Tokyo Disneyland Resort

[AlexanderMBush]

Yes. That's what is weird about this announcement. Foundations are well and truly done so a 2022 opening didn't sound far fetched. The fact this is now potentially dropping into 2024 is crazy.

Almost 5 years for construction? That's almost US Disney park speed!

Recentish aerial pic, expansion in red:
View attachment 11547

I mean, that's also counting to the fact that this will also bring another In-park hotel for Tokyo DisneySea, so I have to assume the infastructure work on this one (considering it's 35 acres as-well) is something to factor.

Would it of been nice to have it sooner? Yes. And that they've only just begun work in 2019. It's a 4 year project, but there is a lot to it.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

DP, from ED92Magic:

 

[Mad Dog]

Interesting....The park complex reported a 2.4% decline in revenue for the past quarter due to lower guest spending and flat attendance....And then they resorted to the same fix their Burbank cousins use....namely....announce a 9.3% increase on ticket prices. The 'new standard' way to increase revenue. ....If the guests aren't coming enough and spending enough....kick up the prices on those that do come. That'll make the books look good, and signal to the shareholders that everything is 'good'......and delay expansions too.

 

[bob albert]

I feel like it may be a bit softer leading into the Olympics and then boom afterwards.

 

[Mad Dog]

I feel like it may be a bit softer leading into the Olympics and then boom afterwards.

and....Universal might steal a little slice of their business with Nintendo opening this summer.

 

[Dreamsweetslove]

and....Universal might steal a little slice of their business with Nintendo opening this summer.

Agree, not to mention they have been killing it with events and entertainment. We will definitely renew our USJ pass this year and gladly pay for hotel and transportation but the TDR pass will be reluctantly just because it’s our neighborhood. I rarely go now and when I do it’s either because family wants to go, to shop or to try the lottery for a show and end up losing and then just leaving to do something else.

 

[Mad Dog]

I wonder if anticipation of this news is the real reason behind them delaying the expansion projects.....from Reuter's wire service, just released economic information. : "Japan's GDP shrank at an annualized 6.3% in the Oct./Dec. period (largely due to a huge sales tax increase and large drop in retail sales), government data showed today..............There's a pretty good chance the economy will suffer another contraction in Jan./March............Analysts say the widening fallout from the epidemic, which is damaging output and tourism, could undermine growth in the current quarter and push Japan into recession". .....

 

[bob albert]

Something is going to trigger a global recession soon. Stocks are doing great right now but there are a ton of red flags.

 

[Andysol]

I wonder if anticipation of this news is the real reason behind them delaying the expansion projects.....from Reuter's wire service, just released economic information. : "Japan's GDP shrank at an annualized 6.3% in the Oct./Dec. period (largely due to a huge sales tax increase and large drop in retail sales), government data showed today..............There's a pretty good chance the economy will suffer another contraction in Jan./March............Analysts say the widening fallout from the epidemic, which is damaging output and tourism, could undermine growth in the current quarter and push Japan into recession". .....

Even with Corona, the olympics are going to give a giant boost to tourism YOY in both 2020 and 2021. And TDL was never about international tourists, but local. BatB will be a huge hit there.

That said, projections are all but certain to be lower than originally expected.

Something is going to trigger a global recession soon. Stocks are doing great right now but there are a ton of red flags.

The US is still positioned incredibly well even with uncertainty with the upcoming elections. Although for good or bad, the world economy likes consistency/incumbency and hates change, so a Trump loss alone could trigger it.
Simplistically; Our market isn’t really doing great all because of our own doing but also because the rest of the world’s markets aren’t good options whatsoever. So international markets are still heavily investing in the US market as it is the most stable of the options.
That said, even with a Trump loss and regime change; if no other developed economy steps up to show they are a more stable market, I could still see our growth continuing.

