Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #254: Risk the Company? – Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner makes a point about innovation and risk, though he might have gone too far.
The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #252: Jack Kirby on Reaching Beyond Limits – The comic book great, Jack Kirby, had some good advice on transcending self-imposed limits.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #253: Iger on Managing Creative Enterprises – Bob Iger says it’s not hard to manage a creative enterprise like Disney, if you stick to key principles.
The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.
by Ray Keating
Analysis
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 12, 2022
Bob Chapek offered a memo to Disney staff on Monday (January 10) that outlined his vision for the company. And as much as this comment will aggravate Chapek’s legions of critics, the Chapek memo clearly was influenced by Walt Disney.
To say that Bob Chapek took over the reins of The Walt Disney Company during a challenging time would be to vastly understate matters. Chapek assumed the role of CEO on February 20, 2020. What quickly followed was a global pandemic with near-economy-wide shutdowns, and an ongoing struggle to emerge from a pandemic featuring variants and spikes, supply-chain challenges, labor shortages, and raging inflation.
While Chapek has come under sometimes withering criticism, it’s hard to get a real feel for his performance as CEO given the unique circumstances. Other than World War II, when Disney was still exclusively a movie studio, it’s difficult to think of a more exacting time for the company.
So, what about the memo?
Chapek starts off by thanking staff for their “talent, dedication, and optimism during the most disruptive time in our company’s history,” and for what they were able to achieve during the pandemic.
He then goes on to note that the company is getting set to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and offers three pillars to “ensure Disney’s next 100 years are as successful as our first.”
Chapek describes the first pillar of the company as “storytelling excellence.” He describes one of the tools he will implement to “continue to set the creative bar higher and higher,” that is, “I am establishing a new standing monthly meeting with our senior creative leaders to discuss the opportunities we face as a storytelling enterprise. This will encourage collaboration, sharing of best practices, and stimulate cross-studio ideation.”
The second pillar, according to Chapek, is innovation, specifically, to continue to be “the world’s foremost innovative storytellers,” using technology to give “our creative teams new canvases like the metaverse on which to paint.” He adds, “We should be especially innovative as we seek to bring stories to life in new ways—particularly if they enhance what many call our ‘franchise ecosystem,’ which is one of the things that sets us apart.”
And the third pillar is a “relentless focus on our audience.” Chapek is very clear here, writing that “our most important guide—our North Star—is the consumer. Right now, their behavior tells us and our industry that the way they want to experience entertainment is changing—and changing fast thanks to technology and the pandemic. We must evolve with our audience, not work against them. And so we will put them at the center of every decision we make.”
The Chapek memo is very “Disney,” in that it hits on three big points that started with Walt Disney himself – great storytelling, innovation, and focusing on the consumers, that is, on the Disney guest. Keep in mind that Chapek was promoted from within the company, having spent almost 30 years with Disney in a variety of areas. That’s a very different background compared to the two previous CEOs, Bob Iger and Michael Eisner. So, the fact that his vision memo aligns with long-held company culture is in no way surprising.
Again, his critics already have written Chapek off. But a fair and sober assessment of his performance must wait until the economy returns to something much closer to normal, and he is given some time to advance his agenda. That will include, for example, a significant amount of content scheduled to arrive on Disney+ later this year and going forward, and expanded theme park, cruise line and merchandise operations, for example, as we deal more ably with the pandemic and, hopefully, supply-chain, labor and inflation problems.
Indeed, there’s little to argue with in terms of the vision Chapek laid out in his memo to Disney staff. The question remains: What will Chapek’s execution look like? At this point, a sound assessment just isn’t possible.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.
Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com.
Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.
by Ray Keating
Analysis
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 11, 2022
Superheroes saved the 2021 box office – specifically, Marvel heroes did so.
The pandemic obviously has devastated the movie theater business, and while the 2021 domestic (U.S. and Canada) box office take was double what was earned in 2020, the numbers remained well off the pre-pandemic 2019 level.
In fact, the $4.58 billion earned in domestic movie ticket sales in 2021 registered the same level as was garnered in 1992, according to the Hollywood Reporter. However, that fails to factor inflation into the equation, meaning that the 2021 earnings were even less than the 1992 take in real terms.
Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, the 2021 domestic box office was off by 60 percent.
As for a studio breakdown, CNBC noted that Disney led the way with 26 percent of the 2021 box office, followed by Sony’s 23 percent.
