Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[Monsterfan99]

All this talk of light bulbs being out. I'm still waiting for one stand in Spaceship Earths descent that has been out since 2009 to be fixed. You would figure 4 years would be enough to replace it or remove it, but here we are.

 

[PhotoDave219]

@Lee @WDW1974 @PhotoDave219 This week, Uni fired a ginormous shot across WDW's bow serving notice that WDW is about to be surpassed. Was this noticed by the suits at TDO/Burbank? If so, is there an early read on their reactions (other than curling up in the fetal position and playing with their MM+ app)?

I'm honestly out of the loop. (Ive been on Bay lake and in the parks this week)

My initial analysis is that WDW appear to be maintaining their blue ocean mentality and ignoring that Universal even exists.

The stock buyback is a good thing, IMO. Just as so theyre willing to reinvest those stock dividends. Also helps prop up the stock price when you announce things like "our main summer movie lost $190m...."

What is disturbing is that Rasuolo touted 125,000 positive MM+ tests ... when we've had reports from guests who were part of the test that the questions would not allow a negative response. We know that MM+ is improving, mostly because they don't have a damn choice. The issue is twofold for me, with this statement anyways. First, what's the breakdown of actual paying guest testing this versus paid employee of TWDC? Second, their survey and statistical methodology... out of those 125k, who are real guests and why are the survey questions slanted?

That being said is that all these comments were to high end, financial people. Neither him nor Burke were talking to guests or anyone beyond people they were soliciting for money. They're schilling to financial analysts whom they want to invest in their companies.

Basically TWDC isnt going to pay Universal any mind, sending the message to their investors that "We're the biggest kid on the block, we're not worried and not going anywhere, so invest in us."

Meanwhile.... Uni is sending the message to their investors that "You invest with us, we're gonna be the big kid on the block in five years. We're taking out the mouse."

Both companies are pandering to their intended audiences. As long as the stock price goes up, BOA & other investors will likely put money in both companies.

Thats my 20 minutes of digesting this out the couch analysis.

 

[willtravel]

It's the demographic, One of my best friends grew up in Anaheim he was the son of an orthodontist, you also have Hollywood creatives visiting the parks at all times so the median IQ of the 'regular crowd' is several quintiles higher than the 'regular crowd' in Orlando, Recall that DL has Club 33 where the initiation fee is on the order of $25,000 and there is a DECADE LONG waiting list to get in

Short answer is the Disney nuts in DL country generally have either money and/or demanding careers and are much higher on the socio-economic ladder, You don't tend to see as many of the 'Honey boo boo' crowd at DL.

I beg your pardon, where is the proof of that?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Yes I know... Hg vapor lamps are evil in more ways than one, Their nearly monochromatic spectra is also evil for color reproduction

Tell me about it... I shooting a sequence it goes slightly over (which i'll take), dark (ew), freakish orange (where the good frame usually was) and repeat.... Nasty stuff.

 

[willtravel]

It's the demographic, One of my best friends grew up in Anaheim he was the son of an orthodontist, you also have Hollywood creatives visiting the parks at all times so the median IQ of the 'regular crowd' is several quintiles higher than the 'regular crowd' in Orlando, Recall that DL has Club 33 where the initiation fee is on the order of $25,000 and there is a DECADE LONG waiting list to get in

Short answer is the Disney nuts in DL country generally have either money and/or demanding careers and are much higher on the socio-economic ladder, You don't tend to see as many of the 'Honey boo boo' crowd at DL.

I think anyone who pays $25,000 initiation fee to get into Club 33, IMO is pretty damn stupid.

 

[ford91exploder]

I beg your pardon, where is the proof of that?

Have you actually BEEN to WDW recently, Its becoming a very downmarket place and many of the guests appear to be functionally illiterate by their use of language asking what signs say etc. The 'Honey Boo Boo' family seems to be the most prevalent visitor.

