The Spirited 11th Hour ...

[wdwmagic]

And people mocked my saying in 2015 that SWL was 5 years away...

I thought the mocking was when you were saying it wasn't going to happen at all.

 

[Goofyque']

The little 'thing' that happened to delay stuff at DL was the 1964 World's Fair where WDP built 4 attractions in just under 18 months and of course Walt's death

Walt's death and the World's fair certainly were extreme factors in Haunted mansion. My larger point is that no one would be satisfied today with the DL of 1955 even if it only took 1 year.

 

[asianway]

If you wanna see Castro or EpcotExplorer work the pole,....I guess I could make inquiries. Maybe Fadra?

I have 3 new classifications for #DisneyTwitterers:

1.) I wants me some free stuff
2.) look at the free stuff I gots
3.) people who would be talking to themselves on the street otherwise

 

[Magenta Panther]

I don't know how I missed this here, but I read at Miceage that Bob Weis was responsible for the Tower of Terror. And the creator of that work of art is now in charge of WDI????

This is the best news I've heard about WDW since back when the New Fantasyland expansion was revamped and I hoped that it would really amount to something (too bad, eh?) Oh, I hope this genius man isn't interfered with too much. And I hope he'll devote his talents to things that aren't Star Wars. GOOD things, Disney things. This truly gives me hope again. Yes, I'm using the word "hope" too much, but until the reality materializes, it'll have to do...for now.

 

[ford91exploder]

I thought the mocking was when you were saying it wasn't going to happen at all.

With the past history of TWDC It's still a possibility that nothing gets built at WDW especially with the decline in TWDC stock pricing.

 

[sshindel]

With the past history of TWDC It's still a possibility that nothing gets built at WDW especially with the decline in TWDC stock pricing.

It's also a possibility that a meteor strikes WDW and eradicates all life on Earth. The probability of it happening is minuscule, but still non-zero. Same for WDW cancelling Star Wars Land.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

Sometimes I feel like all these redevelopments are coming much too late, especially in the case of DHS. By the time the focus shifts to Epcot, it will probably be much too late to save the park. Well, it is Disney; they can pull off things no other company is capable of doing.

The fact is, people are still coming. So as long as their operations remain profitable they don't have any sense of urgency to move faster than they have to. I'm sure Epcot will be fixed...eventually. The difference between Epcot and DHS is Epcot makes so much money on food and alcohol throughout the year that there's less need to make changes fast versus DHS which is basically a financial sinkhole at this point. Both parks need work but I guess when you have to triage DHS needs more help than Epcot right now.

 

[truecoat]

Not defending the five year timeline but comparing building something now to building something back then is a bit questionable. Code requirements, labor laws, costs, etc are so different that it's like comparing oranges to mandarin oranges. Yes they are citrus, but considerably different.

True but 5 years is still stretched out. The current billion dollar stadium in my neck of the woods will take 31 months from the start of demolition to opening. If Disney wanted to build it in 2-3 years, they could but the key word is want.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I have 3 new classifications for #DisneyTwitterers:

1.) I wants me some free stuff
2.) look at the free stuff I gots
3.) people who would be talking to themselves on the street otherwise

That sums it up pretty much

 

[dizneycrazy09]

What are the chances of Shanghai's opening date being pushed? I'm trying to decide what would be worse - opening a less than half completed construction zone to the public or not meeting the announced construction date. Thoughts?

 

[wdisney9000]

I have 3 new classifications for #DisneyTwitterers:

1.) I wants me some free stuff
2.) look at the free stuff I gots
3.) people who would be talking to themselves on the street otherwise

I think that sums it up nicely. I would also add a fourth:

4) "Insiders" who actually get their info from sites like this but regurgitate it online as if they just off the phone with Fickley-Cupcake-Baker.. Well, maybe these people fall into classification 3.

 

[stretchsje]

Definitely worse to push the opening date especially when people have already made plans. Besides, Hollywood Studios shows us what Disney can do with paid admittance to a construction zone.

 

[Andrew C]

Besides, Hollywood Studios shows us what Disney can do with paid admittance to a construction zone.

Disneyland in 1955 showed us that well before DHS.

 

[tirian]

With the past history of TWDC It's still a possibility that nothing gets built at WDW especially with the decline in TWDC stock pricing.

In direct contradiction to conventional wisdom on disney fan boards, analysts last year complained because Disney wasn't spending enough in its parks to combat Universal. Wall Street's complaints seem to be more focused on ESPN and movies than the parks.

