Dec. 12, 2023

Universal Kids & Disneyland's 2024 Season Announcements

Universal Kids & Disneyland's 2024 Season Announcements

Announcements abound as attractions attempt to bolster 2024 sales and temper expectations. We'll discuss a select few: Universal Kids Resort, Disneyland After Dark, and Disneyland 2024 Events.

Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

Announcements abound as attractions attempt to bolster 2024 sales and temper expectations. We'll discuss a select few: Universal Kids Resort, Disneyland After Dark, and Disneyland 2024 Events.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:04.759
Welcome back to another week of Green
Tag Theme Park and thirty. I'm Philip

2
00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:07.839
and I'm joined as always by my
co host Scott Swinson and Scott Swinson Credit

3
00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:14.679
Development and Scott tis the season of
announcements, Tis it tis it is?

4
00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:19.640
Indeed, there are announcements a go
go. We're all getting we're all getting

5
00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:23.079
special you know, special presence.
I guess maybe this is the unwrapping of

6
00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:25.839
all the things. Well, I
was actually thinking, you know, I

7
00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.760
think you would know, coming from
your background, you know, this always

8
00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.320
happens. Of course, the Park's
always announced, you know, in a

9
00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:36.520
slew of things. But I feel
like this year it's especially critical because next

10
00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:39.640
year is not projected right now to
be a great year. You know,

11
00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:42.799
we'll see how it works out.
But it's all election years always tough,

12
00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:46.439
and then with the sentiment, consumer
sentiment and spending where it is, and

13
00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.640
you know, everybody is as we've
been saying for years, you know,

14
00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:54.159
next year, you know, twenty
twenty five is a year where people will

15
00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.200
get back and going and next year
is kind of the it's going to be

16
00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.000
a tough one and I think that's
making these announcements where it's like it steels

17
00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:04.000
like everyone everyone, if everyone has
something to announce, they're all trying to

18
00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:08.239
It seems to me like everybody,
every chain, every place is trying to

19
00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.519
remind you they're still going to be
here in next year, and the remind

20
00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.920
you they're going to be doing something
next year. Try and get early revenue

21
00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:19.560
in for next year, and also
try and set up twenty twenty five as

22
00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.719
a great year of openings. Well, it's also when you announce a new

23
00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:29.280
opening just before the winter holidays,
you know Christmas. Now. Granted,

24
00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:30.719
as we record this, we are
in the midst of Hanka already, but

25
00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.760
if you can do it before Christmas, you can actually also make it so

26
00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:42.239
that you can get season passes and
memberships to zoos and aquariums because there's something

27
00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.159
cool that is new that's coming up
next year. So they always want to

28
00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.959
be front of mind at this time
of year to say and next year,

29
00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.439
we've got this cool thing, or
in the near future, we've got this

30
00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:57.000
cool thing. And there is a
theory and I actually think there's something to

31
00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.640
it that says this actually does kind
of generate some additional season pass sales for

32
00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.079
the holiday season. Yes, I
would agree, and that is money that

33
00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:09.840
everyone's being on desperately need for next
year. So my point overall is there

34
00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:13.800
are a lot of announcements. I
have a few that I've kind of cherry

35
00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:17.360
picked here that I think there's something
interesting to them, but there are a

36
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.759
lot more that we're not going to
go through. We just don't have the

37
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.000
time to get to all of them. But I thought the first one we'd

38
00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:31.639
start off with is something that's been
that's been going around. Okay, I'm

39
00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.360
just gonna say it because this is
at least been going around my feed quite

40
00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:40.120
a bit. So we have the
name for the new Universal Park in Texas,

41
00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:44.039
and we've been following the story since
it was announced. You know,

42
00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.080
YadA YadA. We don't need to
go back over that, but basically they

43
00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:52.599
revealed that it's going to be called
Universal Kids Resort and it will gear the

44
00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:57.560
innovative storytelling to engage a young audience
with immersive themed lands featuring beloved characters and

45
00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:00.840
stories, family friendly attractions, interactive
shows, merchandise, fund and food options.

