Welcome to Thunderdome

Hulu doesn't have ads if you pay an extra $4/month or something like that.

Disney is a company that is a bit perplexing to me.

One of the undisputed leaders in customer service (That's not even opinion, they are considered top of the mountain in this area. They even send employees to consult for other firms/organizations.). Could not have handled Marvel movies better, Thor 2 as the only real exception. The king of animated films. Always makes wise purchases. Have really done streaming pretty correctly so far. But...

Treats theme park workers poorly. Allowed Marvel comics' far left politics to almost run the company out of business (To be fair, they did fix this issue, but the damage was done.). Running Star Wars like WB runs DC (The Marvel guys are RIGHT THERE...ask them for help!). No real presence in the world of gaming/streaming.

This is where a company being too beholden to the stock market is an obstacle to success. Because Disney could right this ship and become a global standard in all areas, but it'd take pissing off stockholders for a bit first.

I think Thor 2 is better than Captain Marvel.

"Stop letting men tell you to control your emotions, grrrl!" Bam, now all powerful and perfect.

GORDON wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:06 pm I think Thor 2 is better than Captain Marvel.

"Stop letting men tell you to control your emotions, grrrl!" Bam, now all powerful and perfect.

That's a fair point. Thor 2 is just so boring while Captain Marvel was an unnecessary and unsubtle political statement.

According to a Deloitte survey, the average American subscribed to 12 paid media and entertainment services pre-pandemic. Among those age 25 to 40, who averaged 17 subscriptions, 40% reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of their subscriptions and intend to reduce them.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/subscripti ... N-jlUq2oxE

Whoa. I'm not sure how many we have though, or what counts:
$1/month - Apple storage
$99/year - Google One
$69/month - YoutubeTV
$15/month - Spotify
$60/yr - VPN
$119/yr(?) - Amazon Prime
$600/yr - WSJ - I've been canceling + resubscribing for years, and they give me 50% off, but I've been lazy about it in 2021.
$400/yr - Local newspaper

Things we share:
Disney
Netflix
HBO Max

Recently Canceled:
$60/yr - Strava

"No poors allowed."

Disney prices have skyrocketed in recently years. We were talking to a travel agent friend about it and she said Disney has been raising prices to try and find the happy ground where interest in their parks levels out. However, they keep raising prices and people keep coming...

Leisher wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:14 pm Disney prices have skyrocketed in recently years. We were talking to a travel agent friend about it and she said Disney has been raising prices to try and find the happy ground where interest in their parks levels out. However, they keep raising prices and people keep coming...

Yeah, I cannot blame them. That shit is crowded, and they're raking it in. I wish they weren't. I know I'd pay more, but I wouldn't pay this much ($800/hour)

They need a reservation system, and stop letting people buy tickets at the gate. I hate places that fill to "capacity," which means over-filling. It hurts your brand if you're packed in like sardines and can't enjoy the place.

GORDON wrote: ↑Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:44 pm They need a reservation system, and stop letting people buy tickets at the gate. I hate places that fill to "capacity," which means over-filling. It hurts your brand if you're packed in like sardines and can't enjoy the place.

Could not agree more. Our last visit there killed it for my wife who was very pro-Disney. We paid extra to attend the after hours Halloween party where the general public were supposed to have been cleared out of the park. They weren't and it was insanely overcrowded.

Cedar Point is really bad this year too. My kids have gone multiple times and ALL the rides are an hour plus wait. An hour being on the low side of the wait times. $50/ticket to walk around in the heat and maybe get on a small handful of rides? No thanks! Their fast pass offering is an additional $100-$150.

CP sold season passes cheaply right before the COVID season. That was the last year I had one.... I knew it was about to be over-crowded, every day.

One day I happened to be near one of the CP employees, outside the gate waiting to get in. He was talking into a walkie talkie and beaming, and was so happy that they were apparently filling to capacity, that day.

Also, you notice the Subway in the park sells $8 subs? Look closely, that is for a 6". They are selling $16 footlongs, in there.

Cedar Point is dead to me.

I also think my Cedar Point days are behind me. Way too expensive and I don't need that thrill anymore. Life is scary enough.

Plus, I genuinely do NOT like seeing my kids up in the air like that. I agree with George Banks that it's better when they're on the ground.

TheCatt wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:15 pm 100M subscribers already

116 Million subscribers.

GORDON wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:58 am YTTV has embittered me. Disney is launching at a loss and will be $12 within 18 months of launch. That's my official prediction.

They only went from $6.99 to $7.99

I'm surprised. I can't believe there wont be a big jump at some point. Gotta keep those shareholders happy.

GORDON wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 9:49 pm I'm surprised. I can't believe there wont be a big jump at some point. Gotta keep those shareholders happy.

Well, at these numbers, it's $1Billion/year. In 2019, they grossed $3.7 Bn from movies. Probably trying to suck up more subscribers before raising.

TheCatt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:17 pm Probably trying to suck up more subscribers before raising.

And hurt competition. I've heard Netflix is losing subscribers in their core markets.