That, and $DIS was publicly saying well before the earnings release that they would be taking the write down. Some analysts had even revised down their estimates to reflect that. Either way, it wasn't a surprise at all when it happened and that's why there was hardly any damage at all to shares.
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Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres
- Thread starter WDW1974
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Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I don't think at that time it was so much of choice but more for survival. They were broke and needed cash to continue. Disneyland was successful but it didn't immediately bring them a lot of excess money. I have read about the good and the bad of Uncle Walt and one thing he wasn't, at least at that time was greedy. Whatever money he wanted was to continue growth of the company, not his personal wealth. Roy talked him into going public, it is one of the last things he wanted to do. Later, perhaps, he did look around him and say...wow, I created all this and others are getting rich off it, it's time I do. We all would do the same thing.
I cannot be sure of this because it didn't come about, but, if his plan for EPCOT had gotten legs, I think that whatever money he had (personal) would have gone into that as well.
Taylor
Well-Known Member
Money isn't a bad thing.
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Money is just a tool to be used.
Fractal514
Well-Known Member
I ride it every trip and quite enjoy it. Also, the loss of the river/boat wouldn't just be a loss of that attraction, but also the atmosphere and background motion it creates. The large ship passing by as you are walking through Frontierland really add to the immersion.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
That's what Walt Disney said:
He wasn't opposed to making money; simply "bored with just making money."
culturenthrills
Well-Known Member
And the key is there guest spending has gone thru the roof not because they have jacked prices on food and merchandise like Disney has it is because people are spending money. If Disney had a hit like Uni has with Butterbeer they would have immediately jacked the price up but Uni has stayed pretty reasonable on most stuff.
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
Completely OT, but just for correctness sake, SAIC went public in 2007.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
When we were there in Nov it was a very noticeable problem. The weather was temperate, but you would break a sweat indoors because all of the people generated body heat which rose the room temperature above what it was outside. Disney had very clearly cut corners on the A/C bill that week and the result was mild and persistent discomfort throughout our trip.
In short, not odd and not remotely a nitpick. I'm surprised more people don't complain about it frankly.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
Good to hear it. For once making money took second place.
COProgressFan
Well-Known Member
I've noticed it as well more when the weather is moderate. If it's 95 degrees out and humid it seems like the a/c is cranking and it's usually pretty cool. But on days when its 82 and somewhat dry (or at least as dry as central FL gets), I've found many buildings are just uncomfortably warm. I know this cost savings approach has been going on for years, but it is becoming very noticeable at times.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Clever Name
Well-Known Member
Walt Disney Productions went public in 1940. Walt did not sink all his money into Disneyland. He invested $250,000 into Disneyland which he raised by selling his second house and using his life insurance policy as collateral for a loan. Walt's net worth at that time (1954) was well over 2 million dollars due to the licensing deal he had finagled from the Disney Board of Directors the previous year (three board members resigned because they thought Walt was cheating the shareholders).
Part of that licensing deal provided Walt get 5 to 10% of all money that the company made from his name outside of film production:
Everything the company licensed had Walt's name on it. Books, records, toys, clothing, jewelry (Mickey Mouse watches in particular), food (Donald Duck orange juice) and tons of other stuff. Walt made a small fortune off of coonskin caps alone during 1954/1955. The point being, Walt had plenty of money.
Yensid1974
Well-Known Member
CDavid
Well-Known Member
And they're all broken.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
Walt Disney Productions (WDP) was a small company until the mid-1950s. At the beginning of that decade, gross annual income was about $6M. After the opening of Disneyland, it jumped to $27M. By the end of the decade, it was up to $70M. That still made WDP a relatively small company with great brand name recognition. As examples, WDP made $3.4M in the 1958-59 fiscal year but lost $1.3M the year after. In Walt's last full fiscal year (1965-66), company profits were up to $12M.
