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The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Just back for a few ... wondering how strong the hairpiece glue was to stay on Fallon when he rode the Hulk.
But -- and I know this is a TOTAL wasted effort -- but I would love it if people didn't feed the BS mill in numerous threads (I see one that was started this afternoon and has over five pages of posts). You lend legitimacy to rumours when you talk about them, even when you say you don't believe them.
This feels very much like what was heard when Tom Fitzgerald was named to head EPCOT for WDI. The spin machine tried hard to paint this as a bold step forward in the EPCOT Adventure. The reality was, and remains, that it was a big demotion for Tom and that he is likely on his way out soon (along with his very large salary). I was told as much recently when in SoCal. And Disney doesn't need Tom to overlay Frozen on Maelstrom and to install a new film in Soarin.
Sorry, Disney. But you don't get to spin here.
Oh look, real people in the Fallon audience. You'd never see that at Disney. Or the performance by J-Lo ... that was adult, not arrested development.
But -- and I know this is a TOTAL wasted effort -- but I would love it if people didn't feed the BS mill in numerous threads (I see one that was started this afternoon and has over five pages of posts). You lend legitimacy to rumours when you talk about them, even when you say you don't believe them.
This feels very much like what was heard when Tom Fitzgerald was named to head EPCOT for WDI. The spin machine tried hard to paint this as a bold step forward in the EPCOT Adventure. The reality was, and remains, that it was a big demotion for Tom and that he is likely on his way out soon (along with his very large salary). I was told as much recently when in SoCal. And Disney doesn't need Tom to overlay Frozen on Maelstrom and to install a new film in Soarin.
Sorry, Disney. But you don't get to spin here.
Oh look, real people in the Fallon audience. You'd never see that at Disney. Or the performance by J-Lo ... that was adult, not arrested development.
Disney, by far. UNI is very controlling. I respect that.
You don't see Woodbury or Coup (or their underlings) tweeting fanbois. And even frontline TMs are warned explicitly about discussing work in social media circles.
But Disney has a different view of Social Media as we all know.
C'mon, Tim. Talking about moving Small World here ... in MY thread?!?! That's crazy armchair Imagineering stuff. If Disney wanted Frozen in the MK, they could easily build it without removing or reskinning anything. They don't.
#RESPECTTHETHREAD#NOSMALLWORLDTOEPCOT
cbconglom
Well-Known Member
california adventure
Gabe1
Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
China mainland makes me nervous, Moscow well all I can wrap my brain around is Moscow? Moscow? Why the heck risk Moscow?
I, seriously, have no clue how either Potter or Cars was close to a gamble. They were, and remain, incredibly popular franchises across a fairly wide set of demos and, much more importantly, were built with quality as the most important element.
#NOTHINGHASCHANGEDFROMWALTSDAY#QUALITY=s$$$
tirian
Well-Known Member
It's something to do.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
I have fallen so far behind. He's a talented writer for sure. I have to say that the league is on par with great tv. The comedy is over the top though, I sometimes have to rewind to watch what I missed when I was laughing. I was excited for netflix to bring back hemlock grove but they are bringing Madeline Murphy on and I cannot stand that girl... so I'm looking for new
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
The lack of reviews of the Potter 2.0 rides from people who have already been on them speaks to Universal's control.
Slightly off-topic, but I'd love to know what Universal's plan has been re: Potter 2.0 opening date. Has the plan all along been to put it off or what? I half-expect them to send out a Tweet one day that says, "Now open!"
I'm glad I'm relatively local so that I can drop everything and go visit when it opens, but I feel sorry for people who are going to miss the opening because Universal's been so coy about the date.
stevehousse
Well-Known Member
what's more interesting regarding this is how no one has been bashing Uni for their "non official opening day" date for Potter, but everyone sure b*t*hed about Disney when they did the same "dance around" with the mine train opening...
Isn't it funny how most breathing, thinking humans can see that? Star Wars would be a no-brainer too.
