Originally Posted By dagobert >>>You won't get a finer Disney experience anywhere - not even Tokyo. All four ships are incredible vacation experiences that every Disney fan should take. You don't need to be a cruiser either to appreciate it all. Dip in and out as much or as little as you like. You are in control.<<< Really, not even Tokyo? I can recommend a Disney Cruise to everyone. It was an amazing experience. There is so much to do, even for people without kids. The adult only areas are fantastic. A Disney Cruise is relaxing, exciting and entertaining at the same time.
Originally Posted By dagobert @ leemac Sorry for the offtopic, but since you have some insights, is this article true, that TWDC holds the majority (72,34%) of ED SCA now? <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/2015/02/20/97002-20150220FILWWW00313-euro-disney-nouvelle-etape-recapitalisation-du-groupe.php">http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-e...oupe.php</a> And what are the consequences of that now? Thanks!
Originally Posted By leemac <<BLT ended up being totally underwhelming and WDW was WDW... fun, but certainly no Disney Cruise!>> I know this was always one of Sprit's primary complaints - that WDW hotels weren't up to scratch. The issue is that WDW Co. is not a hotelier. Hotels are the primary revenue generator but they only exist to channel guests to the parks. The Grand Floridian doesn't need to be like a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons as it has other attributes that drive occupancy. The hotels need to drive margin hard to compensate for other product that doesn't clear the same hurdles.
Originally Posted By leemac TWDC got shareholder approval for the €1.0 billion recapitalization of DLP in January. This is Jay's parting gift to the company. TWDC got an extra 4% from the equity rights offering when other shareholders didn't take up the share offer. At the same time €0.6 billion of TWDC loans to Disneyland Paris where converted into equity. That increased ownership by 23%. So that is c.77% with rounding. Under French law TWDC has also had to make a compulsory offer to buy the outstanding shares too. It is up to shareholders whether they participate or not. TWDC replaced one credit line with a new €350 million line and there is still €1.0 billion in outstanding loans from DLP to TWDC. The actual change is minimal as TWDC had full operating control anyhow. However by exceeding 75% of issued shares it is now much easier to push through big structural changes.
Originally Posted By dagobert Thank you. I guess that's the reason why I got a letter from my bank, if I want to sell my shares. Jay has always been a numbers guy and he was pretty good in his job.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Jay has always been a numbers guy and he was pretty good in his job.>> The sad thing is that not a single person will miss him. He was impossible to work with or for. Absolutely terrible persona. He won't make the 30 year milestone now but it is amazing that you can have that length of career in a creative business like Disney and have absolutely no interest in the product or its people.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>The sad thing is that not a single person will miss him. He was impossible to work with or for. Absolutely terrible persona. He won't make the 30 year milestone now but it is amazing that you can have that length of career in a creative business like Disney and have absolutely no interest in the product or its people. <<< I didn't know that he was such a complicated person, but I also prefered Staggs over him, just because he showed some interest in the parks. At least it always looked that way.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip << Hotels are the primary revenue generator but they only exist to channel guests to the parks. The Grand Floridian doesn't need to be like a Ritz-Carlton or a Four Seasons as it has other attributes that drive occupancy.>> Location, location, location. That is the one thing the Bay Lake Tower certainly has going for it. Other than that, it was much less than I expected. I was hoping furnishings would reflect a more mid-century modern vibe... like the Contemporary Tower did when it first opened. Instead it was furnished with generic business hotel modern. Not terrible, but not at all distinctive either. I also didn't like the complete lack of services in the building. Other than the Top of the World Lounge, there was no place to get anything to eat at BLT. No gift shops. No services of any kind. Even bell services are shared with the Tower. There was no valet parking. Sure, there is plenty of dining next door at the Contemporary. But depending on your location in the BLT and how busy the elevators are, it could easily take 10-15 minutes to wait for an elevator, go to the bridge over to the contemporary, cross the bridge and walk to your destination in the Contemporary Concourse. The cash rate for our two bedroom villa would have been $800 per night. Even with the great location and fairly large unit, there is no way it was worth anything close to that. I kind of doubt anyone pays cash to stay there anyway. I suspect Disney just lists a cash rate to make a DVC purchase seem like a good deal.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "The hotels need to drive margin hard to compensate for other product that doesn't clear the same hurdles." Like APs I bet.
Originally Posted By SallyOmalley +++++You won't get a finer Disney experience anywhere - not even Tokyo. All four ships are incredible vacation experiences that every Disney fan should take. You don't need to be a cruiser either to appreciate it all. Dip in and out as much or as little as you like. You are in control.++++ Time for some Q&A Is there a surprise/unannounced ship sinking drill for all the passeners? Is there a life jacket drill for everyone? When snorkeling do snorkelers have to wear life vests? Can one swim in the wide open ocean or or there designated swimming zones only?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Instead it was furnished with generic business hotel modern.<< Although the Contempo stuff definitely takes it further than any of the other places, this seems to be the trend with all of their recent hotel room redos. Instead of truly carrying the theme throughout the room, most of them look like generic business hotels Take for example, the new Grand Floridian Villas and the Caribbean Beach rooms. Both look nice enough, but other than an occasional throw pillow there's really nothing to link them to the theme of the resort. I don't need a constant in-your-face theme in the hotel room (I appreciate that most of the hotels are themed to real architectural styles, rather than characters and/or movies, allowing it to be more pervasive yet subtle) but these rooms could be at any Holiday Inn in the country <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/1621/medium/Grand-Floridian-Villas-206.jpg">http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/d...-206.jpg</a> <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://yourfirstvisit.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Queen-Beds-in-Refurbed-Rooms-at-Disneys-Caribbean-Beach-Resort-from-yourfirstvisit.net_.jpg">http://yourfirstvisit.net/wp-c...net_.jpg</a> >>I kind of doubt anyone pays cash to stay there anyway. I suspect Disney just lists a cash rate to make a DVC purchase seem like a good deal.<< I've long suspected that Disney prices all of their rooms to make DVC look like a good deal. The Deluxe rooms are slightly cheaper than the Disney-price for DVC rooms. Moderate hotels are about 2/3 - 3/4 the price of a Deluxe, and the Values are about half of a Moderate. When DVC needs to boost profits (and the way they've been building them, it's clear that this is their real goal) all the hotel prices must be adjusted as a result I just booked a DVC rental through David's for my January trip. Even with their somewhat inflated $14/point rate, I was still able to get a 2-bedroom DVC unit for less than 2 bedrooms at a Moderate, even when booking through a discount travel agent associated with the Marathon. And when I compare this price to Disney's official price, it's still about 2/3 of what they're asking for it. From what I can tell, DVC has all of the hotel prices all messed around
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<From what I can tell, DVC has all of the hotel prices all messed around>> They have to. I bought my initial DVC points at $60 per point, and an add-on purchase at $115 per point. At that price I think it has been a good value, but certainly not an overwhelming one. It has allowed me to stay in a DVC Deluxe Studio for about what I would have paid for a Moderate Resort. That has some value, though before purchasing DVC I was always more than satisfied with the moderates. Basically by promising to take nothing but Disney vacations for the next 42 years, they agreed to give me a modest upgrade. At the current price of $160 per point, I am amazed that Disney can justify the cost to anyone. The one major advantage (at least for me) is that since you pay off the initial purchase in 10 years if you finance it, all vacations from that point on cost nothing except the annual maintenance expense. It allows me to take vacations in retirement that I could not afford otherwise. In effect I have pre-paid for them.
