News Round Up 2016

[rteetz]

Photo update

Disney springs update

http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2016/07/pi-update-island-construction.html?m=1

 

[rteetz]

News

Disney officially announces Early Morning Magic at DHS. Starts August 1st.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-at-disneys-hollywood-studios-start-august-1/

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Note that the event itself does not include park admission. You have to use a park day AND pay for the event.

Thank you...I forgot to mention that

This is an upsell...not a discount program.

This recent rash of used car sales have all been engineered a certain way: parting you with your money rather quickly

My Harvard mba deciphered it: high revenue + short duration/operational overhead...

About a year ago...there were many vocal posters around here saying "well...the product was really UNDERPRICED. So we had it coming to us...it's not tacky price hikes...it's applied economic theory"

To which sages said: "just wait..."

I wonder what their stances are now? Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Good "news" day today, my boy

 

[luisov]

It is true that jungle book isn't supposed to be long term but they are using the Disneyland fantasmic barges. They are going to have to go back to DL at some point.

I'm 100% with you on the second part.

Unless the rumored Fantasmic 2.0 comes with a new set of barges. I don't think Jungle Book will last much longer, though... Or at least I hope so.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

News

Menus for Food and Wine 2016

http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/inte...estival-global-marketplaces-now-available.htm

Haven't look at the menu or been to in a few years (after being there 14 years in a row...)

How long have they served Dom? That's intriguing for those that haven't tried it.

 

[rteetz]

Spirited Rumor Update

This isn't my words these are spirits words from wdwmagic.

Phil Holmes DHS VP is on a visit to California to check out the DL parks and WDI.

Phil's itinerary has him first at DCA to look at Hyperion Theater and its new Frozen musical, World of Color, the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge, and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and then looking at nearly everything at Disneyland. He's also spending time in Glendale to get an overview of Disneyland's Star Wars Experience plans since that land opens first. DL's version looks to open in 12-18 months. DHS's sometime in 2020.

But Phil will be getting a complete rundown by Imagineering on WDW's SWE plans and, as well as Disneyland Entertainment's plans to massively upgrade and freshen Fantasmic when it returns next summer. This is part of a strategy direct from Chapek as Chapek favors the Anaheim way of doing things and according to someone with direct knowledge ''thinks the WDW operation has gotten sloppy and lazy and their execs need to spend more time in California to learn how the DLR is managed and operated. It's a message that is hard to swallow for many WDW folks, but Chapek is unrelenting and has made it clear he thinks Anaheim is doing it better. Phil Holmes is only the first in a series of WDW execs who will be making a pilgrimage to Anaheim soon.''

This really is major news because typically WDW execs simply don't visit the SoCal parks.

Phil MAY well be on scene for some much bigger news to drop regarding the future of DLR's President as well. It does appear that Mary Niven's quite amazing climb from being the only major Cynthia Harriss era survivor to Queen of the Kingdom appears about to become official.

If so, that obviously means the end of Michael Colglazier's tenure as DLR Prez. One largely met with a collective yawn by those who work for him and with him and the paying Guests.

At least he won't have to freak out every time someone leaks a story about turning the ToT into a cheap Marvel attraction (get in your rides by Labor Day to be safe, closing day looks to be 9/12 for reopening May of 2017) or a reporter looks at public documents and realizes that DL is adding another resort hotel or has bought additional property etc.

A few other DLR tidbits:

Parks on the left coast have also been very uncrowded this summer. One must wonder if Disney has finally hit the ceiling on what US consumers can or are willing to pay for a day of MAGIC.

No decision has been made on just how many years the 'Season' of the Force will run, but TDA planners are running up against a major deadline for deciding internally whether to remove the wildly popular Hyperspace Mountain overlay for the typical fall Ghost Galaxy overlay. Since GG is a major selling point of DL's Halloweentime event, planners are working up alternate cheap entertainment to toss in the park if management decides the Force will remain in Tomorrowland.

Other Spirited morsels:

Don't know if any of you paid attention last week to Herb Allen's mogul conference in Sun Valley, but "the oddly waifish man of anaemic personality" AKA Tom Staggs not only showed up for the event, but arrived with Disney execs, including the head of ESPN. One can only wonder if there was some sort of not so subtle message to Bob ... you know ... a "Have a MAGICal Day!" message from both his current and former execs.

Michael Eisner was there and told a few folks that he felt slighted for not getting a shout-out (and likely an official invite) from Disney on the Shanghai opening. He was not shy about telling others that Bob still made a mistake by not getting a media penetration deal in exchange for the park.

SDL appears to be on solid footing, but is not attracting the spectacular attendance or interest that Disney hoped for. Way too early to draw any conclusions beyond you really don't want to be in China in summer.

At least things will remain consistent with Steven Spielberg and his very odd relationship with Disney as The BFG is turning into another disaster for Disney, and one they anticipated and helped bring about. Having 87 tent poles a year leaves little room for films that need space and time. But just like Disney let The Good Dinosaur and Alice Through the Looking Glass fail so that "more important to Bob's ego" films like The Force Awakens, Zootopia, Jungle Book, Cap America Civil War and Finding Dory could make their billions, the same is true of this movie that has no buzz at all. Disney does have hopes for Pete's Dragon, but certainly does't care about it like a Moana or a Rogue One. It's all about making sacrifices.

So Rose and Crown is following Le Cellier, Chefs de France and Crystal Palace with an all-day, screw the Guests, menu. That is how you increase revenue despite filling fewer tables and serving fewer people. Disney still doesn't fundamentally get this strategy can only last so long.

As to WDW and O-Town crowds, relatively speaking, this reminds me an awful lot of 2008. The economy had long crashed, credit markets were dry, homes were being lost, the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind was happening and ... I took my usual visit to WDW in late October, after spending months in China, and the parks were packed. It seemed like business as usual because those trips were paid for, those credit cards that were going to go unpaid were going to go unpaid and those houses were going to be lost. People were having a bang before the bust. I returned to WDW in February of 2009 and it was a ghost town. Trips in July (including over the 4th) and December followed and the parks were, by O-Town standards, dead. Just a prediction but I think 2016 is the last bang before the next bust for a lot of people. And you can't keep having jobless recoveries as they are an oxymoron.

Sooner or later, the disastrous business model employed by WDW Co. will come home to roost and all the new timeshares they can build won't make a bit of a difference. I wonder what Disney Springs will look like when half of those new tenants are gone within 18 months of opening.

 

[mikepizzo]

Just wishful thinking. No expectation.

I've obtained all seasons of House of Mouse...just as good as I remember it. Are there any current forms of media in which Disney pokes fun at itself?

Believe me I reread some of my post and get confused. I actually try not to even use acronyms as it doesn't take much longer to just write the words out. Maybe we can start a anti-acronyms thread. I am all for making them go away.

Not to be "that guy" but technically a lot of the abbreivations used are initialisms, not acronyms.

Acronyms are the initial letters of a string of words pronounced as a word itself (EPCOT)

Initialisms are the initial letters of a string of words not pronounced as a word itself (MK, DHS, TTA, BTMRR).

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Spirited Rumor Update

This isn't my words these are spirits words from wdwmagic.

Phil Holmes DHS VP is on a visit to California to check out the DL parks and WDI.

Phil's itinerary has him first at DCA to look at Hyperion Theater and its new Frozen musical, World of Color, the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge, and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and then looking at nearly everything at Disneyland. He's also spending time in Glendale to get an overview of Disneyland's Star Wars Experience plans since that land opens first. No, WDW's version remains solidly 18-24 months minimally behind DL's version. (This I'm not buying they are that far behind)

But Phil will be getting a complete rundown by Imagineering on WDW's SWE plans and, as well as Disneyland Entertainment's plans to massively upgrade and freshen Fantasmic when it returns next summer. This is part of a strategy direct from Chapek as Chapek favors the Anaheim way of doing things and according to someone with direct knowledge ''thinks the WDW operation has gotten sloppy and lazy and their execs need to spend more time in California to learn how the DLR is managed and operated. It's a message that is hard to swallow for many WDW folks, but Chapek is unrelenting and has made it clear he thinks Anaheim is doing it better. Phil Holmes is only the first in a series of WDW execs who will be making a pilgrimage to Anaheim soon.''

This really is major news because typically WDW execs simply don't visit the SoCal parks.

Phil MAY well be on scene for some much bigger news to drop regarding the future of DLR's President as well. It does appear that Mary Niven's quite amazing climb from being the only major Cynthia Harriss era survivor to Queen of the Kingdom appears about to become official.

If so, that obviously means the end of Michael Colglazier's tenure as DLR Prez. One largely met with a collective yawn by those who work for him and with him and the paying Guests.

At least he won't have to freak out every time someone leaks a story about turning the ToT into a cheap Marvel attraction (get in your rides by Labor Day to be safe, closing day looks to be 9/12 for reopening May of 2017) or a reporter looks at public documents and realizes that DL is adding another resort hotel or has bought additional property etc.

A few other DLR tidbits:

Parks on the left coast have also been very uncrowded this summer. One must wonder if Disney has finally hit the ceiling on what US consumers can or are willing to pay for a day of MAGIC.

No decision has been made on just how many years the 'Season' of the Force will run, but TDA planners are running up against a major deadline for deciding internally whether to remove the wildly popular Hyperspace Mountain overlay for the typical fall Ghost Galaxy overlay. Since GG is a major selling point of DL's Halloweentime event, planners are working up alternate cheap entertainment to toss in the park if management decides the Force will remain in Tomorrowland.

Other Spirited morsels:

Don't know if any of you paid attention last week to Herb Allen's mogul conference in Sun Valley, but "the oddly waifish man of anaemic personality" AKA Tom Staggs not only showed up for the event, but arrived with Disney execs, including the head of ESPN. One can only wonder if there was some sort of not so subtle message to Bob ... you know ... a "Have a MAGICal Day!" message from both his current and former execs.

Michael Eisner was there and told a few folks that he felt slighted for not getting a shout-out (and likely an official invite) from Disney on the Shanghai opening. He was not shy about telling others that Bob still made a mistake by not getting a media penetration deal in exchange for the park.

SDL appears to be on solid footing, but is not attracting the spectacular attendance or interest that Disney hoped for. Way too early to draw any conclusions beyond you really don't want to be in China in summer.

At least things will remain consistent with Steven Spielberg and his very odd relationship with Disney as The BFG is turning into another disaster for Disney, and one they anticipated and helped bring about. Having 87 tent poles a year leaves little room for films that need space and time. But just like Disney let The Good Dinosaur and Alice Through the Looking Glass fail so that "more important to Bob's ego" films like The Force Awakens, Zootopia, Jungle Book, Cap America Civil War and Finding Dory could make their billions, the same is true of this movie that has no buzz at all. Disney does have hopes for Pete's Dragon, but certainly does't care about it like a Moana or a Rogue One. It's all about making sacrifices.

So Rose and Crown is following Le Cellier, Chefs de France and Crystal Palace with an all-day, screw the Guests, menu. That is how you increase revenue despite filling fewer tables and serving fewer people. Disney still doesn't fundamentally get this strategy can only last so long.

As to WDW and O-Town crowds, relatively speaking, this reminds me an awful lot of 2008. The economy had long crashed, credit markets were dry, homes were being lost, the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind was happening and ... I took my usual visit to WDW in late October, after spending months in China, and the parks were packed. It seemed like business as usual because those trips were paid for, those credit cards that were going to go unpaid were going to go unpaid and those houses were going to be lost. People were having a bang before the bust. I returned to WDW in February of 2009 and it was a ghost town. Trips in July (including over the 4th) and December followed and the parks were, by O-Town standards, dead. Just a prediction but I think 2016 is the last bang before the next bust for a lot of people. And you can't keep having jobless recoveries as they are an oxymoron.

Sooner or later, the disastrous business model employed by WDW Co. will come home to roost and all the new timeshares they can build won't make a bit of a difference. I wonder what Disney Springs will look like when half of those new tenants are gone within 18 months of opening.

Wow...

There's cynical...there's bitter...and then there's this guy...who can unite all the tribes under one banner.
But as always...there's a lot of truth in this.

The 2008 analogy is the same vibe I've been getting...while also tracking airline prices and hotel/restaurant availability.

Same for Disneyland...I think they've overshot the hikes. Just like the quiet war on Disney "deluxes" in Orlando has been going on quietly for a decade...like a Mickey CIA operation.

It's not even whether or not they can support the pricing...it's the reckless rollout over the last few years to stopgap ESPN and the tv/movie failures...

You can't climb the plane too fast or the engine stalls. Howard Hughes at the controls.

No way that Orlando should be lagging that far behind on a construction project...they have the space to complete it more efficiently. It's by choice.

Again...the same old from CMB...shiny new toy at Anaheim to show the business world "see what Disney can do!!!"...while assuming the dips on the east coast will keep Spending on the old stuff...because they don't have a spine not too.

 

[skier_pete]

News

Disney officially announces Early Morning Magic at DHS. Starts August 1st.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-at-disneys-hollywood-studios-start-august-1/

I have to laugh at these things...what suckers people are. A park that we can barely spend 6 hours in need a "before hours" event? BRILLIANT!

Spirited Rumor Update

Chapek is unrelenting and has made it clear he thinks Anaheim is doing it better. Phil Holmes is only the first in a series of WDW execs who will be making a pilgrimage to Anaheim soon.''

This really is major news because typically WDW execs simply don't visit the SoCal parks.

I would agree that WDW seems to be running poorer, but I wonder what real difference this will make.

Just a prediction but I think 2016 is the last bang before the next bust for a lot of people. And you can't keep having jobless recoveries as they are an oxymoron.

Sooner or later, the disastrous business model employed by WDW Co. will come home to roost and all the new timeshares they can build won't make a bit of a difference. I wonder what Disney Springs will look like when half of those new tenants are gone within 18 months of opening.

Yeah, the "jack the prices as fast as we can" is certainly a dangerous plan. The key is to stop before you reach the tipping point, but where is that. It feels like if they haven't reached it already they are getting awful close.

This comment also seems to say that WDW is crowded, but I seem to be hearing quite a few people saying its rather slow as well.

 

[Bay Max]

Wow.. The board is acting weird.. Quotes not working right.

 

[Iowamomof4]

This comment also seems to say that WDW is crowded, but I seem to be hearing quite a few people saying its rather slow as well.

Same here, I'm wondering if 2015 was the boom before the 2016 bust. Maybe the boom lasted into the beginning of 2016, but it sure seems to have cooled at this point.

 

[rteetz]

Wow...

There's cynical...there's bitter...and then there's this guy...who can unite all the tribes under one banner.
But as always...there's a lot of truth in this.

The 2008 analogy is the same vibe I've been getting...while also tracking airline prices and hotel/restaurant availability.

Same for Disneyland...I think they've overshot the hikes. Just like the quiet war on Disney "deluxes" in Orlando has been going on quietly for a decade...like a Mickey CIA operation.

It's not even whether or not they can support the pricing...it's the reckless rollout over the last few years to stopgap ESPN and the tv/movie failures...

You can't climb the plane too fast or the engine stalls. Howard Hughes at the controls.

No way that Orlando should be lagging that far behind on a construction project...they have the space to complete it more efficiently. It's by choice.

Again...the same old from CMB...shiny new toy at Anaheim to show the business world "see what Disney can do!!!"...while assuming the dips on the east coast will keep Spending on the old stuff...because they don't have a spine not too.

I even took out some of his banter. That's typical spirit though.

Spirit seems to be the only one that says Star Wars is that far back for DHS. I'm confident in 2019 for SWE. Since both lands will have the exact same attractions they aren't cutting anything, those attractions are going to be top notch.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The only metrics we can easily use: fastpass, hotel availability, and dining reservation availability...indicates it's a very light summer in Orlando.

It only takes 10
Minutes of tinkering to snoop that out.

And before anyone says "I can't get free Dining" or "mnsshp is sold out!!!"...I'm not talking about Hooks and gimmicks.

The health of travel
Is measured in the "normal"
Days

 

[Bay Max]

Not to be "that guy" but technically a lot of the abbreivations used are initialisms, not acronyms.

Acronyms are the initial letters of a string of words pronounced as a word itself (EPCOT)

Initialisms are the initial letters of a string of words not pronounced as a word itself (MK, DHS, TTA, BTMRR).

You mean you don't pronounce MK as 'emc' and TTA as "tah"?

 

[rteetz]

I have to laugh at these things...what suckers people are. A park that we can barely spend 6 hours in need a "before hours" event? BRILLIANT!



I would agree that WDW seems to be running poorer, but I wonder what real difference this will make.



Yeah, the "jack the prices as fast as we can" is certainly a dangerous plan. The key is to stop before you reach the tipping point, but where is that. It feels like if they haven't reached it already they are getting awful close.

This comment also seems to say that WDW is crowded, but I seem to be hearing quite a few people saying its rather slow as well.

WDW isn't as crowded as it was last year but it's more crowded today than it was 10 years ago. Spirit does go onto say that crowds have been quieter this summer compared to last year.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I even took out some of his banter. That's typical spirit though.

Spirit seems to be the only one that says Star Wars is that far back for DHS. I'm confident in 2019 for SWE. Since both lands will have the exact same attractions they aren't cutting anything, those attractions are going to be top notch.

God bless your Midwestern heart, young man!!!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

WDW isn't as crowded as it was last year but it's more crowded today than it was 10 years ago. Spirit does go onto say that crowds have been quieter this summer compared to last year.

That's the disconnect...it can't be "more quiet" and busier than it was 10 years ago...there is less aggregate places for customers with the exception of springs.

Summer's get less crowded every year...as bizarro times like October and February get more so...shifting travel patterns.

 

[rteetz]

God bless your Midwestern heart, young man!!!

I no you have no optimism but I don't understand why you can't be confident that they will be top notch attractions. The battle ride will be the first true trackless ride using AGVs and the falcon attraction is supposed to use a Kuka style system from what I've gathered.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I no you have no optimism but I don't understand why you can't be confident that they will be top notch attractions. The battle ride will be the first true trackless ride using AGVs and the falcon attraction is supposed to use a Kuka style system from what I've gathered.

The only top notch ride that Disney has come close to building and paying for themselves in the last 10+ years is radiator springs racers...

That was a PR problem amidst a customer revolt as well...

Go ahead...check the tape.

You have confidence in a product that hasn't been rolled out much in your lifetime...if your honest.