Destination D23, 8-10 Sep 2023 @ WDW's CR

[HokieRaven5]

I interpreted this as there are lots of things our team would love to do and is ready to do, but corporate won’t approve the expenditures yet.

That approval would be Josh though.

 

[mdmost]

I think it gives us a pretty good look into the window of what's happening with Disney's financials. It seems rethemes are all we can expect for a time. The bigger things they're going to keep pushing back. Disney can certainly build new cruise ships and throw a lot of money into that portion of the company.

 

[BrianL]

Yes, that's so depressing to be honest.... I think I'd prefer Dinoland stay and just add some new attractions. I mean, seriously, replacing Dinosaur with an Indiana Jones Ride that is old at this point is hardly anything worth writing home about....

MK they were beyond radio silent....

I kinda wish they would keep Dinosaur. It could still fit if they theme it right. Lots of dino bones have been found in South America.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I think it gives us a pretty good look into the window of what's happening with Disney's financials. It seems rethemes are all we can expect for a time. The bigger things they're going to keep pushing back. Disney can certainly build new cruise ships and throw a lot of money into that portion of the company.

The closures still had a massive impact on Capex when the parks were losing money while closed. They did take on another $17B in debt just to keep things afloat for the parks and the company over that period.

It’s coming back, but it’s gonna take time.

 

[mdmost]

I kinda wish they would keep Dinosaur. It could still fit if they theme it right. Lots of dino bones have been found in South America.

It's just so massively dated now and Indy is timeless. A shiny building in the middle of the rest would stick out.

 

[BrianL]

It's just so massively dated now and Indy is timeless. A shiny building in the middle of the rest would stick out.

It's not that shiny really - they could always make some minor exterior alterations. They could even drop the connections to the DINOSAUR movie, which is the only really dated thing about it. Otherwise, Dinosaurs are cool!

 

[fatmanatee]

I interpreted this as there are lots of things our team would love to do and is ready to do, but corporate won’t approve the expenditures yet.

If that’s the case (and it could be!) I just don’t think they should be talking about it with any specificity. Just seems like more downside than upside with the way they talk about it. There isn’t full commitment so there’s going to be some unease over whether or not they’ll actually DO this and… if they don’t do it and pull back? That’s a bigger problem. TBH I don’t think they should be obligated to hold these events. They can either tighten them to focus on things they’re committed to or shift to announcing things when they’re ready to do so.

(FWIW it’s a different brand of entertainment but I like how Nintendo has shifted in how they announce products, from large conventions to DTC streams whenever they feel like it)

 

[Cfabar1]

If that’s the case (and it could be!) I just don’t think they should be talking about it with any specificity. Just seems like more downside than upside with the way they talk about it. There isn’t full commitment so there’s going to be some unease over whether or not they’ll actually DO this and… if they don’t do it and pull back? That’s a bigger problem. TBH I don’t think they should be obligated to hold these events. They can either tighten them to focus on things they’re committed to or shift to announcing things when they’re ready to do so.

(FWIW it’s a different brand of entertainment but I like how Nintendo has shifted in how they announce products, from large conventions to DTC streams whenever they feel like it)

I agree. And we are already seeing the problems with them opening their mouths last year. Now to me, the South American theming seems on the cheap compared to what they were discussing especially by retheming a 20 year old ride to another 20 year old ride.

I found the lack of reference to EPCOT and the play pavillion most astounding. Also I do t think Hollywood studios was even mentioned in the presentation other than a Star Wars character coming to galaxy’s edge.

A new soundtrack at country bear jamboree? That was the big headline of the day. Hardly going to build up the parks business.

 

[soniam]

Is it me or does the crowd seem subdued?

UPDATE: Finally got them to make noise.

It's not the Expo, so it's not goofy, maddening enthusiasm. It's typically a more subdued crowd, because they actually want to hear what's said instead of just taking selfies.

Did not have them redoing Dinoland into a non-Zootopia land as a possibility. So that's where Coco and Enchanto will go. That fits a lot better than Zootopia. They hinted that Dinosaur will turn into the DLR Indiana Jones ride.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1700514927989977094

Geez! I love Indy, but taking something that works in one place and putting it somewhere else makes no sense

OK I am not sure I like them moving D23 outside (Sunday/Angel Stadium) AND into August... if theyre filling the Honda center for panels I doubt they will do the giveaways and such.

I guess people with kids in school threw a hissy fit about it being during the school year last time. I just figured they would move it to late August and screw over the south who have kids that start in mid-August. I guess they decided to not anger anyone, until we get there and realize how miserably hot it is

 

[TheDailyMoo]

So we're all cool with how lackluster Disney is even though they need to be ramping things up big time to keep up with Universal and a disappointed fanbase? I mean what's it going to take to start making real old school type Disney moves again to revitalize the parks experience. It's getting old. Most of the fanbase with zero experience at running a theme park has much better ideas than what's coming out of the C-Suite these days. The longer we're complacent the longer they're going to not give a you know what about making things bigger and better.

 

[Cfabar1]

So we're all cool with how lackluster Disney is even though they need to be ramping things up big time to keep up with Universal and a disappointed fanbase? I mean what's it going to take to start making real old school type Disney moves again to revitalize the parks experience. It's getting old. Most of the fanbase with zero experience at running a theme park has much better ideas than what's coming out of the C-Suite these days. The longer we're complacent the longer they're going to not give a you know what about making things bigger and better.