But let’s be clear, it was the Marvel Cinematic Universe that truly ruled. Five of the top six movies in terms of domestic gross were MCU movies, with three from Disney and two from Sony.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony) topped all domestic earners with $573 million, followed by $225 million for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney), $213 million for Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony), $184 million for Black Widow (Disney), and $165 million for Eternals (Disney).
That tallies up to 30 percent of the 2021 domestic box office for MCU films.
By the way, the Sony MCU movies outgrossed the Disney MCU films - $786 for Sony’s and $574 for Disney’s.
As for the other top films, F9: The Fast Saga was number five at the domestic box office (Universal at $173 million) and number seven was the James Bond film No Time to Die (United Artists at $161 million).
So, we’ve learned (or relearned) a couple of things about movies during a pandemic. First, big blockbusters (in particular, superhero blockbusters) will draw some audiences into theaters – mainly, younger moviegoers.
Second, non-blockbuster, more adult-oriented movies, if you will, are having a very tough time, including The Last Duel (Disney’s 20th Century Studios) and West Side Story (Disney’s 20th Century Studios), which were both excellent. Part of this, no doubt, is less willingness among older moviegoers to sit in theaters while pandemic issues still rage on. To be less generous, such films also require more of an attention span than what might be needed for at least some superhero movies.
What does any of this mean post-pandemic? Speculation can, and has, run in all kinds of directions, but the safest take is that the pandemic has accelerated a shift among consumers to viewing more content at home. However, the degree of this shift and what it will mean for movies being released in theaters remains anyone’s guess at this point in time. The general direction of greater in-home viewing is great for consumers (who are ultimately driving the trend), and for content creators who are seeing and will continue to see increasing opportunities to create via streaming services.
But as anyone in the buggy whip industry would have told you with the arrival of the internal combustion engine, when these kinds of upheavals of innovation dramatically alter the economic landscape, matters of survival emerge for businesses who were entrenched in doing things the old ways. This all points to theater owners facing considerable challenges in creating an environment that will get people off their couches and into theaters.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.
Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com.
Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.
by Beth Keating
Lifestyle
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 10, 2022
We’ve been looking for the Minnie Mouse 50th Anniversary Sipper to accompany our Mickey 50th Anniversary popcorn bucket for weeks now, but between block out dates, holiday crowds, and sold out locations, we hadn’t had much success. On Saturday night, we thought we had a lead on one at D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs (it was on their menu…), but they, too, were sold out.
The following day, though, quite unexpectedly, we discovered Minnie popping up all over Animal Kingdom. Rows upon rows of Minnie Mouse in her bright blue 50th Anniversary outfit were lined up on kiosk counters across the park, like little soda soldiers. We bought ours at Corn-ivores in DinoLand, but they were also available at Mahindi in Africa and The Thirsty River Bar in Asia, among others.
For $17.00, you’re able to not only take home the adorable Minnie Mouse Sipper, but you get a bottle of your choice of Coke, Diet Coke or Sprite to go along with it. (You are handed your soda bottle separately, so don’t worry about getting Minnie full of soda and trying to rinse it out in a theme park bathroom sink before getting on a plane… Minnie stays pristine unless you want to pour the soda in yourself.) She does come with a twist off cap on the back of her head that is attached to a long straw for your dining enjoyment, as well as a handy shoulder strap for toting around the park.
If Minnie Mouse sippers aren’t quite your thing, but you are looking for something a little more rugged and adventurous, there were also Animal Kingdom canteens for sale at kiosks throughout the park. (We found ours at the Kali Ice Cream kiosk, not far from the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck in the Asia section of the park.) For $14.75, you can get a bottle of soda, with a side of Animal Kingdom Canteen.
The canteen features a cute little logo of Mickey and Minnie with the rest of the Fab Five in a safari jeep, and while the canteen doesn’t have a convenient shoulder strap like Minnie, it does have a nifty loop on the back for strapping it onto your belt like a real explorer!
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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!
For you and as a gift! The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution is here! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #250: Walt Disney on Lifelong Learning – You’re never too big not to learn more about your craft, as Walt Disney made clear.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #251: Iger on Shooting for Greatness – Move beyond doing just enough, and strive for excellence.
The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.
by Ray Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 7, 2022
Hong Kong Disneyland will be closed from January 7 to January 20 in response to Hong Kong’s anti-coronavirus measures.
According to a Hong Kong Disneyland statement: “As required by the government and health authorities and in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland Park will temporarily close from Jan. 7 to 20, 2022. The resort hotels will remain open with adjusted level of services. Service at restaurants and recreation facilities in hotels will be adjusted according to the latest regulations.”
This lines up with an assortment of other steps being taken by authorities in Hong Kong, including a 14-day ban on major events and nonessential gathers, from indoor dining to museums, and no flights being allowed into Hong Kong for two weeks from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S. starting on January 8.
This is the fourth time that the pandemic has led to a temporary closure of Hong Kong Disneyland. The park had reopened on February 19, 2021.
At this point in time, few expect that this closing to be a harbinger for forthcoming closures at Disney’s U.S. parks. But one thing we all have learned since March 2020 is to expect the unexpected.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.
Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com.
Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #246: Disneyland and Aristotle – Aristotle and Disneyland agree on excellence.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #247: Bob Iger on Being Disruptive – What are Bob Iger’s plans post-Disney? To be disruptive, in a good way.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #248: Walt Disney on Not Looking Back – Walt Disney learned from the past. He didn’t wallow in it.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #249: Iger on Realistic Optimism – There’s something to this combination of realism and optimism, as illustrated by Walt Disney and Bob Iger.
The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.
by Ray Keating
Analysis
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 4, 2022
After nearly 50 years at ABC and Disney, Bob Iger’s last day as Disney’s chairman of the board came on December 31, 2021. Of course, Iger had stepped down as CEO in February 2020.
A great deal has been and will be said about Iger’s tenure as one of only six CEOs in the history of The Walt Disney Company, especially the company’s acquisitions of Pixar, Star Wars (Lucasfilm), Marvel and 21st Century Fox assets under his leadership, as well as the launching of and refocusing on streaming services, in particular, Disney+ and ESPN+.
For now, I’d like to put those aside and instead highlight several lessons provided by Iger in his final big interview as chairman with Variety in December.
Lesson #1: Talent over Experience
Variety: “On a recent trip to New York, he met up with his 96-year-old former boss at Cap Cities/ABC and longtime mentor, Tom Murphy. ‘One of the things he taught me was take chances with people. Don’t overemphasize experience — overemphasize talent,’ Iger says Murphy counseled him about making hiring decisions. ‘He took chances on me a number of times. That was a huge lesson.’”
Experience is great, but there needs to be much more. In the business world, but even more so in other areas like education and government, there too often is a default to experience in the worst sense of the word, that is, to tenure or seniority. Hanging around longer than others often means little in terms of such essential undertakings as innovation, productivity, working well with others, creativity, leadership, and so on. Taking chances, if you will, on talent will pay off far more often than defaulting to whomever happens to be next in line.
Lesson #2: Be Disruptive
Variety: Iger said, “I’m investing in companies that are using technology to disrupt current businesses.”
To his credit, Iger was the CEO of a massive global business, and yet he was not afraid to embrace technological change. Instead, he saw the benefits of technology for Disney, as illustrated by the launching of Disney+. And in his post-Disney undertakings, he’s talking about making investments in companies using technology to disrupt industries. That’s an effort rich in uncertainty and risk, but at the same time, it is essential and holds the potential for considerable achievements and returns. In the world of economics, Joseph Schumpeter wrote about “creative destruction,” that is, economic development and growth coming via the kinds of changes generated by entrepreneurs who create new industries, and/or new ways of doing things, with old industries and processes being replaced along the way. The vital enterprises that disrupt need funding from investors – apparently one will be Iger.
Lesson #3: Realistic Optimism
Variety: Iger said, “Another is the whole notion of needing to be optimistic — because I think, particularly during a crisis, people are looking for hope and optimism — but at the same time needing to be extremely realistic to call it like it is so that those people are acting accordingly.”
One of my favorite quotes from Walt Disney is: “I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” And here’s Iger saying similar things about optimism mixed with realism.
I appreciate this because I’ve long considered myself – even before I read the Walt quote – to be a realistic optimist. I’ve explained this joining of realism and optimism in one of my books (The Realistic Optimist TO DO List & Calendar 2019):
What exactly, though, am I talking about when claiming to be a realistic optimist? Well, let’s take a moment to look at the meaning of the two key words. First, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “optimism” means “hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.” That’s a fair definition. Meanwhile, “realism” is defined as “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.”
Are these two definitions in conflict? To the contrary, for the realistic optimist, they are complementary. Too often when hearing that an individual is an optimist, some people will think of the wild-eyed optimist detached from reality, subscribing to the notion that nothing will ever go wrong and failure doesn’t exist. That’s not true optimism, but instead, it’s an unhealthy effort to cut oneself off from real life.
An optimist doesn’t shun reality for fantasy. Rather, substantive optimism must be rooted in reality. Hopefulness and confidence in the future and in success does not mean that there will not be setbacks and failures. If Walt Disney were around today, he would certainly tell you that, as he experienced failure before achieving his success, as well as some failures amidst his subsequent amazing achievements. The realistic optimist understands that all will not go perfectly and is prepared to deal with it. The realistic optimist persists and perseveres through the setbacks, challenges and failures. The realistic optimist learns from failures and unexpected turns, and moves forward with hope and confidence in ultimately being successful in accomplishing whatever task is set out, whether that be, in no particular order, building a business, choosing a new career, being a good husband or wife, working for that promotion, writing a book, teaching a new class, being a caring parent, making a presentation, moving to a new town, earning a degree, attending and being active at church, creating the retirement one desires, learning a language, taking up and working at a new hobby, creating more time for grandchildren, and so on.
For good measure, being a realistic optimist doesn’t mean that you will not have some bad days or down times. We all do. But the realistic optimist works not to wallow in such periods, but instead, works to truncate them; to, again, come away with lessons learned; and to get back to positively advancing toward one’s goals.
In addition, being a realistic optimist does not mean forging ahead with an effort in spite of what one learns. In a career and life in general, experience, successes and failures often teach us that certain goals might have to be altered, redirected, or even tossed aside altogether. That’s the realist part of realistic optimism that sometimes must come to the fore.
At the same time, moving away from one endeavor to take up another – such as setting out on a new career or starting a business after being an employee for many years – is not about giving up. The act of giving up is something very different, falling within the purview of pessimism and defeatism. Indeed, in direct contrast to the realistic optimist stands the pessimistic defeatist. Pessimism sees the worst and expects it will happen. And the defeatist accepts and succumbs to failure. That’s a deadly combination. The pessimistic defeatist rarely ventures out to try something new or to accomplish anything significant, and when he does, at the first challenge or two, his solution usually is to give up, as opposed to learning and persevering.
Lesson #4: Managing Creativity
Variety: The interviewer asked, “How difficult has it been managing a huge creative enterprise like Disney?”
Iger replied: “It’s not difficult if you apply a few critical principles. First is you have to respect the creators and their creative processes a lot and not encroach. In other words, do no harm. Be there as a cheerleader to encourage, to push and to demand excellence and innovation. Part of the underpinning of successful creative leadership is trust — trusting people in the end to do the right thing.”
Iger hits on some key points when working with and managing others. Respect for the creativity and work of others is vital. Micro-managing creativity is a surefire path to losing creativity, and ultimately, creative people. Iger also is correct to point out that managing creative individuals involves encouragement, but it also must include some pushing and certainly clear expectations for excellence and innovation. One cannot simply assume that all will be well in terms of quality. And yes, trust is a vital two-way street, that is, entrepreneurs and managers must have trust in their people, and at the same time, employees must be able to trust the people running the show. Trust must flow both ways that the right things will be done.
Lesson #5: Innovation Must Be Ongoing
Variety: Iger said, “Any company that does not keep pace or allow itself to innovate will fail. It’s that simple. We’ve seen it countless times. If we pause for a moment and think back on all the companies that failed to be innovative, everybody always uses Xerox or Kodak, companies like that. If you were to look at all the most valuable brands in the world in the decade since Disney was founded in 1923, there are only two companies left that are still considered among the top global brands — Disney and Coca-Cola.”
Innovation – that is, bringing new products and/or new processes to the marketplace – always has been essential to success in the free enterprise system. But the rate of innovation has quickened over time, and the need for it to be ongoing has been magnified. Iger highlights this point in two ways. He notes that innovation is vital in order to survive and thrive, and then he brings it home with a lesson from history. Indeed, history can tell us a great deal not only about how we got here, but why and where things might be headed. In business, the lesson is that creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are ongoing disruptors to the point that big and profitable companies today are likely not even to be around tomorrow if they stagnate.
