Disney Digest 2/26/24 (Magic Way, Sean Bailey, Blackwells’ Star Trek Gaffe, and More)

Today we had to sit through a lot of people discussing things they don’t understand. While I don’t understand much, I do understand Disney. So here is my take on DisneylandForward, The Blackwells plans, and the shakeup at the Walt Disney Studios.

Much Ado About Magic Way

Today the Anaheim Planning Commission held a workshop on the DisneylandForward project. This follows the prior workshop that was held by the Anaheim City Council. Previously, there was a lot of consternation regarding Disneyland’s request to purchase and close Magic Way. However, most of the complaints did not stem from the actual traffic impacts, but more about the city selling something to Disney. If you think of it, if you are a resident of the area, would you want tourist traffic to come to your neighborhood? Following the hullabaloo, Disneyland did another traffic study and determined that 99% of trips on Magic Way were Disneyland guests. Less than 100 trips on weekdays and less than 10 trips on weekends are not Disneyland guests or cast members. Even with the de minimis impact, Disneyland did work with the actual residents that live near Walnut Avenue and determined what they could do to make their neighborhoods safer and easier to traverse. Disneyland is committing to building a bike lane on Walnut as well as a signaled crosswalk that would provide pedestrian access to the Disneyland Resort so those walking from Walnut would no longer have to jaywalk.

While Anaheim is under no obligation to enter into a development agreement with Disneyland, you would think the city would be excited for Disneyland to expand to help generate even more tax revenue from non-residents. Despite many anti-Disney community members searching for reasons to oppose them at every turn, if the only complaint that they are able to muster is the closure of a road that will impact less than 100 trips a day, it must mean that Disneyland has done a lot to listen to the community and Anaheim staff when developing the plan. Additional setbacks from the roadways, noise mitigation, and 360-degree theming of new attractions are the result of a three year give-and-take that has been part of this process. Unlike some previous Anaheim-Disneyland collaborations, by all appearances, this collaborative process will not only be for the benefit for Disney fans, but the residents of Anaheim as well.

Disney’s Live-Action Remake

After 15 years, Sean Bailey is leaving as the head of Disney’s live-action film division. Bailey, who by all accounts is a nice guy, had a hard time generating hits despite primarily mining Disney’s animated library and theme park experiences. While they have been some creative success, Cruella comes to mind, most have been poor carbon copies of whatever they are trying to recreate. While Bailey was able to create original films for Disney+ such as Togo and Stargirl, most failed to move the needle on the service.

Taking his place is Searchlight Pictures’ David Greenbaum who will oversee both Disney live-action and 20th Century Studios, while Steve Asbell will continue to serve as President of 20th Century Studios. While the person at the top is changing, it does appear that this is more than just a swapping out of creative leaders. Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Bergman said that he is looking forward to “take a more strategic look across both brands from a creative and operational standpoint.” What is that going to look like?  Do we expect more films either theatrically or on streaming, or less? Will Disney view live-action as a franchise creator instead of just a franchise extender? What does this mean for the films in development? I have a feeling that in the next few months, we will have a better understanding of what the slate of Disney will look like as they try to figure out how to move forward.

It is no secret that the theatrical business has yet to get back to normal following the pandemic and the Hollywood strikes. Moviegoing audiences changed and the marketplace is still trying to figure out their new consumers. Paramount’s Bob Marley biopic overperformed while Madame Web did bupkis (quality probably has a big thing to do with this). There is no question that the audience has changed and Disney is bringing in new leadership to figure out how to react. I am excited to see what changes are made to address the changing audience tastes.

Blackwells Disney Campaign Goes Into Warp, Not Hyperspace

Today, the Blackwells group released a presentation discussing their hopes for the future of Disney. I was excited to see what ideas they had as sometimes outside perspectives provide. Unfortunately, not only did they not have any interesting ideas, it seemed they did not even understand the company that they want to influence. The main concrete idea that they had was that there should be a companywide Chief Technology Officer instead of having one for the entertainment business and another for the experiences group. They then go on to have a presentation filled with buzz words such as “AI,” “VR,” and “spatial computing.” They use these words either without specific ideas or say Disney should be involved in things they are already doing. Spatial computing? They were the premier streaming app for the Apple Vision Pro. VR? Disney has been trying this, and often failing, since the days of DisneyQuest because consumers aren’t ready to adopt it. AI to do theme park crowd control? Do you even know how theme parks work?

They want ESPN to innovate? Have they ever been to the ESPN Innovation Lab which invented some broadcasting staples such as K-Zone and the 1st and 10 line on football, while also building new experiences such as the Big City Greens NHL games?

Not to mention the gaffe of mixing franchises by mentioning going on a 3D lightsaber spar with a Jedi on a Star Trek holodeck. They must have gotten confused with the holotile which is an example of the type of Disney innovation they so desperately want.  

Anyone who has tried to use the Disney Parks apps knows that Disney has a long way to go in terms of improving technology, despite Disney’s history of innovation throughout the last 100 years. While I believe that Disney always has to be on the lookout for new technologies and businesses, Disney consumers have given virtual experiences the cold shoulder. While they are sometimes used to enhance experiences successfully, Disney’s wheelhouse has always been to build large scale physical projects that bring storytelling to life in a tangible way. VMK, The Void, and Playmation are just some of the projects in Disney’s virtual experience graveyard. While research and development should always be made in emerging technologies, let's get beyond what Wall Street thinks people want with buzzwords that resulted in the failed Disney metaverse project, and instead focus on giving Disney more experiences in the ways they actually want to experience it.

Quick Hits:

6 Things to Watch For Tomorrow: