No More Disney Dollars

Disney Dollars have been around forever as a favorite of kids and collectors.  I know someone with stacks of 'em.  Well, starting May 16, Disneyland is doing away with Disney Dollars and they will no longer be available for purchase.  The Disney Dollar has gone the way of the dinosaur and Disney will no longer be offering them instead going with the more preferred tool of currency exchange these days - the infamous gift card.

So what about those people who are sitting on stacks of Disney Dollars.  Well, they are redeemable forever so they still can be used to buy things in the park, just new ones will not be sold.  But what most likely will happen is the people who have the Disney Dollars will hang on to them and offer them up on eBay at a hefty profit as the dollars, like anything Disney, increase in value over time.

And what about Disney?  For years they basically sat on free money selling currency the may never be redeemed for anything.  Just selling pieces of paper.  Genius.

Welcome Summer - The Latest Disneyland Price Increases

That whizzing sound you heard last Sunday was Walt Disney spinning in his grave over the thought that a single day park hopper to his beloved theme park hit the $150 price mark with the latest round of Disney Parks admission price increases. For the last couple of years I've ranted and railed at the annual price increases but this year ...... I've just resigned myself to the fact that Disney raises prices before every summer season simply because they can get away with it.

I think my first Deluxe Annual Pass was around $239. As of last week, that same Annual Pass is now at $519. Ouch! - with that sound coming from my wallet and credit card pinching my rear end. But so it goes as they say.

So the price increases weren't anything jaw dropping, just enough to make you shake your head and question is is all worth it. Perhaps the biggest news out of last week's price increases was the suspension of the wildly popular Southern California Annal Pass. You can renew your SoCal AP but you are now unable to buy a new one. Speculation from numerous Internet sources that this may be the first step in eliminating the lower priced Southern California Annual Passes whose holders flood the parks with bodies while often not dropping a lot of dollars which Disney loves from tourists and park guests. As a non-local, anything to drop the crowds and making the Disney day more pleasurable is welcome.

The Disneyland Traveler Explains

It's a little on the cool, breezy side here at home today. A perfect Disneyland day I would say. Hard to believe that in less than a week, the temperatures are going to be pushing triple digits. Not a perfect Disneyland day I would dare to say.

The Disneyland Traveler has taken some time off away from this blog for the last several weeks. Some of you who have followed The Disneyland Traveler Blog for some time understand the reason why there has been an absence of writing. For the casual or new reader of this blog, here is the explanation. About a year ago my father-in-law came to live with Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and myself. He suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, a disease that robs people of short term memory and progresses to worsening stages from there. He requires nearly constant attention. Needless to say, there really aren't any trips to Disneyland planned for the immediate future for us. There is little time to think Disney at all.

But I miss writing this blog. And while it may not be as prolific as it once was, many have encouraged me to continue writing it. I'll certainly give it my best shot. Thank you to all those who have emailed me and encouraged me to write. It means a lot. Most true Disney people are the best because they can find reasons to smile even when things seem a little hopeless.

Like Steamboat Willie handling that steering wheel, whistling a tune, the Disneyland Traveler continues on.

Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie - Disney Animation

Sometimes You Lose That Disney Frame Of Mind

On most Saturdays I can wake up and write something about Disney or Disneyland at the drop of a hat, as they say. It isn't hard at all to think Disney. But once in awhile it is - like this morning. Usually I know what I'm going to write about in this blog before my feet hit the floor from the mattress. But not this morning. I got nothing.

It's kind of hard to think Disney 24x7 when life's other happenings get in the way. I guess that's why we have something like Disneyland to begin with - to get away from life's happenings. So today I'm taking a break from Mickey and friends, from Pirates of the Caribbean, and whatever Disney movie is on the screen. Other things are happening and Walt's world needs a break today,

Disney Toe Stubs of 2013

Did you ever stub your toe? Sometimes it hurts a little. Sometimes it hurts a lot. These were Disney toe stubs for 2013.

Disney just didn't stub a toe with The Lone Ranger. They dropped an anvil on their proverbial foot with a movie bomb that is right up there with the infamous John Carter debacle. The monetary loss on the film was close to $200 million and proof that throwing Johnny Depp in any half baked idea of a movie on the screen doesn't always guarantee money in the bank.

Thor might have been a fine movie from the Disney/Marvel gang - but it couldn't hold my interest for more than 15 minutes and I slept through most of the rest of it. I'll give it another chance when it comes to video, but sleeping through what's supposed to be an action superhero movie is never a good thing.

Planes was an enormous success for Disney's bank account. The only problem is that it was made on the cheap and was supposed to go directly to home video. After the Cars Land success, Disney quickly redid the film for a theatrical release complete with all the marketing hype which pointed to Disney Consumer Products. None of this is bad I suppose, but for a company that has always prided itself on quality, Planes smacked of cheap opportunism.

Over at Disneyland, Limited Time Magic was the year's ongoing promotion of itself and quite a silly idea. It came off as far-reaching and half-baked rather than a fully thought-out marketing concept. The Dapper Dans singing Boy Band music? The person who came up with that Limited Time Magic idea should be fired. And they did that one a couple of times during the year. P.S. Valentines Day and similar calendar events are not Limited Time Magic. They happen every year and Disney makes the most of them without wrapping them up with something called Limited Time Magic.

Billy Hill & the Hillbillies got the boot from Disney Productions after 21 years of performing (and delighting) people at the park. Why? People want to know. My guess is after this amount of time, the groups founding members are pretty well paid as highly trained performers and musicians with all their years of service. If Disney is looking to cut corners and increase their profit margins a bit, a cheaper Golden Horseshoe act would seem logical, except the knuckleheads that run the park are cutting out a piece of Disneyland's heart and soul. As Billy said in one of his final performances - maybe after 3000 - 4000 performances, if a Disney exec actually took the time to see the Hillbillies perform, maybe they would have a different way of thinking. 

Billy Hill (Kirk Wall) with a former friend

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been down since last January. Originally scheduled to return on Halloween, BTMRR stayed boarded up as Disney worked on Cal/OSHA safety improvements around the park. Worker safety is never a bad thing but with BTMRR, Disney never really got around to saying why the ride stayed closed and what was causing the delay. With Disney, the less you know about the inner workings of the park, the better off you are.

A year later and still waiting for re-opening of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

A Disneyland Day In A Life

Family gathering 2002

There's a small outcropping of rocks in Frontierland that circle a tree and a flagpole and separates Frontierland from Adventureland. Savvy Disneyland veterans are quite familiar with the spot especially since it is conveniently located in the midst of some prime shopping areas and some of the most heavily utilized restrooms in the park. The two pictures here are separated by about 7 years. Sometimes 7 years seems like a lifetime and in the case if these two pictures, it was.

Family remembrance 2009

My sister Joyce (seated in the middle of the family shot at the top of this post) with the jeans and short hair never lived long enough to make it to Disneyland with her family again, dying from a massive stroke in 2006. She was kept alive on life support but the she not only lost her Disneyland memories, she lost all memory of those she loved and cared for so deeply. "To everything there is a season...and a time for every purpose under heaven."

But even though my sister passed away at a far too early age, her life was never without purpose. This isn't a story about sadness, being maudlin, or an attempt at some redemption of pity. For this is a story of joy. My sister loved her family; both immediate and extended as her mother did before her. They meant everything to her and on this trip to Disneyland, there were no exceptions (except for the time she got lost from the group and began to cry).

On this trip to Disneyland, she did everything possible to keep a group of about 14 people together - no easy task when there are probably at least a dozen different agendas. She picked up the tab for lunches or dinners at the Blue Bayou and Rainforest Cafe but most of all, she was there when people needed her, which is what she did best.

I walked in with her to see The Enchanted Tiki Room, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and Aladdin. And that is why it pisses me off to no end that Disney has decided to remove a show like Billy Hill. "I saw that show with my sister Jack! I will never get to do that again and you want to take that memory away and make some kind of change that I am sure is designed to turn a another Disney revenue stream?."

Whatever Disney does in the future, please respect the past. The personal investment in people's lives that matter is just too great for monetary profit.