Part of the problem is the fan base will never be satisfied. But the bigger issue is that Disney is not on solid financial footing as a company right now. Which makes getting anything big a challenge. They don’t seem to view the parks as a growth driver for the company right now. So instead we hear vague promises of what will come someday.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Part of the problem is the fan base will never be satisfied. But the bigger issue is that Disney is not on solid financial footing as a company right now. Which makes getting anything big a challenge. They don’t seem to view the parks as a growth driver for the company right now. So instead we hear vague promises of what will come someday.

The problem is that the parks ARE what make them money. You don't want to lose anymore from the attendance numbers. Streaming is bleeding money. Their content is just garbage at the moment. The parks are EXACTLY where they need to be investing.

 

[HokieRaven5]

The parks are EXACTLY where they need to be investing.

So how much more than the roughly 70% of the annual capital expenditure should be put into the parks?

And is this a Parks, or just WDW exclusively?

 

[TheDailyMoo]

So how much more than the roughly 70% of the annual capital expenditure should be put into the parks?

And is this a Parks, or just WDW exclusively?

There are a lot of moving parts. Just throwing a certain percentage of total expenditures at something doesn't mean it's just magically going to work. They aren't making the right choices with the money they're spending. And they have to start figuring out the media portion because that's a money suck at it's worst. Dis+ has become a debacle lately. In theory it should've worked out but in practice and in this current stream happy environment it is failing. And that's putting negative pressure throughout the company. They would've been better off never having forayed into streaming. Hulu. Movies. Their content. The writers strike. So much negativity for the parks and cruises to carry. And if they just ho hum the parks well guess what...you may as well have Iger on his knees in front of Tim Cook because that's the only thing that'll save Disney at this current rate. Most other giant corporations have figured it out and have money flowing in. What's up with Disney? Why is this so difficult for them?

 

[HokieRaven5]

There are a lot of moving parts. Just throwing a certain percentage of total expenditures at something doesn't mean it's just magically going to work. They aren't making the right choices with the money they're spending. And they have to start figuring out the media portion because that's a money suck at its worst. Dis+ has become a debacle lately. In theory it should've worked out but in practice and in this current stream happy environment it is failing. And that's putting negative pressure throughout the company. They would've been better off never having forayed into streaming. Hulu. Movies. Their content. The writers strike. So much negativity for the parks and cruises to carry. And if they just ho hum the parks well guess what...you may as well have Iger on his knees in front of Tim Cook because that's the only thing that'll save Disney at this current rate. Most other giant corporations have figured it out and have money flowing in. What's up with Disney? Why is this so difficult for them?

There’s a lot of moving pieces that also happened. The shutdowns and closures had a higher impact on Disney than the others because the others don’t operate every single facet of their resorts. It’s why they took out an additional $17B in debt to keep the parks afloat during that time.

The company from the start stated D+ wasn’t projected to be profitable until fiscal 2024. If you look at revenues vs production costs all of their streaming services are profitable. The problem is their SG&A costs, which they recently made $5.5B in cuts in salary which will help in that process.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

There’s a lot of moving pieces that also happened. The shutdowns and closures had a higher impact on Disney than the others because the others don’t operate every single facet of their resorts. It’s why they took out an additional $17B in debt to keep the parks afloat during that time.

The company from the start stated D+ wasn’t projected to be profitable until fiscal 2024. If you look at revenues vs production costs all of their streaming services are profitable. The problem is their SG&A costs, which they recently made $5.5B in cuts in salary which will help in that process.

This is a we agree to disagree because I'm not buying their excuses anymore and the more we enable them the longer they'll continue to give us mediocrity. I want better from them and I'm sure you think Iger and the board are doing the best job they possibly can while I think most of them need to go and clean house. We see the company in two very different ways. We both hope they do well though so there's that. I won't be wearing the rose colored glasses though.

 

[HokieRaven5]

This is a we agree to disagree because I'm not buying their excuses anymore and the more we enable them the longer they'll continue to give us mediocrity. I want better from them and I'm sure you think Iger and the board are doing the best job they possibly can while I think most of them need to go and clean house. We see the company in two very different ways. We both hope they do well though so there's that. I won't be wearing the rose colored glasses though.

Not advocating for any of their decisions, just pointing out evidence of what they’ve said and done.

 

[Jrb1979]

I realize they probably don't have the money to do anything big right now. The stuff they did announce looks ok. IMO they need to do away with all this Blue Sky crap. The AK additions of Indy and Encanto is most likely not happening. Since it's the case stop promoting these expansions.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Wow. I came here to see all the big announcements and... BAM! Disappointment.

(Not really. LOL)

 

[Gusey]

I found the lack of reference to EPCOT and the play pavillion most astounding. Also I do t think Hollywood studios was even mentioned in the presentation other than a Star Wars character coming to galaxy’s edge.

Did you miss the whole segment about Epcot? We got Journey of Water opening date, Moana meet and greet, Figment meet and greet, Luminous nighttime spectacular and Test Track refurbishment

I think certain news sites overhyped Destination D23 as if it was the D23 Expo when there is never any major announcements at Destination D23. What we got was alright, some stuff that was new and some updates. Plus confirmation that they are working on something Beyond big Thunder and Dinoland, although nothing concrete for MK and the Tropical Americas land being the only concrete thing for Dinoland replacement