MickeyBlog News for February 13th, 2023
Disney turns 100 in a matter of months. That’s more than 60,000 weeks the company has been in business. Few of them proved as impactful as this one.
We have oh so much to discuss in this week’s MickeyBlog News.

Iger Changes Disney Forever
During the fiscal first-quarter earnings report for 2023, CEO Bob Iger declared a reorganization of The Walt Disney Company. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Basically, Iger hated the work done by his predecessor, Bob Chapek, in turning Disney into two branches: physical and digital divisions.


Photo: Disney
Now, Chapek has killed Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), the former entity led by the since-terminated Kareem Daniel.
Disney’s new composition includes three divisions. They are Parks, Experiences and Products under Josh D’Amaro, plus ESPN and Disney Entertainment.


Photo: Disney
Iger’s goal here centers on empowering Disney creatives who had previously lost control of their budgets.
Under Chapek, Daniel controlled all Disney content expenditures.


Photo: Disney
This format caused several longtime Disney executives to bristle and likely played a role in Alan Horn’s return to Warner Bros.
Disney officially promoted three people. Jimmy Pitaro is now Chairman of a slightly different, ostensibly more powerful version of ESPN.


Photo: Disney
Meanwhile, Alan Bergman and Dana Walden will operate as Co-CEOs of Disney Entertainment.
Along with Iger, these are now the five most powerful people at Disney.


Photo: Disney
Iger added comments that suggest EPSN isn’t currently for sale, but he’s open to offers for Hulu. At a minimum, Iger will listen.
Disney’s New Financial Constraints Force Layoffs
Frustratingly, these wise decisions come at a hefty opportunity cost. And a literal cost.


Photo: skillastics.com
Disney intends to shave $5.5 billion from its budget. According to Iger, $3 billion comes from content reductions.
Presumably, Disney will spend less on sports licenses and linear television productions.
As for the streaming services, that part remains up for debate until Disney adds clarity about its plan.


Photo: Newsweek
We do know that Iger will lean heavily into franchises in the short term.
During the past week, Disney revealed it will produce Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, and Zootopia 2.


Photo: Disney
Tactics like these ensure a pipeline of box office revenue and Disney+ appeal.
Still, Disney cannot fix everything via sequels and content savings.


Photo: Disney
So, I’m sorry to report that 7,000 current Disney cast members will lose their jobs. Iger had already stated this last month, but it garnered more headlines this week.
Disney shared context on impacted workers. Specifically, Josh D’Amaro sent out an email stating that the Parks division would be included.


Photo: The Walt Disney Company-
Josh D’Amaro (Chairman; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)
D’Amaro stated, “(Disney) is targeting significant savings across all businesses and the reorganization will result in necessary reductions to our overall workforce.
While our teams have made great progress in contributing to cost savings, these measures affect every segment and organization — including ours — and are vital as we implement more cost-effective, coordinated, and streamlined operations.”
Iger Beats Peltz
The other financial part of this involves Disney’s stock behavior. Iger faced a proxy battle with activist billionaire investor Nelson Peltz.
Nobody at Disney needed this headache. Many of Disney’s announcements directly rebuked Peltz’s complaints about the company.


Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
So, within a day of the earnings call, Peltz ceded the point and acknowledged he had lost by withdrawing his proxy fight.
For his part, Iger promised to bring back Disney’s dividend by the end of 2023.


Photo: AFP
Yes, Disney is laying off 7,000 people but restoring its stock dividend to assuage a billionaire. That’s how the proxy battle hurt Disney.
Say Goodbye to RFID and Hello to CFTOD
The most protracted Disney story in recent memory has neared the finish line.


Photo: Fox Business
One day this week, Florida’s governor will sign legislation that allows him to say, “There’s a new sheriff in town” repeatedly on camera.
The subject matter here is the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RFID). But that didn’t happen.


Photo: Reedy Creek
Instead, Florida’s elected officials listened to people who have worked in the state government for much longer.
The more experienced people pointed out the many flaws with dissolving Reedy Creek. Disney’s connections run too deep in Florida for such a move to be feasible.
Since everyone had already campaigned on this issue, something had to give, though.


Photo Credit: https://www.worldofwalt.com/disney-private-government-disneys-reedy-creek-improvement-district.html
So, Florida has renamed RFID as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD).
Surprisingly little else changes, at least internally. In fact, Disney can keep referring to this district as Reedy Creek for the next two years.


Photo Credit: Facebook – Reedy Creek Fire and Rescue Department Emergency Medical Services
The big move here is that Florida’s governor will choose the panelists for Disney’s tax district board.
In this way, one side can claim that it brought Disney to heel, while the other can maintain business as usual.
Disney’s public tactic here has proven interesting as well. Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle has acted completely unaffected. Here’s his official statement:
Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle issued a statement on Friday about the restructuring of Reedy Creek: "We are focused on the future and are ready to work within this new framework…"
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/ahXQRGsA3I
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) February 10, 2023
I’ve sounded angrier about a broken toenail.
History may show that Disney has underreacted to this. For now, most headlines like this one emphasize that Disney has kept almost all its perks.


Photo: WKMG ClickOrlando
Disney Miscellany
We’ve got several other stories to run through quickly. First, Disneyland Park has announced a delay in the reopening of Mickey’s Toontown.
Thankfully, the difference is less than two weeks. A rare degree of inclement weather in Southern California this winter forced construction delays.
Disney will now reopen Mickey’s Toontown on March 19th rather than March 8th.
On the plus side, Iger confirmed an Avatar experience coming to Disneyland. We don’t know what that means yet, but any Avatar is welcome at the park!


Photo: Avatar
In Walt Disney World news, Disney is flexing its intellectual property muscle this month.
MickeyBlog has tracked the surprising appearances of Mirabel from Encanto, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and the Queen of Hearts!
View this post on Instagram
Next week, Chip ‘n’ Dale will debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in their Rescue Rangers gear!
This reveal comes on the heels of various new character interactions at Hollywood Studios earlier this month.
Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers Are Coming To Disney’s Hollywood Stu https://t.co/zdMNn1nFat #HollywoodStudios #RescueRangers #WaltDisneyWorld
— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) February 8, 2023
Disney’s new strategy seemingly involves leaning heavily into character engagement to reduce wait times at other attractions. And I think we’re all here for it.
Remember during the pandemic when we had to socially distance ourselves from Disney characters? Doesn’t that already feel like forever ago now?


A character cavalcade in Walt Disney World
Image Credit: Disney
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