Darth Vader - The New Pitch Man For Disney Parks

Show Your Disney Side - the new Disney Parks Promotional Campaign

"Let The Memories Begin" - no, get that out of here. "Limited Time Magic" - the quicker we can get rid of that half baked idea the better. Disney needed to turn to a new source to pitch Disney Parks in a their upcoming promotional ad campaign with corresponding theme park activities. New source? I mean "force". There's a new pitch man in town. The ultimate salesman. When Disney CEO Bob Iger wrote out a check to George Lucas several months back to purchase Lucasfilm, Iger new what he had. Star Wars is one of the most valuable and profitable franchises in the entertainment business and standing in front dressed in Black is Darth Vader, now probably Disney's most valuable character. Mickey.... sorry. Woody and Buzz...sorry, again, there's a new sheriff in these parts. Vader may be the only character that has the ability to pull people into the parks in mass quantities just to get a glimpse. 

Disney knows this so the new Disney pitch man for their newest promotional park campaign begins with the big guy himself. This may not be classic "Disney" but Vader has something bigger. It's called the force. Here is Disney Parks first promotional video.

A Final Comment About Disney's D23 2013 Expo

You know who out front of the Anaheim Convention Center for D23 Expo
A Disney Photo

The 3 day Disney D23 Expo opened one week ago today. For the last week I have been reading reviews and forum comments from those who attended the event (and those who just like to give opinions for the heck of it). This was Expo # 3 and without a doubt it was the best organized, best run Disney D23 Expo to date with the fewest number of complaints except for glaring one.

 

There was virtually no new news about Disney Parks which Expo attendees seem to demand. If you pay admission to be a Disney insider, it would really help to have some cutting edge Disney Parks updates. The Expo just touched on what was already known.

 

The event catered to Disney shoppers which seems to be a trend that is growing in the Disney realm and depending on how you look at it, either good thing or something very unsettling. But all in all, everyone seemed to have a pretty good time of it and Disney announced there would be another Expo (in Anaheim again) in 2015. Already planning to avoid it.

The D23 Expo Comes to An End....Not With A Bang

D23 Cover Art From Disney

So there is the line in the T.S. Elliot epic poem The Hollow Men which classically ends.

This is the way the world end

Not with a bang but a whimper.

And so after today, the D23 Expo in Anaheim closes once again. The pack up has already begun and its only 10 in the morning. Disney's executives have played their big guns but this year they mostly shot blanks. No earthshaking news came out of the Expo but on the other hand, Disney seemed to be better able to manage the crowds so their didn't seem to be as many cranky people with their laundry list of complaints as in past Expos.

I think the people that attended, wanted to be there, and has a good time. It was all you could ask for. As for me, in past Expos, I kind of wish I could have attended despite my misgivings about D23. This year, I;m glad I stay away. When the highlight of the show is an animatronic hotbox ghost then, your probably not missing a whole lot.

The audio-animatronic hotbox ghost shown at the D23 Expo

Disney Profits Saddled By The Lone Ranger

So the money juggernaut that is the Walt Disney Company runs merrily along. Theme park attendance - up, hotel occupancy - up, park spending - up, cable media revenue - up (ESPN remains the single most profitable entity of The Walt Disney Company - by far). Yep, it should have been great news as Disney reported their quarterly profits yesterday.

 

And then came the Studios Division.

 

And then came the Lone Ranger.

 

Crash.

 

When all is said and done, Disney will write down a $160 - $190 million dollar loss on The Lone Ranger just missing the epic $200 million dollar record loss of 2012's John Carter bomb. Combine that. with all the success of Iron Man 3, that movie still fell pretty well behind the previous year's box office champ -  The Avengers. The good news on the movie front is Pixar's Monsters University beat out Brave from the previous year. Overall, Disney Studios remains on a high risk, high reward or huge failure tight rope. Disney has given no indication that they will alter this direction because a single successful movie can lead to years of profitability in the realm of Disney through park promotion and merchandising.

 

Despite seeing all that Lone Ranger money go down the drain, don't shed any tears. Making money is what Disney does best and they do it from more angles than you can count.

Hey Disney....What About The Parks?

The D23 Expo with its previous two runs in Anaheim (2009 and 2011) has caught a lot of flack. Yep, there have been problems with crowd control, misjudging venue sizes, panel and event scheduling issues, and just generally Disney not having the real experience necessary to keep a large convention flowing instead of bottle necking and breaking down into chaos.

