Disney Quarterly Earnings: Parks Lose $2 Billion, WDW Attendance Down & More
Walt Disney Company reported its third quarter earnings for April through June and forward-looking forecast for 2020 on an investor call held by CEO Bob Chapek. In this post, we’ll cover the good & bad of these results, plus updates on the future of Walt Disney World and beyond.
The last quarter was a perfect storm for the Walt Disney Company. The only theme parks that were open at all during the third quarter were Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, and as minority owners in both, they’re not exactly Disney’s cash cows. Beyond that, film releases were delayed, production was shuttered, there were no sports for ESPN to broadcast, and advertising budgets were slashed. Aside from Disney+, pretty much every aspect of Disney’s business was negatively impacted.
Consequently, analysts were predicting the worst for the Walt Disney Company in the third quarter of 2020. Forecasts called for millions in losses (potentially a $2 billion loss from the Parks, Resorts & Experiences division alone) as compared to $4.6 billion in profit during last year’s third quarter. Wall Street had already priced these losses into Disney’s stock, with the real questions being just how bad the damage was, whether there were any unexpected bright spots, and Disney’s forward-looking expectations for the fourth quarter and 2021…
Let’s start with a look the Walt Disney Company’s fiscal third quarter 2020 financial results. In some ways, this was worse than expected–and our expectations were really low.
Forecasts called for revenue of $12.39 billion, but the actual total was $11.78 billion–down 42% year over year. Despite this, $DIS was up in after hours trading as soon as the results were released, so clearly Wall Street was pleasantly surprised…
Disney+ was an expected bright spot, but even that fell short of subscriber projections hitting 57.5 million as compared to the forecast 59.4 million. However, analysts have adjusted their expectations upwards for Disney+ after its meteoric success. During the call, Chapek announced that Disney+ has hit 60.5 million subscribers as of August 2020.
It’s worth noting here that Hamilton didn’t debut until July 4, just missing the last quarter. Regardless of expectations, the Disney+ streaming service is doing far better than other newcomers like Apple TV+ and HBO Max, both of which are off to very slow starts.
Also announced during the call is that Mulan will be available to Disney+ subscribers as a premium video on demand release debuting September 4, 2020 for an additional $29.99 upcharge. Mulan will also be released in select theaters, although no additional details were provided regarding that.
Mulan is Disney’s biggest foray into PVOD and Disney made clear that this is a one-off and driven by the uncertainty of its release. Onward had its theatrical run shortened and Artemis Fowl was released directly to Disney+, but those obviously aren’t the same. Bob Chapek also announced plans to launch yet another streaming service in 2021 under the Star brand.
Of particular interest for us is Parks, Experiences and Products (or Parks & Resorts). Disney estimates that the total net adverse impact on that segment’s operating income for the third quarter was approximately $3.5 billion due to revenue lost as a result of the closures–that’s a loss of roughly $40 million per day. Segment operating results decreased $3.7 billion to a loss of $2.0 billion.
Interestingly, capital expenditures were $1.86 billion in the third quarter, down from $2.49 billion year over year. We didn’t expect CapEx to plummet to zero, but this number was still higher than expected. Disney is a slow turning ship, so these numbers will still probably continue to drop, but hopefully that still bodes well for ongoing projects.
The losses in the theme park segment were partially offset by media networks and other divisions, but it was still a rough quarter for the Walt Disney Company. In total, the net adverse impact on operating income across all business units was approximately $2.9 billion. One minor positive note is that earnings per share were $.08 for the quarter. That’s a decrease of 94% from $1.34 in the prior-year quarter, but it’s still in the positives.
Another big positive that caused us to breathe a sigh of relief is that Disney has $23 billion in cash. That number is actually up significantly year over year. In fact, just at the end of the last quarter, the company only had $14.3 billion in cash on hand. Following that, Disney raised another $11 billion in new debt offerings to weather the current crisis. Obviously, more debt isn’t good, but the cash puts Disney in a good position to weather the storm.
On the call, Disney indicated that Walt Disney World is already covering its variable costs and making a positive net contribution towards fixed costs. Note that this doesn’t mean that Walt Disney World is profitable–it means the parks are losing less money by being open than they would lose by being closed.
Nevertheless, Walt Disney World’s results are below expectations, which the company attributes to the spike in Florida’s cases. Chapek stated that cancellations have been higher than anticipated and utilization of the parks has been lower than expected. Long distance travelers are making up a lower percentage of guests than expected (~50%) whereas Floridians are making up a higher percentage (~50%) of all guests in the parks on any given day.
