Independent Audit Blasts Disney For Pulling ‘Bait And Switch’ On Florida: ‘A Mousetrap’

[john7994]

The general public stopped caring about the Disney/DeSantis feud almost a year ago. The only people still paying attention are people that have a specific axe to grind with one side or another and aren't going to change their minds regardless of the outcome of the litigation.

Very true … a nice diversion on the DIS, but as a reality show, it would have been cancelled. Even the recent allegations of improprieties and hypocrisy are boring and been there done that … but in the end you are right … no one is going to change their minds from it.

 

[longboard55]

Right. Wish bombed because it wasn't a good film. I had a friend who is a Disney fan tell me that she's waiting for Disney+ to watch it because it looks boring. Not sure if I agree that all Disney customers support their politics. I think it's just that most people don't care or don't know that this situation is even going on.

My daughter saw a Wish preview months before and knew it would not do well. What is ironic is Disney is by far the most family friendly media company out there, have you seen what they put out on Netflix, HBO or even network TV with shows like Temptation Island. Total trash approaching soft porn, would anyone want to watch these shows with the kids.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Private meetings don't earn you any votes - everything DeSantis is doing right now, he's doing in full view of whatever media he can find.

Yes, and I believe as another had stated it is a smug on his gold star….

The optics of the sh..show are bad….

The only way they get better is when this is put to bed.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

From a parks perspective most profitable year ever.

Linear TV has reduced revenue from cord cutting but still operating at around 30% profit.

The Studios and Entertainment with all the reported bombs at the box office reported a total fiscal loss of $179M

Streaming losses shrunk 27% and the company is stating profitability is coming next year as originally anticipated. Whether that’s accurate or not will be provided in data.

Sports segment operating at 14-15% profit

The market may disagree with you

 

[HokieRaven5]

The market may disagree with you

Right, the stock market has been solely focused on streaming over everything else and everything to do with the media side that is in transition. It’s why investors are really only asking questions about those parts of the company and just kind of leaving the rest alone. The stock dropped 3% the day Disney announced 60B in investment in the parks over the next 10 years.

So yeah, the stock is down after investors overcorrected from that peak when investors were reacting to subscriber #s for streaming rather than revenues and profits.

Now they’re focused on returns there and waiting for that ship to right itself or show the signs of righting itself.

 

[White Cat]

Private meetings don't earn you any votes - everything DeSantis is doing right now, he's doing in full view of whatever media he can find.

Very smart thing to do.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, fine, if you don't want to visit SeaWorld or Universal Studios because they haven't come out strongly enough on the politics you support, that's also your choice. But I think most people just want to enjoy themselves when they spend their hard earned money on entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with that, either.

Are we reading the same thread? Where did the poster you quoted say anything about not going to SeaWorld or Universal, much less why?

Guessing you'll ignore this question just like you've ignored all the others I've asked you. Wonder why that is...

 

[whiteness]

Are we reading the same thread? Where did the poster you quoted say anything about not going to SeaWorld or Universal, much less why?

Guessing you'll ignore this question just like you've ignored all the others I've asked you. Wonder why that is...

I don't recall anymore what all of this is referring to, sorry. I'm too lazy to read through this thread at this point.

 

[sam_gordon]

I don't recall anymore what all of this is referring to, sorry. I'm too lazy to read through this thread at this point.

It was only two pages ago, understand it's hard for you to keep up, so I made it easy for you (the question is at the end of the quote)...

The thread title bills it as an "Indepenent" audit. I guarantee there are people/companies out there that either don't care about Disney/DeSantis and/or can set aside their personal feelings to do a professional, unbiased report.

I agree I wouldn't trust anything Disney put out, but by the same token, this shouldn't be accepted as gospel either. @whiteness, you seem to agree Disney would be biased in their report, but accepting of this one.

Did Disney do anything wrong? Don't know. Should Reedy Creek had been disbanded? Don't know. But the OPTICS are DeSantis got his panties in a wad because Disney spoke out against his bill. And politics is ALL about optics.

