News

• First, thanks to Josh Gad for coming on the show last week.  

• I was on the Disney Dream’s 7-night Northern Europe cruise out of Copenhagen
• Ports: Kiel Germany, Nynashamn Sweden, Fredericia Denmark, Oslo Norway
• Two sea days
• Weather: very light rain a few days, temps between 65 and 75 degrees most days
• In keeping with tradition, Laurel and I visited grocery stores in every city:

• In Kiel, Germany, we were looking for different flavors of Fanta soda that are unavailable in the US

• Elderberry-Lemon is an example

• Also, eggs are not refrigerated in most of Europe, because farms vaccinate chickens against salmonella
• Breads and cereals are divided by their healthiness
• Lots of common products
• Prices about the same as in the US: a pound of cherries is about $4.50
• Regardless of whether you’re using kilograms as your unit of measure, it seems like the standard package size for a unit of ground beef is about 1 pound or half a kilogram, give or take.

• I wonder if this is because the paper tray sizes for this are standardized?
  

• The Walt Disney Company reported its quarterly earnings yesterday.  

• Disney+ lost 7.4% of its subscribers and posted a loss of $512MM
• Disney Cruise Line is running at 96-98% capacity
• International parks did well, as did Disneyland
• Slowdown at Walt Disney World, which we’ve been talking about for a while
• One-time charges such as for closing the Starcruiser
• ESPN partnering with PENN Entertainment on a sportsbook gambling app
  

• Disney’s rolling out a set of changes previously announced to park reservations, where date-based tickets for after January 9, 2024 do not require park reservations.

• No Theme Park Reservation Required

• Date-based 1-day ticket
• Date-based multi-day ticket
• Vacation package with date-based tickets

• Theme Park Reservation Required

• Student group tickets
• Sport and Convention ticket
• Annual Pass
• All other ticket types not mentioned above
  

• Magic Kingdom has held the first of its annual Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties for 2023, so if you’re visiting the MK between now and November, you’ll see fall decorations in the park.
  
• Disney’s announced that the most recent Mickey Mouse cartoon short, number 120, titled Steamboat Silly, will be the last in the series.  And here I’m going to follow the advice of … it was either Ghandi or Dolly Parton who said “Don’t be sad because it’s ending. Be happy because it happened.” These cartoons re-launched Mickey Mouse to an entire generation of new fans, and brought Mickey back to the forefront of cartoon artistry.  Some of those 120 cartoons, as we’ve said, are legitimate classics of the form and belong in the same conversation as, you know, the Bugs Bunny classic “What’s Opera, Doc?”
  
• Haunted Mansion closed for refurbishment and to add the Hatbox Ghost

• We didn’t talk about this before I left, Jim, but there’s quite a bit of controversy over the Hatbox Ghost
• The controversy is in the placement of the Hatbox Ghost relative to the attraction and story.
• The Hatbox Ghost is being placed in the Endless Hallway.  To refresh all of our memories, here’s the order of scenes in the first part of the ride:

• Load area
• Portrait Gallery (with the lightning effects on the paintings)
• Library (with the busts that look like they’re following you)
• Piano
• Stairs
• Endless Hallway (where the HB ghost is going)
• Viewing Room (casket with dead flowers)
• Clock
• Madam Leota

• And the issue with the Hatbox Ghost placement in the Endless Hallway is that we’ve traditionally not seen fully-materialized ghosts until Madam Leota summons them.  We’ve seen strange behavior and hints of paranormal activity, but we typically don’t see an actual spirit until after Madam Leota calls them.

• So the placement of the Hatbox Ghost breaks the existing story
• We’ve mentioned Foxx Nolte’s book Boundless Realms on the show before, which is an excellent, detailed analysis of the attraction.  Foxx took to social media recently to point out to Disney that this location of the HB ghost isn’t consistent with the story:
  
  
  
• And I have a few thoughts here, starting with the least nerdy, and working our way up:
  

• It would’ve been fine for the HBG to stay in Disneyland. We don’t need to clone everything.
  
• For the love of God, imagineering, stop working on Haunted Mansion and Pirates.  Half the stuff in DHS hasn’t been meaningfully updated in 30 years.  
  
  And the last scene of Carousel of Progress is now farther in the past than the 1940’s scene was when Carousel of Progress debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair.
  
  In fact, in less than 4 years, the current Scene 4 will be farther back in history than the 1920’s scene was when Carousel of Progress opened at the World’s Fair.
  

• You could argue that the Haunted Mansion doesn’t really have a “story” in the sense of a linear narrative.  I’d argue that from Madame Leota through the Ballroom Scene is a specific narrative, and the scenes from the load area to Madame Leota are essential to establish the setting.

• In line with this, the HBG has always been in the attic scene in Disneyland, and that makes sense from the timeline with Madame Leota
  

• Not for nothing, but even if I didn’t have an opinion, Jim, I think we both acknowledge that Foxx Nolte is the expert here, and if she has concerns, those concerns are valid and should be addressed.
  
• And as I was thinking about this, the larger point I want to bring up is this: Why does it seem like Disney theme park fans are the ones telling Imagineering what the park canon is?  Like, shouldn’t there be someone in WDI who points this out before it gets installed?
  

• For example, we all know that Joe Rohde is the vision behind a lot of the Animal Kingdom, and the one that ensured thematic consistency.  And although Joe has retired from WDI, to his credit, he still goes on social media to answer questions about the park like “What were you thinking here?”  And our friend and former Imagineer Jim Shull does the same thing with the attractions he’s worked on.
  
• Who’s that person at Imagineering that’s doing this now? Maybe Charita Carter, who did a great job on Runaway Railway, can eventually fill that role on a wider basis.

Surveys

Listener Questions

Archivist Jason Schultz wrote in after I mentioned on the show two weeks ago that I had some unusual sheet music from the Buddy Baker Archives at NYU.  

Following up on the untitled sheet music that had parts for a parrot and a toucan, Jason pointed out that that’s for a song from the 1964 World’s Fair post-show for Carousel of Progress:

So thanks to Jason for that.  And I’ve now got a letter in to the Disney Archives asking about the Conservation song for the Energy pavilion, to see what they have to say about that.

Research/Patents (use query "disney enterprises".as AND "theme park".ab)

Spain Pavilion Part II

Spain Pavilion Feature Story
Part Two of Three

Where we left off with the last episode of Disney Dish … Folks who were lucky enough to visit EPCOT Center during its first few months of operation (WDW’s 2nd gate opened to the public back in October of 1982) would have seen – as they walked around World Showcase Lagoon -- a billboard for this theme park’s soon-to-be-built Spain pavilion. Which promised that – when Disney World visitors returned to this theme park within 5 years time (That was when Phase One of EPCOT Center was to have completed construction) – they’d then …

… Discover the golden land of Segovia, Cervantes and Picasso

Here’s a description for the yet-to-be-built Spain pavilion that the Company made available to the press in the Spring of 1982 (Some six months before EPCOT Center officially opened to the public):

Take a spectacular journey through Spain via film to little-known and out-of-the-way vacation edens. This ride attraction will capture the country’s passionate heritage and the spirit in her arts.

In a waterside restaurant found at this World Showcase pavilion, Guests will be able to indulge in tapas, or Spanish-style finger food -- a blend of varied ingredients but suitable to simple tastes.

There will also be ample shopping opportunities in the Spain Pavilion’s marketplace area. Which will feature handcrafted goods from pueblo villages to high end items of aristocratic opulence.

Most important item here was that the Spain Pavilion was supposed to have had a ride. Which – given that World Showcase had sit-down shows like “The American Adventure” and film-based attractions like “O Canada,” “Impressions de France,” or “Wonders of China” – would have been a very big deal. Something that this side of EPCOT Center desperately needed.

What’s especially frustrating about this story is … Well, the Spain Pavilion’s ride was supposed to have been powered by an Omnimover system (similar to what Guests encounter today when they visit the Haunted Mansion or try their hand at “Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin”). That particular ride system is a real people eater.

Anyway … This plan got derailed when there was a regime change within the Spanish government. This was set in motion in 1981 when there was a failed coup in that country. This then led to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party winning that country’s general election in 1982. And after that, the government of Spain was no longer interested in subsidizing the construction of a World Showcase pavilion.

Okay. So we now jump ahead to the Fall of 1991. Where – as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the opening of Walt Disney World – the Resort’s PR team shares an interesting stat. Which is that …

… since the Norway pavilion first opened along the shores of Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon back in June of 1988, U.S.-based tourism to this Scandinavian country has gone up by 500% annually.

This does not go unnoticed by a group of Spanish businessmen. Who basically say “Hey, we wouldn’t mind a 500% jump in tourism from the States. Didn’t we once have a deal with Disney to build a pavilion at Epcot? Could we maybe now revisit that idea.”

Which then starts a two decades-long series of false starts. I mean, Disney is obviously desperate to get a new pavilion added to World Showcase (This year marks the 35th anniversary since the last one was installed). And they already a site plan in hand for a Spanish pavilion.

But it always came down to the same problem: money. A consortium of businessmen would come forward and say “We want to build a Spanish pavilion at Epcot.” Disney would say “That’s great. This is how much that pavilion will cost to build, and – after that – here’s what you’ll have to spend annually for at least 10 years to staff, support and maintain that facility.” Which is when that consortium of Spanish businessmen would say “How much?! Wow. That’s outside of our price range.” Then they’d try to renegotiate this deal with Disney or go off in search of additional funding … And then .. Well, the deal would eventually collapse.

But then came November of 2013 and Disney’s surprise billion dollar earner, “Frozen.” Which – in less than 3 years – was the IP that the “Maelstrom” at Epcot’s “Norway pavilion was rethemed around. And that ride – “Frozen Ever After” (as Mr. Testa will tell you) fundamentally changed the center of gravity for World Showcase when it first opened back in June of 2016.