At the end of the question and answer portion, Walt Disney World attendance once again came up with a question about resort occupancy, booking numbers, and guest spending. Disney stated that per guest spending is up (we call that “the eBay pirate effect”) but declined to provide an answer on the hotel inquiries, saying that the occupancy numbers were meaningless since so many resorts are not currently open.
Independent of this, we know that occupancy rates are way down (which is likely why this question was dodged). Even without that knowledge, you could surmise that more guests from in-state and fewer from out of state means lower numbers for the hotels. Even those numbers don’t tell the full story, as Disney Vacation Club is buoying the out of state percentage as DVC members are backed into a corner with the ‘use it or lose it’ nature of membership.
It’s good news in the short term that Walt Disney World being open is making a net positive contribution, but that’s still not a sustainable long-term position. This will improve as consumer confidence bounces back and willingness to travel increases, but that will take years to fully recover. In the short term, it’s all but inevitable that Walt Disney World will follow Universal and SeaWorld in announcing layoffs.
Disney didn’t broach the topic of discounting on the call, which is one way to entice out of state guests to return to Walt Disney World. As we’ve said before, our assumption is that both deals and out of state marketing will return as soon as Florida’s numbers improve to the point where it’s not a “bad look” or PR decision for Disney to actively lure guests to a hotspot.
Additionally, Disney noted on the call that the company is anticipating CapEx to be $700 million lower than previously forecast, which is due to lower investment in the domestic parks.
As noted above, we’re already starting to see this, but it’s not as pronounced as anticipated. Keep in mind that there were CapEx costs for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge last year, and Disney has consistently stated that the company was aiming for lower CapEx after that project was finished. Between that and the pausing of all construction projects at Walt Disney World and Disneyland for several months (thus deferring some of those costs), this doesn’t seem as bad as it could be. Time will tell, though.
Ultimately, we went into Disney’s earnings call knowing it would be a bloodbath–unquestionably the company’s single worst quarter ever–and the results were about on par with what we anticipated. Some results were better than expected, others were worst. All things considered, no colossal surprises. Given that we were dreading this call and fearing the worst, “no colossal surprises” is a pretty positive result.
There were also plenty of “optimistic nuggets.” Disney has a lot of cash on hand ($23 billion!!!), and is clearly positioned to weather the storm, even if the situation further deteriorates. Even with abysmal attendance, Walt Disney World is making a positive net contribution towards fixed costs, which should forestall further significant operational cuts. Disney+ is still going strong. Given all of this plus Disney’s resilience and brand affinity among consumers, we definitely left the call feeling fairly reassured. It should all be uphill from here!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Walt Disney Company’s third quarter earnings and future forecast for the last quarter of 2020 and beyond? Are you worried about the future of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or the company in general? Think things will turn around for the fourth quarter or in 2021? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Disney’s park woes have zero to do with the current number of cases in Florida. People aren’t coming because nobody wants to pay all that money for a drastically reduced experience. We shut down an a multi trillion dollar economy for a virus and now we’re gonna to pay for it. The cost in lives from the shutdown will exceed the virus death toll.
Aaron, nope! i would be there right now, enjoying the first week of my annual two week trip but I decided to call it off because of the high number of cases. I would have had NO problem with the mask and the limited hours, entertainment, etc. Multiply me by a few thousand times and the high number of cases ARE part of the reason for the lower attendance. That and people being more careful with what money they have, or possibly they live in a foreign country where they CAN”T travel to Florida or anywhere in the U.S. even if they wanted.
For those of us that live in states doing way better than Florida covid cases definitely are relevant. We usually spend 2/3 weeks on Disney property in July and a week at Jacksonville beach. We definitely canceled our trip this year (first time not going in 5 years) because of how out of control the virus is down there.
You guys are wrong. If Disney opened up completely they’d pack the place. Sure some people won’t come because they’re afraid, but there are so many that would they’d sell out.
You guys know that AP holders can’t get in right now without reservations weeks in advance? Basically they’re sold out to pass holders. The reason the parks aren’t packed to the gills isn’t because of the case numbers.
I can only speak for myself, but it’s def. COVID that keeps me from traveling to WDW. The reduced experience isn’t a factor for me at all.
