The Spirited Sixth Sense ...

[CDavid]

I don't see how yet another coaster could qualify as a "true" e-ticket. I'd much rather take the boat ride and new simulator tech over that. If the visuals on either are even half of what the concept art shows you easily have two rides that can be considered e-tickets. Everest even with a working yeti is a fairly boring uninspired ride compared to the likes of Dinosaur or even Star Tours.

Our personal preferences do not define the scale ("A-E" ticket) of an attraction. Actually, I don't like roller coasters (its the drops that get me, so no Tower of Terror either) so I would also find the boat ride more appealing - but that doesn't make it an E-ticket. It just makes it a C-ticket that I enjoy more than the other attraction(s).

Neither can the "Soarin"-like D-ticket or the boat ride be elevated to E-ticket status based solely on the themed environment ("visuals") unless, again, the boat ride was something on the scale of Pirates over at the Magic Kingdom. And nobody is suggesting that it will be.

 

[Cesar R M]

Nuff said - ANYONE from the 'Strategic Planning' group should be nowhere near a theme park.

shouldnt it the inverse?
shove the theme park and imagiengineering ideas so hard into the "strategic planning" group until they fart laughing gas and poop rainbows.
That way they LEARN.. WHAT is NEEDED for the park, not their personal bonuses at the cost of a falling castle of cards.

Excellent question. But he's not the only high-level executive at TWDC that you could ask it about. To get rid of them all would take quite a purge, they're the legacy of strategic planning.

To resume, the "strategic planning" group is now like a mafia, very well en-rooted in WDC to leech dividends and give nothing?.

I know the pixie-dusted crowd argues that Avatar land will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I would hope they can see the basis of our concerns. The true "E" ticket was cut and the "C" ticket boat ride was reportedly on the line also. And the project hadn't even broke ground yet. We all know very well how Disney cuts project budgets; There are very valid reasons to question just what sort of land we may end up with here.

That would be hilariously awful..
the So much inflated, sponsored, tossed.. being cut already.
I really hope Cameron gives the group a big kick in the nuts until they reverse the order and pull the Avatar Land to the level it was supposed to be.

 

[Ignohippo]

If you are 'the bosses guy..' you can get away with much more. Plus, they've managed to keep turning out the results the board wants to see. What the board wants and what we want aren't necessarily the same...

Exactly. What the shareholders want is a company on the black paying dividends repeatedly. TWDCo has exceeded expectations under Iger, and Rasulo gets some (unwarranted) credit of that as CFO.

What we all see as fans of the company (who watch it closely every day), are the billions left on the table. We see a company with incredible untapped potential and silly unjustifiable expenditures.

Iger, Rasulo and co. have done an incredible job of spinning the MM+ debacle and staving off the hounds. How Rasulo's head didn't roll for that one is absolutely beyond me.

If you want a stagnant, yet semi-profitable for the short term, company then Rasulo's your guy. He won't take ANY chances and we will more than likely see the Movie Division take a tumble (because he won't green light any high budget releases. I also imagine Catmull and Lasseter will more than likely leave) and you can almost guarantee that the Parks will either be left to wither or sold (my bet is they would be sold).

Under Rasulo, the company would be exceedingly profitable for the first year or two and would then be absolutely destroyed by the lack of progress. It would end up a skeleton of what it is now.

 

[jlsHouston]

Well @jlsHouston, you taught me a new one.

I'm at AKL right now and simply asked concierge for hotel occupancy.

AKL overall: 83%
DVC Kidani Village: 96%
DVC Jambo House: 94%
AKL (hotel only): 70%

As the CM told me, DVC always pulls up the overall occupancy.

P.S. On Sunday, hotel occupancy was at 63%

Haha, the valet girl at the POLY taught it to me Thanksgiving 2012! I spent the entire week gauging how busy I thought the parks would be by how many were checking out versus checking in at the POLY...I know not very scientific of me. I think it was busier in 2012 than 2013. Probably related to the prices overall having jumped so dramatically.
I was so jealous when I saw @WDW1974 post you were at WDW on spring break!!! I loved my spring break trip! Great weather compared to summer! How is AKL??? I keep toying with staying there again. I want some soup from BOMA!!!
Yah the deluxes are just pricey, and I am spoiled and want to be on property but who can really afford the rates if they aren't discounted?!?

 

[jlsHouston]

I blame it on Disney building three full theme parks in a single destination and their escalation of pricing. That created the sense of urgency to want to see it all without extending your stay longer... which is what the additional entertainment was really built for.

I totally agree.

 

[wdisney9000]

Does anybody know how they account for people constantly switching things like ADR times and FP+ times? Do they account for the stress it could cause on the system?

