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Disney calls on Congress to provide $1 trillion in coronavirus relief to local governments

Congress

Business leaders and corporate executives in the state of California are urging members of Congress to approve a budget increase for state and local governments affected by COVID-19.

The business leaders are members of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s business recovery task force. Their objective is to help repair the economy by recovering jobs and business activity. The business recovery task force is specifically asking Congress to provide $1 trillion in pandemic relief for all U.S. states.

Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger is one member of the California business recovery task force. He is joined by nearly 100 other corporate leaders from companies such as Netflix, Salesforce, Facebook, and etc. Bob Iger is helping the task force since the Walt Disney Company represents a sizable part of the California economy. Stewardship is a big responsibility for business leaders because they must look out for the best interests of their employees and environment. Bob Iger and these other task force members are collaborating on how to best serve the interests of everyone during this national pandemic. The letter the task force sent to Congress includes the following excerpt:

“Reopening our economies is a welcome step forward, but the success of our efforts ultimately relies on building greater confidence among consumers that it is safe to shop and greater certainty for workers that the services they rely on to do their jobs will remain in place. Without that, we will be a re-opened economy in name only.”

They stress the importance of pandemic relief by stating how it will protect core government services and help people financially recover from the effects of COVID-19. Ensuring safety and helping people return to work are priorities mentioned in the letter to Congress.

Source: CNBC

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney & Co, Disneyland, News, Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney World, Disney & Company, Disney Parks, Walt Disney Company

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Disney Parks

Disneyland Still Doesn’t Have An Opening Date So Let’s Just Engage in Rank Speculation About It Instead

Hi everyone, you may recall that the last time we tried to glance at the crystal ball to see when Disneyland might reopen, Disney was accepting reservations starting on June 1, 2020. As we approach that date, there is a new cutoff for new reservations per Disneyland’s site (as of the most recent update as this goes to press of May 8) — July 1, 2020. Does this mean that Disneyland will be opening on July 1?  Does that mean that it definitely won’t be open before July 1? Officially, it doesn’t mean anything until Disney announces a reopening date, and the only thing certain right now is uncertainty, and any reservations made or held at the moment should be considered tentative until we hear something official from Disney one way or the other.

For those of you with Annual Passes, you can check out our last article on this topic for details on your options during the closure. For additional details on how other aspects of Disney travel are impacted, including the myriad different individual tickets, group tickets, special events and dining, please check Disney’s COVID-19 impact site.

So, we obviously don’t know when the park is going to open, but we can play soothsayer and have fun trying to guess, right? Well, I’m not going to wade into that minefield, but you’re free to do so. Here’s some info to help fuel your rampant guesswork, including some information that might, emphasis on might, offer some insight on what a COVID-19-era Disneyland Resort will look like:

So, once again, we really don’t know when Disneyland will reopen, but hopefully this gives you something to needle over in the interim while we wait for an announcement. As soon as we know, we’ll be sure to let you know!

The post Disneyland Still Doesn’t Have An Opening Date So Let’s Just Engage in Rank Speculation About It Instead appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.

From our friends at touringplans.com

Filed Under: Disney California Adventure, Disneyland (CA), Disneyland Park, Trip Planning, coronavirus, Disneyland

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Disney Business Disney Financials Disney News Disney Parks

News! Analyst Downgrades Disney’s Stock Rating Due To Leadership Changes

We reported yesterday that The Walt Disney Company shifted around their executives to form a new leadership team.

@joshdamaro on Instagram

This change-up moved Josh D’Amaro to the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, and named new presidents for both Disney World and Disneyland. Former Disneyland President, Rebecca Campbell, is stepping into the role of Chairman for the Direct-To Consumer sector and analysts shared their concerns with this recent change.

Campbell is taking over the chairman role previously held by Kevin Mayer. However, Mayer recently stepped down to become the CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent company.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Loop Capital analyst, Alan Gould, downgraded his rating of Disney from “buy” to “hold.” He explained by stating, “we believe the bounce-back from the pandemic will take longer than the Street is currently estimating, the stock is approaching our price target, and the uncertainty is exacerbated by the loss of Kevin Mayer.”

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

He referred to Mayer as “”the architect of the Disney+ launch” and Bernstein analyst, Todd Juenger, referred to Mayer’s successor, Campbell, by stating, “She joins the business at a moment where the already thin original content pipeline has dwindled to essentially ‘nothing.’”