Nope. I’m local and I’m not going because of COVID and only COVID.
While low crowds at Disney are appealing, I’d rather have functional lungs. I know Disney is safe but what about all the stops on the way to Disney? Gas stations, food, restrooms?
The only way I would consider it right now would be a larger hotel discount. I might be persuaded to do a local staycation. But, prices would have to be dramatically lower like Great Recession low.
I wouldn’t go right now due to the heat and storm threat (we dodged Dorian last year, thankfully). Once weather improves, there is no way I’d travel to Florida to pay for a full price Disney vacation for less than a full price Disney vacation experience. I’d have interest in visiting during December with lower crowds, but not without significant pricing incentives.
Aaron is right. Many of us can see through the hype and will go, even without fireworks. If you’re scared, then by all means, please stay home. We’re going next month, and I know we will enjoy the lower crowd levels. My brother and I still went to Europe in March when this all started ramping up, and had a great time! DLP was awesome and I can’t wit to go back. But for now, the focus is on the WDW trip and festival. SPAM Hash, here we come!
My husband and I visited Disney this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the Magic Kingdom. The weather was amazing (no hurricane came, yay!), the employees were fantastic as per the norm, and not only is Disney the most magical place on earth, it is also the CLEANEST place on earth! We didn’t mind wearing masks one bit and brought several in order to have fresh ones every 4 hours (don’t like breathing in the carbon dioxide long term, best to change those masks!). No lines, a wonderful experience from start to finish, and our room at the Disney Caribbean Resort was very nice. We are going to Epcot in 2 weeks and also visiting the Animal Kingdome. Once the lines come back, and I hope it’s sooner vs later for Disney and their employees sake, we will continue to visit, but right now is the BEST time ever, and we are enjoying it! There was only one negative, and that was our dinner at Be Our Guest. At $60.00 a person, it was beyond disappointing, in fact, it was horrid. The night before we ate at an Italian restaurant at the boardwalk for the same cost, and it was brilliant. For the bad dinner at Be Our Guest, I give our trip an A instead of an A+.
Yes, BOG is HIGHLY overrated. Once you’ve eaten there and seen the rooms, it just isn’t worth it. Skipper Canteen is a much better value.
Let us look at the fact that Disney made 27.5B in GROSS PROFIT last year. If we were to take away 7% that would be the loss they sustained of the 2 billion. Also not to mention that they will be using that 2B to reduce their tax burden for years to come. So I really do not see it as crippling as it has been painted out to be. The only worry as always is the reaction of stockholders and Wall Street.
On another note. I am a Disney pass holder for an over seven-year period and we are among the ones getting the biggest shaft. As Platinum Plus there are no water parks open, and I am relegated to three reservations for the parks. Add insult to injury that there are plenty of reservations for ticket buyers and resort guests, yet pass holders who provide a steady trackable income are left out in the cold.
My family and I spent a week at Disney and it was great because the usual pressure of crowds was gone. Rides were accessible and waits were minimal, yet getting into any park was not an option especially Hollywood Studios. We ended up going to Epcot three times, which seemed to be the least popular park.
I will say Disney is one of the safest places to be in Floriduh. The staff was constantly correcting guests who thought masks were optional. Even with that, multiple guests decided to try ambulatory eating as a method of confounding safety measures. It was just amazing how many “chin strappers” and “nose peekers” I counted through my travels (192) to be exact.
I look forward to going back there during the holidays and hopefully, the cooler weather be a blessing.
Crippling? They’re in business to make money for their shareholders, not to employ people or provide an experience for us. Companies have to decide how to cut expenses and provide a return for owners like me who want prefer they pay me than spending money.
I think you’re confused about what is profit versus revenue there, Manny.
So interesting … about this time last year I was getting more and more upset and concerned with WDW raising prices on everything and decreasing discount offers. It just seemed like Disney was price gouging big time. They were getting away with it because so many can afford the price inflation. Disney will continue to up-charge as long as people are willing to pay. I stressed concern that the Walt focus on family and magic is long gone and Disney has become an obese cash cow. So many families and even historical diehard fans are being tossed to the side with preference to greedy motives. I ended my rant last year predicting that one day the economy would collapse and the gold at the end of Disney’s rainbow would be no more. At that time, all of a sudden like a miracle, Disney will almost beg people to come to WDW and offer so many incredible deals and discounts to entice people to come to the parks. Well, here we are. Even more interesting will be to see how low Disney will have to go to get people to return to WDW. Excessive FREE Dining Plan options with no fine print??? FREE parking once again??? FREE park hopper perks??? FREE extra magic hours??? Deep discounts on annual passes? Increased shopping/dining discounts for annual pass and DVC members??? I will certainly take advantage of any discount and perk that they offer, but I must be honest in saying that the wounds and scars left from how they treated loyal fans such as my middle class family will never go away. The magic has been sucked right out of my heart by Disney’s greed. What a shame.
