News Round Up 2018

[dina444444]

News

The Atlanta Braves Spring Training Staying at Walt Disney World Until April 2019

 

[jknezek]

Here's an interesting thought on why we haven't seen a Solo trailer or really any substantive promotion yet... perhaps the release date is still in flux. That really doesn't seem to bode any better for the quality of the movie, but it might explain the lack of noise from LucasFilm.

https://www.inverse.com/article/40669-solo-a-star-wars-story-trailer-news

There is something to think about here. It appears that Black Panther is going to be huge. That gives Disney a hit this quarter. It is likely Infinity War is going to be big. That gives Disney a hit next quarter. Now there are other movies to fill in, A Wrinkle in Time, Incredibles 2, and more that can also be huge hits over the summer, but when you look into the last quarter, there isn't really a gimme there. WIR2 and Mary Poppins Returns are less of a sure thing than the Marvel/Star Wars franchises.

It is possible that moving Solo could give you a shot at a hit, or at least not a failure, if it has less big budget competition. Especially if Disney feels like it is a weaker movie, kind of the theory now given the troubles Solo's had. At least combining it with one of those two previous mentioned fall releases to make a late year run at cash spreads the wealth to another quarter. Whereas leaving Solo in May, when it's not getting the most pre-film love, could get it buried between the momentum Black Panther gives to Infinity War and then the smaller follow up of Ant Man and Wasp.

It seems late in the game to be realizing this, but if they are increasingly concerned Solo will get swamped by their other movies in the May slot, giving it some breathing room at the holidays might help it go from a non-event to at least a possible success. And with nothing else from Disney in the big budget holiday schedule, it might make sense depending on what other studios are putting out.

So why haven't they announced it yet? I have a theory on that.

If this is the case, the trailer really isn't late. But they haven't wanted to announce the move because it makes Solo look even worse. Doing that in essentially a dead time of year will magnify the impact of the decision. But delaying the announcement a bit they are taking some hammering now, but if you wait until Black Panther is crushing it to make the announcement, you might bury some of the bad press or at least divert attention from it. That could limit the damage to Solo of apparently having a movie Disney just doesn't have faith in holding a very congested slot.

Win/win, or at least as much of a win as Disney can get out of Solo if it is struggling.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

News

20th Anniversary merchandise is arriving at Animal Kingdom

http://blogmickey.com/2018/01/20th-anniversary-merchandise-arrives-disneys-animal-kingdom/

Any idea if this will be on the Shop Parks App? AK is my favorite park so I might want the shirt...

 

[rteetz]

Any idea if this will be on the Shop Parks App? AK is my favorite park so I might want the shirt...

I would imagine some stuff will be on the app.

 

[jlundeen]

Yup - my company is the same. We have Positive Employee Relations Surveys and meetings annually. The #1 complaint annuals is reduction of benefits. The positive ratings went from 40% to 30% most recently down to about 25%. Would have meetings around this, but in the end, the problem is corporate keeps cutting benefits, so there is absolute zero that anyone below corporate can do to improve these results, and they choose not to. This year they decided to just eliminate the survey. So - welcome to corporate America.

oy...I retired 14 years ago... this stuff isn't new... back then it was the same thing -

HR/MANAGEMENT: Let's talk - tell us how you feel - what can we do to improve - be honest
Employees: Ha, not a chance - why should we become targets?

The meetings at first seemed genuine - then, when year after year of the same empty promises, worker-bees decided not to rock the boat if they wanted to keep their jobs.

Too bad, because when I came into the work force, the Corporate Mantra was "Employees are our greatest asset." Now, not so much. Hopefully the tide will turn, and Corporate with once again value their people...

I'm so glad I was able to get out with my skin, and 401 intact.

 

[mcd2745]

Something else I've observed. HR isn't there to protect the employee, they are there to protect the company.

Again, like my last post, I can't speak for all HR, but it's definitely something I've observed here.

