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[roaldbergmann]

I just read an article over at Jim Hill (http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... elift.aspx), about Disney starting to postpone or even cancel some new attractions (The Little Mermaid ect.) and some major makeovers. All because of the financial crisis that's been hitting most of the world. Does anyone know if these sort of things will happen at DLRP also? I could imagine that Toy Story Land and Ratatouille could be pushed as much as up to several years because of this  :cry:

[Nicholas-c]

The "Credit crunch" or whatever the media are saying it is now isn't going to affect businesses like DLRP, supermarkets etc. too much, they wont go completely bust at all and i would still see the "attractions" coming as DLRP have several contracts to up hold.

[smurfy74]

i dont think Europe is being hit as hard as the states, ( im not denying its tough out there ) but also if there are attractions planned then it makes sense to build now as they would be ready for the upswing in the economy.

[experiment627]

Please, don't forget that it's not just up to Disney to build new attractions or not - it's also up to the banks.

Disney needs to take some major credits in order to expand their theme parks & resorts business - and I would imagine that it's quite hard to convince banks and other investors to lend an entertainment company hundres of millions of Euros....   :|

[Nicholas-c]

Please, don't forget that it's not just up to Disney to build new attractions or not - it's also up to the banks.

I believe they have a contract with the French government to build a new attraction etc every so often, so they have to like it or not

[ford prefect]

Eurodisney SCA is predominantly "owned" by series of Hedge Funds.  Hedge Funds are the organisations (IMO) responsible for the crisis.  

Their money comes from buying debts and screwing the debtor into the ground.  This is why Eurodisney SCA almost went under 3 years ago, 2 or 3 of the Hedge Funds were refusing to agrre to the rescue package.

That said, the major investment potential for Eurodisney SCA comes from a credit line agreed with The Walt Disney Company.

This $200million credit line cane be accessed to build new attractions, however it will only add to the €1.2billion debt already acrued.

Further, if The Walt Disney Company starts to charge Eurodisney SCA character license charges again then Eurodisney SCA would slide very quickly into the mire.

This recession couldn't have come at a worst time.  (Cue off topic rant: The worst of it is that the media have talked us all into this mess.  

Hyping up the banking crisis instead of reporting facts).  

The last time we had a recession like this almost closed the park for good, and unless it keeps expenditure to a minimum there is a real chance it could happen again. :cry:

[ford prefect]

My, but that was a cheerful post, sorry guys!!!

[anthony2k6]

with that being the case, you'd think dlrp should really be cutting costs right now as much as possible. So if there arent any signs of this so far, should we actually be more woried that the management arent responding appropriately?

WDW may be in a more affected country, but as far as i'm aware, they dont have the massive debts DLRP has. So if WDW feel the need to so drasticly cut costs, surely DLRP should be doing the same.

[experiment627]

WDW may be in a more affected country, but as far as i'm aware, they dont have the massive debts DLRP has. So if WDW feel the need to so drasticly cut costs, surely DLRP should be doing the same.

But then again, the Californian Disneyland Resort doesn't seem to cut costs, either.

You cannot compare WDW's audience 1:1 with DLRP's. With a much higher level of having credit card debts and mortgages than the average EU-household, US consumers might be a lot more hesitant with their vacation plans. On top of that, WDW might lose a good deal of international business - people will probably opt to stay to closer to home during the crisis (which might end up being a good thing for DLRP... at the cost of WDW...).

For the moment, DLRP seems to be doing just fine... problems might occur next year with possibly guest numbers and spending levels dropping. Though nobody can really say for sure how this whole crisis will effect OUR lives - and our spending power.

For the moment, DLRP's biggest obstacle is to get the capital to invest in new attractions and new hotels. (A problem that many businesses are facing right now - and which is the greatest danger of this crisis which could cause a serious slowdown of the global economy...)

[anthony2k6]

Depends what the cash flow is like. I wonder if they rely on bank credit for big bills like on going maintenance contracts for rides etc or if they have enough cash in the banks to cover things like this now. If they dont have the cash, and banks dont have it available to lend either then things could spiral out of control quickly, much like they have for some american parks (hard rock park for example).

Capital for additional rides/hotels might not even come into it.

[anthony2k6]

woah, iv just read the news stories about how virgin atlantic was nearly wiped out in the HBOS mess last month, even though they had 1billion in the bank. All because HBOS were unwilling to less them transfer the money out to safety.

If a company with that much in the bank nearly went under then no company is safe from this - all companies need access to their funds and if the banks refuse that access its unlikely the company will survive if it takes more than a few days to resolve.

[Anthony]

To work in the financial dept. of Euro Disney SCA must be a bit hair-pullingly stressful at the best of times. I dread to think what it's like over there at the moment.

They themselves will have a good idea of how the next six-or-so months are going to pan out in terms of attendance and bookings, we're just going to have to sit tight and hope that the excessive prices of Disney Hotels and the tightening of budgets putting people off visiting has been somehow offset by people "downgrading" from WDW trips or even being won over the 15th, Christmas and the Kids go free offers.

Mickey's Magical Party would have already been a huge test after the 15th, now it could be fatal. For them, their (so far) ugly decorations and unimaginative entertainment plans, this financial crisis is coming at a very bad time. Or doesn't this kind of temporary entertainment really change their attendance anyway?

[Malin]

According to news today the UK economy may already be in recession, yet so far I don't think its hurt business at the Resort. No one expects the financial crisis to last to long and we can only hope Management will look at the long term future and not short term, where it comes to expansion.