What Was Disney Possibly Thinking?
The Walt Disney Company held its latest shareholders meeting last week. It was a poignant event because it was former CEO Bob Iger‘s final one.
Along the way, Disney also faced some uncomfortable questions from shareholders. They wanted to know about several recent high-profile decisions.
What was Disney thinking with these choices? Let’s talk about each one.
The Disneyland Reopening
First, I should mention that MickeyBlog liveblogged the shareholder meeting and did an excellent job. You can read that link to catch up quickly.
Also, you may have read my evaluation of when Disneyland will reopen.
I stated, “I believe Disneyland should reopen by Memorial Day…and April remains an outside possibility!”
Before CEO Bob Chapek’s Q&A session, he presented a blanket statement about the return of the Happiest Place on Earth.
Chapek said, “We’re hopeful…we’ll be able to reopen our parks with limited capacity to guests by late April.”
The head of Disney later added that he wasn’t ready to announce a specific date yet. Then, he mentioned the explanation for a delay from April 1st.
According to Chapek, the guidelines allow Disneyland to return on that date. However, the parks will require some time to prepare for the big comeback.
Disney employs thousands of people at its California theme parks. They’ll all need to re-train at their workstations.
Some cast members will relocate because some quit and found other jobs during the pandemic.
A significant percentage of workers understandably couldn’t wait an indefinite period for a paycheck.
Another consideration is attraction maintenance. Disneyland had never closed for consecutive days before, much less a year.
As such, your favorite rides will need significant testing to verify that they pass Disney’s high standards for safety.
As such, the headlines that indicated an April 1st return were always unreasonable.
They demonstrated a lack of understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at Disneyland Resort.
Still, if I had told you last week that Disneyland would reopen by the end of April, you would have happily taken that offer, right?
We’re back, baby! Oh, and MickeyBlog will livestream from Disneyland Resort next week for A Touch of Disney!
The Avengers Campus Mystery
A subplot of the Disneyland comeback involves a themed land that has yet to open.
Disney fans worldwide are giddy about the impending arrival of Avengers Campus, the themed land based on Marvel Comics.
Alas, Chapek proved unwilling to reveal an opening date for Avengers Campus.
You may recall that Disney announced an initial opening date of July 18th, 2020. The company announced this on the afternoon of…March 11th.
Yes, that’s the day when society imploded, and we all had to hole up in our homes during the pandemic.
So, the timing of that announcement proved unfortunate.
I suspect that Disney is learning from its mistake here by not committing to a firm date.
All Chapek would confirm for the time being is that Avengers Campus will open in 2021. That’s plenty good enough for me!
As long as we know that it’s coming sometime, we’re all okay with giving them time to get the theme parks up and running.
Then, Imagineers can perfect the new Avengers Campus attractions.
Plus, this decision gives California more time for COVID-19 numbers to diminish. The state’s still reporting more than 4,000 new cases on most days.
The Ratatouille Delay
The other delays may seem less understandable from the outside.
Rumors have persisted that EPCOT could open Ratatouille at any time.
Since the ride seems ready now, why would Disney wait until October 1st for the grand opening?
I suspect that two reasons explain the delay.
The first circles back to COVID-19, which isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s merely becoming more manageable.
Park officials know that Walt Disney World fans have coveted a Ratatouille attraction ever since Disneyland Paris opened its version in 2014.
Demand has already increased at the parks as Spring Break arrives in some parts of the country.
The introduction of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure would immediately switch the calmest park right now, EPCOT, into the most crowded one.
Guests would mob the France pavilion, which isn’t the safest practice.
We’re inside the red zone on the pandemic, and nobody wants to fumble at the goal line here.
So, the old maxim applies that discretion is the better part of valor. We shouldn’t rush this.
That’s only half the explanation, though. The other part involves the announced date, October 1st.
You should know by now that it’s the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. And park officials face a problem on this day.
Everyone will want to visit Magic Kingdom, the only theme park that opened in 1971.
However, EPCOT turns 39 on October 1st as well. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure functions as a birthday gift for the park.
More importantly, it’ll entice some of those 50th anniversary visitors to visit EPCOT rather than Magic Kingdom. That’s an ingenious approach by Disney.
Plus, this move provides a consolation prize to anyone who cannot get Park Passes for Magic Kingdom that day.
The Star Wars Firing and Not Firing
Someone asked an incredibly snide question about Disney’s decision not to work with Gina Carano in the future.
Afterward, someone else wondered whether Disney would replace Kathleen Kennedy with a man as the head of Lucasfilm. Seriously.
Chapek demonstrated tremendous patience in answering both questions calmly and honestly.
Along the way, the CEO also reinforced Disney’s business model moving forward. It’s one that we can all support for its innate decency.
Chapek stated:
“I don’t really see Disney as characterizing itself as left-leaning or right-leaning, yet instead, standing for values. Values that are universal. Values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity, and values of inclusion.”
He later added:
“The content that we make (should be) reflective of the rich diversity of the world that we live in. And I think that’s a world that we all should live in in harmony and peace.”
On the subject of Kennedy, Chapek provided a strong statement of support:
“We’ve been absolutely thrilled that we can have the kind of creative talent in our company, the likes of Kathy Kennedy to run Lucas(film) and we look forward to having Kathy directing the activities of the entire Lucasfilm organization for many years to come.”
So, Disney will continue to show consideration to all kinds of people and won’t fire Kathleen Kennedy in favor of hiring a dude.
Feel free to rage about it on social media if you’re against decency and the hiring of women as corporate leaders.
The Black Widow Release
Here’s perhaps the biggest surprise of all. You may have heard that Raya and the Last Dragon opened in theaters last week.
All the headlines suggested that the film disappointed, earning $8.6 million on opening weekend. That’s less than Tom and Jerry grossed the previous weekend.
The part that doesn’t get mentioned as much is that both films were available on streaming services, with Tom and Jerry on HBO Max.
Meanwhile, Disney+ users could spend $29.99 to own Raya and the Last Dragon on Premier Access.
Many users, myself included, took this approach rather than braving a movie theater during the pandemic.
Still, positive signs indicate that at least some folks seem willing to return to the local cineplex.
As such, Disney has banked on the fact that a Marvel movie will entice more fans to come back to the movies.
So, Black Widow will keep its current May 7th release date. Yes, that’s less than two months from now.
Chapek and his team are counting on the fact that the increase in vaccine availability will enhance consumer confidence.
If true, everyone will go back to the theater just in time for a Marvel movie to save the day.
However, I should add that Cinemark and some other retailers punished Disney for its day-and-date release strategy. They refused to show Raya.
I doubt anybody would be that spiteful about a potential game-changer like Black Widow. Still, self-destructive stubbornness is real in the movie industry.
Feature Image Rights: Matt Stroshane