Continuing fallout from FP+ cost overruns

[MichiganDVC]

That's right, it could very well not be him that is writing the blog anymore, but it's still there:

http://micechat.com/65726-parks/

Thanks!

Massive cost overruns with the MyMagic+ program in Florida, plus ominous budgeting issues looming for Shanghai’s woefully behind construction schedule, all sent Burbank bean counters diving under their desks in horror last fall. The result is that nearly every major addition for theme parks in North America is now shelved....

1. We heard this rumor a couple of months ago, about additions in North America being shelved.

2. ...but not because of ominous budgeting issues looming in Shanghai.

The very same Shanghai that JUST got a 800 million dollar investment from Disney and private Chinese investors in order to increase the expansion of the build??
Walt Disney Co. and its Chinese partner will invest an additional $800 million in a Shanghai theme park currently under construction, the media giant's chief executive, Robert Iger, said on Monday.

"We decided we would accelerate the expansion of the park while we're building it," Mr. Iger said. "It's a huge vote of confidence not just in the market, but in this project."

Shanghai Shendi owns 57% of Shanghai Disney Resort and Disney owns 43%. The companies' investments are proportional to their ownership shares.

The additional money will be spent on new attractions and entertainment, Mr. Iger said at the Millken Institute Global Conference here. He didn't offer specific details.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579530321203227840

If the bean counters were diving under their desks last fall, why give Shanghai tons of money now in order to create even more attractions?

 

[ArwenMarie]

Not surprised.

Too bad they are going with the simulator ride, I thought that boat ride looked cooler.

 

[Figmentforever24]

Well James Cameron was saying just a couple days ago that the land still has two rides. So unless something changed the very next day, which things like this don't, the article is false. Mostly I believe it is just a cover up of the false rumors they spit out nowadays on Micechat. Remember last year Monsters Inc coaster and Star Wars land were coming to Disneyland in 2014. Or the construction would start then. Well nothing ever started construction and BAM Micechat says it is due to Mymagic. No lets be honest you were about to be caught in the lie and needed a good excuse to make people think it was real. People don't like MM so of course they would think its true. The only reason they are going after Avatarland is to show that MM is effecting Disney World to although it really isn't . Maybe it is true but we have no proof...at this time we wait.

 

[clsteve]

Thanks!

Massive cost overruns with the MyMagic+ program in Florida, plus ominous budgeting issues looming for Shanghai’s woefully behind construction schedule, all sent Burbank bean counters diving under their desks in horror last fall. The result is that nearly every major addition for theme parks in North America is now shelved....

1. We heard this rumor a couple of months ago, about additions in North America being shelved.

2. ...but not because of ominous budgeting issues looming in Shanghai.

The very same Shanghai that JUST got a 800 million dollar investment from Disney and private Chinese investors in order to increase the expansion of the build??
Walt Disney Co. and its Chinese partner will invest an additional $800 million in a Shanghai theme park currently under construction, the media giant's chief executive, Robert Iger, said on Monday.

"We decided we would accelerate the expansion of the park while we're building it," Mr. Iger said. "It's a huge vote of confidence not just in the market, but in this project."

Shanghai Shendi owns 57% of Shanghai Disney Resort and Disney owns 43%. The companies' investments are proportional to their ownership shares.

The additional money will be spent on new attractions and entertainment, Mr. Iger said at the Millken Institute Global Conference here. He didn't offer specific details.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579530321203227840

If the bean counters were diving under their desks last fall, why give Shanghai tons of money now in order to create even more attractions?

You missed the key word in the article: additional

 

[MichiganDVC]

You missed the key word in the article: additional

And you missed the part where it said, "accelerate the expansion of the park while we're building it" and "The additional money will be spent on new attractions and entertainment."

So, if they were so worried about the money being spent in Shanghai, why green light MORE money to be spent on ADDITIONAL attractions in Shanghai??

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I don't take anything from Internet bloggers as gospel.

One website/blog/source reporting something = rumor. Multiple people reporting the same thing = credible.

MiceChat either has sources no one else does or they report rumors as fact because they seem to know a lot about budgets and cut backs that no other Disney sites have. I enjoy the site, I just wish they didn't report rumor as fact.

I don't know about budgets or delays but he is wrong about Nemo being abandoned because I was at DL yesterday and witnessed people working on the track in the load area when I was on the monorail platform. Whether they scaled back the rehab I don't know but it definitely isn't abandoned.

 

[clsteve]

And you missed the part where it said, "ccelerate the expansion of the park while we're building it" and "The additional money will be spent on new attractions and entertainment."

So, if they were so worried about the money being spent in Shanghai, why green light MORE money to be spent on ADDITIONAL attractions in Shanghai??

You also missed the key phrase: "no specific details were given...."

This is all Exec-speak for "we're behind budget and need to chunk in a lot more cash." (Queue: every Industry Analyst nodding their head)

It's quaint to think not, but before you attack, if you can come up with one time Disney (or any other company, for that matter) has announced an 800 million dollar Project or an extension to an incomplete, yet incredibly detailed Project but provides absolutely no details as to what they are building....

I'll go quietly on my way....

 

[Goddesstree]

Wouldn't this be more of the 'rumors and news' and not 'theme park attractions and strategies'????

 

[Figmentforever24]

You also missed the key phrase: "no specific details were given...."

This is all Exec-speak for "we're behind budget and need to chunk in a lot more cash." (Queue: every Industry Analyst nodding their head)

It's quaint to think not, but before you attack, if you can come up with one time Disney (or any other company, for that matter) has announced an 800 million dollar Project or an extension to an incomplete, yet incredibly detailed Project but provides absolutely no details as to what they are building....

I'll go quietly on my way....

Also remember Disney has been mum on this project for the very reason they don't want any other company trying to create a cheap knock off of the park. Same thing that happens when they tried to announce other things for China.

 

[Disfan1968]

I have to wonder if there isn't a lot of head scratching and behind the scenes discussion over where the better place might be to direct energy over the next six years.... Avatar or Star Wars. Both will be big. Both are Disney attached. That they are doing an Avatar expansion is a done deal. But they *could* redirect funds to bolster their Star Wars platform/presence in the parks over the coming years, especially if JJ Abrams does a killer job with movie one.

 

[morethananyonex]

I have to wonder if there isn't a lot of head scratching and behind the scenes discussion over where the better place might be to direct energy over the next six years.... Avatar or Star Wars. Both will be big. Both are Disney attached. That they are doing an Avatar expansion is a done deal. But they *could* redirect funds to bolster their Star Wars platform/presence in the parks over the coming years, especially if JJ Abrams does a killer job with movie one.

That obviously could be the case, but that doesn't seem likely to me.

I am not a Star Wars fan, but it seems crystal clear that Star Wars has proven staying power and has a huge following. Avatar on the other hand has not proven anything yet, only had one of its movies released, and does not have the kind of following Star Wars does. There is no way Disney just figured that out.

 

[SuperRob]

That obviously could be the case, but that doesn't seem likely to me.

I am not a Star Wars fan, but it seems crystal clear that Star Wars has proven staying power and has a huge following. Avatar on the other hand has not proven anything yet, only had one of its movies released, and does not have the kind of following Star Wars does. There is no way Disney just figured that out.

I highly suspect that this is more likely the reason why Avatar is being scaled back and why any plans to change HS are on hold ... to free up space and funding for more Star Wars presence. Marvel is red-hot right now, but we know their hands are tied there because of Universal. Star Wars would be the obvious go-to.

That said, Disney moves so slowly in Florida, and seemingly changes it's mind randomly, who knows ... what's true today isn't necessarily true tomorrow.

 

[agavegirl1]

I highly suspect that this is more likely the reason why Avatar is being scaled back and why any plans to change HS are on hold ... to free up space and funding for more Star Wars presence. Marvel is red-hot right now, but we know their hands are tied there because of Universal. Star Wars would be the obvious go-to.

That said, Disney moves so slowly in Florida, and seemingly changes it's mind randomly, who knows ... what's true today isn't necessarily true tomorrow.

There is no evidence that "Pandora" is being scaled back. This is a rumor until proven otherwise. Joe Rhode is still on this project and it is still Cameron's "baby". I suspect that due to perceived cutbacks in domestic park Cap-Ex...this rumor would be accepted as fact by readers and therefore, was put out there to "get a rise" out of the fans.

JMHO but there is no evidence of this in any way.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I highly suspect that this is more likely the reason why Avatar is being scaled back and why any plans to change HS are on hold ... to free up space and funding for more Star Wars presence. Marvel is red-hot right now, but we know their hands are tied there because of Universal. Star Wars would be the obvious go-to.

IF the plans for Avatarland are being scaled back at all (and that's just not something I believe), I agree that it would be because Disney has decided to capitalize on its Star Wars franchise, which is probably the most valuable intellectual property they own. The Avengers are huge right now, but nothing has the cross-generational appeal that Star Wars does. Even George Clooney getting engaged to a non-Hollywood lawyer was pushed off the front page by one grainy behind-the-scenes Star Wars photo.

 

[SuperRob]

There is no evidence that "Pandora" is being scaled back. This is a rumor until proven otherwise. Joe Rhode is still on this project and it is still Cameron's "baby". I suspect that due to perceived cutbacks in domestic park Cap-Ex...this rumor would be accepted as fact by readers and therefore, was put out there to "get a rise" out of the fans.

JMHO but there is no evidence of this in any way.

Oh sure. I'm just saying, if it turns out they want to do a limited scope version of Avatar at first, then add more later (like they did with New Fantasyland), that would free up capital to be used for other projects.

I was only treating the rumor as "true" for the sake of the argument. I don't personally believe it. Everyone claims they know what's going on in Disney, but things change so often, just because someone heard it from someone who heard it from someone ... it doesn't mean it'll still be true at the end of the line.

 

[FPminusCommando]

Why has MyMagic+ cost so much?


I believe what I've heard is MyMagic+ was projected to cost <$1B and is now projected at $2B. Even $1B seems like a huge amount of money, so it's confusing to me where the money has gone.

 

[agavegirl1]

Oh sure. I'm just saying, if it turns out they want to do a limited scope version of Avatar at first, then add more later (like they did with New Fantasyland), that would free up capital to be used for other projects.

I was only treating the rumor as "true" for the sake of the argument. I don't personally believe it. Everyone claims they know what's going on in Disney, but things change so often, just because someone heard it from someone who heard it from someone ... it doesn't mean it'll still be true at the end of the line.

Thanks SuperRob...cutbacks which are temporary are treated by Disney as "phased plans" ... I do agree. It would be somewhat likely that WDW would open Pandora with "almost all" the planned attractions.

With the amount of expenditure currently allocated to Europe and the Asian Parks, something has to give. However, if Disney wanted to, they could afford to develop every one of the projects in "blue sky" right now and capitalize later. They choose to "phase" everything. I don't like the over promise and under deliver thing that is happening. I read a lot of theme park news (not blogs) and I actually read my stockholder materials. I don't like it but I really feel a lot of this is about Iger's ending bonus package.

 

[Figmentforever24]

Oh sure. I'm just saying, if it turns out they want to do a limited scope version of Avatar at first, then add more later (like they did with New Fantasyland), that would free up capital to be used for other projects.

I was only treating the rumor as "true" for the sake of the argument. I don't personally believe it. Everyone claims they know what's going on in Disney, but things change so often, just because someone heard it from someone who heard it from someone ... it doesn't mean it'll still be true at the end of the line.

James Cameron isn't just going to let the cut back anyway they want. He is like Rowling in the way that he is going to have it perfect. He is going to make sure they get it right down to the color of the leaf on a certain type of tree. So to believe that they just decided hey lets cut a ride is about as unbelievable as Star Wars land being announced next week. We just have to wait but until we have proof we only treat it as a rumor.

 

[SuperRob]

James Cameron isn't just going to let the cut back anyway they want. He is like Rowling in the way that he is going to have it perfect. He is going to make sure they get it right down to the color of the leaf on a certain type of tree. So to believe that they just decided hey lets cut a ride is about as unbelievable as Star Wars land being announced next week. We just have to wait but until we have proof we only treat it as a rumor.

I very much doubt Disney would allow anyone that kind of creative control that doesn't have a paycheck signed by Bob Iger. Timeline, scope, etc are all things Disney would have insisted on having control over. Cameron likely has some say, but not to that degree.

Thanks SuperRob...cutbacks which are temporary are treated by Disney as "phased plans" ... I do agree. It would be somewhat likely that WDW would open Pandora with "almost all" the planned attractions.

With the amount of expenditure currently allocated to Europe and the Asian Parks, something has to give. However, if Disney wanted to, they could afford to develop every one of the projects in "blue sky" right now and capitalize later. They choose to "phase" everything. I don't like the over promise and under deliver thing that is happening. I read a lot of theme park news (not blogs) and I actually read my stockholder materials. I don't like it but I really feel a lot of this is about Iger's ending bonus package.

It's all about managing cash flow. Sometimes you delay just to shore up the balance sheet for a quarter. To be fair, I don't think they're intentionally overpromising and underdelivering ... I think it's an issue where plans change midway through a project. Look at Hyperion Wharf. It was announced, then what, a year or so later, it's a completely different project. It just happens sometimes.

 

[MillauFr]

Why has MyMagic+ cost so much?


I believe what I've heard is MyMagic+ was projected to cost <$1B and is now projected at $2B. Even $1B seems like a huge amount of money, so it's confusing to me where the money has gone.

Have you seen how much those IT people cost now days? If you want the best the price is steep. I'm sure Disney has trouble hiring the best and brightest software engineers. They are more likely to work for Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. That Disney is having problems with a major IT project is not surprising. They are very difficult and prone to problems.