My favorite D23 Expo fiasco story occurred in 2009, the Expo's first year. In its inaugural year, the Expo was a 4 day event (instead of the current 3 day event) that started on Thursday with the keynote speech by Disney CEO Bob Iger. Well, turns out that on a Thursday, the Expo attendance was going to turn out to be pretty meager much to Disney's disappointment and there would be an abundance of empty seats for Iger's speech. Now that just wouldn't look good for those reporting on the event so quick acting Disney went over to Disneyland, grabbed every available on the clock cast member, then bussed them over to the convention center to basically fill empty seats and pad attendance. I think they even got a free lunch out of the deal. Yep, Iger's keynote speech was pretty full after all but many of those in the audience worked for him.

Ah yes, attendance, there is also the story from 2009 that with numbers of people actually paying full price or discounted D23 members price falling fall short of expectations, stacks of admission tickets were given to supervisors and managers at Disney's corporate offices that were to be sold to Disney employees at a major discount (down to about $5.00). Well, even at $5.00, there were still tickets sitting on managers and supervisors desks to the point where they eventually just told their employees to help themselves to tickets in some cases. Ouch!

But there are aspects of the D23 Expo that are immensely popular with Disney fans. Certainly the presenting of the latest group of Disney Legends, special evening musical performances from Disney notables, and celebrity gawking at the Disney Studios presentation rank right up there with popular Expo events. But probably the post popular is the presentation by Disney Parks and Resorts on what's coming in the future for the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts (not to mention world wide Disney parks and the cruise line). This is what Disney fans die to hear. This is what focuses their rabid Disney vision toward the future. Remember 2009 and the announcement of Star Tours 2.0, Cars Land, and the Magic Kingdom expansion? Big news.....really big news.

But the rumors are that Disney is not going to have any major announcements about their U.S. based theme parks this year. Oh, there may be some minor announcements about increasing a Star Wars presence in the parks and maybe something will finally be said officially about that Avatar Land in WDW that no one seems to be really thrilled about. Major announcements is a tricky proposition. People tend to take them literally and in order to go through the motions of presenting a major announcement with concepts and artwork, Disney actually has to commit the hundreds of million dollars it now takes to build major attractions. Apparently they do have a lot of ideas, but aren't to the point where they are actually going to commit the money to build them. When Disney revamped Disney California Adventure at enormous expense the apparent position was to rest on getting return on their investment back on that before announcing more brand new building projects.

If that really is the case, I think you are going to hear more disappointment from Disney fans about this years D23 Expo. But if I'm honest with myself, in a perfect world, I wouldn't mind being at the Expo and check it all out. I'd be the one with a cynical look on his face.

Disney, D23, and Me

Image from insidethemagic.com

Disney fans have choices to make. There is no shortage of ways to spend your money on anything / everything Disney. And how you choose to spend your money earmarked, so to speak, for Disney really comes down to each fans business, tastes, and preferences. To criticize how someone else spends money on Disney neglects what you may have stuffed in your own closet.

Back in 2009 I guess, Disney announced it was going to create a special insiders fan club named D23 – D for Disney and 23 for 1923, the year Walt made it to Hollywood to begin his remarkable story. Many people rejoiced  thinking that at last there was something for them to put them on the inside track for special access to their own enhanced Disney experiences. But many others, like me, were immediately cynical about the concept.

Disney is a multi-billion dollar corporation run by college type executives that serves its shareholders by giving them return on their investment. Disney does nothing for its fans without an ulterior motive that affects bottom line profits. So once you put D23 in that perspective, one can see what the D23 fan club truly is – another Disney revenue stream, another way for Disney to separate money from its legions of fans.

So for the first year, Disney charged $75 a person per year to be a D23 member (no family plans here). For that $75 you did get a beautifully published quarterly magazine, some charter member trinkets, and the opportunity to purchase exclusive D23 merchandise and gain access to exclusive D23 events that were to be held around the country. And of course there would be a D23 Expo were members could get a discount off the steep admission price and enter a convention that would give them ample opportunity to spend even more money. D23 is all about money.

But after the initial excitement, cracks began to appear in the D23 model. $75 a person, per year? Why would four people in the same family all need a magazine? D23 events?  Unless you lived within a 100 miles of Disney headquarters in Burbank, events were few and far between across the rest of the country. Orlando held some D23 events but compared what the Disney Studios could offer; WDW most definitely came up short on the D23 side. I remember one Disney World fan website get so excited about the events that were coming Florida and how the D23 Expo would be held in Orlando every other year. Boy did that guy miss the boat. Disney is a Southern California based company. That’s where the good stuff is. That’s where the access to major Disney stars and celebrities exists. That’s where the key people that make the big decisions that run the company live and work.

Then there is the numbers question. The number of Disney fans in not unlimited. Once everyone who wanted to become a D23 member became one, there was no room to grow. The numbers stagnated then began to reduce as people jumped off realizing that D23 brought them little. So Disney added a second tier of pricing at about half off the $75 but eliminating the magazine (which really is pretty nice). But Disney’s ultimate goal, even at half off, remained the same. People with D23 membership will still spend money on D23 merchandise and events.

So now here we are a after little over 4 years D23 first started at staring at the next D23 Expo that begins this Friday. These days, there is so little excitement about D23 that Disney took the next step with their fan club and added a “free” membership to D23 hoping that membership would trigger into bringing crowds to the Expo at a discounted members price. But as we a taught from childhood, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Once in D23, Disney’s hope is you continue to buy stuff and support the program. For people who enjoy what D23 offers - go right ahead. I’m a Disney fan. Just don’t need to spend any more money than I already do.

Disney August - The Complaint Dept Is Now Open

Well, a new month has rolled around and we are officially in the midst of the dog days of summer. I should forewarn regular readers that this month may bring more than a few blog posts of the more critical type pointed at Disney with the big target being D23 and the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center starting in a little over a week from now.

 

But let's start with Disney's Planes which opens August 9. I saw an extended Planes preview before the showing of Comcast Universal's great Despicable Me 2 and the preview only confirmed my preconceived impressions of the movie - namely - it is an easy money grab for Disney devoid of any sort of typical Disney (or Pixar) quality whatsoever. Planes was intended to be a direct to DVD video made by a Disney company offshore (Disney Toon Studios). Don't be fooled. Planes is not made by Pixar, despite the resemblance to Cars, or Walt Disney Animation Studios. Planes was probably produced at a quarter of the cost of a typical Pixar movie and from what I saw on the big screen, the lack of quality showed in a big way. (And the preview was just "plain" boring)

 

But I'm not naive enough to think that Planes cannot be a major hit for Disney after the disastrous failure of the Lone Ranger movie. Planes has hit movie written all over it mostly because it looks like an extension of the massive popularity of Cars within the Disney realm. Hopefully people see through this and wonder where the quality went but I wouldn't count on it. Just count me as one person who wants no port of Planes just on a matter of principal. Disney is better than this.

Remember When Pixar Was Great?

Disney - Pixar's Monster University - Disney Promotional Photo

My Disney crazed co-worker couldn't wait till Pixar's Monsters University opened last week. She took off a little early from work and met up with her husband, daughter, and two grandsons over at the theaters ($$$). And when I spoke with her about it a few days later, her comment was "the movie just wasn't that good." She went on to say that the story just wasn't up to to the charm and entertainment of the original Monsters Inc. and while the younger grandson (3 years old) was kind of bored with the movie, the grandson who was five and should be in Monsters University wheelhouse for kids entertainment was actually a little afraid of a couple of the characters. She saw the movie in 2D since here grandkids have problem with 3D movies (understandable). She had planned to go back to the movies this past week and see it in 3D but after her first viewing, she decided to skip it. Just wasn't worth her time?

A Pixar movie that is not worth someone's time? Something like that just wasn't said a few years ago. Pixar meant beautifully written stories artfully produced using state of the art technology. The name Pixar oozed quality. But since Pixar hit its highwater mark of Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3, the trend has been downward and its beginning to ripple through the studios staunch supporters. What happened?