He continued, “There are also vitally important strategic decisions to be made on the future of Hulu…She will not have the luxury of time to contemplate most of these tough decisions.”

@rebeccacampbelldisneyland on Instagram

Jeunger also posed questions about the changes including “Why put somebody from parks in charge of the future of streaming? Given the crucial and transformative role of streaming to Disney’s future, many investors were surprised that Disney didn’t name someone from the streaming side as CEO. Now, Disney hasn’t even named someone from the streaming side to be in charge of streaming.”

©Disney

Juenger continues to explain that if Disney had looked for someone with a deeper streaming background, the “very short list” would have been expensive individuals who are not looking to change jobs right now. He stated this was a “cold comfort for nervous investors who now have a surprise departure and unfamiliar replacement in charge of the division most associated with Disney’s future.”

©ESPN

Juenger explained that investors are already concerned about a new risk that they are unfamiliar with. He expressed concern with Disney’s limited “visibility” for roles apart from CEO and CFO, so he is hoping Disney will work to connect Campbell with investors to help ease their uncertainty during this transition.

What do you think of the new Disney Company transitions? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, disney parks, Disneyland, Featured, News, Disney, Disney Company, disney plus, disney streaming, Disney World, disney world president, disneyland president, Disneyland Resort, espn, Hulu, josh d’amaro, kevin mayer, Rebecca Campbell, streaming, the walt disney company, walt disney company, Walt Disney World

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Disney Parks Other

Hong Kong Disneyland soft opening starting today

hongkong disneyland

It is being reported that Hong Kong Disneyland soft opening has started today.

According to Twitter User, @hkdl_of_fantasy, Hong Kong Disneyland is getting ready for its reopening by testing a soft opening with Cast Members.

Starting from May 19th – May 21st, Hong Kong Disneyland will be reopening to Cast Members only.

No official word has been posted on the Hong Kong Disneyland website as of yet.

Earlier this month Shanghai Disneyland reopened to guests, and Disney Fans here in the US can’t wait for Disney World & Disneyland to release info on when they will be opening!

Stay tuned to Chip and Co for more information.

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Parks & Resorts, Hong Kong, Disney Parks, Disney theme parks, Disneyland, hong kong disneyland, Soft Opening

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Disney Business Disney Financials Disney Parks Other

News! Former Disney Chairman Named CEO of TikTok

Today, Disney announced a new leadership team including Josh D’Amaro in his new position as Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.

@joshdamaro on Instagram

Other members include Rebecca Campbell, Jeff Vahle, Kareem Daniel, and Thomas Mazloum. Campbell took on the position of chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International, which was formerly held by Kevin Mayer. However, Mayer is moving on to a position with a popular video service.

According to Variety, Mayer stepped away from The Walt Disney Company to assume the role of chief executive officer at the “short-form video platform,” TikTok. He will also be taking on the position of chief operating officer at TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

ByteDance CEO stated, “Kevin’s wealth of experience building successful global businesses makes him an outstanding fit for our mission of inspiring creativity for users globally. As one of the world’s most accomplished entertainment executives, Kevin is incredibly well placed to take ByteDance’s portfolio of products to the next level.”

Mayer will support ByteDance by overseeing TikTok, music, gaming, Helo, and other new ByteDance businesses. He is scheduled to start officially working with the company in Los Angeles on June 1st.

Disneyland Main Entrance

Mayer spoke out on his new position by stating “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the amazing team at ByteDance. Like everyone else, I’ve been impressed watching the company build something incredibly rare in TikTok — a creative, positive online global community — and I’m excited to help lead the next phase of ByteDance’s journey as the company continues to expand its breadth of products across every region of the world.”

Epcot Monorail

Kevin Mayer started working with Disney in 1993, but left in 2000 to become the CEO of Clear Channel Interactive. He returned to Disney in 2005 as EVP of corporate strategy. Most recently, Mayer oversaw Disney’s launch of Disney+ and ESPN+.

©Disney

Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, stated “Kevin has had an extraordinary impact on our company over the years…He has done a masterful job of overseeing and growing our portfolio of streaming services, while bringing together the creative and technological assets required to launch the hugely successful Disney Plus globally.”

Former Disneyland President, Rebecca Campbell, will take on Mayer’s previous role at The Disney Company.

Which streaming platform is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, Featured, News, Disney, Disney Company, disney plus, Disney World, Disneyland, espn plus, Hulu, josh d’amaro, kevin mayer, Rebecca Campbell, streaming, the walt disney company, tiktok, walt disney company