Summary
A
lawsuit is being filed against the Walt Disney Company regarding changes to
their disability policy. According to the mothers of 16 children, and disabled
young adults, Disney is not meeting sufficient requirements to cater to children
with special needs (Diament, 2014). In previous occasions, guests with
disabilities were able to bypass lines to the front, however, last fall, Disney
made changes to their policy. The recent changes involve someone with
disability to acquire a Disability Access Service Card. This process allows the
guests with disability to return at a time that is most convenient for them,
though it only permits guests one visit per attraction (Diament, 2014). The
changes that Disney established last October were due to many guests taking advantage
of the line bypass system. A problem
that arises from obtaining this card is that an individual must wait in lengthy
lines that cause irritation when with disabled children. Mothers are lashing
out at Disney’s new changes by giving personal accounts of their experience at
Disney parks with their disabled children. Additionally, Disney is being
accused of having a “Magic List” where lucky guests are each given five special
passes to skip lines without using a Disability Access Card as filed in the
lawsuit (Diament, 2014). Although Disney is faced with a lawsuit, they say they
are fully committed in providing accessibility for all guests.
Opinion
In
our opinion, we believe that this whole lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company
is unnecessary. A reason as to why,
Disney is usually a company that accommodates to its entire guests in the best
way possible. A lawsuit would just
complicate things even more, and the time being spent to dispute this case can
be used for Disney to implement the complaints to improve accessibility in
their parks. What Teresa and I noticed
was, that in a way the old system of having line bypass for disabled children
was flawed just as much as the new system of obtaining this Disability Access
Service Card. Disney dropped the old
system because people who had children with disabilities were continuously
taking advantage of this line bypass system by having many people accompany
them. As apparent in the article, the
new system is flawed as well because it makes the guests wait in longer lines,
and you must obtain a Disability Access Service Card to do so. I believe that
the mothers need to be more understanding of the fact that Disney Parks are a
worldwide attraction. The parks become
very crowded and are not always allowing all staff members to accommodate
everyone as efficiently as they would love to. If I were ever placed in that
situation, where my children were not given adequate accessibility at a
worldwide attraction, I would definitely understand all of the complications
associated as to why not. It does become harder for a company to efficiently
cater to everyone’s needs when the ratio of employee to guest can be an
estimated as 10:1. As for the “Magic List”, we believe that this list does not
exist. The reason being is that if Disney had such a list, it would destroy
their image and violate their policy. I believe that the lawsuit against Disney
will not succeed as Disney is a powerhouse which has many resources and legal
professionals that will surely be successful in court. Furthermore, Disney will
continue to adapt to the challenges they face on a daily basis with
accommodating their guests.
Questions/Feedback
1)
What system of accessibility do you feel is more flawed?
2)
How do you think Disney can improve accessibility for disabled children?
3)
Do you believe there is a “Magic List”?
Citations
Diament,
M. (2014, April 8). Disney Sued Over Disability Access Policy. Disability Scoop. Retrieved on October
10, 2014, from http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/04/08/disney-sued-disability-policy/19263/
Summary
What
once was very popular in the past is now making a reappearance, specifically “music
from animated movies” (Keegan, 2014). From the 1980’s to the 1990’s, most
animated movies were dominantly showcasing a trend in music. Such films from Disney include: “The Lion
King, Beauty and The Beast, and The Little Mermaid” (Keegan, 2014). After this period, animated movies were only
being based on their story, not their musical aspects anymore. When Disney’s new animated movie Frozen, replaced
the very popular, The Lion King, which was top rated for 10 weeks, a previous
trend in music was seen to be on the rise again. Another production company
that has taken hold of this trend include, DreamWorks Studios Despicable Me 2,
with Pharrell’s hit song called “Happy” (Keegan, 2014). The support of having
Disney’s Frozen heard all over the radio, is what helped drive it to the top of
the charts. In some cases, most
audiences only heard the music before watching the actual movie. This was also
backed up through cases of media, such as YouTube, and talk shows. With the
vast array of media, production companies now project their movies towards
interests that can be collected from social media, and in this case preach it
through musicals.