Lesson #6: Sometimes the Hardest Lessons are the Best
Variety: The interviewer asked about the tortured, painful process he went through to succeed Michael Eisner as Disney CEO. Iger said, “I remember it well. Was it painful? Yes, partially because it was very public and there were so many doubters. It’s not easy experiencing that, but it strengthened me in a number of ways. I think it caused me to focus more on what my thoughts were about leading this company and what my plans might be. I think it ended up forcing a discipline on me that served me extremely well once I became CEO and in the years since then.”
It's not unusual that failure or difficult times in the careers of entrepreneurs and CEOs often provide the most powerful lessons. Indeed, that’s the case not just for business titans, but for all of us. If one can learn from failures and disappointments, these often provide the lessons that stick with us and make a real difference. That has been the case with my own career, and obviously, it made a major difference for Bob Iger.
Failure or tough times also can help put things in proper perspective. Walt Disney said, “It is good to have a failure while you’re young because it teaches you so much. For one thing it makes you aware that such a thing can happen to anybody, and once you’ve lived through the worst, you’re never quite as vulnerable afterward.” The key, again, is what one takes away from these challenges – lessons to build on or a defeatism. Let’s just say that a realistic optimist should never acquiesce to defeatism.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.
Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com.
Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #244: Director Joe Johnston on Captain America – Johnston enjoyed making Captain America and we enjoy his films, especially Captain America: The First Avenger and The Rocketeer.
Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating – Episode #245: Master Yoda Offers Sound Advice – Yoda offers straightforward advice for business – consider the future when making decisions.
The “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast serves up a Disney or Disney-related quote each day, with DisneyBizJournal’s Ray Keating offering brief, additional thoughts on how each dose ties in to life, career, business, entrepreneurship, creativity, storytelling, work, or just plain fun.
by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 2, 2022
The Dining Packages for the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT during December’s Festival of the Holidays were gone in the blink of an eye, so if you were hoping to snag a Dining Package with guaranteed seating for the DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series at this year’s EPCOT International Festival of the Arts , you’d better hurry.
The Festival of the Arts begins January 14, 2022, and runs through February 21. A dozen amazing Broadway performers will be in town to delight audiences, and guests who want to guarantee themselves a seat can book a dining reservation at one of four different EPCOT venues. Each Dining Package includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert, or one full buffet, along with a non-alcoholic beverage at either the Coral Reef, Biergarten, Rose & Crown, or Garden Grill.
Concerts take place at the America Gardens Theatre at 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM and 8:00 PM from January 14 to February 21, 2022. Guests who book a dining package are given a ticket for a guaranteed seat at one of that evening’s shows, while guests who have not reserved a DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series Dining Package “will be seated at the DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is based on availability due to limited capacity.” Dining Package guests enter the Theatre in a separate queue, and will be seated on a first-come, first served basis, though their seat is guaranteed. Stand-by guests without a Dining Package reservation will enter through a different queue.
2022 Performers’ Schedule
Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin) and Adam Jacobs (Aladdin)
January 14
January 16 through 17
January 20 through 21
Kerry Butler (Beauty and the Beast) and Telly Leung (Aladdin)
January 15
January 18 through 19
January 22 through 23
Heidi Blickenstaff (Freaky Friday, The Little Mermaid) and Robert Creighton (Frozen)
January 24
January 26 through 27
January 30 through 31
February 3 through 4
Kara Lindsay (Newsies) and Dan DeLuca (Newsies)
January 25
January 28 through 29
February 1 through 2
February 5 through 6
Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan)
February 7
February 9 through 10
February 13 through 14
February 17 through 18
Kissy Simmons (The Lion King) and Michael James Scott (Aladdin)
February 8
February 11 through 12
February 15 through 16
February 19 through 20
Special Performance – February 21, 2022
An extended finale featuring Ashley Brown, Josh Strickland, Kissy Simmons and Michael James Scott will bring the DISNEY ON BROADWAY series to a spectacular end.
Participating restaurants and dining package prices (excluding tax and gratuity) are:
Adult | Child | |
Germany Pavilion | $57.00 | $32.00 |
The Living Seas | $69.00 | $22.00 |
The Land Pavilion | $66.00 | $43.00 |
United Kingdom Pavilion | $58.00 | $22.00 |
Both a theme park reservation, and valid theme park admission, are required to attend the concerts. While the concerts themselves are free, EPCOT admission is not included in the price of the dining package. Disney notes that performers and dates are subject to change or cancellation without notice.
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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
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