As part of their effort to expand their presence in Asia, the Walt Disney Company has a commitment to produce a certain number of films in China and it looks like they found their next one. Zhang Ziyi, the talented actress from Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is working on a new adaption of Chinese Mulan folk tale.
Walt Disney Pictures is investing $100 million in the production. I would like to know if this will be a Chinese language film that will be dubbed when released in the US, or made for the US market. Either way, I’m always happy to see Zhang Ziyi on the screen and the Mulan story is one of my favorite from the modern Disney era.
Walt Disney World was built on the savings accounts of the middle class family willing to drop a couple G’s (or more) for that yearly week long trip. There’s a little bit for everyone and a place to stay that’s within the envelope of Disney magic. DVC is Disney’s play to catch the upper middle class and the retiring baby boomers who will be looking to spend their hard earned retirement dollars somewhere, if they still have them. And that’s the rub.
The gap between the haves and the havenots was already at its widest point ever before the recent econocalypse. The last three years have only exaggerated the difference. That means there are fewer of those middle class families who can afford to visit WDW for that week long experience. This has led to some recent softening of attendance at WDW.
The question in on the lips of Wall Street is if this will be a long term jobless recovery. If so, then WDW had better accept this new reality and find guests from elsewhere. I think they need to look to Disneyland for a working model. Draw the locals in.
What locals? You may ask. Well Florida is the 4th most populist state and Georgia the 9th. Together they still don’t match California, but I think it’s enough to bridge the gap. If I was in WDW Management, I would be lobbying DC to accelerate construction on that high speed train network that puts Orlando in the center of a hub that links Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. They’ve already convinced them to put a stop right at the doorstep to Disney World.
I would also focus on building the sort of in park experiences that you can refresh every year or so in order to draw your hard core fans back more frequently. This means more frequent updates to the parades and shows, new technology that hits one out of the park, and holiday experiences that change every year but are affordable enough the locals can attend at least one night.
What other changes do you think Walt Disney World needs to make to become more of a locals park? Or should they even try?
Some new concept art was posted on the Disney Parks blog today for a new parade coming to Disneyland next year – Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. I have to say I’m pretty impressed by the design here. Lots of characters, and five really large floats (although Disneyland parades of yore used to have 16-18 floats sometimes – anyone remember those 45 minute parades?).
I also like that they are returning to the classic drum float design. That makes the parade much more modular, aka easy to keep up with changing times. These drums signal that a lot of the music will be percussion and rhythm based along with melodies from Disney films. Plus there will be original music named, what else, Soundsational!
While I’m happy for Disneyland, this does raise an interesting question. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom turns 40 next year and so far no parade or other celebration has been announced. It’s definitely getting a little late in the game for Disney to be keeping secrets. I hope they’re not planning to skip over the big 4-0. I can still hum Disneyland’s 40 years of adventure theme and would love to add a WDW version.
After a long period of bidding and negotiations, Disney has finally received a non-refundable deposit of $40 million from an investor group that wants to buy Miramax Studios. The final price is $660 million, or about 8 times the original investment from Disney for the studios 17 years ago. Sadly this means that the Weinstein brothers won’t get the company they named after their parents back. But it is probably a good move for Disney.
TV Kirby’s weekly list of Disney Theme Park related shows on TV has a couple to keep an eye on this week, “Dream on Silly Dreamer” is on the Documentary Channel August 3rd. It’s a great resource every Disney fan needs to bookmark.
Speaking of TV, Io9 has some worrying things to say about “No Ordinary Family” ABC’s supposed next big prime time hit.
If I won the lottery, one of the first things I would buy is a Canon 7D. It takes professional quality HD video, which I would love to use for some future projects and at the parks. Brad Lindseth had the same idea and his video of A Day At Disneyland, is wonderful.
Disney is preparing the Gargoyles movie, but alas it sounds like it’s not a reboot of the animated Disney Channel show, just something along the same lines.
The Anti-3D backlash has hit Beauty and the Beast 3D. They didn’t say this when Nightmare Before Christmas was upgraded to 3D and I’m hearing good things about how the process has worked on B&TB. So wait and see, I see.
Finally, please don’t forget about my Kickstarter project to crowd fund “Dispatch from Disneyland: The Fireworks Spot and Other Tales.” It was a great first day, but I’m still a long way from the finish line and can use your support. Please consider pre-ordering a copy of the book for $20 or check out other reward tiers.
Even The Beatles want you to support my project so please “Don’t Let me Down”
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A web log for all fans of Walt Disney, The Disney Company, and its many products. Using the theories behind Walt Disney's family oriented entertainment and education, this blog is intended to be a safe read for the whole family.The Disney Blog is not affiliated with The Walt Disney Company in any way. All Disney parks, attractions, lands, shows, event names, etc. are registered trademarks of The Walt Disney Company. The Disney Blog is affiliated with LaughingPlace.com, the number one Disney Fan site on the internet. Please see creative commons license at the bottom of this page for copyright information. All content on this website is my own and does not necessarily represent the views of my employer or anyone else on the planet.The Disney Blog is supported by advertising and some of the links on this site and in product reviews are revenue share affiliate ads. I also do accept product for review and to give away as prizes. However, I compose all my editorial separate from any decision regarding advertising or affiliate links. YMMV.