Opinion
This
article definitely showed us both that what was once in the past can still be
revived because of its dominance that it had. In this case, we see how Disney
is trying to enlighten the new generation with modern day musicals. We do agree that Frozen was a film that
catered towards all audiences. The music
definitely helped, it brought attention to the audience who grew up with
musicals in films. In short, it gave us a nostalgic feeling. One thing that
Disney is known for is to incorporate subliminal messages in their
musicals. For example, Teresa and I both
grew up on the classical films, The Lion King and Beauty and The Beast. We feel as if the incorporation of music
helped in keeping the movie alive in our memories. And now it seems to be a
trend that Disney wants to re-invite to its newer audience. Having the availability of social media
today, is definitely an advantage for movie production companies, as they can
use it to stream to audiences in all different types of ways compared to the
past. We feel as if Disney is the
“father figure” of musicals, and now we can see production companies, such as
DreamWorks Studios, trying to jump on the bandwagon. However, with no bias involved, we definitely
feel like Disney does it best.
Questions/Feedback
1)
Do you believe that musicals are making a return, or will it just be temporary?
If yes, how can you support your claim?
2)
What was your favorite musical of all time and why?
Citation
Keegan,
R. (2014, April 19). Animated movies sing a happy tune. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on
October 3, 2014, from
http://articles.latimes.com/2014/apr/19/entertainment/la-et-mn-animation-music-frozen
Summary
The
Walt Disney Company, majority owner of ESPN sports, has negotiated a long-term
contract for media rights over The National Basketball Association (NBA). Time Warner Incorporated will also be a
majority holder, but the distinction remains to Disney. The NBA league has come
to an agreement with ESPN to broadcast in a new way for its consumers. The goal is to have online video services
that show live, and current regular-season games. ESPN is a channel that must be purchased on
top of many set top boxes, cable listings, and satellite options. Having online
streaming of the games will be a new experience for the company. The agreement will give Disney authority until
the 2024-2025 season to air on Disney’s ESPN and ABC network (Cohen &
Ramchandran, 2014). Thus far, Disney has put out $485 million dollars a year to
NBA for the rights, and the price is expected to almost double. Going back to the online broadcast of NBA
games, ESPN has stated that they’ve been careful of what material they show
(Cohen & Ramchandran, 2014). The worry is of any release to third parties
that may ruin the image of NBA through its original broadcast. ESPN will be broadcasting their first game on
October 29th, one day after the season opener (Cohen & Ramchandran, 2014).
Opinion
In
this article, you can see that the Disney has an excellent understanding of how
to generate and excel their profits through business relationships. We both are shocked at the amount that Disney
has spent yearly so far to have the National Basketball Association (NBA) under
its wing. Just imagine what anyone can
do with $485 million dollars, a lot right?
For anyone who has ever watched a NBA game on ESPN, you can tell that
the quality of broadcast is fantastic. From the lighting, sound, and paid
commentary that ESPN has invested in, it is all what makes it the premium
station to watch it on. We do believe
that what the league has asked for, the online broadcast of its games, will
indeed bring a wider range of audiences now.
For example, students who are at school, the usual concern is that there
is no television to watch it on for them.
But now that can be easily fixed by watching it online. The disadvantage for Disney is that there
might be a reputational risk of harm to their broadcast. This is true, any big company would be
frantic to uploading live coverage that is usually paid for as a subscription.
From Amit’s past experience of visiting Disneyworld in Orlando, there is a
dedicated resort themed as an ESPN complex.
It is very intriguing, those guests who prefer sports and can relate to
it, have an option to now book a stay there.
It just further goes to show how the business relationship that Disney
makes are strategically thought out.
Questions/Feedback
1)
What one other investment do you think Disney should have put $485 million
dollars towards, if anything else?
2)
Do you watch any sports on ESPN, if so how do you rate it, and if not where do
you prefer watching your shows?