 

[tahqa]

But some creatures are not worth the time or effort. ANY of these people (with a few exceptions who were so onerous they were banned, something that seems near impossible here) are capable of joining a discussion and engaging in what social media and the internet is supposed to be about (beyond ).

You mean like how a certain lifestyle blog (WaltCastOnline) owner was arrested in Polk County for soliciting a prostitute for the purpose of distributing through said website...

 

[flynnibus]

You mean like how a certain lifestyle blog (WaltCastOnline) owner was arrested in Polk County for soliciting a prostitute for the purpose of distributing through said website...

really? I thought that was the realm of CFOs...

baddabing!

 

[ford91exploder]

I think anyone who pays $25,000 initiation fee to get into Club 33, IMO is pretty damn stupid.

Really - where else can you meet privately with nearly all the heads of the tech and creative industries, For those who need a place to meet with News/Tech/Entertainment executives WITHOUT the paparazzi intruding it seems like a bargain to me especially since a flight on a G4 is about 6,000/Hour

 

[flynnibus]

I think anyone who pays $25,000 initiation fee to get into Club 33, IMO is pretty damn stupid.

Don't ever look into country clubs...

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm honestly out of the loop. (Ive been on Bay lake and in the parks this week)

My initial analysis is that WDW appear to be maintaining their blue ocean mentality and ignoring that Universal even exists.

The stock buyback is a good thing, IMO. Just as so theyre willing to reinvest those stock dividends. Also helps prop up the stock price when you announce things like "our main summer movie lost $190m...."

What is disturbing is that Rasuolo touted 125,000 positive MM+ tests ... when we've had reports from guests who were part of the test that the questions would not allow a negative response. We know that MM+ is improving, mostly because they don't have a damn choice. The issue is twofold for me, with this statement anyways. First, what's the breakdown of actual paying guest testing this versus paid employee of TWDC? Second, their survey and statistical methodology... out of those 125k, who are real guests and why are the survey questions slanted?

That being said is that all these comments were to high end, financial people. Neither him nor Burke were talking to guests or anyone beyond people they were soliciting for money. They're schilling to financial analysts whom they want to invest in their companies.

Basically TWDC isnt going to pay Universal any mind, sending the message to their investors that "We're the biggest kid on the block, we're not worried and not going anywhere, so invest in us."

Meanwhile.... Uni is sending the message to their investors that "You invest with us, we're gonna be the big kid on the block in five years. We're taking out the mouse."

Both companies are pandering to their intended audiences. As long as the stock price goes up, BOA & other investors will likely put money in both companies.

Thats my 20 minutes of digesting this out the couch analysis.

Personally I'd go long on Comcast and start shorting Disney.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

There is still Honey Boo Boo-ing at DLR. Dumb money is present all over 'murica, although I don't think DLR's Build-A- Workshops are as popular as they are at WDW.

 

[ford91exploder]

There is still Honey Boo Boo-ing at DLR. Dumb money is present all over 'murica, although I don't think DLR's Build-A- Workshops are as popular as they are at WDW.

Never said there was not a 'Honey Boo Boo' element at DL, it's just not the PREDOMINANT one there.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Never said there was not a 'Honey Boo Boo' element at DL, it's just not the PREDOMINANT one there.

That's correct, it's not near as prominent as it is in Florida, and part of that is just that WDW is in Florida and feeds off the south and midwest.

 

[nytimez]

Really - where else can you meet privately with nearly all the heads of the tech and creative industries, For those who need a place to meet with News/Tech/Entertainment executives WITHOUT the paparazzi intruding it seems like a bargain to me especially since a flight on a G4 is about 6,000/Hour

Especially if the $25K is a "business expense."

 

[willtravel]

Have you actually BEEN to WDW recently, Its becoming a very downmarket place and many of the guests appear to be functionally illiterate by their use of language asking what signs say etc. The 'Honey Boo Boo' family seems to be the most prevalent visitor.

Yes, I was there in May. And I found no problems. You must be a snob or from California. Ok, signing out with this conjecture.

