A record fiscal quarter for Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks division was dampened slightly by a streaming aquisition and a protracted fight with YouTube, the Burbank media and entertainment giant reported Monday.
Disney recorded overall revenue of about $26 billion in the three-month period that ended Dec. 27, up 5% compared to the previous year. Disney’s income before income taxes totaled nearly $3.7 billion, a 1% jump from the same time period last year. Earnings per share were $1.34 for the quarter, down from $1.40.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement that he was “pleased” with the company’s start to the fiscal year and nodded at the transition ahead to a new CEO.
“As we continue to manage our company for the future, I am incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the past three years,” he said.
It was a big quarter for Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks, cruise line and Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii.
The sector reported $10 billion in revenue, aided by a 1% bump in attendance at its domestic theme parks and higher guest spending. The launch of the new Disney Destiny cruise ship in November also helped boost operating income to $3.3 billion, a 6% boost compared to the previous year.
Disney’s box office success with billion-dollar hits like “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” helped propel revenue for its entertainment division by 7% to $11.6 billion. But costs related to its acquisition of a majority stake in FuboTV, as well as higher marketing costs in theatrical distribution and streaming services affected the sector’s operating income, which declined 35% to $1.1 billion.
The dip in operating income from the entertainment sector took a toll on the company’s total segment operating income, which was down 9% to $4.6 billion. That was also partly due to Disney’s contract dispute last fall with YouTube TV, which lasted for nearly 15 days and resulted in a blackout of Disney channels.
The temporary suspension of Disney channels on YouTube TV took a $110 million toll on operating income within Disney’s sports division, which was down 23% to $191 million. Sports revenue for the quarter totaled $4.9 billion, up 1% compared to the previous year.
DID you know there’s a town in the UK that is twinned with Disney World?
While Swindon is often overlooked as a destination, it is now even bidding to replace Bradford to be the latest current UK City of Culture.
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Swindon wants to be the City of Culture in 2029Credit: AlamySwindon is known for its street art – and there are 127 murals across the townCredit: Alamy
Every four years, places in the UK are crowned the City of Culture – which in this case will come with £10million of government funding for arts and events.
Swindon is going up against the likes of Plymouth and Portsmouth for the crown in 2029.
One hope would be to rebrand the town, even Council leader Jim Robbins said: “I’m bored of just reading those same, old negative comments about Swindon.”
Despite it being slated, the town actually has a number of big claims to fame.
He reportedly called the town a ‘great place’ during his stay – he was spotted at the Chiseldon House Hotel and local pubs.
And Roger Moore also filmed scenes in Swindon at the iconic Renault Building, which is now the Spectrum Building for A View to Kill.
If any of that still hasn’t tempted you, let’s see what Swindon has to offer…
Street Art
Swindon is an artistic town with 127 murals scattered about the town.
There’s a long-standing tradition of street art here which was originally spurred by local artist Ken White in the 1970s.
The most well-known mural in Swindon is theGolden Lion Bridge on the corner of Corporation Street and Fleming Way, dating back to 1976 although was restored last year,
If you want to see the murals, head to StreetArtCities which has all the details – and a handy map so you can see them all.
Kids Activities
High Score Arcades Swindon is a new arcade with over 80 games and for £12.50, you get free reign over all of them for one hour.
There’s old-school classics like Space Invaders and PAC-Man, to pinball, sports games and the newest arcade fun; there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Another place perfect for entertaining the kids, especially during half-term is Roves Farm which has an indoor play and activity barn with huge slides, tunnels and soft play.
It’s also a working farm so there are lots of animals to see too.
Roves Farm is a popular attraction for families with farm animals and soft playCredit: UnknownA stay in Chiseldon House can cost as little as £75 per nightCredit: Alamy
Parks and Playgrounds
Swindon is more than a busy town – it’s actually got wide open spaces and some pretty parks.
Lydiard Park is 260 acres and has a Palladian House, a church, Walled Garden, hotel and restaurant.
Throughout the year events are held at Lydiard Park and in the summertime there’s open air theatre, live music and an outdoor cinema.
There’s also an outdoor play area with a huge climbing frame, plenty of slides, poles and rope ladders.
Next to the play area is the Forest Café which serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, pastries, soups, jacket potatoes and toasted panini.
