Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2023 Edition

[HokieRaven5]

Bob Chapek comments publicly about his time as CEO of Disney

In one of the most in-depth retellings of the turmoil surrounding the CEO role at Disney, CNBC shares in great detail the events that led to the firing of Bob Chapek, and the return of Bob Iger as Disney's CEO.

The inside story is based on conversations with more than two dozen people who worked closely with Iger and Chapek between 2020 and 2022.

Most of the key players declined to comment on the report, but Chapek did add to the account via a brief comment made by a spokesperson.

"Bob is proud of the work he did in the course of his 30-year career at Disney, particularly during his nearly three-year run as CEO, steering the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, and setting the course for business transformation as he and his team took the disruptive yet necessary steps for business revitalization and long-term growth."

The CNBC story by Alex Sherman also suggests that in Chapek's final weeks as CEO, board members had set up discussions with Disney division heads, including Parks boss Josh D'Amaro, who all told board members that they no longer supported Chapek as CEO.

Read the full story "Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess" at CNBC.

 

[HokieRaven5]

More nights sell out at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, leaving just one date remaining in September

September 19, 26, and 29 are the latest dates to sell out for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Only 1 date remains available in September on the 28th, priced at $149. October still has good availability, with the following nights available for purchase: October 3, 5, 6, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29; November 1.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Bob Chapek comments publicly about his time as CEO of Disney

In one of the most in-depth retellings of the turmoil surrounding the CEO role at Disney, CNBC shares in great detail the events that led to the firing of Bob Chapek, and the return of Bob Iger as Disney's CEO.

The inside story is based on conversations with more than two dozen people who worked closely with Iger and Chapek between 2020 and 2022.

Most of the key players declined to comment on the report, but Chapek did add to the account via a brief comment made by a spokesperson.

"Bob is proud of the work he did in the course of his 30-year career at Disney, particularly during his nearly three-year run as CEO, steering the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, and setting the course for business transformation as he and his team took the disruptive yet necessary steps for business revitalization and long-term growth."

The CNBC story by Alex Sherman also suggests that in Chapek's final weeks as CEO, board members had set up discussions with Disney division heads, including Parks boss Josh D'Amaro, who all told board members that they no longer supported Chapek as CEO.

Read the full story "Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess" at CNBC.

I think the headline of "succession mess" is an understatement.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney Vacation Club Member-Exclusive Disney Treasure Voyage Announced for January 4, 2025

Disney Vacation Club announced a member-exclusive cruise for the all new Disney Treasure, a 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise departing Port Canaveral on January 4, 2025.

2025 Member “First Wave” Sailing on the Disney Treasure

1. Saturday January 4, 2025 – Port Canaveral, Florida
2. Sunday January 5, 2025 – At Sea
3. Monday January 6, 2025 – At Sea
4. Tuesday January 7, 2025 – Tortola, British Virgin Islands
5. Wednesday January 8, 2025 – St. Thomas, USVI
6. Thursday January 9, 2025 – At Sea
7. Friday January 10, 2025 – Castaway Cay
   Saturday January 11, 2025 – Port Canaveral, Florida (Debarkation)

Different from a Member Cruise, this voyage is part of the Disney Collection exchange, and therefore, regular cruise programing will not be altered, and in-room keepsakes are not included.

Booking begins on Saturday, October 14, 2023, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Members are asked to call Member Services at 1-800-800-9800 or 1-407-566-3800.

You can learn more about this Disney Vacation Club charter of the Disney Treasure here.

 

[Madteaparty001]

I think a lot of people forget when comparing other parks to WDW is that it is a complex of four parks, 2-4x the amount of other Disney locations around the world. I think that's why we expect more announcements to pertain to it. Because when you lay it out on a timeline it looks well invested, if you compare parks side by side it's less impressive. I don't have the data but I would like to see a comparison of the 2 parks in Disneyland to the 4 parks in Disneyworld to see if WDW has twice as many updates or if they are the same.

 

[Brian Noble]

It may be four parks, but it is one vacation destination. Those four parks are not competing with one another. Indeed, they've more or less focused on one at a time, though there has been some overlap thanks to the pandemic.

MK New Fantasyland
AK Pandora/Night Safari/RoL
DS Toy Story/Star Wars
MK: Tron
EP GG/Remy/Spine
MK Tiana

You can expect four times as much growth, but if you do...

 

[fatmanatee]

I think a lot of people forget when comparing other parks to WDW is that it is a complex of four parks, 2-4x the amount of other Disney locations around the world. I think that's why we expect more announcements to pertain to it. Because when you lay it out on a timeline it looks well invested, if you compare parks side by side it's less impressive. I don't have the data but I would like to see a comparison of the 2 parks in Disneyland to the 4 parks in Disneyworld to see if WDW has twice as many updates or if they are the same.

Since 2016 (when Frozen was opened at WDW), these are the noteworthy additions I'm seeing for DL parks:

DL: Galaxy's Edge, Toontown (MMRR)
DCA: Avengers Campus (Guardians, Spiderman), Pixar Pier

 

[HokieRaven5]

Since 2016 (when Frozen was opened at WDW), these are the noteworthy additions I'm seeing for DL parks:

DL: Galaxy's Edge, Toontown (MMRR)
DCA: Avengers Campus (Guardians, Spiderman), Pixar Pier

7 attractions at DLR vs 13 at WDW unless we’re also counting the re-theming at:

Gadgets Go Coaster
Incredicoaster
Adventureland Treehouse

Also Disneyland has always had more attractions than WDW where WDW typically has more entertainment offerings.

Disneyland Paris/Studios Park - I think 4 attractions over that time

Shanghai Disneyland - 2 but it also opened in 2016

Hong Kong Disneyland - 3 attractions

Tokyo - Gets whatever OLC wants to pay for

 

[Madteaparty001]

It may be four parks, but it is one vacation destination. Those four parks are not competing with one another. Indeed, they've more or less focused on one at a time, though there has been some overlap thanks to the pandemic.

MK New Fantasyland
AK Pandora/Night Safari/RoL
DS Toy Story/Star Wars
MK: Tron
EP GG/Remy/Spine
MK Tiana

You can expect four times as much growth, but if you do...

If you're counting Tiana you can add MMRR to DS.

Since 2016 (when Frozen was opened at WDW), these are the noteworthy additions I'm seeing for DL parks:

DL: Galaxy's Edge, Toontown (MMRR)
DCA: Avengers Campus (Guardians, Spiderman), Pixar Pier

Always surprising the amount they can fit in with their limited space.

7 attractions at DLR vs 13 at WDW unless we’re also counting the re-theming at:

Gadgets Go Coaster
Incredicoaster
Adventureland Treehouse

Also Disneyland has always had more attractions than WDW where WDW typically has more entertainment offerings.

Are you counting rethemes into the WDW numbers? If not then the numbers look where I would expect for the number of parks each has, if yes then I still would say WDW is behind seeing as they have more visitors. Disneyland's entertainment is limited due to it's location just like Animal Kingdom's is limited due to animal residents. They make up the difference with more unique characters, parties, and food.

 

[fatmanatee]

7 attractions at DLR vs 13 at WDW unless we’re also counting the re-theming at:

Gadgets Go Coaster
Incredicoaster
Adventureland Treehouse

Also Disneyland has always had more attractions than WDW where WDW typically has more entertainment offerings.

I do sorta count the Incredicoaster retheme within the scope of the Pixar Pier retheme, at the same time it's the sort of update that people here would be annoyed about if Disney listed it among their accomplishments. As it stands I think they've done a solid job if you're looking purely at new WDW attractions and lands. Three new lands, three new rides (Rise, Guardians, FoP) that are often considered the best in their respective parks, and other changes/additions. I'd put Tron up there among the top rides at MK and if they managed to make the ride 20-30 seconds longer it might be considered the top one by more people.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Are you counting rethemes into the WDW numbers? If not then the numbers look where I would expect for the number of parks each has, if yes then I still would say WDW is behind seeing as they have more visitors. Disneyland's entertainment is limited due to it's location just like Animal Kingdom's is limited due to animal residents. They make up the difference with more unique characters, parties, and food.

If you discount rethemes it’s 9 or 10 at WDW (if you count Guardians reusing the Energy Pavilion) and 5 for DLR (Tiana and Guardians are Rethemes).

 

[BrianL]

If you discount rethemes it’s 9 or 10 at WDW (if you count Guardians reusing the Energy Pavilion) and 5 for DLR (Tiana and Guardians are Rethemes).

It's hard to consider Guardians a "retheme" since it is so different. Sure it replaced an attraction for a net gain of zero, but it's not a retheme in the style of Frozen or Tiana.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Tokyo Disney Resort Announces ‘Disney Christmas 2023’ Event Details, Christmas Tree Returning to American Waterfront for the First Time in Four Years

 

[HokieRaven5]

runDisney Ends Complimentary Tickets for Event Volunteers

“Thank you for considering volunteering your time during the upcoming runDisney race season! Your passion for making a difference in the Central Florida community through our celebrated charities is truly valued. In keeping with that spirit of volunteerism, complimentary theme park tickets will not be distributed. We appreciate your support and enthusiasm for our magical running community.”

 

[Smugpugmug]

runDisney Ends Complimentary Tickets for Event Volunteers

“Thank you for considering volunteering your time during the upcoming runDisney race season! Your passion for making a difference in the Central Florida community through our celebrated charities is truly valued. In keeping with that spirit of volunteerism, complimentary theme park tickets will not be distributed. We appreciate your support and enthusiasm for our magical running community.”

Disney already has enough bad PR going on with them right now.......yikes

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Comcast and Disney Move Up Hulu Sale Talks Date to Sept. 30, Roberts Claims Hulu Worth Well More Than $30 Billion

Comcast and Disney last week signed a modification agreement to bring forward the timing of their formal Hulu sale talks to Sept. 30 from its previous January 2024 timeline, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says.

Speaking at an investor conference Wednesday, Roberts says all the synergies around Hulu could be worth $30 billion, before you even ascribe value to Hulu. The previous minimum number of $27.5 billion for Hulu was “hypothetical,” per Roberts, with the company “way more valuable” today than it was when that number was set.

Roberts says proceeds from Comcast’s sale of its Hulu stake would be returned to shareholders.

Except that Disney’s stock is at an all-time low right now, so I doubt they’ll be able to afford getting the rest of Hulu.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Just trying to pile every bit of debt, depreciation and cuts they can into Fiscal 2023 as possible.

That’ll put them in trouble.

 

[clarker99]

Except that Disney’s stock is at an all-time low right now, so I doubt they’ll be able to afford getting the rest of Hulu.

Disney has $11B in cash as of June 30, 2023. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/DIS/disney/cash-on-hand

 

[OKW Lover]

Except that Disney’s stock is at an all-time low right now, so I doubt they’ll be able to afford getting the rest of Hulu.

The current price of Disney stock has nothing to do with what the company can afford. The stock market is simply a vehicle for people to by/sell their interest in a company. The Company gets nothing from any of those transactions.

 

[princesscinderella]

Disney already has enough bad PR going on with them right now.......yikes

I agree, I didn’t think the race fees went to charity so it’s just even more bad optics. I know there’s some charity groups that buy a block of race spots but those are separate and cost more money to register for., I know my sister has registered this way for the Dopey through GKTW. I’m sure a lot of the “volunteers” only do it for the free ticket. Especially the odd hours of the races, I’m sure a lot more will be skipping volunteering and sleeping in.