46
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:07.080
It will also include a three hundred
room hotel. And there's a specific

47
00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:12.919
quote in here I wanted to kind
of get your take on Mollie Murphy,

48
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.599
the president of Universal Creative, specifically
said Universal Kids Resort will inspire the unbridled

49
00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:22.719
creativity of kids through imagination, discovery, and most importantly, play. We're

50
00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:27.240
designing the resort so kids and families
can feel the thrill of being physically immersed

51
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:32.919
in their most beloved stories and characters. My hot take is, why would

52
00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:39.800
you name why would you hamstring yourself
by calling this a kids resort when well,

53
00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.360
anyway that would be My hot take
was. I think that calling it

54
00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.000
a kid's resort is wrong. I
think that everything she said could be said

55
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:50.280
of any Universal property. I don't
look at you know, do kids not

56
00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.840
go to Islands of Adventure or do
they not go to Universal regularly? It's

57
00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:55.919
thatt like, I didn't know that
the resorts weren't for kids. It could

58
00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.599
have pulled me so, but Scott
would think, well, the play thing

59
00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:02.800
is something you talk about a lot. Yeah. When they when they originally

60
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:05.479
came out with this, with this
concept and they said it was going to

61
00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:10.719
be a more family friendly, they
weren't target it was family friendly verbiage versus

62
00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:15.879
you know, kid centric verbiage.
It's uh. I thought it was interesting

63
00:04:15.959 --> 00:04:20.399
because you know, at least in
Florida. Universal is kind of known as

64
00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:24.720
the bad boy of theme parks.
They are known for being the uh,

65
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.160
the the one that pushes the envelope, the one that's a little bit edgier.

66
00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.399
Even during their day product, not
just during during Halloween Hornit's but even

67
00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.319
during their day product, they're just
a little bit edgier, a little bit

68
00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:43.000
more adult. They they pick up
ips that are that appeal to adults and

69
00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:45.920
not just children. So when they
came out with this, I thought it

70
00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:48.519
was very interesting. But let's look
at I mean, let's back off just

71
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.199
a little bit and look at it
in a wider scope, because they've got

72
00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:57.240
another project that's happening in Las Vegas, which is very adult centric, and

73
00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:00.959
they make that very clear. To
me. It's sounds like they're they're looking

74
00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:10.079
at making it. They're trying to
mitigate any sort of guest frustration thinking,

75
00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.160
oh, great, there's going to
be a Universal Studios in Texas, but

76
00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.959
there's not. You know, it's
it's a different it's a different product.

77
00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:24.079
Or they're going to We're going to
go and experience Halloween Horonites in Las Vegas,

78
00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:28.839
but you're not. It's basically a
themed bar that does some seasonal activations,

79
00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:31.399
and I'm oversimplifying. It's a lot
more than that, but you know,

80
00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:38.360
it's not It is not another Universal
Park, and this is not another

81
00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.759
Universal Studios. The thing that I
find most interesting about the verbiage in the

82
00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:46.920
way that it's written is this sounds
like what you if you take off,

83
00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:56.560
if you really don't associate it with
anything Universal. It sounds like Legoland.

84
00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.680
Yeah, it sounds exactly like Lego
Land. That's that's an excellent point.

85
00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.360
Yeah, I didn't think, but
you're right, because it's all centered around

86
00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:09.120
play families played like interactive play with
families interesting, and you know, and

87
00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.399
maybe they're gonna, you know,
maybe they're gonna lean in heavy to some

88
00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:16.120
of the to some of the we'll
call it merchandise ips that they you know,

89
00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:18.120
I mean, let's face it,
that's what Lego Land is. There's

90
00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:21.839
no there's no denying that. There's
the theory behind Lego which is, you

91
00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:27.079
know, it spawns creativity and and
that's what they what they lean into.

92
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.879
But to be completely honest, the
one thing every kid walks out of Lego

93
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:34.800
Land with is legos. You know, it ties back to the to the

94
00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:41.920
key brand This sounds very much like
Universal's answer to Lego Land. Now,

95
00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:44.639
I'm not even saying that's a bad
thing. I'm not saying they're trying to

96
00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.319
trying to confuse the market. I
don't think they are. I think they

97
00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:54.160
have recognized, excuse me, that
there is a market for kid centric you

98
00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.959
know, we've said find the niche. What is the niche that's not being

99
00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.839
served? And Universal, although kids
do go to the Universal parks both in

100
00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:09.000
California and in Florida, they it's
not necessarily where the youngest families with young

101
00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:12.160
children. And keep in mind,
it's not the kids who make the decision

102
00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:15.079
whether to go to the parks or
not. It is usually the moms in

103
00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:18.199
the family. So moms of young
families will look at this and go,

104
00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:20.600
well, this sounds like a nice, wholesome, fun way that we can

105
00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:25.879
all get together as a family,
and Junior who is five and big brother

106
00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:30.600
who is seven, will have a
lovely time and we'll all have a great

107
00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.800
family time together. And I'm being
terribly stereotypical. But meanwhile, other members

108
00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:36.920
of the family are going, oh
god, it's going to be so lame.

