Honestly, can you ever imagine anyone else is maleficent, no one other than Angelina Jolie could really give that role or do that role any justice. Now we're also very excited about Marvel's next film after Captain America. That's called Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact, there was a short snippet in the video we showed at the beginning of this session. Guardians is coming out this summer.
In fact will be in theaters in August. And then later in the summer, we have a sequel to Planes and that's called Planes Fire Rescue. And then we're going to wrap up 2014 with Disney Animation's Big Hero 6 and then another live action film called Into the Woods, that stars Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. I'm going to take you into 2015 as well because we also have a great slate For that year, we're going to kick off 'fifteen with one of Disney's original and most beloved princesses, bringing her to the big screen with the first live action film called Cinderella or that title. And then later in 2015, we're going to release the long awaited sequel to the global phenomenon known as Avengers.
Avengers: Age of Ultron opens on May 1 and then Disney's Tomorrowland which stars George Clooney will be in theaters later that month as directed by Brad Bird. Now Pixar fans also have a lot to look forward to in 'fifteen, starting with Inside Out, which takes inside the mind of an 11 year old girl where her emotions become actual characters in the story. In fact, there are some of the emotions. It's an incredibly creative, innovative movie with all of the originality and fantastic storytelling that Pixar is famous for. We can't wait for you to see it.
That's going to open in June 2015. Now we've actually got a full slate of great original Pixar movies on the way. That includes The Good Dinosaur as well as Inside Out. The Good Dinosaur will be in theaters in Thanksgiving of 2015. And then in addition to those original Pixar films, we're also bringing back some of your other favorite Pixar characters.
As you know, we're making Finding Dory? That's the long awaited sequel to Finding Nemo voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. And now we have plans for a new Cars movie. And on top of that, Brad Bird is already working on a great story for a new Incredibles film. So the Pixar slate is extremely rich with the diverse films original films as well as sequels.
Now Star Wars fans also have plenty of reasons to be excited, couple of claps there, especially since Star Wars Episode 7 will be released on December 18th next year 2015. Now I know many of you are hoping for some Star Wars news, but it's really early in the process. So there really isn't much that I can share with you right now. However, this is what I can tell you. The story in Episode 7 picks up the Star Wars saga about 30 years after the events in the 1983 film, The Return of the Jedi.
Now there will be some very familiar faces along with a trio of new young leads who are taking notes? Now rumor has it that almost every actor in the world has been cast in this movie. But so far, the official cast member that we have confirmed, the only one is R2 D2, played by Archie Dietz. Director J. J.
Abrams is gearing up to begin principal geography in May at Pinewood Studios in London. And the team is well into preproduction and from the concept art that I've seen so far, Star Wars Episode 7 really looks amazing. Now I'm sure we'll have plenty more to talk about in the months ahead, but for now, that's it. I'll get in trouble if I say anything more. So I'm going to change the subject and talk about ESPN, which I can talk about All I Want.
Igel ESPN serves sports fans across the country and right here in Oregon Like no one else can, as you'll see in this video. Angela. You are listening to the Walt Disney Company Annual Shareholder Meeting. The program will continue in a moment. Angela?
You are listening to the Walt Disney Company Annual Shareholder Meeting. The program will continue in a moment. Goes without saying ESPN remains the world's undisputed leader in sports programming bringing more sports coverage to more people in more ways than ever before? And whether sports fans are watching NFL games, Wimbledon, the NBA, Indy 500, Major League Baseball, College Sports or Sports News on television, online or on just about any digital device, most of them are watching ESPN. This year, they have been they have even more to look forward to starting with the exciting launch of ESPN's new sports center that's on May 26.
The new sports center will look completely different. It will take sports coverage and commentary to a new level again. And moving on to Parks and Resorts, the addition of Carzland continues to thrill guests and drive incredible performance at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. We're also just about to wrap up the Historic expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World, the last piece will be completed when the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train opens later this spring. And we'll continue the successful rollout of My Magic Plus for those of you who may not be familiar with it.
