Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[alphac2005]

That is a given.

WDW is simply a microcosm of the state, society and nation it exists in.

Today, corps are whores for Wall Street and they exist for short term riches. There has to be fundamental change in our nation in order for most companies to change the way they do business.

Literally, you build a company, nurture it and then are forced to destroy it in the current model.

That should have been used in the SOTU by the POTUS. Companies are no different than entertainers or athletes at this point as well. It's the same model. They're built up, get to the pinnacle, and our society and press throw them off of the top of the mountain time and again. It's all a societal sickness and you wonder if it can change. Different reasons for doing these things, but similar results and all the signs of a broken people.

 

[John]

Just one more quickee, a Spirited quickee as they're the most MAGICal kind, before some of us call it a night ... but I was wondering if The Disney Parks Blog has acknowleged Tony's 'retirement' yet? Clearly someone of his stature leaving the company after 47 1/2 years MUST be cause for a blog post ... maybe even one by Tom Staggs or Bruce Vaughn talking about all he has meant to Disney ... so can someone send me a link? Thanks.

I said it before and I will say it again.

"Let the name of Moses (Baxter) be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of Egypt (TWDC). Let the name of Moses (Baxter) be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time."

Aint gonna happen.

 

[Jakester]

Its a shame that baxter has had little recognition for 47years of dedication. Still having hope that MM+ Doesn't fully launch

 

[djlaosc]

TV business is cyclical. There was a time when no one watched FOX ... and when CBS was in last place. NBC made a Disney-like (See: Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?) HUGE gamble/mistake by placing Jay Leno at 10 p.m. and that is going to take years to recover from. But they do have some quality new shows like Revolution, Grimm, Go On and New Normal if they stick with and market right that could be hits for years. I'm a big fan of the first two, and think the other two are up and down.

And the over use of Deal or No Deal a few years ago as well.

I do watch Grimm, and The New Normal, as well as Parenthood, Smash, Chicago Fire and Community. Go On has not been picked up over here yet, and Revolution doesn't start till March 22nd 2013 over here (Do No Harm is supposed to air later in the year as well). But they need to hope that The Voice will continue to support Revolution, and boost Go On and The New Normal (and Smash).

NBC is (and probably always has been) my least watched of the main 5 TV Networks (and due to the way that US TV airs over here (year-round, not Sept-May), I get to watch more than others probably do without lots of DVRs.

 

[MattM]

Dunno ... but I do know that Comcast and its leadership are very bullish on the theme park business, quite unlike Disney. For so long the UNI parks sorta existed and now we can all see what happens when the parent company decides that they are a growth business and not a mature one. ... Unless I missed UNI getting into the timeshare business or developing the Silver Pines community of McMansions on their property.

Yes. I watched his interviews on CNBC last night and this morning, and you're right they seem very bullish on theme parks and are willing to invest significantly more capital in their parks. It's almost as if the Robert's are publicly taunting Iger/Disney now, and are not even sorry about it.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Can we get some park rumors and news? The whole NGE/wristbands/Baxter leaving/WDW falling to pieces is ...getting old.

It's like watching an episode of a show you really REALLY love... over and over. Even though you know how the episode ends, you watch it. Again and again. Soon you have it memorized and don't even need to watch it. You might even start to hate that stupid episode, but you know it so well its ingrained in your brain. When you think of it, you go, AHHHHHHHHH. But there it is and there it remains.

Something new, please. Change the channel. :\

 

[John]

Can we get some park rumors and news? The whole NGE/wristbands/Baxter leaving/WDW falling to pieces is ...getting old.

It's like watching an episode of a show you really REALLY love... over and over. Even though you know how the episode ends, you watch it. Again and again. Soon you have it memorized and don't even need to watch it. You might even start to hate that stupid episode, but you know it so well its ingrained in your brain. When you think of it, you go, AHHHHHHHHH. But there it is and there it remains.

Something new, please. Change the channel. :\

This is one thread on an entire website dedicated to what you seek.....listen to your own advice....change the channel.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Just one more quickee, a Spirited quickee as they're the most MAGICal kind, before some of us call it a night ... but I was wondering if The Disney Parks Blog has acknowleged Tony's 'retirement' yet?

