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Post by john2247 on May 7, 2023 19:21:20 GMT -5
I have a relative who works for Disney Management in California, and she says the rumors are flying, but Walt Disney World moving from Florida is not one of them. There has been speculation about building other theme parks in another state, but she didn't know if that was just rumor or not. She thinks they might though put a limited amount of money/resources into Walt Disney World until this issue is resolved. Some of their future plans have already been placed on hold according to her. They are really concerned how this is affecting their workforce as a good percentage of them are LBGTQ and are concerned what the state might do concerning their children.
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Post by Adelard of Bath on May 8, 2023 9:17:23 GMT -5
I've never even considered the thought of WDW moving, or them building another, due to the untold sums of money this would require.
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Post by SuzanneSLO on May 8, 2023 10:46:45 GMT -5
I've never even considered the thought of WDW moving, or them building another, due to the untold sums of money this would require. I have to agree. Anyone who suggests it as an option has probably never been to WDW! But, that doesn’t mean that Disney won’t put the brakes on moving employees from CA to FL (which it was doing to save the Company money, not because the employees wanted it). I would also think Disney will slow any new investment in Florida until it sees how this plays out. Under worst case scenario, Disney will have little control over the area around the Parks and Hotels and those will no longer be maintained to “Disney standards.” But more potholes on the roads and Exit signs in the dark rides are not likely to cause Disney to abandon its most profitable asset. And Disney operated for years in Anaheim with veritable blight on its doorstep without abandoning Disneyland. However, it was not until Disney was able to work with Anaheim to lock in quality standards in the Anaheim Resort District that Disney started spending on upgrades to the Parks and Hotels. |
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Post by oldhalfelf on May 8, 2023 13:19:14 GMT -5
For those interested in the legal details, the first (of  ) amendment to Disney's Federal court complaint has been filed. From Deadline.com, see: deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Amended-Complaint1-1.pdf . In particular, see the section entitled "H. GOVERNOR DESANTIS AND THE LEGISLATURE VOID THE CONTRACTS BY STATUTE AND EXPAND THE RETRIBUTION CAMPAIGN" -- it begins with #159.  Thanks to helenabear (on page 15 above) for the smiley pointer.  |
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Post by helenabear on May 9, 2023 5:48:04 GMT -5
From: www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/trump/2023/04/19/trump-criticizes-desantis-on-disney-with-economic-disaster-in-florida/70129695007/I am trying hard to avoid unhelpful political commentary. So I will simply state that I hope Trump is wrong on this issue but think he is probably calling it about right at least in terms of potential pull back of Disney planned investments in FL. So ultimately, out of this whole political theater, fans lose if Disney opts to delay investments. Florida residents and small businesses lose by higher taxes to pay for the new board to sue the old one. Disney loses by having to spend money on this and dealing with interim uncertainty. DeSantis loses by alienating at least some of his supporters who are also Disney fans or central Florida residents. I have to ask myself, who actually has any real potential in winning in this whole drama? As far as I can tell, it is a lose-lose-lose-lose kind of scenario right now. I hope I'm wrong. It would be delightful to hear all involved sat down and negotiated some reasonable solution. Delightful, but highly unrealistic. Ah well. I'll go back to planning my campground now. At the moment I'm glad it is in SC instead of FL. You can do political commentary on the debate board which is where I moved it to. Many just requested it dot be done here for info. |
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Post by oldhalfelf on May 10, 2023 20:59:15 GMT -5
Today's Disney quarterly earnings report transcript may be found on the following The Motley Fool site: www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2023/05/10/walt-disney-dis-q2-2023-earnings-call-transcript/ . If you scroll down within it, you will find that Mr. Phil Cusick, identified as an analyst from JPMorgan Chase, asked Mr. Bob Iger directly about the Reedy Creek issue, albeit without calling it that. Mr. Iger provided a multi-paragraph answer. The transcript is interesting for other reasons as well, including particularly the commentaries on Disney streaming and Shanghai Disney. |
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Post by Adelard of Bath on May 11, 2023 11:15:59 GMT -5
I enjoyed this; thank you. |
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Post by mditkof on May 11, 2023 19:31:54 GMT -5
Although Disney puts rules into place and undertakes activity to support its business interests, the customers benefit -- otherwise, the parks would not continue to be full. Also, we made an excellent return on selling most of our DVC points, really serious money for us. I don't know of any other time share that would have given us that opportunity.
I am on Disney's side of the dispute. Not because I like the Mouse, but because the government has no business absent politics and the desire to stifle free speech for this move. That being said, I live in Colorado and so it isn't my money being spent on lawyers.