It's a program that millions of guests now experienced already and his new innovation is wonderful to experience because we think that it really does enhance the experience of going to Walt Disney World in so many different ways. They love having everything they need in one place, the ability to schedule experiences in advance and make the most of their time and ensure that they get to experience all of their favorite attractions? Thank you. For those of you who didn't hear, he said it's awesome. We created MyMagic Plus to deliver a more immersive seamless personal guest experience and we continue to focus on making it even better.
Just a few months ago, officially broke ground on the new Avatar theme land at Disney's Animal Kingdom. That's going to be another fantastic experience for our guests that's going to make Animal Kingdom a more exciting even more exciting destination. And then of course, we're all looking forward to the day when we welcome guests to our new Shanghai Disney Resort at the end of next year? I was there just a few weeks ago and there are construction cranes everywhere you look and buildings and tracks are arriving from the ground at a phenomenal pace and the progress is truly remarkable. Now at our last shareholders meeting, I gave you the first peek what the Shanghai Disney Resort will look like when it opens.
And so I brought you another exclusive look today. Angelo? Pirates of the Caribbean as many of you know is one of the most popular attractions in our parks and we really couldn't imagine Shanghai Disneyland without that attraction. We wanted to create a one of a kind experience that would appeal to our Chinese guests while remaining true to its Disney heritage. So the result is a fantastic new land called Treasure Cove and that will feature a new Pirates of the Caribbean attraction that we're calling Battle of the Sunken Treasure.
Now we're excited about this for several reasons, including the fact that this will be first attraction with storytelling based on the phenomenal success of those 4 Pirates of the Caribbean movies. And as you can see, it's going to be an absolutely stunning land and attraction when it's finished. It's going to give our guests in Shanghai an experience that they can't get anywhere else in the world. And we haven't shared any other details about the resort yet. So you're the first to hear about Treasure Cove and to see what it's going to look like.
So as you can see, this is clearly an extraordinary era for the Walt Disney Company. We've got so much to be proud of and so many things to look forward to? And for me, it is a tremendous privilege to lead this phenomenal company. And it's exciting to look ahead into the future and realize how virtually limitless our potential truly is. With Disney, ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and now Lucasfilm, we have an unprecedented and unparalleled collection of the strongest brands, the greatest creative content in the world's most beloved characters to work with.
And we recently designed a new shareholder certificate to reflect everything Disney has become, the characters and the stories that define who we are today. And I wanted you to see it first. Now like all companies Disney is moving to paperless stock. Given the great passion for this company that many of our shareholders have, We know that you still want a tangible document to commemorate your investment. So we're going to make this collectible available to our shareholders later this year?
Interesting to see Walt with Star Wars characters. I like it. I think it works. Now as Disney shareholders, you're not only investors, but you're also some of our biggest fans and supporters. So I have one more announcement for you today.
Do we have any D23 members here? Thank you for coming. So as you know the D23 Expo is the ultimate Disney fan event created to honor and celebrate your love of all things Disney. And I'm very pleased to announce that our next D23 Expo is going to be in Anaheim August 14th to 16th next year. We hope to see all of you there.
And we truly appreciate your continued confidence in our company. We're doing everything in our power to earn it every day. So now I'd like to introduce the Walt Disney Company's Board of Directors, starting with our Lead Director, Oren Smith, who was formerly President and CEO of Starbucks. You can hold your applause and we'll have everybody stand up at the end. Now as Lead Director, Oren provides independent leadership for the Board of Directors as well as invaluable counsel to me and our senior team.
Susan Arnold is Operating Executive of the Carlyle Group has retired from Procter and Gamble where she was the company's Vice Chairman as well as President of all Global Business Units. John Chen is Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry. Fred Langhammer is Chairman Global Affairs of Estee Lauder. Alvin Lewis is President and CEO of Potbelly Sandwich Works, passed one of those on our way here this morning as a matter of fact. Monica Lozano is Chief Executive and Chair of the Board of Impermedia LLC.
Bob Matchelot is a Private Equity Investor and Former Vice Chairman and CFO of the Seagram Company and Sheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. And at this time, I also want to Knoll is that long term board member Judy Estrin is stepping down after 15 years of exemplary service. I want to thank Judy for her wise counsel, support and friendship and I join the entire Board in expressing our sincere appreciation for Judy's service. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Board member, Jack Dorsey, who will serve as an independent Director. As Chairman of Twitter and CEO of Square, Jack brings a valuable perspective to our Board, especially in the technology and social media Space?
