that a company that has (let's be honest) some rather striking issues with its current park's development (budgetary reasons being a common issue) could then just take such a large sum of its money and go out and spend it on more content. Bad analogy, but that seems to me like someone who pinches pennies on their home repairs and then goes out and drops cash on a new Ferarri.

Corporate budgets are a complicated thing. You can have one division that is constantly strapped for cash, while another is flush and overflowing. I'm not a corporate accountant, but know enough given I've worked for some of the largest tech companies in the world.

It all comes down to margins, margins are what make or break a company. P&R is a low margin division due to the large operational cost. The only way to increase margins is to slash costs and/or increase prices. Outlaying for a large capex project like a SW:GE means less margins, so again they have to find away to keep margins in line. So that means again slashing costs and/or increasing prices.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

This deal is completely separate from the parks division. It isn't the Parks Division bidding billions for Fox.

It kind of sounds like y'all think that if Disney didn't bid on Fox, that money would somehow go to the Parks- which I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty isn't the case. So yeah, I think it's great that Disney is putting up the money needed to acquire Fox.

But yeah, we're getting Pixar Pier- which is Disney spending money to enhance an area that arguably didn't need it. And, we're getting Star Wars land next year, and Marvel land within the next 5 years if they get their act together.

Let's not act this is 2000 and we're getting stuck with DCA 1.0.

Edit: Not to mention the new structure, Downtown Disney overhaul and hotel getting built. Not sure how much more investment y'all could reasonably expect Disney to make in Anaheim?

Ok, I'll admit I don't understand how the business side of things works. If Disney wasn't bidding for Fox, then parks budgets don't change...I can accept that. I think its totally stupid, but whatever.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

Edit: Not to mention the new structure, Downtown Disney overhaul and hotel getting built. Not sure how much more investment y'all could reasonably expect Disney to make in Anaheim?

For me, it isn't necessarily the amount of investment being made, but the quality of investment. Disney could have 10 projects in line, but if they're all the level of Pixar Pier, then no thanks. And for me, quality suffers when budgets are cut. Short-cuts and "that'll do" attitudes dominate. As has been stated, WDI is a mess, and I know its because they're being forced to work harder and faster with dwindling budgets and shrinking time-frames. But hey, as long as Thano--er, I mean Iger, can get all the stone--er, I mean companies, under the Disney umbrella, then all is happy!

 

[Disney Irish]

Edit: Not to mention the new structure, Downtown Disney overhaul and hotel getting built. Not sure how much more investment y'all could reasonably expect Disney to make in Anaheim?

This is the thing that baffles me about fans, there is only so much investment that can go into Anaheim at any one time. Its like if there isn't a new large scale project announced every couple months they think there isn't investment happening. This is a lot of investment happening, and has been for a couple years now. Sure there have been times when investment wasn't there, and I think that is what some fans are afraid of, going back to the Pressler no investment and all cost cutting time. That just isn't going to happen right now or the foreseeable future. Sure some of these investments may not be what some of us like, but there are investments happening.

 

[Monorail_Orange]

Ok, I'll admit I don't understand how the business side of things works. If Disney wasn't bidding for Fox, then parks budgets don't change...I can accept that. I think its totally stupid, but whatever.

Yeah, I agree it sounds screwy, but it really is how things work in big corporations.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

This is the thing that baffles me about fans, there is only so much investment that can go into Anaheim at any one time. Its like if there isn't a new large scale project announced every couple months they think there isn't investment happening. This is a lot of investment happening, and has been for a couple years now. Sure there have been times when investment wasn't there, and I think that is what some fans are afraid of, going back to the Pressler no investment and all cost cutting time. That just isn't going to happen right now or the foreseeable future. Sure some of these investments may not be what some of us like, but there are investments happening.

Again, I'm not talking about level of investment, but overall quality of investment. I'm not so ignorant as to say that Disney isn't doing "enough" in Anaheim. But maybe outside of Battle Escape at SWL, (I can't comment on Marvel Land, but I have concerns), the quality of investment in the parks has been Six Flags-level at best.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

But that still doesn't really answer my question...why is/was Disney so quick to hack park budgets when it so clearly had the money??? I guess it really does show where their priorities lay.