Well many of Pixar's top directors have gone on to pursue projects with live action movies but still, the man at the top is still there he needs to shoulder much of the blame for the deteriorating quality. John Lasseter is Pixar's man in charge. John is responsible for all 3 Toy Story movies. He directed the dreadful Cars 2. John is also head of Walt Disney Animation Studios and also wears the hat of Chief Creative Officer for the theme parks. The man has a lot on his plate. Too much perhaps? It's a fair question to ask.

But we can't let Disney as a company off the hook in this matter. Here is also a fair question. Does Disney care as much (or more) about the sale of products and merchandise than they do  about source movies that launches their huge consumer products enterprise. Is selling "Cars" merchandise for years on end more important that making a really great Cars movie? How do you think Walt Disney would feel about this constant to need to sell, sell, sell.... rather than having a company that defines excellence in creative imagination. These are questions worth pondering especially as competitors are nudging their way up.

Disney Strikes Back - Star Wars Land Coming to WDW

According to Theme Park Insider (link) and now being propogated in various print, web, and TV outlets, Disney plans on adding a "Star Wars Land" to Walt Disney World's Disney Hollywood Studios with opening set for 2018, maybe sooner if they want to throw more money at the project. In addition to Star Wars Land, the plan is for Disney to replicate a version of the massively successful Cars Land in DHS as well. I'll leave the Cars Land rumor alone for now because I'm still in my one month moratorium on writing anything about Cars Land and this news isn't going to make me alter my commitment to that. Star Wars Land? Now that's a different story altogether.

Much like Disney California Adventure a few years ago, Disney Hollywood Studios has been an underachieving theme park for quite some time. Confused themes, a bit of neglect, and constant questioning of what do we do with the place has been on the minds of WDW fans for quite some time. But once a year, DHS hosts the massively successful Star Wars Weekends to prop up the sagging park. I have always thought that if Disney was going to do anything major with park related theming with their recent George Lucas acquisitions, WDW would be the place. Certainly they have the property and space to do things right as opposed to the Disneyland Resorts approach of let's see what we can squeeze in. So a Star Wars Land in DHS just makes too much sense to pass up.

Of course that doesn't make a Disneylander like myself feel any better. Who wouldn't love a Star Wars Land in your own backyard rather than across the country? And what about D23 coming up in August in Anaheim. Walt Disney World has stolen the thunder with the opening of the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train (coaster), now Star Wars Land, and a Cars Land. And whatever happened to Avatarland in Disney Animal Kingdom? Somebody at Disney better get off the schneid and announce something new (and big) for Disneyland. A Monsters Inc roller coaster? Please. You can do better than that. No wonder that, as of today, D23 has a new level of membership, one that costs the applicant nothing at all because they're giving it away just to prop up sagging membership numbers. A convention in Anaheim that features big changes to a park that is 3000 miles away probably isn't the best way to bring in the crowds that Disney wants.

Remembering The Comic Book Store

I haven't bought a comic book in over 40 years. I'm not even sure Disney (owner of Marvel Comics) and other comic book publishers even want to print comic books anymore preferring the easier (and much more profitable) digital media to push their characters and stories to PCs, smart phones, and assorted iPads and tablets via subscriptions  One of my favorite shows on TV is The Big Bang Theory where one of the enjoyable pastimes of the geeky gang of scientists is a regular weekly visit to The Comic Book Store. 

So it's been more than 40 years and I still remember my visits to the store where I bought my comic books conveniently situated on the way home from school at the corner of 21st and Mission, San Francisco. I'm sure they sold other stuff in the little convenience store - candy and soda come to mind - but I remember the comics, and being surrounded by 3 small display walls of some of my favorite characters growing up. You know... that little store even had a special smell, probably from all the news and magazine print ink. I still remember it.

The comic books I bought were all Marvel - Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four - those I are the comic book superheroes I remember buying regularly at a price of about 15 cents I believe (I could be wrong but I know it wasn't much). It's funny how life comes full circle sometimes. My comic book buying days lasted maybe two years or so. Last week, I stepped in a movie theater to see Iron Man 3 while about 6 or 7 other Marvel movies rest in my DVD collection. It's almost as if Disney bought Marvel for people like me (along with a new generation of 10 year old boys), grown men who look fondly look back on reading the comic books of childhood.