EDIT: I'm not trying to start anything and I'm not trying to say NO ONE in HR cares about the employee. I'm sure there are people in HR departments (maybe even you, the reader) that immensely care about the employee. But from a large corporation aspect, I don't know.

It's very true. Most large companies, you can't even find an HR person anymore. You get a 1-800 number to whatever third-party the company has outsourced HR to.

 

[STLstone]

As long as I'm not waiting behind a family who didn't bother to decide what they were ordering before they got to the podium I'll be happy.

Unfortunately, they haven't made an app for that, yet...

 

[rteetz]

Here's an interesting thought on why we haven't seen a Solo trailer or really any substantive promotion yet... perhaps the release date is still in flux. That really doesn't seem to bode any better for the quality of the movie, but it might explain the lack of noise from LucasFilm.

https://www.inverse.com/article/40669-solo-a-star-wars-story-trailer-news

There is something to think about here. It appears that Black Panther is going to be huge. That gives Disney a hit this quarter. It is likely Infinity War is going to be big. That gives Disney a hit next quarter. Now there are other movies to fill in, A Wrinkle in Time, Incredibles 2, and more that can also be huge hits over the summer, but when you look into the last quarter, there isn't really a gimme there. WIR2 and Mary Poppins Returns are less of a sure thing than the Marvel/Star Wars franchises.

It is possible that moving Solo could give you a shot at a hit, or at least not a failure, if it has less big budget competition. Especially if Disney feels like it is a weaker movie, kind of the theory now given the troubles Solo's had. At least combining it with one of those two previous mentioned fall releases to make a late year run at cash spreads the wealth to another quarter. Whereas leaving Solo in May, when it's not getting the most pre-film love, could get it buried between the momentum Black Panther gives to Infinity War and then the smaller follow up of Ant Man and Wasp.

It seems late in the game to be realizing this, but if they are increasingly concerned Solo will get swamped by their other movies in the May slot, giving it some breathing room at the holidays might help it go from a non-event to at least a possible success. And with nothing else from Disney in the big budget holiday schedule, it might make sense depending on what other studios are putting out.

So why haven't they announced it yet? I have a theory on that.

If this is the case, the trailer really isn't late. But they haven't wanted to announce the move because it makes Solo look even worse. Doing that in essentially a dead time of year will magnify the impact of the decision. But delaying the announcement a bit they are taking some hammering now, but if you wait until Black Panther is crushing it to make the announcement, you might bury some of the bad press or at least divert attention from it. That could limit the damage to Solo of apparently having a movie Disney just doesn't have faith in holding a very congested slot.

Win/win, or at least as much of a win as Disney can get out of Solo if it is struggling.

Interesting thoughts. If they do indeed move it I am surprised Disney announced Galactic Nights for its opening weekend to coincide with the movie.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yup - my company is the same. We have Positive Employee Relations Surveys and meetings annually. The #1 complaint annuals is reduction of benefits. The positive ratings went from 40% to 30% most recently down to about 25%. Would have meetings around this, but in the end, the problem is corporate keeps cutting benefits, so there is absolute zero that anyone below corporate can do to improve these results, and they choose not to. This year they decided to just eliminate the survey. So - welcome to corporate America.

Lackey #1: Sir, we need to do something about the declining positive ratings in our internal employee survey!
CEO: It's time to eliminate the survey! (looks off into the distance, gives a small fist bump, thinks to himself: "nailed it!")

<at the next board meeting>
CEO: We are please to report that we have seen no further deterioration in the positive response rate from our employees despite continuing to reduce benefits!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm glad that people on the DDP now have access to mobile ordering.

I am however interested in the coming months, especially as we get towards summer, if this has an effect on things like wait times, etc if all of a suddent there's a lot more people using it. I know we loved how quick it was and I know that a lot of people that's been a huge perk to it.