In order to fund DL, the Disney brothers had to sell off much of DL's ownership. For $500K cash and a guaranteed loan for another $4.5M, they sold 34% interest in DL to ABC. Another 13.8% went to Western Printing and Lithographing for $200K. Walt himself purchased 17.5% ownership for $250K. Bank of America funded most of DL with a $11M loan. At the time, Bank of America was nervous about that loan amount, believing the company would not survive if DL failed. Walt reportedly was about $100K in debt until DL's finances fell into place, at which point his personal worth quickly recovered. DL was a huge financial risk and it took several years to pay off the original loans. Eventually, WDP bought back 100% ownership of DL (using more loans to do it), including purchasing Walt's share and buyouts of all the concessionaires in DL. Walt resented having to pay ABC $7.5M to buy back their interest in DL, Walt feeling they hadn't done anything to deserve it. Regardless of what Walt felt, they couldn't have pulled off the deal without ABC's backing.
The company had a string of TV and film successes from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, topping it off with Mary Poppins which was Walt's biggest commercial success. It was over this 10-year period that Walt amassed most of his wealth. Still, company revenue and assets were dominated by DL, and by 1965 they had invested about $48M in it.
They spent something north of $5M to purchase the land in Florida. (27,000 acres averaging about $200/acre.) They had to scrounge around a bit for that money but it wasn't too difficult. Still, the original cost estimate for WDW was $100M and WDP didn't have that kind of collateral. Rather than take out loans, Roy Disney did something creative and issued convertible (to company stock) bonds to pay for WDW. Due to the success of DL, these sold very well and WDW opened debt-free.
The last 10 years or so of Walt's life were his best financially. Yet even then, studio heads considered WDP to be a minor studio. There are stories that Walt had a pretty big chip on his shoulder, feeling that the big studio heads treated he and his brother like country bumpkins.
Walt's greatest asset was his public persona. To the public, he was the company. Nearly 50 years after his death, Walt Disney still is the face of The Walt Disney Company.
In order to fund DL, the Disney brothers had to sell off much of DL's ownership. For $500K cash and a guaranteed loan for another $4.5M, they sold 34% interest in DL to ABC. Another 13.8% went to Western Printing and Lithographing for $200K. Walt himself purchased 17.5% ownership for $250K. Bank of America funded most of DL with a $11M loan. At the time, Bank of America was nervous about that loan amount, believing the company would not survive if DL failed. Walt reportedly was about $100K in debt until DL's finances fell into place, at which point his personal worth quickly recovered. DL was a huge financial risk and it took several years to pay off the original loans. Eventually, WDP bought back 100% ownership of DL (using more loans to do it), including purchasing Walt's share and buyouts of all the concessionaires in DL. Walt resented having to pay ABC $7.5M to buy back their interest in DL, Walt feeling they hadn't done anything to deserve it. Regardless of what Walt felt, they couldn't have pulled off the deal without ABC's backing.
The company had a string of TV and film successes from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, topping it off with Mary Poppins which was Walt's biggest commercial success. It was over this 10-year period that Walt amassed most of his wealth. Still, company revenue and assets were dominated by DL, and by 1965 they had invested about $48M in it.
They spent something north of $5M to purchase the land in Florida. (27,000 acres averaging about $200/acre.) They had to scrounge around a bit for that money but it wasn't too difficult. Still, the original cost estimate for WDW was $100M and WDP didn't have that kind of collateral. Rather than take out loans, Roy Disney did something creative and issued convertible (to company stock) bonds to pay for WDW. Due to the success of DL, these sold very well and WDW opened debt-free.
The last 10 years or so of Walt's life were his best financially. Yet even then, studio heads considered WDP to be a minor studio. There are stories that Walt had a pretty big chip on his shoulder, feeling that the big studio heads treated he and his brother like country bumpkins.
Walt's greatest asset was his public persona. To the public, he was the company. Nearly 50 years after his death, Walt Disney still is the face of The Walt Disney Company.
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