And anybody interested in @ParentsOf4 report after hanging around the concierge at AKL and listening to guest about FP+ should check it out. Great work as usual by parentsof4 and Uni is creeping in!!! Lol

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...nd-hear-your-views.882225/page-3#post-6018984

 

[kap91]

Our personal preferences do not define the scale ("A-E" ticket) of an attraction. Actually, I don't like roller coasters (its the drops that get me, so no Tower of Terror either) so I would also find the boat ride more appealing - but that doesn't make it an E-ticket. It just makes it a C-ticket that I enjoy more than the other attraction(s).

Neither can the "Soarin"-like D-ticket or the boat ride be elevated to E-ticket status based solely on the themed environment ("visuals") unless, again, the boat ride was something on the scale of Pirates over at the Magic Kingdom. And nobody is suggesting that it will be.

It's not so much personal preference as the definition of an e-ticket. The visuals of what you see on a ride are largely what makes it E or not. At least to me, everest can only be considered E in the scale department - from an experience perspective the visuals are ho-hum outside the queue and the ride experience itself is a fairly uninspired coaster.

The themed environment is indeed what would make the boat ride an E-Ticket, even if it has no thrills. And there are several who have suggested, I among them, that the boat ride will be something on the scale of Pirates in Shanghai, which by all accounts is supposed to be pretty impressive.

 

[kap91]

If you are 'the bosses guy..' you can get away with much more. Plus, they've managed to keep turning out the results the board wants to see. What the board wants and what we want aren't necessarily the same...

But it also seems like what Rasulo and others are doing isn't what the rest of the execs want either. How can execs with the power to force multi-million dollar expansions not also have the power to oust an executive they clearly think is in the wrong? What the fans want doesn't matter and is irrelevant- there seems to be an inner-conflict in management where the people with the upper hand seem unwilling to use it in its more effective way.

 

[jlsHouston]

Can I just throw this out there? Does anyone suspect that WDW is now going to try and mooch off of Universal's offerings (Harry Potter, new hotel, future water park, attractions, etc.)? I mean, all WDW has to offer this summer is 7dmr and a new parade. Will they even NEED to build new attractions if Universal is bringing in the tourists?

Since millions of tourists are going to FLOOD orlando specifically to see Harry Potter, maybe WDW is thinking "Of COURSE they will want to visit WDW during their trip, it's practically mandatory when visiting Orlando." Maybe that's why they raised parking prices? Anyways, I think that's an accurate assumption to some extent. I'm sure tourists will visit MK and EP and those parks will be fine in attendance, but as for AK and DHS…? I wouldn't be surprised if their attendance drops significantly.

I'm going to assume tourists will spend 2-3 days at Universal and 2-3 days at WDW. Even split.

But I don't think they are that concerned about park attendance. I mean the parks stay packed. Even slow season is not so slow, a day here, a day there.
I think everything WDW is doing these days is to just milk profits short term...
They are having issues filling the deluxe resorts even with discounts. SO it kinda looks like their solution to that is build DVC rooms on all deluxe properties.

 

[Captain Chaos]

But it also seems like what Rasulo and others are doing isn't what the rest of the execs want either. How can execs with the power to force multi-million dollar expansions not also have the power to oust an executive they clearly think is in the wrong? What the fans want doesn't matter and is irrelevant- there seems to be an inner-conflict in management where the people with the upper hand seem unwilling to use it in its more effective way.

Easy... In the Wall Street mindset, it is all about results, not how you got there... And let's face it, WDW delivers the results... Wall Street cares not that WDW is getting there by jacking prices double the rate of inflation, cutting cast, cutting entertainment, cutting quality... As long as the people come (and they still are) and profits skyrocket, all else be damned...

Disney is not the only company like this...

 

[flynnibus]

How can execs with the power to force multi-million dollar expansions not also have the power to oust an executive they clearly think is in the wrong?

What makes you think "they" think JR is in the wrong? Again.. when you are the bosses' boy... people are forced to overlook your shortcomings.. and they keep delivering on the metrics the investors want to see.. so on what grounds do you think they see him as 'clearly in the wrong' about?

 

[jlsHouston]

So far, I haven't tasted another burger as good as In-N-Out's (Fatburger and Tommy's may be better, or at least close). California is known for its burgers, but I'd love to travel and taste others from different restaurants/food joints.

PM me if you make it to Houston. My treat. Christians Tailgate on Washington. BEST BURGER anywhere. And best specialty burger at Hubcap. We hit In and Out in Vegas a couple of years ago because the niece and daughter kept raving about it....that place has nothing on Christians. For a small chain it is good. But I am spoiled and once you've had a burger at Christians...it becomes the standard that few can even come close to.