109
00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:42.639
But it just depends on what their
ips are and how they embrace this

110
00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:49.000
idea of creativity and being a kid. I also think that by naming it

111
00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:55.839
Universal Kids Resort, you know exactly
what you're getting going in Yeah, you

112
00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:01.959
know, I mentioned it briefly earlier. It's all almost like it's almost like

113
00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:05.600
we don't want any guest comments that
say, where's you know, where are

114
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.639
all the things that we've come to
expect from Universal? Where's the edginess?

115
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:15.160
Because they're basically saying up front,
this is not edgy. The other thing

116
00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:20.959
that I thought was interesting is it
sounds a great deal, like give kids

117
00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.680
the world. It's yep, it
is, so I don't I don't really

118
00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.759
have a strong opinion one way or
the other on whether this is a good

119
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.000
thing or a bad thing. I
don't want to assign that to it.

120
00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.039
I think it is interesting. I
think it is unique, and I think

121
00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:39.360
it is certainly going to be We're
gonna have to watch it closely because I

122
00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.440
think it's going to be an experiment
in how does Dizzy or how does Disney

123
00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:50.240
listen to me? How does the
Universal expand off of what they have been

124
00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.399
known for? And maybe that's exactly
the purpose of it, because if it's

125
00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:56.440
coming out. You know, if
they're talking about this that the Kids resort,

126
00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:01.240
and they're talking about the Vegas experience, and they're talking about the elements

127
00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:07.759
that they're adding to the parks,
it looks like they're maybe casting nets to

128
00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:13.879
see what else they can do to
either train an audience younger so that they

129
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.919
will are ready to come to Universal
the big Universal parks, or it's an

130
00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:20.679
opportunity to say, you know what, we can't grow the market we have

131
00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:26.320
for thrills and movie EPs. How
can we grow our market in the younger

132
00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.200
demographics and families with younger children,
Or how can we grow the market in

133
00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.759
play and people who don't go to
theme parks but like scary stuff. So

134
00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.600
you know, they're all they're all
possibilities. I think it is a unique

135
00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.480
approach. I will say I wish
they had come up with something a little

136
00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:48.559
bit more clever than Universal Kids Resort, But it depends on how they play

137
00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.960
that. I mean, if they're
trying to make it a global village for

138
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.960
children. The Universal Kids I think
is kind of a neat concept as long

139
00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.480
as you because it's got the double
on toons of the brand and then filling

140
00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:05.320
out, you know, people of
all ethnic backgrounds, which I think could

141
00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.600
be conceivably really cool. So I
don't know, I am I am curious.

142
00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:16.240
I find it interesting, But to
me, it sounds like Universal is

143
00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.159
is doing a Lego Land park.
Yeah. I think when it was originally

144
00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:26.840
announced, we did talk about the
similarities to it and other chains, you

145
00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.039
know, we were kind of like, how how are they going to differentiate

146
00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:33.039
themselves from it? And maybe their
answer is we're not, We're just trying

147
00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.039
to make our own version of it
exactly. But the problem is, I

148
00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:41.120
think it's a branding problem. To
your point, it's like Universal, you

149
00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.399
know what to expect with Lego Land, and you know what to expect with

150
00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:46.159
Disney. You know that they're going
to fake that they're much more favorable to

151
00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:50.519
families with young kids, you know, the stroller parking, and then you

152
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.120
know that all that and especially with
Lego Land. So since you don't know

153
00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:58.960
what to expect with Universal, they
have to fix that ahead of time.