When the weather warms up an Ice Cream Parlour opens next door.
Day ticket entry to Lydiard Park for adults is £6.70, and £3.65 for children (age 3-15).
The Magic Roundabout has become a popular and surprising attraction in Swindon
Road Attractions
One of the strangest tourist attractions in Swindon is The Magic Roundabout in the centre of town.
The ring junction was built in 1972 – it’s made up of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle.
People travel from all over to test out the roundabout – it’s even rated the 10th best thing to do in Swindon on Tripadvisor with 126 ‘excellent’ reviews.
One Australian tourist said: “I checked out how it worked on YouTube just to be sure, I’m guessing it’s easy for the locals anyway and love how it’s called “magic roundabout” adds a bit of a laugh to the whole quagmire – love how the Brits think!”
Here you can learn all about the history of the Great Western Railway, filled with vintage trains and interactive museums.
Tickets for adults cost £14 and entry for children is £10.50.
Restaurants & Bars
There are plenty of eateries in Swindon, but some of the top-rated on Tripadvisor include Del Mundos in the old town, with hundreds of five star reviews.
It serves up full English breakfasts for £14, brunch options, small tapas plates, sharers and cocktails.
Another popular choice is The Choptank Restaurant– the ‘Old Town’s Premier Champagne & Oyster Restaurant’.
When it comes to drinks, head to the Vault Bar & Lounge – this is Swindon’s ‘hidden bar’ found in the vault of the old post office building.
It even has 2-for-£14 on selected Happy Hour cocktails until 9pm every night.
The Vault Bar is Swindon’s ‘hidden bar’ in a vaultCredit: The Vault
Hotels
When it comes to staying in Swindon, there’s the classic Premier Inn, Holiday Inn and ibis.
But for a more unique stay, there’s the beautiful Chiseldon House – where rooms are available from £75.
The country house hotel built in 1821 is tucked away on the outskirts of Swindon and feels more like a countryside escape.
It has 21 ensuite bedrooms and has a beautiful patio for dining in the summertime – you can book afternoon tea for £27.50.
Writers from around the world have provided their top tips on how to get the most out of going to one of Disney’s many resorts, and how to save money along the way
A writer has given their top tips on visiting one of the parks (Image: Getty)
A writer who has been on more than 50 Disney vacations has given their advice on what to do when visiting one of the parks. Kari Becker, a travel planner and freelance writer, has a vast amount of experience visiting various Disney locations.
After years of engaging in the experience of these places, Kari has discerned several major tips and tricks for getting the most out of the magical destination.
Her number one tip, she said, was to make sure to arrive as early as possible. This is due to the large crowds that continue to visit these parks.
She told Business Insider: “My No. 1 tip for visiting theme parks of any kind is to arrive early. You’ll get a huge jump on your day if you get to the parks as soon as they open, or just before.
“Crowd levels tend to be much lower at this time, meaning you can experience many attractions early in the day. By midday, the crowds usually significantly increase.”
As well as providing guidance on when to go, Kari also outlined some of the mistakes people usually make when either planning or physically going to one of Disney’s many parks.
These include cutting the trip too short, going during school holidays, as well as arriving too late, and over-planning.
On the latter, she explained: “Make a general outline of your daily agenda — with dining reservations and a list of must-do rides and attractions — but leave room for spontaneous fun.
“If you’re on too tight a schedule, you’ll miss all the good stuff, like unique character interactions.”
Kari isn’t the only writer to have provided some tips on how to experience Disneyland to the maximum with ReachPlc’s Portia Jones also providing some tips on how to do the visit yearly without spending a lot of money.
Her main tips were to skip the crowds, book tickets in advance, and, in the case of Disneyland Paris, take the train, plan as much as possible, consider a Disney meal plan, and bring your own food.
On the last matter, she told WalesOnline: “Disneyland Paris may be the happiest place on earth, but its food prices can bring you down to earth with a bump.
“Pack your snacks and bring a refillable water bottle to save money. You can bring food into the park, so load up on sandwiches, crisps, and fruit before you arrive.
“Plenty of water fountains are scattered around where you can refill your bottle, meaning you’ll avoid paying sky-high prices for drinks.”
PARK CITY, Utah — Welcome to a special Sundance Daily edition of the Wide Shot, a newsletter about the business of entertainment. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Good evening — it’s Monday, Jan. 26, and you’re reading the last of our Sundance dispatches. Today we’ve seen a high of 36 degrees on a notably sunny day. We waited and waited for deal news, but it hasn’t quite arrived yet.
We’re hearing about distributors circling both Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” and the provocative “Josephine,” the latter of which is coalescing into a critical favorite at the fest.
We’ve been speaking the last few days with a parade of fascinating stars and directors: Ethan Hawke, Salman Rushdie, the legendary Billie Jean King, Brittney Griner, many more. Check out our videos right here as we make them live.
Mark Olsen spoke with director NB Mager about her debut feature “Run Amok,” which premiered at the festival today. Here are some recommendations for you.
What we’re watching today
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass”
Miles Gutierrez-Riley, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Zoey Deutch and Ben Wang in the movie “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.”
(Sundance Institute)
Twenty-five years ago, the Sundance premiere of David Wain’s “Wet Hot American Summer” reignited the ’80s-style sex romp. Now he’s returned to Park City to see if he can rescue the comedy again.
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” stars Zoey Deutch as a Kansas hairdresser whose fiancé cheats on her with his “hall pass”: a get-out-of-the-doghouse-free exemption for canoodling with his movie-star crush. (I’ll let you discover that cameo yourself.)
To even the score, Gail travels to Los Angeles to sleep with her own idol, Jon Hamm, and is soon skipping down Hollywood Boulevard with a ragtag group of new friends, including “Mad Men’s” John Slattery as himself. There’s a sensitive indie way to tell this story — and then there’s Wain’s giddy lampoon of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Too many modern comedies are jokeless anxiety attacks. I just wanna laugh. I need to laugh. If you need to laugh, this is your hall pass to get slap-happy. — Amy Nicholson
“Chasing Summer”
Iliza Shlesinger stars in the movie “Chasing Summer.”
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger writes and stars in “Chasing Summer,” directed by Josephine Decker. Having recently lost her job and her boyfriend at the same time, Jamie (Shlesinger) returns to her parents’ house in the small Texas town where she grew up.
As she falls back into some of the same social dynamics from when she was a teenager, possibly rekindling an old flame (Tom Welling), Jamie also enjoys an affair with a much-younger man (Garrett Wareing).
Though Schlesinger’s bawdy humor and Decker’s explorations of female interiority in films such as “Shirley” and “Madeline’s Madeline” (both played at Sundance) might make for an unexpected collaboration, it’s a surprisingly good match. Funny and insightful, the movie shows that sometimes you can in fact go home again. — Mark Olsen
The sexy ‘Sundance tribute’ in ‘Gail Daughtry’
Having the world premiere of “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” at Sundance was a full-circle moment of sorts for director and co-writer David Wain. His first introduction to the festival was Steven Soderbergh’s hall of famer “sex, lies and videotape,” and Wain noted after the well-received premiere of his new film that he “overtly stole” two sex scenes from that indie classic as “a tribute to Sundance.”
Of course, “Gail Daughtry” is about as opposite as you can get from Soderbergh. It’s an absurdist, cameo-filled comedy proudly shot on location in L.A. that co-writer Ken Marino described before the screening as a “silly, fun romp.”
Even before its theatrical release, it already has the hallmarks of a cult classic à la another Wain and Co. film, “Wet Hot American Summer,” and features many faces from that movie as well as the State, the comedy troupe that cast member Kerri Kenney-Silver explained started in a supply closet at New York University because they couldn’t get any other rehearsal space.
“Making movies with your friends is a privilege,” cast member Joe Lo Truglio said. And with their ever-expanding circle of friends, we’re the ones who benefit. — Vanessa Franko
Some deal news
Neon has acquired the worldwide rights to horror film “4 X 4: The Event” from filmmaker Alex Ullom, the indie studio said Sunday afternoon.
The deal is the first to be made in Park City so far, though the film was not shown at Sundance and will begin production later this year. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
The film follows eight contestants who join an illegal “sensory assault” livestream in which they can only harm each other with items they can buy online, Neon said in a statement.
The studio previously bought global rights to Ullom’s first horror film, “It Ends,” after it premiered at SXSW last year. — Samantha Masunaga
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Samantha Masunaga delivers the latest news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