I would think for a while this would still be the minority of people that use it/know about it - particularly the typical vacationing family (I know I am generalizing)

I would also think overtime as it gets more popular then Disney would adjust the lines to have higher percentage for mobile ordering pick up - but might be some growing pains until they get it adjusted properly

 

[jknezek]

Interesting thoughts. If they do indeed move it I am surprised Disney announced Galactic Nights for its opening weekend to coincide with the movie.

That is a very good point... But I wonder how many people would make the connection if they moved the movie? We certainly would, but how many others? Still, why announce it, especially if TSL is going to open around that time. Lots of questions and I guess Occam's Razor says Solo will open as scheduled and TSL will be earlier or later than we think.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As long as I'm not waiting behind a family who didn't bother to decide what they were ordering before they got to the podium I'll be happy.

Well I'm speaking of using the mobile app for ordering. You would have already made your order before going to the mobile order line/area of the counter.

I'm just meaning if for example 5 people (random number) used the mobile ordering feature. Now DDP is added and 5 people who woudn't have used the mobile ordering feature beause it didn't accept DDP now use it because it accepts the DDP.

I'm just interested in longer term moreso with larger crowds and more versitility to the mobile ordering feature if this increases the wait to get your food.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Here's an interesting thought on why we haven't seen a Solo trailer or really any substantive promotion yet... perhaps the release date is still in flux. That really doesn't seem to bode any better for the quality of the movie, but it might explain the lack of noise from LucasFilm.

https://www.inverse.com/article/40669-solo-a-star-wars-story-trailer-news

There is something to think about here. It appears that Black Panther is going to be huge. That gives Disney a hit this quarter. It is likely Infinity War is going to be big. That gives Disney a hit next quarter. Now there are other movies to fill in, A Wrinkle in Time, Incredibles 2, and more that can also be huge hits over the summer, but when you look into the last quarter, there isn't really a gimme there. WIR2 and Mary Poppins Returns are less of a sure thing than the Marvel/Star Wars franchises.

It is possible that moving Solo could give you a shot at a hit, or at least not a failure, if it has less big budget competition. Especially if Disney feels like it is a weaker movie, kind of the theory now given the troubles Solo's had. At least combining it with one of those two previous mentioned fall releases to make a late year run at cash spreads the wealth to another quarter. Whereas leaving Solo in May, when it's not getting the most pre-film love, could get it buried between the momentum Black Panther gives to Infinity War and then the smaller follow up of Ant Man and Wasp.

It seems late in the game to be realizing this, but if they are increasingly concerned Solo will get swamped by their other movies in the May slot, giving it some breathing room at the holidays might help it go from a non-event to at least a possible success. And with nothing else from Disney in the big budget holiday schedule, it might make sense depending on what other studios are putting out.

So why haven't they announced it yet? I have a theory on that.

If this is the case, the trailer really isn't late. But they haven't wanted to announce the move because it makes Solo look even worse. Doing that in essentially a dead time of year will magnify the impact of the decision. But delaying the announcement a bit they are taking some hammering now, but if you wait until Black Panther is crushing it to make the announcement, you might bury some of the bad press or at least divert attention from it. That could limit the damage to Solo of apparently having a movie Disney just doesn't have faith in holding a very congested slot.

Win/win, or at least as much of a win as Disney can get out of Solo if it is struggling.

I could see that ... the other option I thought of is that they know it isn't good and is going to underperform expectations for a Star Wars movie, so they release it where it is, with little fanfaire and then can minimize the damage because it is combined in with Black Panther and then Infinity War and you figure one of A Wrinkle in Time or Incredibles 2 will do well

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would think for a while this would still be the minority of people that use it/know about it - particularly the typical vacationing family (I know I am generalizing)

I would also think overtime as it gets more popular then Disney would adjust the lines to have higher percentage for mobile ordering pick up - but might be some growing pains until they get it adjusted properly