154
00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.399
And if they gave it a name
that was something else, you still wouldn't

155
00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:07.639
know. So they're trying to make
it more over to fix the branding program

156
00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:09.759
essentially, that's what you're saying,
right, Yeah, there mast making it

157
00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:15.919
very clear that nobody will mistake it
for a different universal property or mistake it

158
00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:22.240
for any other kid friendly, family
friendly property or product. Interesting, Well,

159
00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:30.840
okay, we shall see. So
next up, Disney announced their Disney

160
00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:35.399
After Dark twenty twenty four events.
Some of these are going to start going

161
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:41.279
on sale next week or actually this
week, which to me was I guess

162
00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.080
not surprising, but you know,
it's just again what we talked about the

163
00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.039
top of the show, just trying
to bring in revenue before the end of

164
00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.799
the year. So of most know, there's a few things that are of

165
00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:56.440
most note to me. One was
that they're testing out a new theme,

166
00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:01.360
which is called Disney Channel Night,
and it's on March fifth and seventh,

167
00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:05.320
and again it's going to be this
is all an all new theme. It's

168
00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.200
going to be there's a high school
musical pep rally, there's a Phineas and

169
00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:15.320
Firm dance party. There's Camp Rock
karaoke, you can do the sail around

170
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:18.879
with the sailing ship Columbus and enjoy
music from Descendants. There's photo backdrops from

171
00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:24.279
Lizzy McGuire, The Tita Girls,
the Teen Beach Movie. So what struck

172
00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:28.120
me about this is that it's I
think a theme we've been talking about a

173
00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.480
while, which is kind of Disney's
trying to balance a nostalgia with the new

174
00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:39.240
ips. I think this is a
you know Lizzie McGuire that I mean that

175
00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:43.840
Lizzie McGuire has not been around in
a while. And think there are so

176
00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:50.320
many things to this I think that
are just so interesting overall with all when

177
00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:54.000
you I think when you look in
the aggregate of Disney's announcements, it seems

178
00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.840
like they're getting further away from I
guess the stuff that the other parts do

179
00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:03.000
that like I wants the normal shoulder
seasons, but they're trying to invent their

180
00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:09.600
own events to counter the shoulder seasons
that are tied more vertically to their IP.

181
00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:13.000
And I think this is a great
example, you know, like they're

182
00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.200
they're bringing back Pride Night, sure, but like Disney Channel Night is something

183
00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:24.120
that's directly tied into Disney Plus and
having that subscription to be able to go

184
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:28.679
back and watch these things. I
mean, it's like they're I think this

185
00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:33.080
type of thing I think we will
see more of in the future because I

186
00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.840
think this is exactly what they should
be doing, which is what they talked

187
00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:39.639
about doing years ago. Right,
this is a whole point that Disney Plus

188
00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.840
is to more vertically integrate with your
time. So if there's a way for

189
00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:48.080
them to celebrate some of the stuff
from the Disney Channel in the parks as

190
00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.799
a special event, I think that's
the ideal. And then I wouldn't be

191
00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.159
surprised if in the future, if
you had a Disney Plus subscription, you

192
00:13:56.200 --> 00:14:00.799
would get a discount code for the
Disney Channel Night event type of thing.

193
00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.960
I think that's that would be the
vertical integration. I think they've been looking

194
00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.480
for this whole time. But but
also it fits for that nostalgia, you

195
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.200
know, you like, half of
these ips are not stuff for the kids.

196
00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:15.080
There's I feel like this is like
a millennial play well, and and

197
00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:20.679
millennials have what age kids now,
you know, I mean, let's let's

198
00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:24.000
be honest, millennials have young children. The first thing I want to point

199
00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:28.960
out is I want to point out
that this is disney Land versus Walt disney

200
00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.919
World. Disneyland is, although it
is an international destination, it is also

201
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.279
a local theme park. So it
needs to have and and and is more

202
00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:43.480
set up to have these pop up
events that can be two nights long.

203
00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:48.000
There's no such thing in in in
Florida, there's no because people don't people

204
00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.159
aren't like the Yes, there's a
there's a local population that goes to the

205
00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:58.039
Walt Disney World resort, but Disneyland
is significantly more uh. It pulls significantly

206
00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:03.399
more from a local a local audience. So they're they're going to kind of

207
00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:07.720
become and we've seen it become these
the test market for some of these pop

208
00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:11.879
up things. They're gonna try it
for for two nights. And the fact

209
00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:16.679
that it's it's the fifth and the
seventh but not the sixth, that seems

210
00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:20.639
unusual to me too. But it
seems very much as a hometown park approach.

211
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.679
So let's take that into consideration.
First, this is a disney Land,

212
00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.759
not a Disney uh of Disney worldwide
Disney resorts kind of thing. It's

213
00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:33.600
something they can probably only do at
Disneyland for two nights. They wouldn't be

214
00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:37.080
able to do it at Disney World
for any length of time longer than this.

215
00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:39.240
The second thing I want to point
out is, you know, we've

216
00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:43.279
talked about all of the streaming services, and Philip, you're the one who's

217
00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:46.320
been who's been uh championing this on
this show, and that is what they

218
00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:52.200
have as far as content, what
they have as far as you know,

219
00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:54.759
shows that are sitting in their vaults, Well, if you look at all

220
00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:00.840
of these, you're absolutely right.
This is young parents who are going to

221
00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:02.759
say, oh, I love these
and I want to introduce them to my

222
00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:07.039
kids so that the kids will go
back. It's bringing a whole new life

223
00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:15.600
to existing older material. You know, it's it's bringing out, it's it's

224
00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.919
reintroducing it to a younger audience.
And it's no different for Disney. They've

225
00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.080
done this for you know, with
with Back in Madday, back in the

226
00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:27.080
v the VHS release days where they
would take classic Disney films, bring them

227
00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:30.440
out, put them on video,
then put them back in the vaults for

228
00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.200
another seven years. So you had
to wait, so they just had to

229
00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:37.480
keep reintroducing. That's what they're now
starting to do. I think with the

230
00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.480
Disney Channel stuff, they're you know, they're they're reintroducing Phineas and Ferb and

231
00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:48.960
camp Rock and Lizzie McGuire u.
So it's one of those it's giving parents

232
00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:57.000
an opportunity to introduce to their children
the the the ips that they enjoyed when

233
00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:03.120
they were younger. And again,
Mickey and Minnie are still around, and

234
00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.559
they've been doing this since they opened, I mean since the forties. They've

235
00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:14.880
been doing this to reintroduce and reinvigorate
and find new and fresh ways. And

236
00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:19.039
you know, since the parks are
doing relatively well based on the calls that

237
00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:25.799
you know, the profit calls and
that we've seen and have been made,

238
00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:32.319
they're using the parks to an advantage
to basically usually usually Disney has used to

239
00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:34.920
saying we'll take the movies, we'll
lead with the movies, and then we'll

240
00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:38.640
have the parks be the follow up
in the additional revenue. This seems to

241
00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:42.200
be a flip flop of that,
where they're leading with the parks so that

242
00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:51.599
they can get more information or i'm
sorry, more traction with their streaming services.

243
00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:55.440
And I'm wondering if they're all I'm
hoping, because Disney's really smart this

244
00:17:55.480 --> 00:18:00.519
way, I'm hoping they're ready to
start tracking to see after this event if

245
00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:03.839
it does create a bump in viewership
for some of these existing products that are

246
00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:12.039
probably sitting a little bit sluggish right
now. I think it's also interesting to

247
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:18.039
me to take a step back and
think about how they've been trying so hard

248
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:25.200
to make streaming profitable. But you
know, really it's almost like, I

249
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:27.640
think, to your point stuff like
this. You know, the streaming audience

250
00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.160
is so much larger than the audience
that we go to theme parks, and

251
00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:33.279
I think, I think, us
being in the industry, we often forget,

252
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.400
you know, I say this when
people ask about horror. I'm like,

253
00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.440
the amount of people that are interested
in horror is far larger than the

254
00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.640
amount of people that would have ever
gone to a haunted house. Well,

255
00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:45.960
I mean, even in the organization, the name of the game is to

256
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.920
increase that right and increase that share. Like the name of the game for

257
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:53.000
Disney here is sure, yeah,
they don't they can't be losing so much

258
00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:56.319
money on streaming. But the name
of the game ultimately is to the parks

259
00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.680
are much more profitable. So it's
to invert those people into park viewers.

