Disney Headlines for October 27th, 2023
This past week, Disney juggled water parks, and Frozen III plans came into focus.
I’ll talk about those things and *sigh* IPL cricket in the latest batch of Disney Headlines.
Disney Water Park Juggling
In September 2019, Disney’s Blizzard Beach closed for what Disney described as “extended refurbishment.”
We’re talking about something that happened four years ago, and it’s still having an impact at the parks today.
When Blizzard Beach finally reopened in January 2020, its return only lasted a few days before cold weather closed it again.
In the interim, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon closed for its annual refurbishment. And the two of them haven’t operated simultaneously ever since then.
As everyone knows, the world took a turn in January 2020, as Disney first learned the dangers of COVID-19.
Late that month, Disney’s Chinese water parks closed, and the world was never quite the same.
For Disney’s part, operating one water park seemed like a dicey proposition at the time, much less two.
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon would close in January 2020 and then remain closed for almost exactly two years.
The two water parks have flip-flopped ever since then. When one Walt Disney World park reopens, the other closes.
When One Door Closes…
That trend will continue into year five, as Blizzard Beach, which is currently closed, will return on November 6th.
Guess what happens on November 4th! That’s right, Typhoon Lagoon will shut down for its annual refurbishments.
Based on Disney’s pre-pandemic history, we’d ordinarily expect both water parks to operate in the spring, presumably no later than April.
However, Disney hasn’t done that since the fall of 2019! And this behavior continues to confuse.
After all, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon annually finished in the top three in attendance among global water parks.
Only one water park in China surpasses either of them. Even Universal’s Volcano Bay has lagged behind Disney’s two water parks in attendance.
For whatever reason, Disney hasn’t chosen to run both simultaneously, though. So, this oddity raises a question.
Will that strategy finally change in the spring, or has Disney decided that running one water park at a time makes better business sense?
I honestly have no idea because I fully expected Disney to open both parks simultaneously in 2023. That never happened.
So, I’m as mystified about this as the rest of you. It’s definitely…a choice.
Many of us would like to know Disney’s thinking here, though.
Frozen III Is Coming
In 2013, Disney unleashed Frozen on an unsuspecting world.
After a relatively low-key start, word quickly spread that Disney had crafted another animated classic.
Frozen Fever would sweep the country and, later, the world. In the process, Frozen earned nearly $1.3 billion at the box office.
At the time, that total was good enough to make it the biggest animated blockbuster ever, even though it has since been surpassed.
Along the way, Frozen has become one of Disney’s most lucrative franchises ever.
History even repeated itself in 2019 when Disney released Frozen II, which somehow proved even more successful.
The sequel surpassed the original by earning $1.45 billion at the box office, $160 million more than Frozen. That’s an extreme rarity for sequels.
A few months ago, Disney finally acknowledged the obvious: it will create a third Frozen movie.
Simply put, there’s too much money on the table for Disney not to create one.
However, we’ve learned in 2023 that it’s a mistake to wait too long for a sequel, as was the case with Disney on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
What We’ve Learned about Frozen III
Some IGN reporters have done some digging, and they’ve discovered a couple of things about Frozen III.
First, odds are decent that the film will debut around Thanksgiving, as that was the case with the first two titles.
Disney will employ the same release strategy with Wish next month as well.
Holiday crowds tend to inflate box office, making this an intelligent release strategy.
While Kristen Bell hasn’t technically confirmed her return yet, it’s a safe bet that the main cast will all sign on for Frozen III.
At the end of the second film, Elsa had taken on a role that made her the fifth spirit, the one who held sway over the spirits of earth, water, fire, and air.
Presumably, Elsa’s role as a conduit between the humans and these spirits will come into play in the sequel.
Finally, we have the elephant in the living room, which is Elsa’s romantic life.
While Anna’s penchant for bad boys nearly destroyed the fabric of Arendelle’s society in the first film, she’s since met her person.
During the 21st century, Disney has grown much better about female empowerment, finally acknowledging that strong women don’t need partners.
Still, some interpretations of Let It Go have stirred debate since Frozen’s release.
Will Disney ever confirm or deny that thought process? Stay tuned…
We’re probably about two years away from Frozen III, which we can safely expect to be another Disney masterpiece.
The Richest Man in Asia 2, Disney 0
As MickeyBlog reported here, Disney is weighing an offer to sell a large portion of its Star India ownership interest.
Sadly, this news once again resets the Haven’t Talked about Cricket in X Days calendar to zero yet again.
As I mentioned last week, a cricket match between bitter rivals India and Pakistan led Star India to a record for the most concurrent streaming viewers ever.
Then, Disney released an 8-K filing late last week that was informative for two reasons. It showed how much ESPN had earned…and how much Star India had lost.
The timing of this reveal made no sense in that Disney could have just displayed the info during its fiscal earnings report on November 8th.
A company would only release this information early if something were happening, which it possibly is.
Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, had previously proved himself the bane of Star India’s existence when he outbid Disney on IPL Cricket streaming rights.
As I discussed here, Ambani’s actions fundamentally reset Disney’s entire philosophy regarding sports rights.
Now that Disney could use some cash to pay for Hulu, it may sell Star India, and I mentioned two weeks ago that Ambani would be a likely suitor.
Sure enough, Ambani appears poised to double his growing cricket empire by acquiring Star India.
Should that happen, Ambani will have bested Disney and Bob Iger twice in 18 months.
Name Your Price
The debate lies in the value of the company, something I discussed in that article.
Some analysts suggest it’s worth as little as $3 billion, while others have suggested $15-$18 billion.
Now, Ambani’s people have publicly suggested a $7-$8 billion valuation, with Disney saying $10 billion or so.
When this sort of speculation begins, it’s posturing between both parties to find an equitable price.
You can safely expect an offer that places the value of Star India at $8+ billion, possibly as high as $10 billion.
Disney likely won’t sell its entire ownership interest, instead keeping a stake as a protective marker for in-roads in India’s marketplace.
Basically, Disney would maintain the ability to use IPL Cricket to market to India’s citizens without having to fight Ambani in licensing rights negotiations.
In the process, Disney should earn enough between this and a potential sale of an ESPN stake to pay for Hulu.
While everyone will have wildly divergent takes on this topic, the reality is that it’s an asset exchange…and a smart one for Disney at that.
For Ambani, it’s a masterstroke if we ignore the fact that he’s basically burned $10 billion to become the world’s biggest IPL Cricket patron.
To a larger point, I honestly believe the days of IPL Cricket discussions among Disney fans are coming down to their last month.
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Feature Photo: Disney