Marty
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Post by oldhalfelf on May 13, 2023 10:11:39 GMT -5
The Walt Disney Company has filed a Form 10-Q with the SEC for the first quarter of 2023. It may be found at: www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1744489/000174448923000099/dis-20230401.htm . Most of the report is either highly numerical or routinely self-protective. One interesting aspect is direct "naming of names" in comparing the media performance of various releases: "The increase in theatrical distribution revenue was due to the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanada Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in the current period compared to Eternals, the co-produced title Spider-Man: No Way Home and Encanto in the prior-year period. Other titles released in the current period included The Menu and Strange World, while other titles released in the prior-year period included Death on the Nile, The King’s Man, West Side Story and Ron’s Gone Wrong." (E.g., see page 52, which shows a ">100%" increase in theatrical distribution revenue for the half-year ending April 1st, year over year.) On page 66 -- an accident or a stealthy reference to an infamous Sith order?  -- one finds the following reference to the topic of this thread, contextualized within a recounting of regulatory burdens in various countries and regions: "New laws and regulations, as well as changes in any of these current laws and regulations or regulator activities in any of these areas, or others, may require us to spend additional amounts to comply with the regulations, or may restrict our ability to offer products and services in ways that are profitable, and create an increasingly unpredictable regulatory landscape. In addition, ongoing and future developments in international political, trade and security policy may lead to new regulations limiting international trade and investment and disrupting our operations outside the U.S., including our international theme parks and resorts operations in France, mainland China and Hong Kong. For example, in 2019 India implemented regulation and tariffs impacting certain bundling of channels; in 2022 the U.S. and other countries implemented a series of sanctions against Russia in response to events in Russia and Ukraine; U.S. agencies have enhanced trade restrictions, and legislation is currently under consideration that would prohibit importation of goods from certain regions; U.S. state governments have become more active in passing legislation targeted at specific sectors and companies; and in many countries/regions around the world (including but not limited to the EU) regulators are requiring us to broadcast on our linear (or display on our DTC streaming services) programming produced in specific countries as well as invest specified amounts of our revenues in local content productions. In Florida, steps directed at the Company (including the passage of legislation) have been taken and future actions have been threatened, which collectively could negatively impact (and may have already impacted) our ability to execute on our business strategy, our costs and the profitability of our operations in Florida." [ Emphasis added.] There are also three references within the document to the issue of uncertain copyright rules for generative AI, as a potential threat to IP asset protection. |
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Post by brp on May 13, 2023 10:20:28 GMT -5
In Florida, steps directed at the Company (including the passage of legislation) have been taken and future actions have been threatened, which collectively could negatively impact (and may have already impacted) our ability to execute on our business strategy, our costs and the profitability of our operations in Florida." [ Emphasis added.] Bob Iger is simply brilliant.
Cheers.
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Post by SuzanneSLO on Jul 3, 2023 8:29:36 GMT -5
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Post by brp on Jul 3, 2023 10:33:20 GMT -5
A group of Neo-Nazis picketed WDW last month. A protest by a group like this shows me even more clearly that Disney are doing the right thing. All of this is a distraction to unwelcome business developments is also experiencing, such as poor box office performance and the need for massive efforts including layoffs to cut costs. So far, theme park attendance has not drastically weakened. The movies are just not good/original. No surprise on the box office. Park attendance shows that people are not put off by Disney's stance...just by mediocre movies. Cheers. |
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Jul 3, 2023 18:45:00 GMT -5
Actually park attendance is way down. YMMV as to why. It will be interesting to see how long they offer hotel discounts.
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Post by brp on Jul 3, 2023 19:02:35 GMT -5
Actually park attendance is way down. YMMV as to why. It will be interesting to see how long they offer hotel discounts. Actually, all the articles I can find show that Disney attendance is way up over periods measured, which were for 2022 (even though one says they lost some market share on increasing attendance).
Do you have references for a reduction?
Cheers.
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Post by SuzanneSLO on Jul 3, 2023 20:49:42 GMT -5
I wouldn’t be surprised if 2023 attendance is down. Disneyland is offering a discounted ticket to CA residents this summer, which suggests a need to lower prices to a core audience to boost revenue. But DL has also been tinkering with the APs and making them both more expensive and harder to buy. As a result, the parks in CA may not be as full as Disney would like. And that is assuming the the goal is maximizing profit not simply maximizing the number of guests squeezed into the parks. Not sure if that has much to do with CA residents not liking Disney’s politics.
On the other hand, there is some anecdotal evidence that those who might have otherwise cancelled trips to Florida because of concerns about political repercussions, went ahead and travelled because they intended to stay in the Disney bubble.
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) amendment to Disney's Federal court complaint has been filed. From Deadline.com, see:
-- one finds the following reference to the topic of this thread, contextualized within a recounting of regulatory burdens in various countries and regions:
