MickeyBlog News for October 18, 2020
This week in MickeyBlog News: Disney reorganizes, the cold war at Disneyland continues, and park changes abound.
Let’s talk about all things Disney!
Disney Gets Serious
When Disney+ debuted, armchair analysts happily described it as a potential Netflix killer.
This past week, Disney finally decided to embrace the battle, as the company reorganized.
Disney merged the former Studio Entertainment and Media Networks divisions under one umbrella.
Kareem Daniel becomes arguably the most powerful man in Hollywood, as he heads this division.
What’s under Daniel’s oversight? The new group includes Disney’s network television channel, ABC, and its cable channels like Freeform and ESPN.
All Disney films also fall under Daniel’s domain, as does the entirety of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
Each of these individual groups keeps its current leader. However, all of them report to either Daniel or CEO Bob Chapek.
Media analysts had predicted this move since the inception of Disney+. Chapek admitted that the pandemic accelerated these plans, though.
You, as a Disney fan, should feel like the real winner here. With one person in charge of all Disney entertainment, programming will not fall into grey areas.
For example, Disney currently seems stuck about its Black Widow plans. The film division and Disney+ executives would both prefer it on their side.
Daniel will have final say over these matters, although he still answers to Chapek, his immediate superior.
The eventual outcome of Disney’s change is that the company will gradually move away from conventional programming and veer more toward streaming.
Over-the-top services like Disney+ and Hulu represent the future of media consumption. Disney’s decided that the future should start now.
Disneyland Stuck in Neutral
We’re still tracking several stories that all fall under the same umbrella. The pandemic has wreaked havoc with Disney’s 2020 plans.
The Disney Parks leadership team has triggered a war of words with California officials, particularly the governor.
Meanwhile, a sitting Senator has requested additional information from Disney about its layoffs.
Chapek and his staff feel attacked from all sides during an already impossible situation. Here’s what we learned this week.
The governor spoke in softer tones about theme parks recently, emphasizing that he would publish reopening guidelines once infection rates proved less “stubborn.”
He backed up his statement, Newsom asked a California Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson to confirm something exciting.
Health officials traveled to operational theme parks around the country to establish baselines for health procedures and infection rates.
California administrators intend to use this data to craft their reopening guidelines.
In fact, soon afterward, they visited Disneyland to review procedures in place. These steps appear much more conciliatory in nature.
The Good and the Bad at Disney
Disneyland has sent cancellation notices for resort stays through the end of October.
However, Disney has agreed to terms with 11 different Disneyland unions about returning to work safely. So, things are looking up.
Unfortunately, executive pay and shareholder dividends have emerged as hot topics at Disney.
The company recently restored the full salaries of top-level executives but then laid off 28,000 cast members permanently.
A sitting senator pressed Disney due to this decision’s economic implications, along with a tax dividend the company had received in 2017.
Conversely, a major shareholder pressed Disney to skip dividends for a different reason.
He would prefer the company to invest this money on Disney+ projects.
So, everyone wants to spend Disney’s money, while California’s government stops the company from making more.
Michael Nathanson, the co-founder of MoffettNathanson, believes that Disneyland Resort alone has lost $2.2 billion due to its closure.
At that rate, Disneyland is ceding $68 million in revenue each week it’s closed.
For this reason, we shouldn’t act surprised by announcements like the permanent closure of Mickey and the Magic Map and Frozen: Live at the Hyperion.
No Guns Means No Guns
Cast members at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort experienced a shock back in July.
Disney just released a report acknowledging an odd security incident at the hotel.
For some reason, a Labor Day hotel guest felt compelled to bring weapons on his vacation.
An unsuspecting worker in Bell Services noticed that the individual’s bags felt quite heavy. Upon inspecting it, he noticed something unsettling.
The luggage included an AR-15 assault rifle and a 9mm handgun. Disney bans guests from bringing weapons onto the campus.
The local sheriff’s department received word of the situation and questioned the owner.
The person produced a concealed carry permit and indicated that he brought the weapons as a safety measure during Orlando’s recent protests.
Disney chose not to press charges or eject the guest. Instead, the resort held the 9mm and transferred the AR-15 to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.
This incident marks the second incident recently wherein someone tried to bring guns to Walt Disney World.
Thankfully, security guards intervened each time.
Park Updates
I have several significant park news items you should know.
First of all, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover will require more downtime than predicted. It’s now closed through Christmas Day.
Something else at Disney Springs is gone for even longer. Wolfgang Puck Express has shut down for good.
Poor Wolfgang has boarded his Puckmobile and left Walt Disney World.
Also, since I was just discussing security, I should mention that EPCOT has added contactless scanners at the entrance.
I give Disney a lot of credit here. During a pandemic, they’ve somehow made entering the parks easier than ever.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a slick new ride has joined the Disney Junior Cavalcade.
During its first season, Mira, Royal Detective became a breakout hit on Disney Junior, thanks to its stunningly great voice cast.
Now, you can watch Detective Mira ride around in a motorcade, and her car matches her dress!
Two other news items dovetail into one another.
The NBA Bubble has completed successfully at Walt Disney World, and it was a remarkable triumph.
Somehow, Disney maintained the safety of everyone involved so well that nobody ever tested positive.
Once the season ended, Cinderella Castle lit up with Lakers colors, and then the players left.
Within days after the NBA Bubble finished, Disney reopened Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort to guests.
So, you can stay at the same place where LeBron James and Anthony Davis called home during their championship run!
Finally, you should know that the Taste of EPCOT International & Wine Festival sadly won’t run forever.
The most protracted EPCOT festival ever will finally close on November 22nd.
On the plus side, the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will debut five days later.
Okay, that’s everything for now. Have a great week!
Feature Image: Disney