Yeah that's why I was intrigued at the coming months with summer. Mobile ordering isn't a hidden feature within MDE but someone completely unfamiliar with it may be hesistant to use it. The addition to accept DDP (which we knew was coming) may increase the number of mobile ordering users. But I do agree Disney would probably just fine tune the number of employees making and getting mobile orders so it's entirely possible it would be a negligible increase in time to get order.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Here's an interesting thought on why we haven't seen a Solo trailer or really any substantive promotion yet... perhaps the release date is still in flux. That really doesn't seem to bode any better for the quality of the movie, but it might explain the lack of noise from LucasFilm.

https://www.inverse.com/article/40669-solo-a-star-wars-story-trailer-news

I've been reading on several movie fan blogs that LucasFilm/Disney is considering moving the release date of Solo to December. Partly because of the reasons listed in his article and partly because they want additional time for the Star Wars fans who didn't like The Last Jedi to "cool their jets" of their dislike of that film. Supposedly Disney is worried about a possible fan backlash because of the high negatives from people who did not like Last Jedi and who may not go see "Solo". This is all speculation of course and who knows if the info is accurate.

 

[skier_pete]

The reason that you probably will not get mobile ordering to become the norm is that people aren't that organized. We've all seen the cases where someone has been standing in line for 15 minutes and gets to the counter and still has no clue what they want. You need to convince people that not only do they need to know what restaurant they are going to more than 5 minutes before they eat (eliminating probably half the population) but that they can make a decision without starting at the menu for 10 minutes (likely another 30% of the population).

I know in our case I am not sure I will be able to convince my wife to try mobile ordering because she is one of those that needs to stare at the menu for 5 minutes and look at the food coming out to decide what she wants. We'll see what happens in February.

 

[Moliphino]

Well I'm speaking of using the mobile app for ordering. You would have already made your order before going to the mobile order line/area of the counter.

I'm just meaning if for example 5 people (random number) used the mobile ordering feature. Now DDP is added and 5 people who woudn't have used the mobile ordering feature beause it didn't accept DDP now use it because it accepts the DDP.

I'm just interested in longer term moreso with larger crowds and more versitility to the mobile ordering feature if this increases the wait to get your food.

I know. Somehow it's just less frustrating to wait for food at a window than it is to wait behind slowpokes who can't make up their minds.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The reason that you probably will not get mobile ordering to become the norm is that people aren't that organized. We've all seen the cases where someone has been standing in line for 15 minutes and gets to the counter and still has no clue what they want. You need to convince people that not only do they need to know what restaurant they are going to more than 5 minutes before they eat (eliminating probably half the population) but that they can make a decision without starting at the menu for 10 minutes (likely another 30% of the population).

I know in our case I am not sure I will be able to convince my wife to try mobile ordering because she is one of those that needs to stare at the menu for 5 minutes and look at the food coming out to decide what she wants. We'll see what happens in February.

I don't think it will be the norm no but I do see an increased amount of users each time more flexibility is added as it increases the number of potential users.

 

[crazy4wdw]

The reason that you probably will not get mobile ordering to become the norm is that people aren't that organized. We've all seen the cases where someone has been standing in line for 15 minutes and gets to the counter and still has no clue what they want.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves at WDW! Absolutely drives me crazy!

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I've been reading on several movie fan blogs that LucasFilm/Disney is considering moving the release date of Solo to December. Partly because of the reasons listed in his article and partly because they want additional time for the Star Wars fans who didn't like The Last Jedi to "cool their jets" of their dislike of that film. Supposedly Disney is worried about a possible fan backlash because of the high negatives from people who did not like Last Jedi and who may not go see "Solo". This is all speculation of course and who knows if the info is accurate.

Whether any of that is true or not, it'sshocking the peril that the Star Wars franchise is in. The Last Jedi was 2017's highest grossing film but it really underperformed. It was never predicted to match TFA but it fell below even the most pessimistic predictions.

Couple that with the reportedly shabby toy sales and Disney may have a real problem on their hands. It makes me wonder if Galaxy's Edge is going to be the Harry Potter-swatter Disney was hoping it would be?