With the massive success of Iron Man 3 at the box office, I owe Disney a 'thank you' once again for bringing back some of the great memories of being a kid. Then again, Disney probably knew all along there were plenty of people like me who are more than willing to part with some of their hard earned money to recapture their youth.

The first publicity still for Disney / Marvel Studios Captain America The Winter Soldier
Scheduled Release Date: April 4, 2014

Disneyland's New Age Checking Policy

Let me see if I have this right. 

Beginning March 23, Disney's new policy regarding unaccompanied minors in all Disney parks is - kids under the age of 14 must be in a the presence of a parent or adult guardian. Kids who aren't can be asked by a cast member where their parents are. That's all well and good. I get it. 

At the ticket booth, any child over 10 years of age must pay the adult admission price. That's where the head scratching begins. 

Disney Earnings, Al Lutz, Truth & Rumors.

On Tuesday of this week, MiceAge / MiceChat's Al Lutz posted one of his Disney insider articles to his website (link). Later in the day, Disney's Bob Iger and Jay Rasulo gave their quarterly earnings report for the company. The two events are not unrelated colliding in a Disney world of truth, rumor, and speculation.

As a company, Disney saw revenue decrease in two major areas. Disney's biggest money maker is always ESPN and their other cable channels. Revenue was down sharply in this area as ESPN had to shell out big money for continued football and basketball coverage. Disney recoups this expense when commercial air time is sold for the sports telecasts. Eventually, Disney and ESPN will get its money back and expect to turn a profit. No big deal here.

Once again, the film and home entertainment divisions were down as Disney struggles to keep this important side of the company (its where the company originated) on an even keel. After the massive success of The Avengers over the summer, the rest of the year proved pretty quiet. Brave did nice business at the box office but its release to home video was not very receptive. It looks like the days of collecting Pixar movies for the home just for the sake of having all of them may be over. And then there was Frankenweenie which failed both in theaters and home video (though critics did like the movie very much). Wreck-It-Ralph was another box office success but not really an overwhelming one. It's release to video is coming soon. On tap is Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful that will be released next month. Will this big budget live action CGI driven production reverse the tide? I'm betting no. It looks too far out there for conventional audiences. Stand-by Iron Man flying into town in May.

Speaking of Iron Man, Al is reporting that the massive Iron Man ride that was to go into Disneyland's Tomorrowland has been put on hold. The thinking is that instead of piecemeal attractions being added one at a time, Disney may be better served in the long run and do a complete Tomorrowland makeover. The piecemeal approach for WDW's Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland expansion has not drawn in guests as expected. On the other hand, Disney rolling out a complete Cars Land was a massive success. It seems to me the thinking is off here, the Fantasyland expansion in WDW failed to generate expected business because only one new ride was opened and that was the gentle Little Mermaid ride, a clone of the existing ride in DCA. The double spinning Dumbo and rethemed Barnstormer do not count. The rest of the Fantasyland expansion consisted of a new restaurant (needed), more stores (ugh!), and meet and greets (double-ugh!). Now the level of detail is nothing short of amazing but people want something to do, not something to look at. Disney probably could have seen a better jump in the numbers if the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened first and the other stuff came later. Rides generate guests through the turnstiles, the better the ride, the more people walk through. A single Iron Man ride in Tomorrowland would work if the anticipated result is an uptick in the number of guests coming into the park. But you can't completely disagree that a total Tomorrowland makeover might be a better business decision long term. It would be smashing.

So if there is nothing new and impactful to report for either U.S. theme park what is Disney going to announce at this year's D23 Expo? Park news is big. If there is no big park news, then the Expo could fall kind of flat (which it may anyway). PS. No one cares about Avatar Land which may be dying on the vine.

One thing that Bob Iger did say is he still believes there is room for price increasing in the parks. Ouch. Come May or June, expect to pay more. It just better not be up the levels of last year's massive price increase or the revolt is on the the "price elasticity", as Iger calls it, may spring back the other way as people find other ways to spend their entertainment dollar outside of Disney.

There may be an announcement of a new ship being being built for the Disney Cruise Line. Since Mrs. DisneylandTraveler won't go near one, in this household, Disney boats are a non-issue. Apparently they do a nice business.

