News Round Up 2020

[OSUZorba]

It’s the replacement for the dual track wooden Gwazi, the Lion track closed in 2012, the Tiger track closed in 2015. So it’s a replacement, but Gwazi had gone beforehand.

Much better than a SBNO. Wish they would've done of this to Son of Beast as opposed to bulldozing it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

https://blogmickey.com/2020/11/jock-lindseys-holiday-bar-returns-to-disney-springs/

 

[Gusey]

I know there is a separate thread for the Q4 Earnings Call, but here is a cheat sheet of key takeaways in case anybody was looking for it
https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...se-other-key-takeaways-from-q4-earnings-call/

 

[Farro]

I thought this was an interesting article as part of it discusses Disney -pointing the move to invest heavily in Disney + played a part in the lay-offs. I never looked at it that way, only thinking it was due to park closures.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html
Some of the world's biggest companies have already made changes to their business that will reverberate long after the pandemic is brought under control.
Take Disney (DIS), which reported its financial results on Thursday. The entertainment giant, which has had to delay the release of expensive blockbusters and shutter its parks for months on end, swung to a loss of $2.8 billion in its most recent fiscal year. The previous year, it hauled in $10.4 billion in profit.

Disney isn't just sitting on its hands, however. During the pandemic, the company has made big investments in its Disney+ streaming service, which now has nearly 74 million subscribers. Last month, it announced an internal reorganization that moves the service toward the center of its media empire.
"I think you're going to see that we're going to put a lot of wind in the sails of our Disney+ business and heavily invest in it," CEO Bob Chapek told analysts on Thursday.
The need to pump cash into new parts of the business has costs, though. Disney has announced layoffs of tens of thousands of workers this year. Lower-paying roles in the company's parks division have been particularly vulnerable. Disney has indicated it could eventually rehire workers, but has not made any firm commitments.

 

[New Mouse]

I thought this was an interesting article as part of it discusses Disney -pointing the move to invest heavily in Disney + played a part in the lay-offs. I never looked at it that way, only thinking it was due to park closures.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html
Some of the world's biggest companies have already made changes to their business that will reverberate long after the pandemic is brought under control.
Take Disney (DIS), which reported its financial results on Thursday. The entertainment giant, which has had to delay the release of expensive blockbusters and shutter its parks for months on end, swung to a loss of $2.8 billion in its most recent fiscal year. The previous year, it hauled in $10.4 billion in profit.

Disney isn't just sitting on its hands, however. During the pandemic, the company has made big investments in its Disney+ streaming service, which now has nearly 74 million subscribers. Last month, it announced an internal reorganization that moves the service toward the center of its media empire.
"I think you're going to see that we're going to put a lot of wind in the sails of our Disney+ business and heavily invest in it," CEO Bob Chapek told analysts on Thursday.
The need to pump cash into new parts of the business has costs, though. Disney has announced layoffs of tens of thousands of workers this year. Lower-paying roles in the company's parks division have been particularly vulnerable. Disney has indicated it could eventually rehire workers, but has not made any firm commitments.

As for the rehire comment, a lot of these positions arent coming back. I can see something like front desk and concierge being almost eliminated. They are also seeing where the excess is throughout this whole thing.

Look for entertainment act contracts to likely be negotiated much cheaper, etc.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1326969722609537048

 

[YesterDark]

As people are able to gather in larger groups, you'll see a scale back to public facing workers. You'll need them to manage capacity.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1326969722609537048

I am sure I just missed it but I don't recall the Cassian focused show being called "Cassian and K-2SO"

 

[rteetz]

I am sure I just missed it but I don't recall the Cassian focused show being called "Cassian and K-2SO"

Yeah I believe that is new.

Also some possibly Disney attraction focused content too coming which is exciting.

 

[rteetz]

https://www.facebook.com/1490958684533546/posts/2433257373637001

 

[BorderTenny]

Sea World and Busch Gardens Black Friday sales are live. Highlights include 3 extra months on AP's and up to half off add-ons.
https://seaworld.com/orlando/limite...1c-ePm-Tfc2f-l5L0ROgCaw-1b8Tt0&pk_id=43090533https://buschgardens.com/tampa/special-offers/black-friday/

 

[BrianL]

As people are able to gather in larger groups, you'll see a scale back to public facing workers. You'll need them to manage capacity.

Yeah, these things kind of happen in waves. Will they need as much front desk staff for a while? No, probably not. Eventually though, they will increase it - maybe not to previous levels, but it will happen. It's not going to be exactly the same, but they won't run this lean forever either.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah, these things kind of happen in waves. Will they need as much front desk staff for a while? No, probably not. Eventually though, they will increase it - maybe not to previous levels, but it will happen. It's not going to be exactly the same, but they won't run this lean forever either.

What I bolded is the most interesting part to me - yes things will come back, but not the same way - perhaps not the same level or things will shift. As people get more comfortable and used to doing things electronically/remotely/etc you wont' need the same level fo staff in the same place ... but now you might need more in other areas. And just what these percentage changes in each area wind up being is pretty interesting to me.

I think overall Iger has said even before the pandemic they wanted to run the parks more efficiently (meaning less people workign to get the same "output").

 

[New Mouse]

What I bolded is the most interesting part to me - yes things will come back, but not the same way - perhaps not the same level or things will shift. As people get more comfortable and used to doing things electronically/remotely/etc you wont' need the same level fo staff in the same place ... but now you might need more in other areas. And just what these percentage changes in each area wind up being is pretty interesting to me.

I think overall Iger has said even before the pandemic they wanted to run the parks more efficiently (meaning less people workign to get the same "output").

Well that was one of the major points behind magic bands and combining systems...to reduce staffing by substantial amounts.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1327266808273858560

 

[rteetz]

News

Pearl Factory is returning to Disney Springs

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...pearl-factory-returning-to-disney-springs.htm

 

[YesterDark]

What I bolded is the most interesting part to me - yes things will come back, but not the same way - perhaps not the same level or things will shift. As people get more comfortable and used to doing things electronically/remotely/etc you wont' need the same level fo staff in the same place ... but now you might need more in other areas. And just what these percentage changes in each area wind up being is pretty interesting to me.

I think overall Iger has said even before the pandemic they wanted to run the parks more efficiently (meaning less people workign to get the same "output").

Perfect example is security. If the new scanners work well, you won't need as many people checking everyone coming in to the parks.

Same thing with mobile ordering.

Same thing with park reservations as WDW gets back to max capacity. You can accurately staff each park because you'll know exactly how many people are coming.

Remote/digital check in will eliminate a lot of desk people at resorts. I'm sure in the next 10 years you'll have AMRs bring people stuff like towels or suitecases to rooms.

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1327295561154715649

 

[rteetz]

News

La Gelateria coming to Italy

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...Jl3vPfJ6dUnKery9rIX5x683lAlg9sV9hcQCKv6XRqUkM

 

[tlmadden73]

As people are able to gather in larger groups, you'll see a scale back to public facing workers. You'll need them to manage capacity.

Agree . you already see it in restaurants. I mean even though they can be open in some states, restaurants like Chick-Fil-A don't have indoor dining anywhere. So they are probably running 3-4 employees less than before since they don't need cash registers or people to clean tables.

I fully expect to walk into a McDonalds in the future and just be forced to use their kiosks to order (which .. at most McDonald's would be an improvement in customer service). The only reason they aren't doing that now is because kiosks are seen as germ spreaders and they have the ones installed all shut down.

Perfect example is security. If the new scanners work well, you won't need as many people checking everyone coming in to the parks.

Same thing with mobile ordering.

Same thing with park reservations as WDW gets back to max capacity. You can accurately staff each park because you'll know exactly how many people are coming.

Remote/digital check in will eliminate a lot of desk people at resorts. I'm sure in the next 10 years you'll have AMRs bring people stuff like towels or suitecases to rooms.

Good points .. Disney parks will probably never be staffed back to the levels it was in 2019 unless they add "more stuff" like another resort or add another huge land like SWGE.

You'll probably see more part-time work in the parks as the $15/wage is pushed (also because they can staff more accurately)