The big news of the weekend was the closing of the six clubs at Pleasure Island. I know many Disney love the Adventurer’s Club and the Comedy Warehouse, but I think the emotional connection Disney fans have with these establishments is clouding their top-down view of Downtown Disney. Pleasure Island opened in 1989 as a place for Walt Disney World guests to go party at night. The marketplace has changed. There are more parks, they are open later, and Pleasure Island got inundated with locals. Perhaps evening Extra Magic Hours hurt Pleasure Island more than anything else, as there is usually a park open late that night-owls can enjoy.
Disney will lose some of the clubbing business to others, and I think Disney is ok with that. It’s not that the clubs were not making money, as I have no doubt they were. But they were causing challenges to the image Disney wants to project and there are other venues that could be put there that will make more money. It’s a win-win. Let’s not forget, it was Disney fans that yelled the loudest when Disney announced plans to build night clubs. In fact, early on the cast at P.I. wore different nametags to separate themselves from the rest of the Disney World experience.
I like the Adventurer’s Club and Comedy Warehouse. I even see value in the other four clubs. But I also understand that it might be time to move on. I don’t know what they plan on replacing the clubs with, but I am open to new ideas. I hope they are innovative new offerings that go beyond what we already have and give me another reason to visit Downtown Disney.
Quick Takes:
Studio Entertainment: The official website for The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel’s Beginning is active. This is the last of the Direct-to-DVD features created before John Lasseter and Ed Catmull took charge. But don’t think that this is Disney’s end of involvement in Direct-to-DVD. The four Tinker Bell movies will be released and Disney is looking at other opportunities. Other studios have gotten in to this business in a big way, and I don’t think Disney will want to be left behind. Just look at Warner’s “Get Smart: Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control” which is being released a few weeks after the main feature’s theatrical release. Direct-to-DVD is a great way to build franchises, and watch Disney do just that. But hopefully they will do it in a high-quality way that we can all be proud of.
Media Networks: To promote Disney’s High School Musical: Get in the Picture, ABC is giving away ice cream. And if you know me, I love ice cream. Here is the schedule:
July 4 Santa Barbara, CA — Cabrillo Blvd. between Chapala and Bath
July 4 Wildwood, NJ – Wildwood Beach Convention Center on the boardwalk
July 5 Jones Beach, NY – Jones Beach Parking Lot 4
July 6 Anaheim, CA – Downtown Disney
July 6 Robert Moses, NY – Robert Moses Beach, Field 5
July 19 & 20 Hermosa Beach, CA – Pier Plaza
July 20 Seaside, NJ – North Casino Pier
Consumer Products: So WALL-E is a hit. My question is now, will it become a franchise? The key will be to watch how WALL-E’s consumer products sell. Cars became a franchise, despite is lower box office performance, because the toys continue to sell very well. So if you want to see a WALL-E 2, go to Wal-Mart and do your part.
Disney Interactive Media: You can now watch the full-length Haunted Mansion movie at Disney.com. Maybe it is better on the small screen. It couldn’t be any worse.
What to Watch: ABC Family’s newest original series is “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and premieres Tuesday at 8/7central. The show deals with such “family” topics as teen pregnancy.
Video of the Day: Our friends at Hollywood Records have posted the music video to Miley Cyrus’s “7 Things” on YouTube. Her new album “Breakout” drops on July 22nd. Will you pick it up?
News from Around the Web:
ABC News: ABC News has a photo feature about Hollywood’s best robot’s, which WALL-E has now joined. He joins the ranks of R2-D2, The Transformers, and of course the fembots from Austin Powers.
NY Times: Has a story on Sony’s Hancock which will be able to purchase on Sony Bravia televisions before it is available on DVD. Of course Sony’s vertical integration is making this possible. If successful, Disney might follow suit, however I believe other distribution channels will have a greater chance of catching on.
USA Today: WALL-E continues Pixar’s winning streak, according to USA Today. What is interesting to note is that it performed 10% better than expected. Also more than a fifth of the audience was adults without kids. I think this is a testament to the Pixar brand which is becoming a great sub-brand of Disney. Now that Pixar is a part of Disney, they don’t have to worry about having Pixar over-shadow Disney and can highlight Pixar’s special project.
LA Times: Apparently, Disney did not get a WALL-E hug from Wall Street. Even though the film performed better than expected, the stock was down 1.2%. This shows that since Disney is a very diverse company, one hit or miss will not really make or break the stock price. This is unlike Dreamworks Animation which has to rely on the success of one of two movies each year.
Orlando Sentinel: Busch Entertainment has raised ticket prices for Sea World and other parks today. The price increased $2 to $69.95. They last raised their prices in November 2007. Walt Disney World last raised their prices in August 2007. Is it time for Disney to raise their prices once again? Time will tell.
Variety: SAG, majors play beat the clock as the contract expires tonight at midnight. While a strike or lock-out are unlikely at this point, until an agreement is reached the studios are unlikely to begin production on any new major films. This might delay Disney’s The Prince of Persia film. Hopefully, both sides will reach an agreement too.