 

[JimboJones123]

As would I whenever I'm out on west coast I always get at least on In-n-Out feast in, Try something from the 'secret' menu like a Garbageburger or a 4x4 (a 4 x 4 is 4 patties with cheese) you don't have to eat for a week after one of these.

It's not as good as a Gladiator from Bartley's Burger Cottage in Harvard Square but face it nothing is that good....

4x4 and a Neapolitan Milkshake.

 

[JimboJones123]

So far, I haven't tasted another burger as good as In-N-Out's (Fatburger and Tommy's may be better, or at least close). California is known for its burgers, but I'd love to travel and taste others from different restaurants/food joints.

+1 for a Tommy Burger!!!

The original burger stand is still the best and an experience to be had.

 

[fillerup]

So, apropos of nothing really, this seems as good a place as any to throw this out there. Today is kind of an important date. No, not related to April Fool's Day (though some might argue it's connected). Today is officially the beginning of Q3 FY '14, so we have a full half year under our belts. In that regard the following exchange (heavily edited by me, but the gist is still there) occasionally rattles around in my head.

Nov 17, 2013 Conference Call.

Alexia Quadrani - Analyst, JP Morgan

"I guess is there something incremental we should look out for in fiscal 2014? I guess, where are you on the spending around Magic+? And then on Magic+ when we might see, I guess, some signs or data points of how it's impacting the business?"

Jay Rasulo - Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company

"Relative to the front - end of your question on spending, continued spending and ramp - up of new initiatives in Florida -- and that 's not only MyMagic+, which, you know, the operating portion, of course, the costs are kicking in...
And this year, we're looking at about a $300 million expense item, and more or less the same amount on the revenue side. So, you know, we'll continue to see accretion into 2014 and ramping upward beyond that.?"

So - $300M in new revenue in FY '14 - $820K per day.

With the year half over, does anyone think that TWDC is on track to generate $300M in new revenue due to these new initiatives in Florida?

And the other side of that same coin, do you think TWDC will hold costs on these initiatives to only $300M.

Color me skeptical on both counts, especially the first.

The next conference call, in five weeks, could be very entertaining.

 

[Californian Elitist]

+1 for a Tommy Burger!!!

The original burger stand is still the best and an experience to be had.

Couldn't agree more. A true American classic. I always feel like I've been transported to the 40's.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Rumored start date for Episode 7 shooting.
http://badassdigest.com/2014/04/01/episode-vii-shoots-april-14th-in-morocco/

 

[JimboJones123]

There seems to be something of an exception for counter service dining - not that there should be - since McDonald's was in that space previously. Pollo Campero was arguably a step up from the golden arches if for no other reason than there wasn't already one or more in every little town and most persons in America had never heard of it before (like Earl of Sandwich). Of course, I can't quite figure out why people give Starbucks a pass over having locations in the parks when McDonald's was blasted (and rightfully so) for being on-property at all.



Scale and scope. Pirates of the Caribbean and Gran Fiesta Tour are basically the same ride system, but nobody would mistake which was the grander attraction.



I know the pixie-dusted crowd argues that Avatar land will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I would hope they can see the basis of our concerns. The true "E" ticket was cut and the "C" ticket boat ride was reportedly on the line also. And the project hadn't even broke ground yet. We all know very well how Disney cuts project budgets; There are very valid reasons to question just what sort of land we may end up with here.

WDW PotC is not an E-ticket.

Disneyland is.

 

[kap91]

What makes you think "they" think JR is in the wrong? Again.. when you are the bosses' boy... people are forced to overlook your shortcomings.. and they keep delivering on the metrics the investors want to see.. so on what grounds do you think they see him as 'clearly in the wrong' about?

If they thought he/TDO was right why would they insist on expansions, going over his/TDO's head to accomplish it? That would seem to indicate they think he's wrong, and it's happened several times.

 

[kap91]

Easy... In the Wall Street mindset, it is all about results, not how you got there... And let's face it, WDW delivers the results... Wall Street cares not that WDW is getting there by jacking prices double the rate of inflation, cutting cast, cutting entertainment, cutting quality... As long as the people come (and they still are) and profits skyrocket, all else be damned...

Disney is not the only company like this...

I get that Wall Street is very happy with what is going on and sees nothing wrong. However it would seem that Burbank disagrees or it wouldn't be exerting its authority more and more often. My question is why doesn't it use it's authority in a different, more effective, way? Aka- fire the guy.

What exactly do we mean when we say Burbank anyway?

In short I guess my question is how does a branch of the company with authority to compel another branch to do what they want not also have the authority to determine who runs that branch?