This one thousand times over and over. It's pretty easy to make billions of dollars when you own and control literally every important Hollywood franchise, isn't it? Pretty much the only thing that matters to Disney today is content and how it performs financially. Customer experience at its theme parks and the well-being of cast members are somewhere near the bottom of its list of soulless corporate priorities, if they're even there at all.

The company is so massive now it's hard to comprehend. I was able to happily follow Disney's evolutionary journey for a very long time, but I think I may have finally reached the end of my love affair after the 20th Century Fox merger happens.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

This one thousand times over and over. It's pretty easy to make billions of dollars when you own and control literally every important Hollywood franchise, isn't it? Pretty much the only things that matters to Disney today is content and how it performs financially. Customer experience at its theme parks and the well-being of cast members are somewhere near the bottom of its list of soulless corporate priorities, if they're even there at all.

The company is so massive now it's hard to comprehend. I was able to happily follow Disney's evolutionary journey for a very long time, but I think I may have finally reached the end of my love affair after the 20th Century Fox merger happens.

Don't go Hans! We were supposed to have a drink at Lasseter's Lair and lament things!

 

[Disney Irish]

Again, I'm not talking about level of investment, but overall quality of investment. I'm not so ignorant as to say that Disney isn't doing "enough" in Anaheim. But maybe outside of Battle Escape at SWL, (I can't comment on Marvel Land, but I have concerns), the quality of investment in the parks has been Six Flags-level at best.

I know that every fan, especially old school ones, want every project to be knock'em out of the park high quality projects like PotC or HM. Especially since large scale projects are few and far between in Anaheim. However for every Battle Escape there will be a Pixar Pier. Its how things are done, and will continue to be how things are done. You will get one large scale project, and then you get some smaller projects that maybe we aren't thrilled with.

Like the next large scale project is likely going to be either TL or TT w/ the Mickey ride. And then there will be some smaller projects that maybe we aren't all that thrilled with. That is how investments are going to happen in Anaheim. Its the way it has to be given how landlocked the park is. Either that or large portions of the park with some classic attractions are going to have to ripped out in order to put something new in.

 

[Hatbox Ghostbuster]

I know that every fan, especially old school ones, want every project to be knock'em out of the park high quality projects like PotC or HM. Especially since large scale projects are few and far between in Anaheim. However for every Battle Escape there will be a Pixar Pier. Its how things are done, and will continue to be how things are done. You will get one large scale project, and then you get some smaller projects that maybe we aren't thrilled with.

Like the next large scale project is likely going to be either TL or TT w/ the Mickey ride. And then there will be some smaller projects that maybe we aren't all that thrilled with. That is how investments are going to happen in Anaheim. Its the way it has to be given how landlocked the park is. Either that or large portions of the park with some classic attractions are going to have to ripped out in order to put something new in.

See, you say that, but I disagree. Not every "lesser" project has to be the level of PP. They can improve things on a small scale and still do a great job. Micechat always rips on the state of the castle with its dented turrets and chipped and peeling paint. They could start there. Or the state of disrepair TT is in. Don't wait before deciding to do some massive build-out. Just take care of the park that currently exists. But they don't.

 

[Disney Irish]

See, you say that, but I disagree. Not every "lesser" project has to be the level of PP. They can improve things on a small scale and still do a great job. Micechat always rips on the state of the castle with its dented turrets and chipped and peeling paint. They could start there. Or the state of disrepair TT is in. Don't wait before deciding to do some massive build-out. Just take care of the park that currently exists. But they don't.

We don't know the extent of the issues with the castle. Its very possible that any repairs could require closing the castle for 12-18 months. So they'd have to wait until a large scale investment can be done.

TT is another matter. I think they've left it because they know a massive investment is coming. Why spent money in the short term when a large investment is coming.

I know that MC and even here some like to rip on maintenance issues, but there is a large plan in place that we just aren't privy to.