I'd like to ask the directors who are here to stand and please be recognized. Ladies and gentlemen, the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company. To the company's shareholders? The polls opened at 9 am this morning and will close at the end of business portion of this meeting. And if you have not yet voted Or if you want to change your vote, you may do so at any time prior to the closing of the polls.
If If you didn't get a ballot at the registration table just outside the entrance and you would like one, please raise your hand. Anyone didn't get a ballot, a bunch of people here. Now if you've already voted, you don't have to do anything at this time. In respecting those rules including speaking time limits and assisting us in the orderly conduct of business. Again, anyone else who wants a ballot passing him around.
The company has retained Broadridge Investor Communications Solutions as Inspector of Election for this meeting. And we have 5 items on the agenda today. The election of the 10 directors named in the proxy statements, Ratification of the appointment of our registered public accountants, an advisory vote on executive compensation, approval of an amendment to the company's restated certificate of incorporation and a shareholder proposal on the Acceleration of Equity Awards if presented. Another shareholder proposal that was included in the proxy statement related to proxy access has has been withdrawn by the proponents and therefore will not be voted on. I will introduce each of the first four matters.
A shareholder representative will present the shareholder proposal and then there will be an opportunity for those present to address those matters just presented. Angelo. Now once we've completed consideration of those items, the polls will close and we'll hear a preliminary report from the Inspector of Election. We will then adjourn the business portion of the meeting, which will be followed by a general question and answer period. First, I would like to introduce our Inspector of Election, Melinda Massafa, a representative of Broadridge and ask her to report on the number of outstanding shares present today and voting?
Melinda?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As of the close The business on January 17, 2014, the record date for the meeting, there were 1,749,000,000 Angela? 857,284 shares of common stock outstanding, Each of which is entitled to one vote. There are at least 1,475,000,000 695,879 shares of common stock represented by
Thank you. Based on the report we have just heard, I rule that a quorum is present and that this meeting is qualified to proceed with the business before us? The first proposal is the election of the 10 board members the Board of Directors. Each director holds office for a term of 1 year. And those nominated for election at this meeting in addition to me are Susan Arnold, John Chen, Jack Dorsey, Fred Langhammer, Alvin Lewis, Monica Lozano, Bob Nationalotte, Kjell Sandberg and Orin Smith?
As you all know, the Board has recommended a vote for the election of all of the nominees. The next proposal is the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered accountants for the current fiscal year as recommended by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. Services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers to the company include examination of the company's financial statements and review of its reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wayne Jackson, a representative of PricewaterhouseCoopers is here today to respond to any questions. The Board has recommended both for the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent registered accountants for fiscal 20 fourteen.
The next proposal is the advisory vote on executive compensation. We're seeking advisory shareholder approval of compensation of our named executive officers. We believe the design of our compensation program and the compensation awarded under it creates an appropriate relationship between performance and compensation and the Board has recommended a vote for this proposal. Although the vote is non binding, the Board of Directors Ozel. Although the vote is non binding, the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee will review the voting results in connection with ongoing evaluation of the company's compensation program.
The next proposal is approval of an amendment to companies amended and restated certificate of incorporation, provide that the company will hold a special meeting of stockholders if requested by stockholders withheld at least 25% of the outstanding shares for at least 1 year. The Board believes that shareholders should have the right to call Special Meeting in these circumstances and that the 25% threshold enhances shareholder rights while protecting against the risk that a small minority of shareholders could trigger the expense and distraction of a special meeting to pursue matters that are not widely viewed as requiring immediate attention. The next proposal is a shareholder proposal presented by William Steiner. The full text of the proposal is set forth in the proxy statement? Now I understand that Mr.
Steve Neiman is here to present the proposal and I would like to invite him to do so now. I would ask that he limit the presentation to 5 minutes at most. Mr. Neiman? Good morning, Disney stockholders?