Citation
Cohen,
B & Ramchandran, S. (2014, October 5). NBA Reaches Long-Term Rights Deals
with Disney, Time Warner. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on September 26, 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/articles/nba-reaches-long-term-rights-deals-with-disney-time-warner-1412557587
Summary
A
married couple had entered in their orders at a restaurant using a touch screen
system at the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. The electronic bands that they
were wearing, called MyMagic+ allows Disney to record and store data about its
guests. This one billion dollar experiment that Disney has been implementing is
a tool to increase their status in the competitive field of theme parks. Some
people have mixed views about the MyMagic+ band. The idea of change in Disney
theme parks must be taken with caution as to not upset guests. The MyMagic+
will change the whole dynamics of Walt Disney theme park because it will have
radio frequency identification chips that will act as, “admission tickets,
hotel keys, and credit or debit cards” (Palmer, 2014). The feedback that
MyMagic+ gives to Disney will allow Disney to better serve its guests. The aim
for this monitoring device is to involve guests on a personal level by tracking
their names or birthdays. By having this application Disney hopes that it will
attract more visitors to their site rather than other theme parks. Disney
believes that MyMagic+ will benefit Disney’s business because it will make
consumption for guests easier and efficient.
Opinion
First
of all we both agree with Disney’s new implementation of the device called
MyMagic+, it is an extremely good idea. The park has been open for many years
now, and Disney has always been at the forefront of change and innovation. This strategy will allow Disney to facilitate
to their guest more efficiently. For
example, in cases where a child’s birthday can be recorded in the band, Disney
is now able to cater to each guest individually. This should create an overall better customer
experience. All in all, Disney is looking at it for a betterment of revenue and
profit. They are continuing to be the brand ambassadors of Florida, and still
staying ahead of the other theme parks around them. This is new technology, and
there will be some pushback by certain audiences, regarding privacy. However, since we are in the age of
technology, it’s become relevant that the benefits involved with technology
usually require some sort of acknowledgement and agreement from its customers.
Questions/Feedback
Summary
From
the latest CBC News article, “Deadmau5, Disney face off over “mouse ears”
logo”, posted by Lauren O’Neil on September 4 2014, it can be seen that
Canadian born Disc Jockey, Deadmau5, well known for his industrious style of
spinning Electronic Dance Music has filed for his mouse-head mask to be
trademarked in the United States. A 171 page dispute has been filed in regards
to the consideration of Deadmau5’s trademark request by Disney. Disney
explaining that allowing the trademark would result in reputational risk for
the business globally (O’Neil, 2014).
Deadmau5 has spoken out about this challenge, and will proceed in
fighting for the trademark through legal channels, “Lawyer up, Mickey.” he said
(O’Neil, 2014). The mouse head mask “is
already a registered in 30 countries, including U.K., Ireland, Germany, France,
Australia, and Japan” (O’Neil, 2014). Deadmau5’s counsel representative, Dina
LaPolt does not understand why Disney is challenging the mouse-head as of now.
It seems as if Disney is trying to bully Deadmau5 from using his signature
attribute.
Opinion
In
our opinion, we believe that the Disney mouse ears logo and Deadmau5’
mouse-head share a striking resemblance to each other. We believe that the
challenge that Disney is imposing is understandable, and Deadmau5 should not
patent his trademark in The United States. The reasons why we feel that
Deadmau5 should not win this legal disagreement is because Disney is a
multibillion dollar corporation that has built its foundations worldwide and is
still growing. Whereas, Deadmau5 has recently expanded his image in the past
ten years. Also, Disney appeals to a wider range of audiences, from toddlers to
seniors, Disney has touched many people. On the contrary, Deadmau5 appeals to
only a specific type of audience such as young Electronic Dance Music
listeners. In an unformulated biased opinion, it may also seem as if the
situation was where Deadma5 was to win, there may be a reputational risk to
Disney (being a U.S. based company) losing its reserved trademark to a single
Canadian Disc Jockey. We believe these differences account to the amount of
support each party will get. In the end we can almost assure that the weight in
argument that Disney brings will contribute to their victory.
Questions/Feedback
1)
Why is Disney lashing out at Deadmau5 for his mouse-head mask as of now?
2)
Would Deadmau5 benefit a possible partnership with Disney instead?
3)
Would a loss for Disney ruin its overall reputation?
References
O’Neil,
L. (2014, September, 04). Deadmau5, Disney face off over “mouse ears” logo. CBC News. Retrieved on September 12, 2014, from http://www.cbc.ca/newsblog/yourcommunity/2014/09/deadmau5-disney-face-off-over-mouse-ears-logo.html
