tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244647450237014911.post5375850619915300964..comments2024-01-06T19:03:20.285-08:00Comments on Blue Sky Disney: A High Stakes Case Of Chicken For The Mouse...Honor Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05346050126873050983noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244647450237014911.post-82303330913809135412009-03-20T05:37:00.000-07:002009-03-20T05:37:00.000-07:00according to the latest local news, spokesman from...according to the latest local news, spokesman from The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau says the Hong Kong Government will proactively negotiate with The Walt Disney Company and they hope to reach a deal that would enhance the attractiveness of HKDL as well as beneficial to the city of Hong Kong, ASAP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244647450237014911.post-66055134250051652072009-03-19T10:06:00.000-07:002009-03-19T10:06:00.000-07:00To the first Anonymous above, how was/is Disney's ...To the first Anonymous above, how was/is Disney's relationship with Anaheim damaged? Why should Disney care that their relationship with Long Beach was damaged?<BR/>And the same questions for France vs Spain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244647450237014911.post-25685483962839600382009-03-19T07:36:00.000-07:002009-03-19T07:36:00.000-07:00I hear a very different story inside Disney. Disne...I hear a very different story inside Disney. Disney continues to want to invest in the park and would be willing to fund expansion on its own but the agreement with HK requires the government to co-fund anything that Disney does. Disney would love to take back control of the park from HK because it is a very difficult arrangement. Even if Disney wants to spend, if HK does not, nothing goes forward. And the HK government has approval over EVERYTHING down to every piece of signage in the park. Disney just cannot operate the way it needs to under this arrangement. However, the HK government is unwilling to relinquish either its ownership stake or control to Disney. So given those constraints, HK must agree to anything Disney wants to do and co-fund. Disney did want to install POTC but ran into cultural approval issues with the HK government. At the root of all of this was Eisner's bad deal-making which gave too much control to HK but also required them to spend a lot of money to build transportation, etc. for the park. To fund that, they taxed the local HK people and there is a lot of resentment. Iger would love to get out of this mess, but the HK government is not willing to offer any solutions. Let's hope they don't make the same mistake in Shanghai where the politics are even worse!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244647450237014911.post-4894802618075726362009-03-18T22:51:00.000-07:002009-03-18T22:51:00.000-07:00Disney's practice of playing one project against t...Disney's practice of playing one project against the other (Anaheim vs Long Beach, France vs Spain, etc.) may have been able to wrangle concessions from various governmental agencies, but I really don't think they gain much in the long run. It eventually puts Disney on bad terms with the agencies they deal with.<BR/><BR/>That has happened with attractions (Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones, Lucus/Star Wars, etc) and ended up putting Disney on poor terms with people they need to do business with.<BR/><BR/>Disney just needs to realize that THEY need to make some significant investments and create significant quality attractions the will result in profitable draw in attendance. They cannot continue to expect others to cover all the financial burden and then get upset when Disney's low quality "creativity" results in poor response.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com