Land of the Rising Mickey
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Another example - It was near the end of yet another night and I found myself in conversation with an interesting Cast Member at Main Street House. We lost track of time a bit. I looked around and noticed that we were the only two people around. I checked my watch - it was 10:20. I decided to bid my farewell, a decision the CM quickly agreed with. I walked from Main Street House across the large entrance plaza to the exit gates and there wasn't a soul in site. As I came closer to the exit I made out a group of a dozen or more security and main gate CMs standing around it. They were all waiting for me. The park had already been swept of guests and I was the last person out of the gate!

A talk I had with someone working on the construction of the new Pooh's Hunny Hunt attraction was telling. It was a couple of months before it's opening day and he was under a lot of pressure from Oriental Land Co. (OLC) management. Due to the complexity of the attraction's innovative systems it was weeks behind schedule and he was pulling ridiculously long hours. He said money wasn't the concern for OLC. Whatever it took, in man hours and other costs, Hunny Hunt was going to be finished on time. And, of course, it was.

And the push is on again, but this time the scale is much, much larger. I've learned that the majority of Tokyo DisneySea Park is over a month behind schedule for it's September 2001 opening. OLC is bringing in additional contractors and existing contractors are hiring more workers. I'm told that the pressure from upstairs is heavy. Of course it is. DisneySea will be completed on time. If it isn't, I suggest stocking up on canned food and shotguns, because it would mean there's something terribly wrong with the world.

In the News
I'd like to make some brief comments regarding the the financial shortfall OLC has experienced during the first half of it's fiscal year. The company lost $2.9 million during the months May - September of this year and they anticipate losing a total of $14.3 million in the full fiscal year.

It's my understanding that they knew they were cutting it close at OLC. It wasn't going to take much to tip the balance into the red. Then an unusually hot summer came along and it was tipped.  They're also experiencing higher than expected construction costs associated with TDL's expansion into the Tokyo Disney Resort.

I believe OLC's leadership understands the power of their property and the power of the Disney brand. They have confidence that their investment will come back to them. But throwing around astronomical sums of money is inherently risky. OLC isn't adverse to taking those risks. Walt Disney is a legendary risk taker and his lead is consciously and deliberately being followed. It's seen as just anouther part of being true to The Disney Way.  I find it interesting that during early training even entry level Cast Members are shown a film biography of Walt Disney which focuses on and romanticizes his risk taking nature.

One last thing - Okasan Economic Research is an influential and highly respected economic think tank in Japan, but in a recent article at Bloomberg one of their financial analysts said something that gave me a laugh. He said, "Perhaps people are starting to tire of Tokyo Disneyland''. 

I think the Japanese public will tire of rice and fish before they tire of Tokyo Disneyland.

Jikai made - ogenki de!
(Until next time - Take care!)

-- Marc Borrelli

© Marc Borrelli and LaughingPlace.com. All rights reserved

-- Posted December 4, 2000