260
00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:06.599
Well, but I'm not even seeing
I'm not even saying that that only the

261
00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.279
people who go to the parks,
who go to these events are going to

262
00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:15.240
be the ones who will all of
a sudden have a a re reinvested interest

263
00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:18.720
in these older products just by advertising
it. Just the fact that we're talking

264
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.119
about it. I'm sure at least
one listener has gone, I used to

265
00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:25.160
love Phineas and Ferb. I should
go. I should show that to my

266
00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:29.920
kids, you know, or or
Lizzie McGuire. Maybe I don't know.

267
00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.960
I don't know, but but yeah, I just think that they're looking at

268
00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.200
it as a way to get new
life. I mean, let's face it,

269
00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.200
they don't have to invest a dime
in production in these things. They're

270
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.680
already done. They've been done for
years, you know. It's depending on

271
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.519
what the agreements were with the with
the voice talent. Yes, they may

272
00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.960
still have to pay residuals on it, or they may have been bought out

273
00:19:55.960 --> 00:20:00.119
by now who knows, who knows, But it's it's a cheap it's it's

274
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:06.160
a cheap way to reintroduce a product
that already exists. And again, playing

275
00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.559
off your assets, yep, yes, plan off the assets I think is

276
00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:15.559
another strong theme as well. So
anyway, tickets will go on sale for

277
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:18.079
that event, in particular on the
twelfth, so just two days from now,

278
00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.920
and Pride Night is returning. Despite
its selling out last year, they

279
00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:26.200
did not increase the number of nights, so it's only going to still be

280
00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:32.799
a two night event again this year, which was an interesting move. They're

281
00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.920
bringing back Star Wars, of course, They're bringing back Sweethearts. Of course,

282
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.359
the Sweethearts event was expanded, you
know, all that's typical. But

283
00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:45.480
they also did announce all of their
twenty twenty four event lineups for the Disneyland

284
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.319
side, and again the list is
huge. There's plenty of great articles out

285
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.599
there. I'm only pointing out specific
items that I think are relevant to the

286
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:57.759
topics that we have discussed previously.
The first is that they're beginning Halloween a

287
00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:02.759
week early. Halloween time will begin
on August twenty third, which is a

288
00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:06.039
week earlier than last year, which
is exactly what we've talked about previously,

289
00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:11.720
the Halloween creep, and we I
think we floated the question even I think

290
00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:15.119
last time we talked about it,
which is how early is Disneyland going to

291
00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:23.000
push it? Because last year the
Walt Disney World resort started Mickey's Not So

292
00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:30.039
scare a Halloween party on August eleventh, and so and then and then you

293
00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.359
saw Universal last year for the first
time, and also very seemed very haphazardly

294
00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:38.240
announced their Taste of Terror preview event
as well to get in on the August

295
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:44.279
fun. So I think this year
we could see that looking at this,

296
00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:45.960
looking at you know, Disneyland does
not normally do this, but looking at

297
00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:51.680
Disneyland moving it a whole week earlier, I could see you could potentially see

298
00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.920
Orlando start, as you know,
the first week in August. I would

299
00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:00.880
not find that unusual if they started
the first week in August with a Taste

300
00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.759
of Terror preview or with this,
and that's what they That's ultimately what the

301
00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.200
parks, all the parks want.
I'm sure they all want a full three

302
00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:12.200
months of fall fall activities because as
Scott, you know, you said,

303
00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:17.000
Halloween makes money. And if they
can spread that out to a ninety day

304
00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.839
period instead of just you know there, I mean, there's still plenty of

305
00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:26.119
attractions that are still only in October, but to set this precedent would impact

306
00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:27.519
the entire industry. You know,
it's not just Disney. Well, and

307
00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:33.000
I will say that this expansion for
the ones that are only in October,

308
00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:36.680
or even the events that start in
September, you know, mid to late

309
00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:41.559
September, this is actually a benefit. I know that there are there are

310
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.359
some some bean counters who will be
sitting out going, oh my gosh,

311
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.359
they're going to spend all their money
before we even open. But at the

312
00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:52.279
same time, you're not in direct
competition because they can all those avid halloweeners

313
00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:56.839
that want to get out there and
dive into this. They're going to be

314
00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:00.480
there in August and the first week
of September. So therefore, when you're

315
00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:03.880
e vent opens, it doesn't get
buried by the noise, you know,

316
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:11.200
especially smaller attractions here in Florida there
in California, they it doesn't. It