IMO, Disney (because corporations are people now), has the right to say what they want to say without government interference. If the public doesn't like their stance, they won't give that company money.

Just like any person has the right to say they disagree with what the President, Congress, state Legislature, or school board does. Thinking its OK for DeSantis to go after Disney is saying its OK to punish an individual for saying the President is wrong. Is that really what we want?

Assuming you don't want to answer that, please explain why you think PP is avoiding SeaWorld and Universal because of their political stance. I mean, thats what you claimed. You should be able to back up you claims, right?

 

[whiteness]

It was only two pages ago, understand it's hard for you to keep up, so I made it easy for you (the question is at the end of the quote)...


Assuming you don't want to answer that, please explain why you think PP is avoiding SeaWorld and Universal because of their political stance. I mean, thats what you claimed. You should be able to back up you claims, right?

OK, you want to know if someone named PP is avoiding SeaWorld and Universal? How the heck should I know that? Go ask PP!

 

[Disneychick13]

The general public stopped caring about the Disney/DeSantis feud almost a year ago. The only people still paying attention are people that have a specific axe to grind with one side or another and aren't going to change their minds regardless of the outcome of the litigation.

Yeah the vast majority of people don’t care about any of this stuff at all. Probably most people have never even heard of this at all (especially outside the state of FL). If you asked people who Bob Iger is you would most likely be met with a blank stare. The main thing that I’m interested in is the outcome of the various lawsuits, especially the 1st amendment case. I don’t happen to think it’s a first amendment issue but I know many on here (and a lot of legal experts) would disagree with me and that’s fine. I just see it through a different lens so I’ll be interested in the resolution and legal analysis of the case.

 

[sam_gordon]

OK, you want to know if someone named PP is avoiding SeaWorld and Universal? How the heck should I know that? Go ask PP!

Sigh... here's YOUR statement...

Well, fine, if you don't want to visit SeaWorld or Universal Studios because they haven't come out strongly enough on the politics you support, that's also your choice. But I think most people just want to enjoy themselves when they spend their hard earned money on entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with that, either.

PP (precious poster), who YOU quoted, made ZERO comments about SeaWorld or Universal. So why did YOU come up with a reason they don't want to visit those parks?

 

[whiteness]

Sigh... here's YOUR statement...



PP (precious poster), who YOU quoted, made ZERO comments about SeaWorld or Universal. So why did YOU come up with a reason they don't want to visit those parks?

OMG, there's more to life than politics! People obsessed with politics just suck all of the joy and fun out of everything. Go out and have some fun!

 

[Sanchez]

Yeah the vast majority of people don’t care about any of this stuff at all. Probably most people have never even heard of this at all (especially outside the state of FL). If you asked people who Bob Iger is you would most likely be met with a blank stare. The main thing that I’m interested in is the outcome of the various lawsuits, especially the 1st amendment case. I don’t happen to think it’s a first amendment issue but I know many on here (and a lot of legal experts) would disagree with me and that’s fine. I just see it through a different lens so I’ll be interested in the resolution and legal analysis of the case.

I would also like to see rulings in these cases, but it appears the most likely ending is a settlement as the political angst winds down.

The first battle (state court) is over the development agreement and covenants and restrictions implemented by Reedy Creek immediately prior to the legislative change. The CFTOD is seeking to have those declared invalid. This is the most important issue for Disney because the agreements lock in the development/design/construction standards. If upheld, the new board (CFTOD) has authority but is limited as to what changes it can implement. I am just one guy but I don't think the CFTOD is likely to succeed in this one.

The second battle is the first amendment/retaliation suit brought by Disney. This suit (federal court) gets the majority of interest because of the facts. Disney is going to have a harder time with this one. And before anyone loses their mind . . . I understand the facts. Assuming you accept all of Disney's factual allegations as true, the major hurdle for Disney is that the legislation to replace the board was not accomplished by fiat. This was a decision made by the Florida legislature and the act itself (replacing Reedy Creek with the CFTOD) is entirely legal. Remember, Disney is not saying that legislative act is illegal, rather they are saying that the act was the product of retaliation. It certainly isn't a slam dunk that a federal court is going to declare an otherwise legal legislative act to be illegal because of statements, even assuming that they are retaliatory, made by the Governor. (I am aware that some members of the legislature mimicked statements by the Governor, but legislative decisions are not judged, or considered invalid, based on the reasoning, even if abhorrent, of individual members of the body.)

While Disney certainly wants the ability to handpick and control the board members, I can see a settlement agreement where the development agreement and restrictions remain in place and the CFTOD structure remains in place. Everyone gets out of this saving face and business goes on as usual. Remember also that the makeup of the CFTOD board will change and that over time the appointees are less likely to be bound to the will of those currently in power.

The State/Governor etc. have filed a motion to dismiss Disney's federal suit and the briefs have been filed. I believe that the hearing on this motion will be held next week. These motions are rarely granted so if Disney survives (highly likely) it doesn't mean that a court is close to deciding all of the issues.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I would also like to see rulings in these cases, but it appears the most likely ending is a settlement as the political angst winds down.

The first battle (state court) is over the development agreement and covenants and restrictions implemented by Reedy Creek immediately prior to the legislative change. The CFTOD is seeking to have those declared invalid. This is the most important issue for Disney because the agreements lock in the development/design/construction standards. If upheld, the new board (CFTOD) has authority but is limited as to what changes it can implement. I am just one guy but I don't think the CFTOD is likely to succeed in this one.

The second battle is the first amendment/retaliation suit brought by Disney. This suit (federal court) gets the majority of interest because of the facts. Disney is going to have a harder time with this one. And before anyone loses their mind . . . I understand the facts. Assuming you accept all of Disney's factual allegations as true, the major hurdle for Disney is that the legislation to replace the board was not accomplished by fiat. This was a decision made by the Florida legislature and the act itself (replacing Reedy Creek with the CFTOD) is entirely legal. Remember, Disney is not saying that legislative act is illegal, rather they are saying that the act was the product of retaliation. It certainly isn't a slam dunk that a federal court is going to declare an otherwise legal legislative act to be illegal because of statements, even assuming that they are retaliatory, made by the Governor. (I am aware that some members of the legislature mimicked statements by the Governor, but legislative decisions are not judged, or considered invalid, based on the reasoning, even if abhorrent, of individual members of the body.)

While Disney certainly wants the ability to handpick and control the board members, I can see a settlement agreement where the development agreement and restrictions remain in place and the CFTOD structure remains in place. Everyone gets out of this saving face and business goes on as usual. Remember also that the makeup of the CFTOD board will change and that over time the appointees are less likely to be bound to the will of those currently in power.

The State/Governor etc. have filed a motion to dismiss Disney's federal suit and the briefs have been filed. I believe that the hearing on this motion will be held next week. These motions are rarely granted so if Disney survives (highly likely) it doesn't mean that a court is close to deciding all of the issues.

I don’t disagree with this assessment of it. I believe there is a 1A claim to be made, but it all is dependent on the court.

The Development agreements/Restrictive Covenants that some like to also call “last minute” dealings agreed are probably the most important to Disney as they protect the land that they own and development from the swings and changes of the state electorate vs what would’ve been a more local electorate in Orange/Osceola County had RCID just been dissolved.

 

[sam_gordon]

OMG, there's more to life than politics! People obsessed with politics just suck all of the joy and fun out of everything. Go out and have some fun!

OK, the ONLY one bringing politics into various decisions is YOU. So, moving on...

 

[TippyThomas]

So, any minds changed?

 

[whiteness]

OK, the ONLY one bringing politics into various decisions is YOU. So, moving on...

Thank you!

 

[whiteness]

So, any minds changed?

Not yet. Let's wait for both sides to present their evidence in court. Until then, it's all biased spin.

When we get people to testify under oath, that will be "interesting."

 

[soccerdad72]

When we get people to testify under oath, that will be "interesting."

No, it probably won't be, in reality.