 

[GAcoaster]

I wouldn't count on the Olympics boosting park attendance. In the past the opposite was usually true with local parks suffering with the Olympics in town. Partly because of the added traffic and other issues, but also locals spending money on Olympic tickets and memorabilia rather than theme parks. I believe Disneyland had a really poor year in 1984 while the Olympics was in town.

 

[Jamesh22]

I wouldn't count on the Olympics boosting park attendance. In the past the opposite was usually true with local parks suffering with the Olympics in town. Partly because of the added traffic and other issues, but also locals spending money on Olympic tickets and memorabilia rather than theme parks. I believe Disneyland had a really poor year in 1984 while the Olympics was in town.

I've been saying it for ages, but it does possibly help with Brand building if enough of the Olympic visitors see ads for the parks. Not sure if there are studies on how many people who attend the Olympics then go on to return for a proper vacation at a later date.

 

[GAcoaster]

Then again, Japanese culture is VERY different from American culture. It could be a banner year for all parks...

 

[bob albert]

The tourism numbers have been skyrocketing for years in Japan.A ton of people who didn't realize that Disney or Universal parks are in Japan or how much they have to offer will know after seeing them promoted. These Olympics are going to be possibly the largest event ever interest is that high. There may be some decline locally with an aging population but I could see the tourist visitor numbers go up greatly.

The US is still positioned incredibly well even with uncertainty with the upcoming elections. Although for good or bad, the world economy likes consistency/incumbency and hates change, so a Trump loss alone could trigger it.
Simplistically; Our market isn’t really doing great all because of our own doing but also because the rest of the world’s markets aren’t good options whatsoever. So international markets are still heavily investing in the US market as it is the most stable of the options.
That said, even with a Trump loss and regime change; if no other developed economy steps up to show they are a more stable market, I could still see our growth continuing.

Cronyism, corruption, rollbacks on regulations, and general incompetence are generally not good for the overall economy long term. Certain people just make out well at the expense of others. Sure you can pump the markets for a while but that just makes the crash worse.

 

[Dreamsweetslove]

Hopefully the Olympics will give us a boost, tourism is really suffering right now with all the cancellations. The parks both at TDR and USJ have pretty light attendance but it’s ok for slow season, smaller theme parks are really suffering for attendance though. The news was focusing on the topic tonight.

 

[Mad Dog]

Disney Japan has announced they are now keeping the parks closed through early April. The grand opening of B&B land will be delayed until at least May, or beyond May. To be determined.

 

[Mad Dog]

Tokyo Disney just announced they will reopen both parks on April 20th.

 

[Dreamsweetslove]

Tokyo Disney just announced they will reopen both parks on April 20th.

Tentatively, more than likely it will be after golden week at the earliest

 

[Mad Dog]

Tentatively, more than likely it will be after golden week at the earliest

yes. They did add the caveat...'or beyond' after announcing the April 20th date.....It may depend if the recent spike in cases this week, flattens by then. I would guess, the bulk of the case increases, like China & Hong Kong, are coming from travelers returning.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

That park's gonna be a madhouse if they open B&B during Golden Week
opcorn:

 

[Dreamsweetslove]

That park's gonna be a madhouse if they open B&B during Golden Week
opcorn:

yes. They did add the caveat...'or beyond' after announcing the April 20th date.....It may depend if the recent spike in cases this week, flattens by then. I would guess, the bulk of the case increases, like China & Hong Kong, are coming from travelers returning.

Right, which would be a disaster. We are seeing a spike for a couple of reasons, the obvious one being that the Olympics are finally postponed. The other reason and the reason why Tokyo is on lock down specifically this weekend is that kids have been inside due to school closures for weeks now and school is officially over for the year and they want to go out, the weather is beautiful and cherry blossoms just hit full bloom. So far hospitals are not being overwhelmed and the goal is to keep it that way but the city is already preparing for things to get worse as we saw from Koike’s press conference today. To be honest this isn’t something that’s going away anytime soon.

The elementary and junior high kids in Urayasu did get a treat from OLC this week when they went in to school this week for closing ceremonies and to turn in homework, which was a nice gesture.