 

[PhotoDave219]

You mean like how a certain lifestyle blog (WaltCastOnline) owner was arrested in Polk County for soliciting a prostitute for the purpose of distributing through said website...

DISCLAIMER: This posting is of an adult nature. It deals with adult topics and lifestyles that are on the fringe of the WDW community. If you dont want to read it, keep going. (And dear lord, we need the open/close "Spoiler" tag now)







Oh I have a writer acquaintance who used to be an adult actress; she's since retired from that industry. She was doing an adult podcast with a couple who was based here in Orlando for a couple of months about a year and a half ago. Turns out that couple also ran a Disney blog & podcast. As it further goes, they were soliciting fans of this actress for money in her name. That relationship dissolved quickly. (I forget the name of the couple.) Alas my friend was ed off.

It goes further here.... (Strap in, Kids. In... i said IN. .......not On.)

Allegedly.... this couple was using my acquaintances name to create their own films. Claiming that he has "discovered" her (not true) and was soliciting women to be in his films. Yet after digging into these people, they did a Disney blog/podcast. The adult stuff was supposed to be 100% separate and a secret from their Disney stuff.

I cannot remember the names; this was 18 months ago.

Edit: After some digging, the name of the podcast was "Lets Talk About Sex". The twitter feed still exists. The website is gone. The name of the "producer" that my acquaintance had a dispute with is consistent with the producer of the aforementioned Disney podcast.

 

[PeterAlt]

OMG, you go on for pages about invisible Monorail foundations and you are getting bored with our conversations? Really?

The "invisible monorail foundations" is a product of no real news. There's still no real news. It's none of anyone's fault but Disney's. I'm not bored with you all's conversations. Pretty impressive that an interesting conversation can go on despite the fact that nothing exciting has happened. This was my midnight snack break. Back to hibernating...

 

[Californian Elitist]

DLR has its own core audience of... disturbing folks. There are plenty of people that the CMs all know and talk about. There are plenty of people that go there all the time and are just as addicted. Check out the crowds that line up for any LE merchandise event.. or people that wait 8hrs just to ride Star Tours.

DLR folks are far more fickle and far more willing to complain at City Hall. And I don't mean that is a nice way.. but in a self-centered, 'are you serious?', kind of way over the stuff people will complain about there and demand compensation.

The real difference is the folks in Cali think DL is *THEIR* park.. not Disney's. The difference is having 2-3 generations who have grown up with the park as a part of their family traditions and lifestyle. DL was always available as the 'lets goto the park tomorrow' and you just went. It's scope made it much more accessible and as you say.. the size of the population base helps.

Contrast that with Orlando.. where WDW has always been this 'vacation' destination that is set off by itself.. almost stand-off'ish. WDW has been much more about a place for people to work... than a place for people to just hang out. DLR was the 'local mall' for so many kids.. where they blew off hours every week just goofing off. WDW has never had that kind of demographic. The scale of the place, the customer base, the accessibility, etc.

The difference in generations and how people visited the parks really alters the type of attachment people form. I also think the sheer scale of WDW overwhelms people who try to be that hawk watching how things are done and trying to be a critical voice.

Add on top of that all the nostalagia angle that the DLR folks are so found of.. armed with the history of Walt.. and the fans there take 'their' park far more seriously.

The idea of growing up (literally) with the park... vs 'visiting the park every year' is a huge difference. Plus, the visiting demographics of frequent visitors (with the cheap AP programs of the last ~20 years) was so different between the parks.

It's easy for locals to hit DL up for 3hrs after work.. there is a lot more overhead to do the same at WDW. Little factors like that make a difference in the grand scheme..

Spot on, especially the part in regards to the disturbed folks. It's pretty scary.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think anyone who pays $25,000 initiation fee to get into Club 33, IMO is pretty damn stupid.

Really? It's not like these people don't have the money for this luxury. How are they stupid?