I came on here to write much the same! (Although probably much less eloquently) I have totally lost my love for WDW with their need to charge for EVERYTHING! The parking at the resort hotel was the final straw for me – it doesn’t even make sense?! And I feel as a ‘normal’ family we have been priced out of this wonderful experience, as well as being put off by the negative feedback of overcrowding at even the ‘limited’ ticketed events such as MNSSHP and MVMCP. After reading about the £23 Billion they have managed to accrue at the same time as introducing all these added costs, it does show me that as a company they no longer value fun and inclusivity
I would think that the fact that much of WDWs frontline cast is usually made up of college program participants and that the CPs are not coming back any time soon, WDW would be less likely to need massive layoffs of current cast members. They’ve pretty much had a huge layoff sending all CPs home. Universal and SeaWorld did not have this group (ie CPs) of employees.
Walt Disney World employs a lot of people who are not frontline Cast Members–that’s where layoffs will likely disproportionately occur.
That’s true, we don’t always think about all those people behind the scenes at Disney.
How do you think this will affect reopening Disneyland and DCA? Or do you think the west coast parks status solely depend on the California government?
I hope they wake up and open up over there sooner rather than later. While Disney had a much smaller influence on the totalitarian CA government than they do on the superior FL govt, they are still a nice chunk of state revenue. The economy and DL’s place in it are so much different from WDW though. We just got awarded a nice project in L.A., so I will be planning multiple trips to DL over the next year. Now, to decide if the upgrade to the super crazy expensive pass is worth it for me…
You need more incentives for Florida Residents that will help bring more people to the resorts and parks. Even though people are avoiding large crowds and having to wear masks in this hot weather, people also need to get away and relax , put their worries away. But people have lost their jobs money is tight so come on Disney World come up with great incentives to bring people to your resorts. We plan on coming the end of August we have reservations if they dont cancel them for a third time.
Disney has limited occupancy to pass holders. You can’t get into Hollywood Studios as a pass holder until mid September. The problem isn’t locals. It’s out of town people who will not deal with government restrictions for a minimal Disney experience.
Disney should have worked with other states when they decided to reopen the Florida parks. I feel like several of the mandatory quarantines are specifically because the parks opened and it’s tempting to go. I have no doubt the parks are safe, but all the gas stations on the way there? airports? no. Disney is an oasis in the middle of a hot spot.
They also needed to use their leverage with Gov, DeSantis a bit more to get a statewide mask mandate before opening. My county in FL has stricter rules than the rest of the state and we are the only county seeing a decrease in cases, everywhere else has plateaued. Gov Cuomo also sent over supplies for new test site outside of the state ones we already have. I don’t believe we will see a decrease state-wide unless the rules tighten, until we see a decrease Disney won’t see its attendance rebound. This is obviously good for the state as a whole so I have no idea why DeSantis is so hesitant. What he’s doing now, making masks a “personal choice” is not winning him any favor in the state.
DeSantis has national ambitions – wants to run for President eventually, and he thinks his current approach is a winning one with Republicans nationally. Time will tell.
Maria I agree with you 100%. I have been so puzzled as to why the tourism industry there couldn’t put more pressure on DeSantis (or at least it seemed they hadn’t). I would consider bringing my family again even though we were there early this year if WDW wasn’t an “oasis in the middle of a hot spot.”
If DeSantis has political aspirations he has to be able to win Florida!
Thanks for this summary. Definitely sounds like a perfect storm. We were really excited possibly to rent a cabin at FW to have a resort-only vacation, but then Florida’s cases spiked SO high, and there are zero discounts for anyone out of state or not an AP. I completely understand why those discounts don’t exist, but no way we’re paying rack rate on any room at WDW ever-much less when amenities are reduced. My guess is even for people willing to brave the high numbers in FL, the lack of discounts and (for many) quarantines required make even the most die hard Disney fans think twice. If we were local I’m sure we’d be thinking about it as a safer getaway, but def not from out of state. Definitely interested to see what this means for the coming couple of years attendance-wise. Will there be a backlog? Will the recession just outright cancel many trips? What are the long term guesses RE: DVC? All things we’ve been discussing together (we’re not DVC members-that’s not really our vacation style but if it gets cheap enough, maybe…)
I also wander if prices for DVC will be hurt. I don’t see it getting down to levels as the 2008-2009 recession but if people are not going to use them due to being very far away and not flying while exploring places close to home could put pressure on prices for a while. Be interesting to see where pricing goes. I bought in 2012 and held till 2017 used my point for that time then sold my DVC for a 3k profit!
Tom,
Do you think Candlelight Processional will be cancelled? I was going to post this on your “Will Xmas be cancelled?” post, but it seems you don’t go back and respond to questions on old posts once you have moved on.
Xmas has always been big money for WDW, but the distancing problems may be too big to deal with for Candlelight Processional.
What are your thoughts on Candlelight Processional 2020?
“Do you think Candlelight Processional will be cancelled?”
Probably. Apparently some groups associated with Candlelight have already been informed that it’s not happening. I can’t independently confirm that, but I don’t doubt it.
(Not Tom, obv!) given the research on singing and viral transmission, I’m skeptical about Candlelight Processional. Those singers are on top of each other, and a bunch of them are kids, so I don’t think Disney would want the bad press if it spread amongst the high schoolers singing…maybe a modified thing with just the Voices of Liberty and a physically distanced orchestra (or at least wind section)? Just a guess but as a clergy person who’s been in lots of conversations about choirs, and as a wind musician…the prospects there aren’t great.
Glad we got to see it years back with Barney Stinson (aka NPH) narrating. Great experience. We are at 28 days now, and hoping for Fall decor but it may still be too early…
My son’s friend used to be an Imagineer with Disney and a few months ago left Disney and went to Universal to work on their new project. She was just released on Sunday as they are not moving forward with their new park at this time.
Sorry about your son’s friend. I’m sure it sounded like a dream job – help develop a brand new park. The virus is going to change the lives of a lot of people even if they don’t get sick themselves.
I feel WD will just raise the cost of everything in an effort to re-coop their loss. As a consumer and WDW enthusiast, I will not fill their wallet as this virus has sucked the funds out of mine. I feel WD should sweeten the enticement of returning to Disney with ‘bargains’. “REAL” bargains when the time is right – they’ll catch more flies with honey.
“I feel WD will just raise the cost of everything in an effort to re-coop their loss.”
If Disney could just unilaterally raise prices without seeing a corresponding drop in demand, they would’ve done exactly that to a greater degree when the economy was booming.
“If Disney could just unilaterally raise prices without seeing a corresponding drop in demand, they would’ve done exactly that to a greater degree when the economy was booming.”
They did do that to a pretty high degree, especially on ticket pricing in California
Agreed Zues… they did exactly that!
I’ve been saying for 5 years they could just double prices overnight and hardly make a dent in crowds and still believe that was true. Right now, not so much…
Wondering if Disney’s strange plan to collect July and August payments from monthly payment APs who are cancelling and then refunding them payments in October was meant to make the cash reserves look a tiny bit better for the financial report. That alone may not be a big thing, but it also allowed them to push off the news about the number of APs that are canceling so that all the bad news wasn’t announced in the same quarter.
Much like anything else, it’s certain there are far more people threatening to cancel than are actually doing it. It’s like the fools who promised to leave these US right before an election, then didn’t. At least Johnny Depp made good on his rant and stayed in Europe.
Walt Disney World’s results are below expectations–well maybe they need to start moving reservations from the Resort/Regular Ticket pools to the AP pool. Went on today and I can’t get into any park for the next two weeks. I know that if we keep checking things will/can pop up but it is ridiculous that we are consistently so limited. AP’s buy stuff. The average pass holder will have several shirts/magicbands/ears etc. It is very frustrating.
Yeah, agreed. It’s becoming quite clear that they didn’t build the system in such a way that capacity among the three buckets could be easily reallocated on a more dynamic basis. Why not is beyond me–that seems like a really big oversight.
I agree and if I were a local passholder, I’d be furious about it and making some calls! It’s not right, as we spend a fair bit of money over multiple trips, and probably more at the higher end restaurants, etc.
It’s probably because most of their IT department is still furloughed…
The most surprising announcement in the call is the VOD release of Mulan. This news was more depressing to me than the losses and decrease in revenue (which is obviously bad news… but all expected). I truly felt Disney would stick to its guns and only release Mulan theatrically… even if they waited several months. I am a huge proponent of the theatrical experience and (*gulp*) even think it’s worth my entertainment $$. I know many out there disagree with me… but I just don’t love streaming new releases in my home. I’ve loved going to movies my entire life, and I feel this virus could single-handedly destroy our movie-going experience, or at the very least severely cripple it.
I agree with you completely, and the good news is that it would seem the studios do, too. Just look how stubborn Warner Bros. is being with Tenet.
I’m guessing Disney is making a calculated move here, knowing families aren’t going to be returning to movie theaters in huge numbers anytime soon, and wanting to see some near-term ROI. The continued insistence that this is a one-time thing further reinforces this isn’t setting a precedent.
I agree! Despite, again, rising prices, I love the theater experience, and I sincerely hope they survive the pandemic. It’s a shame drive-in numbers have shrunk so much, or studios could have still had an outlet. As it is, there are relatively few still in operation, and many of those cannot show digital. Missing Mulan in theaters will stink. Maybe they will rerelease it if they think the market is there. I do wonder why they chose Mulan for PVOD over Black Widow. I’m sure they ran focus groups and numbers. Perhaps your thought, Tom, that families won’t go out but younger adults will.
I’m also super bummed about Mulan going to streaming! Something with that level of production value is a joy to see on a giant screen. Tom’s probably right in that they made a calculated guess that families aren’t going back to theaters soon even when they open, but I’m still super disappointed. I’m holding out hope that maybe they will have a slight change of heart and at least do a dual release in the US where they put the movie in the cinemas that are open in addition to the Disney+ VOD. (Also, as a childless adult I have a harder time with the $30 VOD price tag; for my husband and I it would be basically the same price to see it in a theater, which we would both prefer anyway.)
That’s what happens when you expect people to pay the already very high prices (which usually I have no issues paying) but only give 20% of the normal experience.
That no doubt plays a small role, but Florida’s status as a hotspot during the pandemic is the much bigger issue. That’s what drove cancellations and caused Disney to miss on its original attendance projections.
It sounds like things could have been worse. I think as long as Disney doesn’t keep spending and just does normal maintenance they will be ok. It’s not going to get a lot better quickly, when people from out of states and other countries have travel bans lifted. But it really depends on covid. No one hopes more, that this will run its course or there is a vaccine
Yeah, definitely could’ve been worse and should be steady improvement from here–just potentially slower than Disney (and by extension, fans) might like.
Thanks for your insights!
I always find your comments to be fair and unbiased.
Disney can certainly find ways to manage this and keep the head up in 2020-2021.
I am more concerned on the long run as the pipeline of new movies/characters do not seem as a big hits as Toy Story or Frozen or similar… so, hopefully the Creative and Imagineers departments can keep it up!
As for the low attendance…well it’s only currently open to passholders and for people who had reservations before the pandemic…that alone is one problem …when will Disney open to the public that’s another story then if attendance remains low then it would be a problem…but overall I’m not that desperate to visit any park during this pandemic….Disney or any other park.
I’m not the least bit worried about WDAS or Pixar. Both are consistently churning out quality films, and they’ve finally struck the right balance of original films and sequels. I think the future is pretty bright there, and eventually more ‘lightning in a bottle’ franchises/characters will be born.
Having more time to plan can be a plus so long as they don’t keep changing the project requirements too often. Part of the reason the first Blade Runner was so visually stunning was they had far more time to plan the look due to a strike delay.
Blade Runner is a unicorn to be sure. Filmed in 1981, the effects STILL look better than almost all CGI done now.
Thanks for the article. I have to admit, seeing that the final word of the post was “reassured” was not where I thought this was going when the headline hit my inbox. Well played.
Appreciate the summary. The cash-on-hand and the fact that there were earnings altogether bodes SO well. Over at WDWMagic there was a report of a bloodbath to come; this suggests that any forthcoming changes are choices rather than necessities.
I’ve seen the thread you’re referencing, and there’s undoubtedly kernels of truth to it–some of that will eventually play out. However, other parts read as if they’re written with quite the agenda (or underlying animosities towards specific individuals).