The Floating Magic Kingdom
D23 content announcements aside – Tron + NIN! – what's Disney, the company, actually up to just about a year after their promised, um, $60B spend?
The company is building four new cruise ships — on top of four others it had previously announced — almost trebling the size of its current fleet by 2031. The Magic Kingdom, Disney’s flagship theme park in Florida, will undergo the largest expansion in its 53-year history, with one new “land” devoted to classic Disney villains and another focused on Pixar’s “Cars” movies. The Disneyland Resort in California will add two superhero-themed rides, a water-based “Avatar” attraction, the company’s first “Coco” ride and a Main Street, U.S.A., show starring an animatronic Walt Disney.
I appreciate the idea of a 'Disney Villain Land', though I'm not sure a lot of kids will. I know my own kids would actively prefer we avoid such an area – ah, the innocence of youth, believing in a very defined line between good and bad – but perhaps older kids will enjoy more "edgy" content? Still, interesting choice – I'm not sure if it's a good one or a bad one. A gamble.
Less a gamble, Coco and Cars – and a lot more roller coasters, presumably to combat Universal's theme parks. More space devoted to Avatar also seems a bit weird to me as that's not exactly kids content, then again I'm not sure Star Wars is either, except if you ask George Lucas. I remains sort of baffled by Avatar, to be honest. The movies are fine and visually very interesting, but I just can't be bothered to recall the story and message in them. Mainly I'm surprised that roughly 75% of all Disney theme parks aren't devoted to Frozen yet. (Yes, I know the Paris one is working on it.) And maybe Moana.
Meanwhile, time is running down on Bob Iger's tenure – unless/until he decides to stick around/return again – and we need a clear winner of the Disney CEO sweepstakes soon. I think my money is still on Dana Walden, but this event sure felt like a trial balloon, if not exactly a crowning, for Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Experiences:
Mr. D’Amaro, 53, is a candidate to succeed Robert A. Iger as Disney’s chief executive when his contract expires at the end of 2026. (Mr. Iger came out of retirement to retake the helm at Disney when Mr. Chapek departed.) On Saturday, Mr. D’Amaro came across very much like a Mouseketeer in chief, striding onto the D23 stage — where a 70-piece orchestra awaited — in a zip-up sweater and jeans and effortlessly commanding the 12,000-person arena.
His presentation included a cameo by a member of the royal family (Roy O. Disney, who is Walt’s grandnephew); comedic banter between Mr. D’Amaro and stars like Ke Huy Quan and Billy Crystal; and musical performances (Meghan Trainor, Shaboozey) replete with fire, fake fog and, of course, confetti.
More than 1.2 million people watched a segment of the presentation that was live-streamed inside the Fortnite online game. In February, Disney announced a multiyear partnership with Epic Games to create a Disney universe connected to Fortnight. Mr. D’Amaro has been working with the creative chiefs of Disney’s movie studios, including Kevin Feige of Marvel and Pete Docter of Pixar, on the project.
A zip-up sweater and jeans? Get this man some mouse ears. Honestly – and I realize this is a very Donald Trump-like thing for me to say, for shame – but D'Amaro sort of looks the part of Disney CEO? He looks like a Pixar character. I mean that in a good way! This man was born with the genes to play the role. But clearly more than that matters these days:
Mr. D’Amaro’s presentation, in the works for months, came three days after Disney reported weaker-than-expected theme park results for the quarter that ended on June 29. Operating profit declined 3 percent, to $2.2 billion. Disney blamed a “moderation of consumer demand” that “exceeded our previous expectations,” along with higher operating costs. The post-pandemic surge in travel has worn off, Disney said, and lower-income Americans, battered by years of high inflation, have cut back on discretionary spending.
Remember when Iger last handed over the reins heading into a time of crisis? Yeah, can't do that again.
From a business perspective, two areas of Mr. D’Amaro’s presentation stood out: cruise ships and Florida.
Disney Cruise Line, which introduced its first ship in 1998, has been an overlooked part of Mr. D’Amaro’s portfolio, in part because it is still relatively small. Although its cruise industry market share has doubled in recent years — the current Disney fleet operates at more than 90 percent occupancy — Disney still has only a 5 percent piece. As such, the company sees cruises as a crucial long-term growth business.
Part of the opportunity involves areas of the world where Disney cannot (yet) justify building a theme park, Mr. D’Amaro has said. India, for example, does not have enough consumer wealth to support a park. But it has more than enough for a Disney cruise ship, a floating mini-park that can act as a brand engine in the region.
I'm both surprised and completely not surprised that cruise ships are working out for Disney. Mainly I'm still bummed that they couldn't get their Star Wars experience hotel to work while this business continues to exist post a pandemic which probably should have ended that industry. But I do think it's smart to use the cruise line as sort of a "floating Disney World" as it were.
Hold on, I'm sorry, back up. Animatronic Walt Disney?!
One more thing: one of Walden's very close friends? Kamala Harris. I'm honestly not sure if that helps or hurts her chances of taking Disney's top spot. Ideally neither, but you know there will be claims of bias starting with the next Presidential debate being broadcast by ABC, which Walden oversees...