The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[aladdin2007]

Or until the new CEO takes charge.

thats just going to be even worse when Rasulo....coughcough

 

[PeterAlt]

thats just going to be even worse when Rasulo....coughcough..... think its bad now?

I don't think he's going to get the job. The current studio head is making a big impression on Wall Street right now. If he keeps it up, he'll get elected (if he runs).

 

[aladdin2007]

I don't think he's going to get the job. The current studio head is making a big impression on Wall Street right now. If he keeps it up, he'll get elected (if he runs).

I hope he doesnt...who is the current studio head? I cant remember

 

[PeterAlt]

I hope he doesnt...who is the current studio head? I cant remember

Alan Horn. He turned the studio into a blockbuster money machine after the guy before him got fired for John Carter and Lone Ranger. Just look at the box office numbers since he took over. A fast turn-around indeed!

The success of Guardians of the Galaxy is his doing, for example.

 

[wm49rs]

Alan Horn. He turned the studio into a blockbuster money machine after the guy before him got fired for John Carter and Lone Ranger. Just look at the box office numbers since he took over. A fast turn-around indeed!

The success of Guardians of the Galaxy is his doing, for example.

I suppose Kevin Feige and James Gunn had nothing to do with that?

 

[marni1971]

Or until the new CEO takes charge.

Not necessarily. Iger ran a tv network and was then seen as many as the theme park saviour in the mid 00s.

I'll say it again. Until the business model fails big time nothing major will happen no matter who answers to the board and the shareholders.

 

[PeterAlt]

I suppose Kevin Feige and James Gunn had nothing to do with that?

Of course they had a lot to do with it, but it's the studio who decides how it will be marketed, final say on its cast and crew, final product cut (not always), etc. When Eisner was the head of Paramount, he penned in and scribbled out screenplay edits.

 

[wm49rs]

Of course they had a lot to do with it, but it's the studio who decides how it will be marketed, final say on its cast and crew, final product cut (not always), etc. When Eisner was the head of Paramount, he penned in and scribbled out screenplay edits.

Disney is giving Marvel relatively free reign over their projects. Alan Horn had nothing to do with what Gunn and Feige brought forth with Gaurdians of the Galaxy....

 

[flyerjab]

The DISBoards tend to be on the positive side, but I have listed to the podcast for while now and it is generally pretty balanced. They are not afraid to call out Disney, or and other Orlando park for that matter, when they don't like something. This is especially surprising because the people who do the podcast run an Orlando travel agency.

I agree with you on that point. That is the only podcast I listen to on a routine basis. I don't venture onto the boards because it is way too much rainbows and cupcakes over there. I currently much more prefer traversing the rougher seas over here. That being said, the host of the dis unplugged podcast has routinely complained about WDW lately. He constantly compares their construction strategy to what UNI is able to accomplish and summarily crushes them for this.

 

[danlb_2000]

I agree with you on that point. That is the only podcast I listen to on a routine basis. I don't venture onto the boards because it is way too much rainbows and cupcakes over there. I currently much more prefer traversing the rougher seas over here. That being said, the host of the dis unplugged podcast has routinely complained about WDW lately. He constantly compares their construction strategy to what UNI is able to accomplish and summarily crushes them for this.

He did an epic rant recently about the parking situation at DTD.

 

[flyerjab]

He did an epic rant recently about the parking situation at DTD.

I heard that one. 45 minutes to find a parking space. He constantly questioned how UNI could build Transformers in less time than it takes WDW to build a parking structure in DS. He is not afraid to unload on WDW which is why I like the show. In comparison, I find Big Lou's podcast to be a joke.

 

[PeterAlt]

Disney is giving Marvel relatively free reign over their projects. Alan Horn had nothing to do with what Gunn and Feige brought forth with Gaurdians of the Galaxy....

Free reign? Including marketing?

 

[Mike S]

Ive always wondered who exactly rates to get to park in that area? All the park managers? Or just certain ones etc?

I guess managers so they can be right next to the park but they could alway pave a new lot elsewhere. Of course with TDO that new lot will probably take a few years. Gotta spread those costs

An ex partly guest area that was actually taken off the paying guest so managers would have more parking. Wonderful. And of course it removed the pesky stage shows they had to pay for. Obviously removing a live band and piping in the music wasn't enough money saved. Remember when both MK stage shows had actual real live musicians for every showing?

Anyway, if they wanted to keep their parking they could always utilise the expansion pad between the Cop and Skyway toilets. Imagine if we saw another berm - crossing attraction. I doubt we will again.

I honestly never considered that as space for expansion. Wouldn't that waterway pose a problem though? Is it a retention pond or does it just feed into Seven Seas Lagoon? Then again it does look like they have a good amount of land without having to even touch the water. Amazing how much expansion space exists in Magic Kingdom and yet when we get new things it has to replace something else.

 

[wm49rs]

Free reign? Including marketing?

Not hard to market a quality product, now is it?

 

[marni1971]

I honestly never considered that as space for expansion. Wouldn't that waterway pose a problem though? Is it a retention pond or does it just feed into Seven Seas Lagoon? Then again it does look like they have a good amount of land without having to even touch the water. Amazing how much expansion space exists in Magic Kingdom and yet when we get new things it has to replace something else.

It' s a pond that was actually moved to build Space Mountain.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Not hard to market a quality product, now is it?

See Frozen...

 

[marni1971]

@Mike S I've posted this in the past showing the pad being used, circa 1980.

 

[Mike S]

It' s a pond that was actually moved to build Space Mountain.

So it can be moved again, wonderful That's two possible expansion pads for Tomorrowland that could be used before even thinking about removing the Speedway.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The numbers suggest change is happening, and it's not the kind of change that corporate Disney wants.

No amount of Frozen meet & greets will bring 'guests' to the parks if they no longer can afford WDW.

WDW's attendance over the last few years was propped up by a South American market that's now in an economic crisis and, before that, by discounts that reduced WDW's gross margins to record lows.

Today's WDW prices are driving people away. WDW's 'cheapest' base tickets are up 28% since 2010. Family income simply hasn't kept pace.

Based on historical data, WDW attendance should be up anywhere from 5% to 10% this year. Revenue should be up well into the teens, perhaps even breaking 20%.

Instead, WDW is seeing an anemic 1-to-2% attendance increase and is struggling to reach double-digit revenue growth.

Iger’s P&R strategy has hamstrung WDW, smothering it exactly when it should be blooming.

Price hikes, quality cuts, and delayed investments are not the paths to healthy growth.

Eisner used to call Theme Park executives “monkeys” because, Eisner thought, running a theme park was so easy that even a monkey could do it.

When it comes to WDW, Iger and his brain trust have proved that Eisner was right.

Can slash and burn be considered a strategy?

They can tell shareholders that the market is mature and that's why attendance growth is only 1-2%. The reality is, the marginal increases are a function of the lack of updates.

They can tell shareholders that they're net getting into a costly attraction building war with Universal and then spend $2 billion on a misguided ruse to deceive guests out of more money. Then when that doesn't work, they raise prices and continue to try to create something out of nothing with premier experiences.

Think of them like a landlord that has a 3 apartment rental property. Only two of the apartments are occupied and the third one has a leaky roof and no heat. Rather than fix the broken room, the landlord is raising the rent on the other two apartments and holding regular yard sales.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I haven't seen Guardians, but I get from friends who HAVE seen it that it's a bit more adult in tone than Star Wars...some pretty rough language, as I understand it. That's why I suggested DHS, if a Guardian ride or attraction was ever built in WDW (and I wonder what Universal would have to say about that...?)

Splash Mountain is based on Song of the South, I think they can handle a few naughty words.