Disney Headlines for October 14th, 2022
This week in Disney Headlines: Disney is quietly negotiating to buy the biggest boat ever. We’re talking about the Spruce Goose of cruise ships here.
Also, we’ve got a quick note about the connection between the late Disney Legend, Angela Lansbury, and a notorious criminal.
I Bought a Boat!
One story has sent shockwaves throughout the cruise industry, and that’s before Disney has finished the paperwork!
Last week, MickeyBlog broke the story that Disney Cruise Line may have purchased a massive vessel. Now, we have the full details.
Image Credit: Disney Cruise Line
Before the pandemic, several Chinese companies had announced their intent to enter the cruise industry.
Some of the country’s wealthiest individuals committed to this project. They wanted to do it right, too.
Photo: Forbes
One individual, Lim Kok Thay, has made his fortune through the casino industry. As the head of Genting Group, he co-founded the former Star Cruises Limited.
The Malaysian Chinese tycoon grew that brand into one of the most potent cruise fleets in the Eastern hemisphere. He’s also one of the parties for the existence of Universal Studios Singapore.
Photo: Visitingsingapore.com
So, when the entrepreneur commissioned the world’s largest cruise ship, everyone had high hopes. Sadly, the timing of this endeavor proved horrific. It happened just before the pandemic.
Star Cruises Limited, aka Genting Hong Kong, overcommitted its capital resources to a new fleet of cruise ships. Due to the pandemic, they went broke in the process.
Photo: CDC
When COVID-19 shut down the entire industry for an extended period, Genting Hong Kong collapsed. It’s entirely gone now after being the 18th largest cruise line in the world.
Lim Kok Thay managed to keep some of the intellectual properties and has restarted anew in the cruise industry. However, those unfinished ships are up for grabs.
Photo:Wilkipedia
Okay, Disney Bought the Boat. Maybe.
Disney is apparently the primary beneficiary of this unexpected bit of upheaval. One such vessel, the Golden Dream, currently sits in a shipyard.
Progress has halted since Genting Hong Kong stopped paying the bills. That’s unfortunate because this would have been the largest ship ever.
Photo: Getty
Seriously, the Golden Dream weighs 208,000 gross tons. Of course, since you’re not in the Navy, I don’t expect you to know what that means. But it’s big.
For comparison, the Disney Wish, the new crown jewel of Disney Cruise Line, weighs 144,000 gross tons. The Golden Dream is MUCH bigger and capable of hosting 9,500 guests.
Photo: Disney
Genting Hong Kong had also requested the largest water coaster in the world. Also, this ship would have been capable of holding 2,000 workers.
So, we’re talking about a floating city here that can support 11,500 lives. Maybe we should have all boarded this thing during the pandemic.
Credit: Disney
Of course, we couldn’t because it was only 75 percent complete. So, the unfinished vessel is at the shipyard.
Analysts had speculated that someone would purchase the Golden Dream and use the scrap for other builds.
Photo: Inc Magazine
Thankfully, Disney has recognized what a waste this would be. As a result, the company is negotiating for the purchase and completion of the Golden Dream.
However, the deal is far from final. Here’s why. Genting Hong Kong is a company formerly listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Photo: The Edge Markets
The cruise ship line also has ties to Malaysia, debts to Chinese banks, paperwork in Jamaica, and unpaid shipbuilders in Germany. That’s a LOT of international bureaucracy.
A Jamaican court ruled that Genting Hong Kong must liquidate its assets. The German shipbuilders want to get paid during this proceeding.
Photo:ofx.ie
So, Disney has gotten involved.
Remember Meyer Werft?
At least once a week during the pandemic, I would check for news updates from Meyer Werft, the shipyard where Disney commissioned three new ships.
Photo:ship&offshore.net
The first of them, the Disney Wish, got stuck in Germany for more than two years due to the pandemic.
Throughout this process, the Meyer Werft leadership team and Disney communicated about the project…and vented about their industry-related frustrations during the pandemic.
Credit: Disney
The two parties built a bond that ultimately led to the Disney Wish exceeding all expectations as a next-generation luxury cruise ship.
The German creditors of Genting Hong Kong want to finish these ships.
Photo:cruiseandferry.net
However, they’ll only do business with people they trust. In addition, any company must agree to complete the work in Germany.
You can do the math here to understand why Disney checks all the boxes. It’s a perfect fit even before we talk about finances.
Photo: Getty
The Golden Dream would have cost more than $1.5 billion to build. Since it’s mostly done, we can safely say that it already has completed $1 billion in work.
Scrapping that ship would have been an abomination. But, thankfully, I don’t think that’ll happen.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Instead, Disney appears poised to pay 25 cents on the dollar to swoop in and snag the Golden Dream.
The belief is that Disney wants to host Asian cruises on this fleet. Disney could enter a new marketplace for cheap.
Credit: Disney
As a reminder, the Disney Wish cost $900 million. Disney could buy a MUCH larger ship for a fraction of the price. It’s a dream deal, presuming Disney can overcome all the bureaucracy.
Miscellaneous Headlines
The Golden Dream story is the biggest Headline this week. But there are a few others that might interest you.
Photo: Disney
For example, Kareem Daniel, the leader of all Disney content, has joined the McDonald’s Board of Directors. He’s going places.
Disney also suffered a rare legal setback involving Muppet Babies. Disney hasn’t technically lost anything yet, but the trial will proceed…and it looks bad.
Photo: Disney
At Marvel, several MCU titles changed release dates in the fallout from Blade’s struggles. You can read more about this at MarvelBlog all week.
You’re probably aware that Angela Lansbury passed away. Disney posted a lovely tribute to her.
Courtesy of Photofest
This is a good week for you to rewatch Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which is available on Disney+. By the way, there’s also this odd historical footnote:
Angela Lansbury told a story about her daughter falling under the spell of a Hollywood deadbeat. He would pick the girl up from school and get her to steal money and food from her parents for him. Worried, Lansbury moved the entire family to Ireland. The guy was Charles Manson.
— Christopher Moloney (@Moloknee) October 11, 2022
Here’s the full story if you want some context. I definitely hadn’t heard this one.
On a different note, here’s an interesting visual of the subscriber race between Netflix and Disney.
Finally, there’s whatever this is from the most recent episode of Dancing with the Stars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMRqyB0BpPA
That’s gonna haunt me for the rest of my life.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Platinum level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney
