Disney Digest 4/9/24 (Disney’s Blows it on Bluey, Legal Delays, New Offers, and More)

Watching ABC News’s coverage of the Solar Eclipse made me realize that there are a lot of songs with the word “eclipse” in them, but time to move past that and talk Disney.

Oh, Biscuits

Bluey is a phenomenon. It is the most streamed series on Disney+ and is one of the most streamed series on any service. According to Nielsen, during the week of March 4-10, over one million minutes of Bluey were streamed in the United States, and this is without having any new episodes. The Mandalorian, Loki, and Percy Jackson, can’t touch Bluey’s popularity. It hurts a bit that the number 1 show on Disney+ was not actually made by Disney, but the show deserves all of its popularity and accolades.

I remember when we visited Toy Fair prior to the show coming to Disney+ and we visited with Moose Toys. We had heard the show was coming to the service so we looked into it before meeting with the toy company. We were hooked. Moose Toys were surprised about the level of our fandom as it hadn’t made a stateside impact yet and they wanted us to focus on their other products. But we let them know that we thought it was going to be big.

It was just reported that Disney had an opportunity to get merchandise and theme park rights, but passed on the chance. So, we just got Ahsoka and Andor representation at Star Tours, but there is no presence of the most popular Disney+ show anywhere.

It would not be the strangest thing if Disney eventually makes a play for the Bluey brand as they have done in the past. However, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. While the series does seem to have staying power, we do not know if it will continue beyond next week’s special. Also, will the popularity of the show live on? I think it will, but only time will tell. I just hope that one day I can meet Bluey and Bingo “in real life” at a Disney theme park.

Delay for Good?

It was revealed that Disney and the state of Florida agreed to delay the outstanding 1st amendment trial. We have already seen Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District reach an agreement to move past the nastiness, perhaps something is floating with Florida as well. We have already seen a change in tune from some of Disney’s harshest critics, so let’s hope that an agreement will be reached that gives Disney the flexibility to build amazing experiences and to continue to invest in the state.

We Need a Toy Story Broadway Musical

Today, the 45th Sports Emmy nominations were announced. While ESPN received plenty of nominations, I was a bit surprised to see that their presentation of Toy Story Funday Football was nominated for four awards.

Toy Story 3 won an Oscar and a Grammy, so if Toy Story wins an Emmy, we are just a Tony away from the franchise achieving EGOT status. While there has already been a Toy Story musical on the Disney Wonder that was less than positively received (and it threatened to come to Disney California Adventure before those plans were rescinded), perhaps it is time to make a full-length try. Perhaps we can make “I Will Go Sailing No More” into a full production number. Who wouldn’t love a big Pizza Planet song right before intermission. Tom Schumacher, it is time to make it happen. On second thought…

So Many Offers, So Little Time

You may have seen that Walt Disney World announced a slew of new offers today. While I do try and stay on top of the Disney news, I do get a bit overwhelmed on ensuring that I have the best price.

But that is why, despite my Disney proficiency, I still book through our partners at Mouse Fan Travel. They make sure I get the best deal and keep an eye out on anything that might come along that I should switch to without having to pay them anything. So if you are booking a vacation, you may want to check them out. It helps support us here at no cost to you, but it might even save you a few bucks.

Quick Hits:

6 Things to Watch For Tomorrow:

I am going to be traveling, but I will be back Friday with whatever I missed.