We learned a lot about The Walt Disney Company this week.
Disney held its annual shareholders’ meeting on April 3rd, and the BIG news was that shareholders voted for Disney’s slate of nominees for its board over proxy challenges from Nelson Peltz’s Trian Group and from Blackwells. But after that drama was put to bed (at least for another year), we heard from Disney CEO Bob Iger about how the company is moving forward.
Iger announced that a West Coast Avatar land is part of the plans for expansion at Disneyland, and he showed new artwork from Moana 2, which is coming to theaters in November.
But Iger’s presentation to shareholders didn’t include any news about Walt Disney World. We (and many others) were kind of expecting an announcement of an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We know the new ride (which is a transformation of Splash Mountain) is opening this summer, but we don’t have any specifics on the date yet. But, no. We were left hanging.
And then we got to the Q&A section of the meeting, when shareholders are invited to submit questions to be answered by the big boss. And one of the shareholders boldly asked what many Disney fans have been wondering — when and how does Disney plan to respond to the competition from Universal’s new theme park, Epic Universe?
Epic Universe will be Universal’s fourth theme park in Orlando (when you count their water park, Volcano Bay). It is set to open in 2025, and with lands including Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, and Dark Universe. The park is getting a lot of attention — as a major new theme park would, of course — and promises new thrill rides, new restaurants, and more.
So, what did Iger say about Disney’s lack of a response to Epic Universe?
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “I want to remind you of a few things.” Iger went on to list major projects and expansions at Disney World over the past 5-6 years, including Pandora — The World of Avatar and its two rides in Animal Kingdom; Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios; the EPCOT Transformation including the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Moana Journey of Water; Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Hollywood Studios; and Tron Lightcycle/Run in Magic Kingdom.
Iger said that at Disney World, staggering the opening of new projects over time is their way of optimizing operations. And he assured shareholders that “there’s much more coming to our parks around the world, including Florida.”
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What do you think about Iger’s answer to the Epic Universe competition question? Let us know in the comments!
He’s joking right? Universal is building a completely new park with 4 new themed lands. Pandora opened 7 years ago with one great ride and one slow boat ride but not worth the long wait time that is usually there. Toy Story land is ok but overcrowded and extremely hot with no escape. Slinky Dog Dash is almost impossible to get on without rope dropping. Mickey and Minnie’s RR is a joke compared to what it replaced all because Disney didn’t want to spend the money to update TGMR or continue to pay the rights to the properties. Moana JOW is a fancy splash pad that is already having technical problems which will be no more than a dry rock outcrop without water before long. The transformation of EPCOT has ruined that park from what it was conceived to be and no longer has an identity. As good as GOG may be it doesn’t belong in EPCOT and ruins the skyline. Not to mention the negatives of Genie Plus and the overcrowding of the parks.