Disney Headlines for March 20th, 2024
This week, we’ll discuss Disney theme park expansion and the odd way that cricket ultimately undid Disney’s streaming plans.
Yes, we’re resetting the Days Since Cricket Mentioned clock to zero in the latest Disney Headlines.
What’s a Lousy $2 Billion Among Friends?
Photos: Voice of OC
Many cranky reporters, myself included, watched with our mouths agape as some boorish council member threw a tantrum.
The setting was the Anaheim Planning Commission meeting, the subject was the DisneylandForward meeting, and the person was…odd.
Photo: Disneylandforward
I suspect we’ll find out later that this individual intended to use their platform on this date to heighten their political ambitions.
Those plans most assuredly failed, as every attempt to shut down his line of questioning gained cheers from the crowds.
Photo: Wikipedia
Somehow, that guy managed to alienate the pro-Disney AND anti-Disney crowd with his behavior, no small feat.
Ultimately, the council meeting played out exactly as expected, with DisneylandForward clearing another hurdle.
Photo: Spectrum news
The Anaheim City Council had recommended that the Planning Commission approve the plans.
Now, the only thing stopping the DisneylandForward project from happening would be an anti-Disney vote by…the Anaheim City Council.
Photo: Spectrum News
You don’t need to have a doctorate in Political Science to know that Disney appears to be in good shape here.
Then again, the way things have gone for Disney since the start of 2020, we should never say never.
Photo: LA Times
Anyway, after people sat through the entire nearly seven-hour meeting, one thing became abundantly clear.
Even though nobody from Disney wants to admit this fact yet, park officials know what they’re going to build there.
Photo: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG
We’ll discuss this in detail soon, probably in the April or May batch of Disney Rumors, but it’s readily apparent.
Ken Potrock, the President of Disneyland Resort, appeared at this meeting and gave a quite lovely speech about the project.
Image Credit: @KenPotrock/Instagram
Later, his employees answered challenging and sometimes ill-considered questions regarding what comes next.
Based on the guarded replies to those queries, it’s fair to say that Disneyland Resort announcements will occur later this year.
What’s a Lousy $30 Billion Among Friends?
(Matt Stroshane/Disney Parks)
Local Disneyland writers quickly expressed their concern that Disney intends to remake rides from existing parks at Disneyland.
I genuinely don’t understand why that would be a bad thing, as Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has reinvigorated the park.
Photo: Wikimedia
Still, that’s the rampant opinion at the moment. With Disney committing “just” $2 billion, people believe it’ll be copycat rides.
Personally, I’m squarely in the “let D’Amaro cook” camp, but it’s the entire thought process I find aggravating.
Photo: vecteezy.com
Disney has literally announced nothing, yet people are already spreading disinformation that the expansion will disappoint.
Similarly, we’ve got diverse opinions on how to interpret Disney’s $60 billion expansion announcement.
(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
During a recent earnings call, CEO Bob Iger indicated that 70 percent of that budget would go toward Disney Experiences development.
Then, in a filing last week, the paperwork suggested that theme park expenditures would represent half the $60 billion.
Photo: skillastics.com
So, Disney itself has caused some of this confusion by saying $42 billion in one instance and $30 billion on a different occasion.
What Will Disney Build at Disney World?
Photo: Disney
Longtime Orlando Sentinel reporter Dewayne Bevil recently interviewed a couple of theme park experts regarding Disney’s Florida plans.
Amusingly, the two analysts split on whether Disney will build a fifth gate at Walt Disney World.
Credit: Disney
One felt Disney wanted to take an ambitious approach, while the other believed that infrastructural costs negated the idea.
The debate here is whether Disney should spend all the money improving what it already has or creating something entirely new.
Photo: Disney CEO Bob Iger (Getty Images)
Iger has emphasized how much extra room there is at Disneyland and, well, every other Disney theme park on the planet.
But Universal’s Epic Universe puts at least some pressure on Disney to counter.
Photo: Universal
Would you rather Disney build extra themed lands at all current Disney World parks or construct an entirely new one?
Then again, how you and I feel about the subject doesn’t matter at all. It’s entirely how Disney chooses to proceed.
Photo: Universal
At the moment, we’ve got two conflicting forces in play. On the one hand, Epic Universe steals some of Disney’s thunder.
This park will be the new hotness when it opens next year, and it’ll make Disney World appear a bit stale by comparison.
Photo: CFTOD
On the flip side, the upheaval with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District aka Reedy Creek creates problems.
Disney knows that the Anaheim City Council will support any initiatives there. In Orlando, vipers abound.
Photo: Fox News
So, choosing to build an entirely new theme park during the current circumstances is fraught with peril.
Then again, I think a fifth gate is also what most of us want. Tell me if I’m wrong in the comments.
The Final Cricket Mention?!
Photo: x @starindia
Okay, we may have come to the end of the road on this one.
Disney has announced an agreement to merge its assets in India with those of Reliance Industries.
Technically, the Indian government won’t ratify that agreement until late 2024 or early 2025.
However, this deal suggests that Disney will be out of the cricket business soon.
Credit: Disney
The current licensing agreement likely goes to the new entity, although I don’t know that for sure yet.
Before then, Disney must settle some unfinished business with a different company.
The Walt Disney Company
A company named Zee Entertainment represents part of the reason why Disney’s plans for Star India failed.
Zee was trying to perform its own merger with Sony, but there was just one problem.
Photo: BBC
Zee was so broke it couldn’t reach the finish line, and their problem became Sony’s problem, which explains why that deal collapsed.
After that, Zee’s problem became Disney’s problem because they really couldn’t pay after that.
Photo: Washington Post
Disney had agreed to a $1.4 billion deal with Zee for cricket broadcasting rights.
Zee’s inability to pay that money led to a financial shortfall for Disney, which played a factor in the Star India/Reliance merger.
Photo: Forbes
This past week, Disney entered into arbitration against Zee in India, which sounds like a cakewalk to win, right?
Alas, most governments favor local companies over foreign interests.
So, Disney is hoping that a resolution and a big check are coming. At the moment, that outcome appears unlikely at best.
The moral of the story is that Disney should have sold its India assets the instant it acquired them in the Fox acquisition.
Photo: BBC
Everything that has happened since then has been bad news.
Now, let us never speak of cricket again. Please.
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