D+ doesn’t need to achieve the same numbers as Netflix, it needs to be profitable, which it likely will be this year. I really don’t want to have Disney emulate Netflix, which churns out the most banal, uninspired content imaginable (yes, more so than Disney - it’s pretty much the only streaming service I don’t pay for).
I am very excited for EU, but it remains to be seen how much it cuts into WDW’s attendance. I find it just as likely that, as with other Uni additions, it raises Orlando tourism as a whole and benefits Disney. It certainly won’t lead to Uni’s superiority over Disney. Uni has been a better value than Disney for well over a decade. I desperately want WDW to build, but from a business perspective, I understand not reacting aggressively, especially given the Florida political environment for the next several years. In any case, Iger, whose legacy is inextricably tied to the Disney brand, is more likely to build then a dividend-driven outsider.
And let’s not pretend Uni is exempt from the forces plaguing Disney. EU looks fantastic but it’s underbuilt. Ticket prices have been skyrocketing. Spending on the existing parks has been slashed. The latest additions, Minions Blast and Dreamworks Land, are value-engineered disappointments. The grass is greener at Uni but the manure is the same.
