Walt Disney Company Annual Shareholders Meeting
Friday 10 March the general Disney shareholders’ meeting was held in Anaheim, only a couple of blocks away from Disneyland. Marketwatch.com wrote an article about the meeting.
For this year at least, Disney’s congregation was the happiest annual meeting on earth, in contrast to gatherings from the last few years when executive strife abounded. Amid Disney cast members dressed as many of the company’s cartoon characters, shareholders seemed pleased, particularly when Iger said he saw double-digit earnings growth for the company at least through 2008
You can read the full report here where Robert Igor speaks of the succes of Pixar, again not giving any credit to Disney’s own productions.
In recent years, only Pixar’s contributions such as “The Incredibles,” “Finding Nemo” and “Monsters Inc.” have provided Disney - which distributed those films - with bona fide hits. Disney’s in-house efforts such as “Treasure Planet” and “Home On The Range” have met with lukewarm receptions at best.
“For this company - and for our shareholders - there’s nothing like a great Disney animated feature,” Iger said. “It’s our biggest wave-maker and its ripple effects can be profound; they can be felt across all of our businesses. Animation is not just our legacy. It is vital to this company and its future.”
Also the Theme Parks where an issue on the agenda. Walt Disney world, but mainly Disneyland was mentioned and talked about. The question of a third gate, got the “No” as an answer, for the near future. Work on the two other parks where priority. Especially DCA seems to stand in the spotlight
Disney often has been criticized for shortchanging the facility when it was built, leaving park goers unenthusiastic. It and the company’s European park are considered the least successful in the company’s chain.
If you would like to read a more personal view about a shareholder visiting the meeting you can have a look at the following blog It has a full list of the questions asked by the shareholders. Some of them receiving interesting answers or remarks, like the futue and changes planned for DCA.
Are there plans for Disney’s California Adventure? Yes. Iger says he likes the park. His mention of Soarin’ Over California got a lot of applause. He does NOT come across at all like a DCA apologist, however.
Will the entrance of DCA be changed? There are some plans, but they are a surprise
The write up in this blog lists all the questions asked from the shareholders during the meeting, Including Company issues, Cast Members, future plans and more. I found this an interesting list.