Best Disney Links for April 2021
Disney has just completed an extremely active month as it plans its post-pandemic future.
Let’s cover the highlights in this month’s Best Disney Links.
Best Disney Park Links
Obviously, Disneyland received most of the attention this month as it prepared to reopen after a 13-month hiatus.
However, let’s start with something a bit more fun. A travel website, upgraded points, polled 5,300 of its readers for a fascinating exercise.
UpgradedPoints has revealed which Disney attraction is the favorite for all 50 states!
Obviously, you’re likely to disagree with your state’s response.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Tennessee residents answered Space Mountain, which makes me wonder what year they think it is. Then again, so did Floridians.
At the Happiest Place on Earth, many decisions remain in flux. California’s confusing rules recently included an addendum. Here’s the quote:
- “Fully vaccinated persons from out of state may visit or attend activities or events that are restricted to in-state visitors. Fully vaccinated persons should consult the current CDPH Travel Advisory and adhere to any applicable recommendations.”
Based on that information, I should be available to visit Disneyland this week.
There’s so much debate about the new addendum that nobody knows for sure, though. Disneyland hasn’t changed its policies yet, but it could.
Image Credit: Disney
We will need to keep an eye on this one over the next few weeks as changes are happening fast due to 200 million COVID-19 vaccine shots the country has distributed.
Park officials have confirmed some significant information. Here’s a list of which Disney restaurants will reopen with the parks.
Meanwhile, some attractions and shows will remain closed. Here’s an explanation regarding why.
The author breaks the closures into five main categories:
- “High-touch environments, social distancing, large crowds, time constraints and a ban on live shows.”
None of that should be a surprise to anyone keeping up with Walt Disney World over the past year.
Best Disney Business Links
Perhaps the most impacting Disney business news also involves the parks. Disney has updated the Disney Look after generations of sameness.
The modified rules allow for cast members to wear longer hair, moustaches, and beards.
Gender-inclusive hairstyles, longer fingernails, increased piercings, and visible tattoos also have changed to acceptable.
In other words, Disney finally entered the 21st century with its policies.
The addition of the fifth key, Inclusion, has forced the company to come to terms with its own restrictive rules.
Even now, some cast members have indicated that the new modifications aren’t enough. So, this step represents the first toward a better tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Disney will also construct two more solar farms in Central Florida. The plan calls for these solar cells to power its Walt Disney World campus.
Disney projects that the new solar farms will come online in 2023.
Before that, Castaway Cay will add enough solar panels to power roughly 70 percent of the island. Disney has committed to green-friendly energy.
Image Credit: Disney Cruise Line
Finally, we will talk about streaming more in the next section, but Forbes has lauded Disney with an impactful honor.
According to the business website, Disney is the micro-bubble winner among streaming services.
You can read the article for analysis. The writer emphasizes that while the pandemic presented unparalleled challenges, the company has persisted.
Now, the streaming segment of Disney’s operation appears likely to turn a profit by 2024, possibly sooner.
Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images
The pandemic hot-shotted Disney+ as a viable streaming competitor to Netflix, while ESPN+ grew even more, at least percentage-wise.
Disney didn’t just survive its greatest business challenge ever; it somehow thrived, turning a short-term negative into a long-term positive.
Photo: Shuttershock
Best Disney Entertainment Links
You may wonder why Disney hasn’t already turned a profit with its streaming services.
The explanation involves two factors: inexpensive service charges and wildly expensive content.
Image Credit: Disney
Even after a price increase, Disney+ isn’t even half the price of HBO Max, which is cheaper than Netflix.
Disney is still offering the equivalent of an introductory price. Meanwhile, the company is locking up deals across all entertainment fields, most recently the NFL.
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Disney continues to target potentially lucrative, engaging content for theatrical and/or Disney+ distribution as well.
The company locked up several exciting deals over the past month. A popular musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, will become a live-action film.
Simultaneously, Disney is trying to level up High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (HSMTMTS) by offering a first-season marathon on Disney Channel on May 8th.
That’s unexpected since HSMTMTS debuted on Disney+. Entertainment executives are giving it a chance to break out in another medium now.
Disney is also favoring some other vital contributors over the years. A Jim Henson biopic is in pre-production! Henson’s daughter is even producing the project!
Disney Movie Rumors and News
Of course, Disney theme park fans will feel even more excited about another title.
Justin Simien of Dear White People will direct the next cinematic version of Haunted Mansion! That project is possibly just two years from release!
Another potential sequel is every bit as exciting to me, and I say that as a Haunted Mansion superfan.
Image Credit: Disney
I believe that Ratatouille is one of the most rewatchable films in the Pixar catalogue. And rumors suggest that a sequel is possible!
Now, I think this report is pretty shady journalism, as one of the headlines flat out states no sequel is in active development. So, it’s clickbait.
However, now that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is opening at EPCOT and that TikTok musical went viral, Disney has incentive to create Ratatouille 2!
One project we know will happen is Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Sony Pictures recently maximized its potential profit on this investment.
First, the studio signed a first-look agreement with Netflix, ensuring that platform of airing the film first among streaming services.
Disney wasn’t about to get shut out of an MCU-adjacent project, though.
Photo Credit: MarvelStudiosNews.com
They signed a provocative licensing agreement with Sony for the United States.
Under this deal, all Sony releases from 2022 through 2026 will appear on Disney services.
So, all Sony titles will run through Disney Channel, Freeform, ABC, and FX Network, along with Disney+ and Hulu.
Netflix bought rights to what was previously known as the Pay 1 licensing window. Disney has acquired the Pay 2 window.
Effectively, you’ll watch Sony movies first on Netflix. Still, you’ll catch them most often afterward on Disney media services, both TV and streaming.
Okay, that’s everything. Have a great month, my friends!