317
00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:15.680
doesn't destroy or just literally, as
I said, bury the announcements of the

318
00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:19.599
smaller attractions that will start later.
It's it's sort of what you do in

319
00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:23.039
a good marketing campaign. I mean, you come up with here's our opening,

320
00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:27.440
here's our we'll call it the lag
punch. As as the attendant starts

321
00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.119
to go down or interest starts to
wane just a little bit, do something

322
00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.799
cool and it pops it back up. So if you look at that from

323
00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:41.039
an industry standpoint, you've got Disney
starting super early, then perhaps Universal following

324
00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:45.720
suit, and then the other more
independent haunted attractions are smaller parks who are

325
00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:49.960
doing Halloween events, then they can
be those additional bumps throughout the Halloween season.

326
00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:53.839
I don't see this as a bad
thing. I'm curious. I'm curious

327
00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:56.960
as I watch it. I'm curious
to see how early is too early?

328
00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:02.119
You know, when we hit when
we Happy Independence Day and tomorrow night we

329
00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.440
open up Halloween, is that going
to be too much for people? Is

330
00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:07.480
that going to be the breaking point
where people are like, this isn't even

331
00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:11.920
special anymore, This is just this
is just this is just Halloween all the

332
00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:17.400
time. So I don't know,
I don't I don't know whether we'll ever

333
00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.720
get to that point. We make
it to the point where we discover you

334
00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:25.640
can run a Halloween event year round. Well, well see see Vegas right

335
00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:30.000
exactly. Again, that's probably a
great opportunity for them to learn there,

336
00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:34.519
too, for for universal to learn
there. I just think I agree with

337
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:38.599
you in that this is overall good
for the industry. You know, not

338
00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:45.400
everybody can do that. It's really
really just these these enormous staple events that

339
00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:48.079
can get away with this type of
thing. But it helps everybody, you

340
00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.400
know, to all of Scott's points, that does all that. But I

341
00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:55.039
would also argue that it. Next
year is going to be tough, and

342
00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:57.720
part of the reason election years are
tough is the amount of money that comes

343
00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:03.920
flooding into advertising, So it makes
it makes it much harder for smaller attractions

344
00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:07.599
to afford to do the campaigns they
normally do to get marketing dollars. So

345
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.079
having a longer time is better.
And I think this is gonna this is

346
00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.440
gonna help everybody. Honestly, it's
gonna help the smaller attractions just as much

347
00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:19.880
because here in Socow, you know, they can kind of piggyback off of

348
00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.240
the penetration that Disney already has to
kind of piggyback off of that and say,

349
00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:27.920
Disney, Halloween time is here,
our event open. You know you

350
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:32.599
can piggyback off of that. That's
going to be critical next year when you

351
00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:34.920
find that all of your advertising dollars
don't go nearly as far as they did

352
00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.400
the previous year. Well and when
and when out of school season, but's

353
00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.759
now up against Halloween season. I
think it's going to be a very interesting.

354
00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:48.000
It's gonna be very interesting. It's
there. They've basically eliminated shoulder season,

355
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.359
which which I think is very brave, And we'll see how well in

356
00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:55.720
the goal. We'll see how well
itplies. I mean, I you know,

357
00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:57.039
I think it's a great idea if
it works. Of course, that's

358
00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:00.839
that could be said of anything.
I suppose, what idea if it works.

359
00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:06.559
So yeah, I again, we'll
just we'll just watch yep. The

360
00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:11.240
other things I wanted to point out
from their announcements was they're bringing back Season

361
00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:15.119
of the Force from April to June, and they've announced a new event called

362
00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:21.319
pixar Fest that is April twenty sixth
through August fourth. So essentially they're what

363
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:23.119
I what I guess, what I'm
trying to illustrate with this is that it

364
00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:27.920
seems like they're definitely moving away from
doing a lot of stuff that is dependent

365
00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.880
on I guess outside culture, as
in like Halloween and and Chinese New Year

366
00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:38.160
and these things, and they're trying
to fill more of the time with stuff

367
00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:44.079
that is created by them that enforces
their IP right because you can you can

368
00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:48.279
have there's I guess, I guess, especially in the Solica region, there's

369
00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.519
quite a lot of competition for Chinese
a year, for example, you know,

370
00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:53.240
all the cultural institutions of a lot
a lot of people celebrate trans a