Well, a no-brainer as long as it gets the budget it deserves. I almost get the sense there's a real fear of failing with Star Wars in the parks.
Not because of the IP but because they know they can't half- it.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
I suspect part of it stems from frustration over how long it took to build the Mine Train, which was only compounded when Disney let the online blogger brigade ride and post videos of the ride a few weeks before it was open to the general public.
There's probably more of a willingness to cut Universal some slack considering the scale of this project.
[QUOTE, post: 6157086, member: 82601"]Theme Parks are a much less material part of Comcast's business so they get a lot less focus from Wall Street. Comcast is also a bigger company (almost 50% larger by revenue) so can absorb larger investments without moving the needle. Recent positive returns on theme park investments have received some positive comments from the Street but generally there is not a lot of talk of theme parks. It's really a double edged sword for Comcast's theme park division. On one hand you are not under the magnifying glass as much and you aren't expected to be a major contributor to cash flow for the overall company. That gives you some freedom to spend on longer term projects and some cushion if things go a little wrong. On the flip side if Comcast's core business hits some bumps and the dreaded consultants come in to "fix things" one of the classic suggestions is to sell off non-core businesses (especially those with high capital costs) and use the cash gained to pay down debt or buy back shares to boost the stock price. Even if they aren't sold the well can dry up pretty easily for the Theme Park division if they hit a speed bump.
Disney on the other hand still earns almost a third of its revenue from P&R and there is a much higher focus on results for the division. This can be a big positive when you want to build a new cruise ship or redo DCA or build another park in China. You can point to your healthy P&R results and gain support for those types of investments. On the flip side Wall Street likes to see steady cash flows and year over year growth for the division which can be a driver of bad long term planning and focus on short term gains like price increases or cost cutting.
Comcast:
Total Revenue $64.7B Theme park $2.2B 3.4% of revenue
Total Operating income $21.4B Theme park $1.0B 4.7% of operating income before depreciation
Disney:
Total Revenue $45.0B P&R $14.1B 31.3% of revenue
Total operating income $10.7B P&R $2.2B 20.6% of revenue[/QUOTE]
I think you missed a very important thing. If wall street loves comcast so much more than Disney, why is comcast market cap 136.1 billion while Disney is 144.26 billion? I guess wall street does love Disney. Wall Street gives Disney a higher PE because they believe Disney profits will grow faster. Why? I thought everyone knew Universal was blowing everyone away in theme parks and profits and that next gen was a financial sink hole. Maybe they know next gen is working and will make huge profits freeing capital for more expansion? No one can deny high PE shows investors are betting their money that Disney is Growing faster than Universal.
Disney on the other hand still earns almost a third of its revenue from P&R and there is a much higher focus on results for the division. This can be a big positive when you want to build a new cruise ship or redo DCA or build another park in China. You can point to your healthy P&R results and gain support for those types of investments. On the flip side Wall Street likes to see steady cash flows and year over year growth for the division which can be a driver of bad long term planning and focus on short term gains like price increases or cost cutting.
Comcast:
Total Revenue $64.7B Theme park $2.2B 3.4% of revenue
Total Operating income $21.4B Theme park $1.0B 4.7% of operating income before depreciation
Disney:
Total Revenue $45.0B P&R $14.1B 31.3% of revenue
Total operating income $10.7B P&R $2.2B 20.6% of revenue[/QUOTE]
I think you missed a very important thing. If wall street loves comcast so much more than Disney, why is comcast market cap 136.1 billion while Disney is 144.26 billion? I guess wall street does love Disney. Wall Street gives Disney a higher PE because they believe Disney profits will grow faster. Why? I thought everyone knew Universal was blowing everyone away in theme parks and profits and that next gen was a financial sink hole. Maybe they know next gen is working and will make huge profits freeing capital for more expansion? No one can deny high PE shows investors are betting their money that Disney is Growing faster than Universal.
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Tigger1988
Well-Known Member
Word has it they had trouble filling the audience yesterday for Fallon. All the usual lifestylers had tickets but after 2- 3pm they were tossing tickets at anyone who would stop.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
Comcast's P/E is about 19. Disney's P/E is about 21. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much of a difference. I wouldn't say Wall Street loves either one more.
As @GoofGoof notes, Parks are a small fraction of Comcast's business. It gets some headlines but it barely registers in Comcast's stock price. P&R makes up a much bigger percentage of Disney's revenue. Much more than Comcast, Disney is in the theme park business.
WWOHP cost slightly more than half the New Fantasyland yet had a transformational effect on Uni's Parks. It produced explosive growth and so Wall Street wants to talk about it. They think Diagon Alley will be the same.
Disney's P&R hasn't experienced that kind of immediate growth since EPCOT opened in 1982. That's not bad. Disney's P&R is a lot bigger. It's not going to have that kind of growth ever again. (Neither will Comcast.) Instead, Disney's P&R needs to come up with a strategy to realize sustainable double-digit growth.
So far, MyMagic+ ain't it. Its problems are threefold.
First, it's complicated. Complicated means difficult to sell. Just look at the 30-second spots Disney tried to run for it. To someone who wasn't already familiar with the concept, the ads don't make sense. Now contrast that to the ads for SDMT. The message is simple: "new rollercoaster". This summer, there's a decent chance SDMT will result in more business than MyMagic+.
People who visit WDW might love MyMagic+ but that really doesn't matter. The question is whether it produces new business. So far, Iger continues to be publically cautious with MyMagic+ guidance. No one at Disney is claiming MyMagic+ is a financial success yet.
Even Wall Street can't figure out MyMagic+ financially. That's why they've asked questions about it for 6 straight quarters.
Second, MyMagic+ is expensive to develop. Disney has spent far more on MyMagic+ than Universal will have spent on WWOHP, Transformers, the Simpson's Land redo, and Diagon Alley combined. Disney made one big-budget movie. Universal made several small films, one of which already has turned into a blockbuster. MyMagic+ is going to have to produce a lot more increased revenue just to cover costs.
Third, MyMagic+ is coming after 3 years of combined price increases of about 25%. It's difficult for paying customers to absorb that kind of increase and then be expected to spend even more as a result of MyMagic+. If MyMagic+ had rolled out 3 years ago and then Disney began these price increases, then it might have been possible to claim success. However, coming after 3 years of significant price hikes, MyMagic+ will face an uphill battle to add additional revenue. The timing of the rollout of MyMagic+ is pretty bad.
We need to give MyMagic+ a few more quarters to see what result it ultimately has on earnings. However, if by this time next year there's no appreciable change in P&R's numbers, then MyMagic+ will have turned into another John Carter or Lone Ranger.
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Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
So there are rumblings of some big time media M&A. I wonder who is looking to acquire who? Logically CBS-TimeWarner makes sense and Disney could even look to acquire some smaller studios. The threat being the provider mergers providing leverage to providers when negotiating with smaller companies like AMC, which would make the smaller but strong companies could look to make deals to get acquired by one of the major 4-5 media companies.
I also read Fox is potentially gearing up to shake things up with a big acquisition.
Univision is also on the table and it looks like it will be either CBS or TimeWarner making that acquisition.
I also read Fox is potentially gearing up to shake things up with a big acquisition.
Univision is also on the table and it looks like it will be either CBS or TimeWarner making that acquisition.
Not really, they did give a few out, but it was for a lot of no shows. It appears people grabbed tickets impulsively from the website even if they could not go. Since checkin was 10-2 you pretty much had to take a day off work to do it.
I'm setting aside Friday and Saturday as anticipated opening days. I'm estimating that it MAY(just a guess) soft open in the later afternoon, maybe around 5:00pm, after the webcast tour.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
The Street thinks MM+ is increasing park capacity but is it really doing so?