Which did not go unnoticed by the Imagineers. They were thinking … Well, what other family-friendly rides can we now get in the works for World Showcase?

Which brings us now to “Gigantic.” As far back as 2010, Walt Disney Animation Studios had been toying with the idea of producing a full-length animated feature based on the classic English fairytale, “Jack in the Beanstalk.”

Mind you, Disney had previously produced a pair of Mickey Mouse shorts that pitted the Company’s corporate symbol against an oversized foe, “Giantland” in November of 1933 and then the “Brave Little Tailor” in September of 1938. There was also “Fun and Fancy Free,” the package film that Disney released in September of 1947 which featured that “Mickey and the Beanstalk” featurette.

But what Disney was talking about this time around was a full-blown animated feature – something at least 90 minutes long with songs and huge action sequences – based on the “Jack and the Beanstalk” story.

And what especially excited folks at the Company about this is … Well, “The Princess and the Frog” came out in December of 2009 and … Well, people – what with the Splash Mountains in Anaheim & Orlando both being transformed into “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” not to mention Disneyland’s French Market being reimagined as Tiana’s Palace out in California – people seem to have forgotten that … When “The Princess and the Frog” initially debuted in theaters almost 14 years ago now, it was considered a box office disappointment.

Case in point: This John Musker & Ron Clements movie cost a reported $105 million to make. It only sold $104 million worth of tickets during its entire theatrical run in North America. Then factor in how “The Princess and the Frog” did overseas (just $162 million in ticket sales), and that’s just $266 million total at the worldwide box office.

Now factor is that – according to Hollywood math – you have earn at least three times your initial production costs before you then can begin to turn a profit on your project.

• Three times $105 million = $315 million
• “The Princess and the Frog” only sold $266 million worth of tickets worldwide
• If you follow that math, Disney actually lost $50 million on the original theatrical release of this animated feature.

Please note that we’re only talking about the original theatrical release of this Ron ‘n’ John movie. That – what with all of that “Princess and the Frog” merch that hit the market in the Fall of 2009 / likewise the Blu-ray & DVD sales of this same film (which got underway in March of the following year [2010]). Disney had lots of additional revenue channels they could tap into here. What we’re talking about today is how the original theatrical release of “The Princess and the Frog” had somehow come up short / not met the Company’s box office projections.

So – in January of 2010 – Disney convened a focus group. And what the Company discovered about why exactly “The Princess and the Frog” had under-performed in the late Fall / early Winter of 2009 led to changes with the animated features that Disney had in the works for 2012 & beyond.

Long story short: The young boys who took part in this focus group had said that they’d deliberately avoided seeing “The Princess and the Frog” in theaters because this film had had the word “Princess” in its title. Which meant that this new animated feature from Disney was only meant for girls.

Disney took this info very, very seriously. So much so that – by February of that same year (2010) – it changed the name of its next full-length animated feature from “Rapunzel” to “Tangled.” Which was admittedly more generic, but – more important – Princess-free. There was nothing about the name “Tangled” that clued in young boys that there was a Princess in this movie.

“Tangled” arrived in theaters in November of 2010 and promptly did 1 & a ½ times better at the North American box office than “The Princess & the Frog’ had the previous year (i.e., $260 million in domestic ticket sales versus the $105 million that “The Princess & the Frog” had earned in North America).

Disney took this change-in-its-animated-features-fortunes-at-the-box-office to heart. Which is why – in November of 2011 – it was announced that the animated feature that was supposed to follow “Tangled” into theaters, “The Snow Queen,” would now be called “Frozen.”

Okay. So to now circle back to “Gigantic” (which – surprise, surprise – is what Disney was now going to call its new full-length animated version of “Jack and the Beanstalk”). This project was being prepped by the Studio’s equivalent of an All-Star Team:

• It was to be directed by Nathan Greno, the co-director of Disney’s “Tangled”
• It would feature a score Robert & Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the husband & wife team who had won the Best Original Song Oscar for “Frozen” ‘s anthem, “Let It Go”
• It would be produced by Dorothy McKim, who had ridden herd of Disney’s hugely popular “Prep & Landing” holiday specials

Best of all (at least as far as executives in charge of Epcot were concerned), “Gigantic” was supposed to be set in Spain during the age of discovery (i.e., that would be from 1492 – 1504. Roughly the period when Columbus – under the direction of Queen Isabella of Spain – sailed off in search of the new world).

This is when a call was made to that group of Spanish businessmen who kept trying to get a pavilion built at World Showcase to let them know what Disney had coming to theaters in November of 2018. A new animated feature that was virtually guaranteed to be a smash hit.

Oh, and by the way. The Imagineers already had an idea for a “Gigantic” -themed attraction that could be built as part of Epcot’s Spain pavilion. One that would then send Guests off on a hair-raising, cutting-edge adventure through the world of the giants while riding aboard a trackless vehicle.

How this seemingly can’t-miss project then went off-track – with both the “Gigantic” film and then the Spanish pavilion for Epcot then getting cancelled – we’ll then get to on next week’s Disney Dish in the third and final installment of this series.