I think you're missing a key point here, dearest Spirit. Bruce Vaughn heavily emphasized in his letter that Tony was transitioning from being an active, full-time Imagineer to a part-time advisor. In other words, he hasn't technically "retired" from WDI yet.

Are those weasel words? Totally. Is Tony actually retired from Imagineering? Absolutely.

But Vaughn's deliberate choice of words gives Disney the ability to claim that Tony isn't really gone, he isn't really retired in the truest sense of the word, thereby justifying their lack of recognition for Baxter's retirement that doesn't, in their warped view of the world, actually exist.

By keeping Baxter in the employment limbo of "transitioned part-time advisor" allows them to not honor Tony with a Main Street window, not honor Tony with a Disney Legends award, and not honor Tony with a D23 retirement party like they did for Dave Smith.

Given the careful crafting of Vaughn's letter, it's painfully obvious that they want Tony to just slip away, quietly, without fanfare, without recognition, and without any honors. They hate the guy right down to their bone marrow. So the last thing they want to do, is to give the man the proper sendoff that he deserves.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Dunno ... but I do know that Comcast and its leadership are very bullish on the theme park business, quite unlike Disney. For so long the UNI parks sorta existed and now we can all see what happens when the parent company decides that they are a growth business and not a mature one. ... Unless I missed UNI getting into the timeshare business or developing the Silver Pines community of McMansions on their property.

For at least a decade, Disney has felt like Theme Parks in Florida are a mature market. Universal/Comcast has essentially disproven that.

 

[GLaDOS]

Comcast will be increasing park spending by 25% next year. That's incredible considering how much work they've done this year.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You mean you can't figure out the answer in Disney's "answer" to Markey's letter?

I'm still trying to figure out what exactly this means for "guests" who choose not to participate in MM+.

The way I read their answer, the only thing Disney promises to MM+ nonparticipants is admission to the parks.

It really goes back to the issue of the social media presence that has access to these people at Disney having less PR training than the executives themselves. I would hope Congressman Markey has enough PR training, but I suspect that his run for Senate is going to take precedence over badgering Disney.

At this point, Disney has only answered questions on Next Gen in a very controlled environment. I don't have the opportunity to go to the shareholders meeting, but I would hope that proper questions are asked and when the inevitable PR spin comes, I would hope that the proper follow up questions are asked.

 

[MattM]

Can we get some park rumors and news? The whole NGE/wristbands/Baxter leaving/WDW falling to pieces is ...getting old.

It's like watching an episode of a show you really REALLY love... over and over. Even though you know how the episode ends, you watch it. Again and again. Soon you have it memorized and don't even need to watch it. You might even start to hate that stupid episode, but you know it so well its ingrained in your brain. When you think of it, you go, AHHHHHHHHH. But there it is and there it remains.

Something new, please. Change the channel. :\

I've heard rumors that Fantasmic is moving to the River's of America in MK (like at DL) and World of Color is going to Hollywood Studios. We can expect this to happen before the 2013 Christmas season.

 

[Lee]

I've heard rumors that Fantasmic is moving to the River's of America in MK (like at DL) and World of Color is going to Hollywood Studios. We can expect this to happen before the 2013 Christmas season.

Nah.
Fantasmic won't work at MK without HUGE modifications to Frontierland and its infrastructure.

Could it be replaced? Sure

 

[flynnibus]

For at least a decade, Disney has felt like Theme Parks in Florida are a mature market. Universal/Comcast has essentially disproven that.

Meh... they haven't proven themselves a growth area yet. WWOHP grew UNI - but in large part because it was so under utilized and stagnant. UNI grew - but that doesn't speak directly to the market as a whole. Did they actually grow visits to FL and are they going to be sustained? Or did they move vacation dollars from silo A to silo B...

Not being mature would mean there is opportunity for new expansion of the baseline... growing the entire pie and not just incrementally. A good barometer of that would be the ability to sustain new parks or changes in visits (more or longer stays).

UNI has grown - but more like 'grew up' and it's not clear if they've expanded the market or simply taken more of it for themselves...

I think Discovery Cove and Aquatica have illustrated new growth opportunities more than UNI's new attractions.

 

[GLaDOS]

Meh... they haven't proven themselves a growth area yet. WWOHP grew UNI - but in large part because it was so under utilized and stagnant. UNI grew - but that doesn't speak directly to the market as a whole. Did they actually grow visits to FL and are they going to be sustained? Or did they move vacation dollars from silo A to silo B...

Not being mature would mean there is opportunity for new expansion of the baseline... growing the entire pie and not just incrementally. A good barometer of that would be the ability to sustain new parks or changes in visits (more or longer stays).

UNI has grown - but more like 'grew up' and it's not clear if they've expanded the market or simply taken more of it for themselves...

I think Discovery Cove and Aquatica have illustrated new growth opportunities more than UNI's new attractions.

Hasn't Orlando seen the most amount of visitors it ever has the 2 years since Potter opened? I could have sworn it did.

 

[OFTeric]

Meh... they haven't proven themselves a growth area yet. WWOHP grew UNI - but in large part because it was so under utilized and stagnant. UNI grew - but that doesn't speak directly to the market as a whole. Did they actually grow visits to FL and are they going to be sustained? Or did they move vacation dollars from silo A to silo B...

To that point. Yes they did.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...rlando-orlando-international-airport-airsides

Orlando is going on the 4th straight year of growth after the collapse in 2009. There are more visitors visiting Orlando. And Disney only sees a small bump. Where Universal Orlando has seen a dramatic increase in overall visitors.

It isn't simply shifting around the same bucket of tourists, but actually drawing new, and taking some from the competitors.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Meh... they haven't proven themselves a growth area yet. WWOHP grew UNI - but in large part because it was so under utilized and stagnant. UNI grew - but that doesn't speak directly to the market as a whole. Did they actually grow visits to FL and are they going to be sustained? Or did they move vacation dollars from silo A to silo B...

Not being mature would mean there is opportunity for new expansion of the baseline... growing the entire pie and not just incrementally. A good barometer of that would be the ability to sustain new parks or changes in visits (more or longer stays).

UNI has grown - but more like 'grew up' and it's not clear if they've expanded the market or simply taken more of it for themselves...

I think Discovery Cove and Aquatica have illustrated new growth opportunities more than UNI's new attractions.

They moved the needle with Potter. Investment in new attractions moves the needle. Look at the total attendance in Orlando and the major attractions that opened in the time frame:

• 2003: 55,700,000
• 2004: 59,300,000
• 2005: 60,260,000
• 2006: 62,150,000
• 2007: 64,420,000
• 2008: 64,602,000
• 2009: 63,470,000
• 2010: 64,060,000
• 2011: 66,369,000

 

[flynnibus]

To that point. Yes they did.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...rlando-orlando-international-airport-airsides

Orlando is going on the 4th straight year of growth after the collapse in 2009. There are more visitors visiting Orlando. And Disney only sees a small bump. Where Universal Orlando has seen a dramatic increase in overall visitors.

It isn't simply shifting around the same bucket of tourists, but actually drawing new, and taking some from the competitors.

Ahh - thanks for that. I still not sure that incremental growth like that (1%) tho is still enough to shift into a growth market vs mature. Most of the early growth for UNI was on the revenue side (the HP merch juggernaut) tho of course IOA saw huge attendance growth too. They have sustained a lot of that over the 2+ years now.. so that is a good sign for UNI that the stuff has legs. It will be interesting to see if HP v2 puts it in overdrive.. or more of the same. If HPv2 results in a breakout for UNI... all bets are off

 

[flynnibus]

Hasn't Orlando seen the most amount of visitors it ever has the 2 years since Potter opened? I could have sworn it did.

They moved the needle with Potter. Investment in new attractions moves the needle. Look at the total attendance in Orlando and the major attractions that opened in the time frame:

I know it's growing - but the idea of growth vs mature is about the rate of growth. As I said to Eric's reply.. still looks incremental to me - but Comcast is betting the farm.. so we'll see if it pays off and opens a new rush to FL theme parks.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I know it's growing - but the idea of growth vs mature is about the rate of growth. As I said to Eric's reply.. still looks incremental to me - but Comcast is betting the farm.. so we'll see if it pays off and opens a new rush to FL theme parks.

Well, the growth at IOA (where there was expansion) was certainly not incremental. But incremental growth is still growth, and the only thing that has consistently resulted in any growth (incremental or otherwise) has been investment in new attractions. Look at the last jump of 2 million guests, it was right around the time that Soarin' and Expedition Everest opened - two E-tickets within a year of one another.