 

[sshindel]

I have 3 new classifications for #DisneyTwitterers:

1.) I wants me some free stuff
2.) look at the free stuff I gots
3.) people who would be talking to themselves on the street otherwise

I guess that makes me a 1 looking to move to a 2...
Of course, 3 is a superset, as some in 1 and 2 fall into 3. I'm one of them.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

MK opened unfinished as well.

 

[ford91exploder]

In direct contradiction to conventional wisdom on disney fan boards, analysts last year complained because Disney wasn't spending enough in its parks to combat Universal. Wall Street's complaints seem to be more focused on ESPN and movies than the parks.

TRUE, But a shiny EPS hides many flaws in businesses and if Disney turns in a higher EPS by cutting P&R expense Wall St will ignore the flaws in the Cable and Movie businesses.

 

[Goofyernmost]

5 years, someone bring me my smelling salts, I may pass out. How did it take 1 year to build all of Disneyland and 5 years to build a 11 acre expansion. The answer I presume is stretching costs over the course of many annual budgets, the location and difficulty of timeline working so close to one stage areas, and the money thing again. Sigh :/

I kind of compared those two things in another post. The just of it was... If you look at what was built in Disneyland it consisted of streets, rivers and prairies. No where near the number of intricate specifically designed buildings that are going to be required for the current demands of Mr. and Mrs. Consumer and all the little Consumers. No where near the required technology demanded today. It was basically a big lot with a few shows, stores, carnival rides and stage coach rides plus a giant berm around the property. It also was an empty lot with unlimited access to every single part of it 24 hours per day. Didn't have thousands of Guests milling about insisting that no noises burst their fantasy bubble.

An open lot also lets you build just about everything simultaneously. No working around a squeezed in bottle neck where the construction of one thing would interfere with the construction of another. It is far more complex then we tend to think about as it always seem so easy as we armchair supervise.

Capital investments are amortized, not costed out at the time of building. It doesn't matter when they build it, it is expensed over the estimated life time of the investment. If they actually spent every nickel in a week or over 4 years the expense is extended systematically over that individual life of each investment. In fact the quicker that they start to amortize it the better from a tax and cash flow standpoint. If it is amortized over 20 years then the total capital expenditure is expensed at the rate of 1/20th of the total each year for 20 years. The only reason for any delay would likely be cash flow. It seems like Disney shouldn't be having any cash flow problems especially if they are borrowing the money to do these projects.

EDIT: Also remember that Disneyland was not built on a swamp. The high water table in Florida creates a whole different engineering approach and building method then one built on solid land. More time is involved in that construction and fewer companies know how to do the type of building that Disney does.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

My larger point is that no one would be satisfied today with the DL of 1955 even if it only took 1 year.

Good point.We should ask the people that were there for the opening of the Hong Kong Disneyland park if they were satisfied.

 

[ford91exploder]

I kind of compared those two things in another post. The just of it was... If you look at what was built in Disneyland it consisted of streets, rivers and prairies. No where near the number of intricate specifically designed buildings that are going to be required for the current demands of Mr. and Mrs. Consumer and all the little Consumers. No where near the required technology demanded today. It was basically a big lot with a few shows, stores, carnival rides and stage coach rides plus a giant berm around the property. It also was an empty lot with unlimited access to every single part of it 24 hours per day. Didn't have thousands of Guests milling about insisting that no noises burst their fantasy bubble.

An open lot also lets you build just about everything simultaneously. No working around a squeezed in bottle neck where the construction of one thing would interfere with the construction of another. It is far more complex then we tend to think about as it always seem so easy as we armchair supervise.

Capital investments are amortized, not costed out at the time of building. It doesn't matter when they build it, it is expensed over the estimated life time of the investment. If they actually spent every nickel in a week or over 4 years the expense is extended systematically over that individual life of each investment. In fact the quicker that they start to amortize it the better from a tax and cash flow standpoint. If it is amortized over 20 years then the total capital expenditure is expensed at the rate of 1/20th of the total each year for 20 years. The only reason for any delay would likely be cash flow. It seems like Disney shouldn't be having any cash flow problems especially if they are borrowing the money to do these projects.

I think you will find that DIS is capitalizing as they go rather than on a attraction basis because if they were they would push the projects much faster so as to maximize the depreciation schedules. With a project taking 5 years and a 7 year depreciation schedule well...