371
00:26:53.279 --> 00:27:00.000
year, but nobody celebrates pixar Fest
because it is it is is that they

372
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.319
and again, everything we just talked
about with the Disney Channel Night applies,

373
00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:07.400
I think to these events, and
it's quite a long run if you look

374
00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.240
at these out you know, Season
of the Force and happening over at Disneyland

375
00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:14.799
Side and then pixar Fest April twenty
sixth through August fourth. That's a long

376
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:21.799
run for a new festival. And
they also announced for pixar Fest specifically,

377
00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:26.799
there's gonna be a new parade called
Better Together, a Pixar palse Parade,

378
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.519
and it's going to have characters that
have not previously appeared in the US,

379
00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:34.599
that only have appeared in China so
far. So again, I think it's

380
00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:40.920
just that same strategy as the Disney
Channel Night, but you know, on

381
00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:44.720
a bigger scale and just just more
trying to have reasons I think, to

382
00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:49.880
celebrate their IP and they're I guess
almost like their own spin on other stuff,

383
00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:52.759
right, I mean, while while
other basically while other people are doing

384
00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:57.480
Summerfest and then you know they're doing
all these they're tiny into the holidays.

385
00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:00.960
You know, Disney's trying say,
we're just gonna have Season of the Forest,

386
00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:03.839
and we're gonna have picks our Fest, and we're going to have,

387
00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:06.880
you know, our own version of
Halloween Time, which has almost become its

388
00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:11.119
own thing in and of itself.
And I think that's again, not many

389
00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:15.880
brands can do that, but I
think it's smart to tie it in that

390
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:19.000
way. Yeah, they've got so
much, they've got so many assets.

391
00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.759
Once again, playing with your assets, use your assets the best of your

392
00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:26.480
best of your ability. They've got
so many to work with that this is

393
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:29.599
just another example of doing that.
The one thing that I think is unique

394
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.839
to me from a from an industry
person is it appears as though during the

395
00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.640
month of May they will be competing
with themselves because that's the there is a

396
00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:42.000
rather significant overlap of Season of the
Force and picks our Fest. Now,

397
00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:48.079
granted, if you're if you're a
tourist coming to to Disneyland UH and California

398
00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:52.839
Adventure, you're gonna do both parks
anyway, so you'll probably in the month

399
00:28:52.839 --> 00:29:00.079
of May, which again high vacation
time. It makes it so that gosh,

400
00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:03.880
you know I was gonna do I
was going to do Magic Kingdom one

401
00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:07.720
day, and then I was gonna
go do Universal Studios another, but they've

402
00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:10.599
got these events, these short term
events that are going on in both places.

403
00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:12.640
So you know, maybe I'll park
op, I'll get a park copper.

404
00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:15.920
To me, this is just a
ploy to get park coppers, which,

405
00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:19.279
again from a business standpoint, I
say it flippantly, but I don't

406
00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:23.200
mean it that's a bad thing.
I think that's you know, these are

407
00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:26.920
businesses, and when you make good, creative choices that help support your business

408
00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:30.720
goals, I mean that's what that's
what we do, and that's how how

409
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:36.200
companies and parks survive and do and
do well. I will say that I

410
00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:41.400
like the idea of the the Better
together a Pixar Pal's celebration, even though

411
00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:47.000
it's not truly a summer fest,
it is clearly a hey, we're out

412
00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:49.079
of school, let's have fun.
That's kind of the vibe. That's kind

413
00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:52.519
of the vibe that it has.
And so I think that it's gonna it's

414
00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:57.720
gonna kick off, it's gonna kick
off their summer season, and h you

415
00:29:57.720 --> 00:30:00.279
know, there's gonna be that,
Like I said, there is going to

416
00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:03.799
be that overlap which will make it
so that parkoppers will be essential for the

417
00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:07.319
month of May. So while speaking
of essential, it is essential that if

418
00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:11.079
we're going to keep true to our
title, it is time for us to

419
00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:15.000
say goodbye for another week. So
on behalf of Philip Bernandez with Gantum Lighting

420
00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:18.039
and how to Attraction Network, and
myself Scott Swinson and with Scott swentson creative

421
00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:22.039
development. This is Green Tag Theme
Park in thirty and we'll see you next week