One last thing that Al mentioned was a confirmation of my belief that while Disneyland forums and websites spoke glowingly of the Salute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue, the average Joe who takes his family to Disneyland every couple of years for vacation was not all thrilled with the show complete with can-can dancers showing off their under garments and a vixen hostess trying to pick up husbands in the audience. Complaints were filed for what was deemed by many as an inappropriate family show. Not to mention, the restaurant business fell flat on its face. Billy Hill - you and your brothers are needed to bring this back the way it should be.

And you when you talk about Disney earnings reports, what Al writes, and what I think or speculate, underneath it all, it's all about the money. Something is missing here. Disney needs to get it back.

Tony Baxter Rides Off Into The Sunset

Tony Baxter
Senior Vice President
Walt Disney Imagineering
Retired - Feb.1, 2013 

Walt Disney passed away in December 1966. Since that time, arguably the two men who have been most responsible for keeping the memories, ideas, and legacy of Walt alive within Disney parks have been Mary Sklar and Tony Baxter. Marty, who worked along side Walt for many years and often gave Walt his most endearing words as a Disney publicist and writer before moving on to Walt Disney Imagineering, retired in 2009. His window of honor sits right above Disneyland's City Hall where he once had an office.

Yesterday, Tony retired. Though youthful in appearance, Tony Baxter did turn 65 and is at an age where retirement often seems like a good option. Of course, he did take on the obligatory role of part-time Disney consultant. I believe Marty, who seems to still turn up at every major Disneyland event, has the same role. These are high profile men that fans of Disney parks adore for their unwavering commitment to keeping Walt's dreams alive. 

Tony's career at Disney spans some four decades of service. He was there as the Haunted Mansion opened, conceived and built Thunder Mountain Railroad, and oversaw the last renovation of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. He could often be seen walking around Disneyland, a solitary man with a smile without the usual hangers-on of high profiled executives. Some have speculated (and it is speculation) that Tony, like Marty, may have been nudged a bit into retirement either because he couldn't handle the continuing efforts of Disney to put profits ahead of creativity and imagination or people above him just wanted people of his commitment to do the right thing instead of the most profitable thing out of the way. 

Tony is very much old school Disneyland and you have to wonder about the future of the place now that the old guard is leaving. I sent out a tweet this morning from my @ShrunkenNed Twitter account in response to his retirement announcement: "Abraham Lincoln now weeps knowing there is a storage crate with his name on it." Sadly, I fear it just may be true.

Marty Sklar
Walt Disney Imagineering
Retired July 17,2009

Uh-Oh! Disney's MyMagic+? Congress Has Questions

It's not often that Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, makes it twice into this blog within a week but somehow the man has done it. Now he may need to put in a little bit of work to justify that $40 million dollar annual compensation package we reported on a few days ago.

With a lot of fanfare (and press) Disney is rolling out their MyMagic+ (also known as NextGen) initiatives into Walt Disney World this year. It's complicated but beneath it all is the ability for Disney to track almost every movement of one of their resort guests from the time they set foot on the property till the time they leave. Through the use of RFID chips coded in bracelets that get scanned throughout the resort, Disney can slip on hotel room access, credit card information, what you are purchasing, what rides and attractions you are going on, what characters you want to see, what and where you are eating. It's called data mining. This information is then stored and reused as a marketing tool where Disney has the ability to target you based on the accumulated data through mailings, email, and various social media outlets. And this includes the targeting of children. Disney has invested a huge amount of money in the potential of this technology that will better allow them to program resort experiences catered to individual and family preferences.

Disney likes to say that this will allow guests to pre-plan trips through advanced reservations leading to shorter waits in line for rides and attractions, character meet and greets, and the ability to better get you into that restaurant you are dying to try. Congress has a different take. Is this an invasion of privacy? Sure Disney should be allowed to streamline the in park experience of guests but what is the real purpose of this data. If it is used to continually target you in the marketing for all things Disney, then there could be some problems, especially if you are target marketing kids and teenagers.

Below is a link to a pdf of a letter a Massachusetts sent to Disney CEO Walt Disney asking some very blunt and serious question regarding Disney's end game with MyMagic+. It's worth the read.

Congressional Questions Asked Of Bob Iger Regarding MyMagic+