Yes. You have your proxy statement and you've probably seen The proposal number 2, the title is limit accelerated executive pay. I'm going to go over it. It's not that long. It won't take very long.
But remember, good corporate governance results in good company performance. So these matters are very Horton. RESOLVE and again this is sponsored by William Steiner of Piedmont, New York. Angelo? Resolve shareholders ask our Board of Directors to adopt a policy that in the event of a change Angelo?
In parens, as defined under any applicable employment agreement, equity, incentive plan or other plan, The senior executive provided, however, that our Board's Compensation Committee may provide in an applicable Grant or purchase agreement that any unvested award will vest on a partial pro rata basis up to the time of the senior executives' termination with such qualifications for an award as the committee may determine. For purposes of this policy, equity Award means an award granted under an equity incentive plan as defined in Item 40 Shall be implemented so as not affect any contractual rights in existence on the date this proposal is adopted. The vesting of equity pay over a period of time is intended to promote Long term improvements in performance. The length between executive pay and long term performance can Favorably evaluated due to the deficiencies in our company's corporate governance as reported in 2013. And F in executive pay.
Robert Iger received 40,000,000 CEO pay was extreme relative to Disney's peers. Our CEO pension was also excessive relative to peers. Disney paid long term incentives To our CEO, far below median performance compared to peers. Link environmental or social performance to its executive incentive pay. Directors, Alwyn Lewis, Fred Longhamer, John Chen and Susan Arnold received more than 10% negative votes.
Alwyn Lewis and Orin Smith We're negatively flagged by GMI due to their directorships at companies that file for bankruptcy, Angie, Halliburton and Washington Mutual respectively? There was not one non executive director who had general expertise in risk management? There were consumer privacy violations and Disney had a work life safety event? Disney was not a UN Global Compact Signatory and had not implemented Oh, FSAS 18001 as its occupational health and safety management system. Returning to the core topic of this proposal from the context of our clearly improvable corporate governance, please vote to protect shareholder value, limit accelerated executive pay proposal number 2.
Thank you very much. The Board of Directors has recommended a vote against this proposal for the reasons set out fully in the proxy statement? At this point, I will open the floor to discussion of any of the proposals that have been presented. If you would like to address one of the proposals, please proceed to the microphone and wait to be recognized. When you recognize, please state your name, tell us where you're from and identify which proposal you wish to address and then proceed with your please limit your remarks to 2 minutes in order to give other shareholders an opportunity to be heard.
Now note, as I mentioned earlier, we will have a General question and answer session following the business portion of this meeting, so please limit your remarks at this time to the proposals that we have just presented. Anyone wish to comment on any of those 4 proposals? Okay. Thank you very much. This concludes consideration of the items to be presented at the meeting.
If anyone has not yet voted and you're holding a ballot, Please raise your hand. We will collect them from you. The polls will now close and I would ask the Inspector of Election to give her report based on proxies received by the opening of the polls at today's meeting. Ballots and proxies handed in during the meeting will be tabulated by the inspector and included in the final tally, which will be reflected in the minutes of the meeting and the report we will file with the SEC within a week. Inspector, may we have your preliminary report?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For item number 1, The election of directors, we have received proxies or votes as follows. For the election of Susan Arnold as Director, Angela? Four votes were approximately 95% of the votes cast.
For the election of John Chen as Director, 4 votes were Approximately 97% of the votes cast. For the election of Jack Dorsey as Director, four votes We're approximately 99% of the votes cast. For the election of Robert Iger as Director, four votes were approximately 99% of the votes cast. For the election of Fred Langhammer as Director, 4 votes were approximately 98% of the votes cast. For the election of Alwyn Lewis as Director, 4 votes were approximately 90 7% of the votes cast.
For the election of Monica Lozano as Director, four votes Where approximately 99% of the votes cast. For the election of Robert Matulot as Director, Four votes were approximately 99% of the votes cast. For the election of Sheryl Sandberg as Director, Angela? Four votes were approximately 99% of the votes cast. For the election of Orin Smith as Director, Four votes were approximately 92% of the votes cast.
For item 2, ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we have received proxies for 99% of shares Compensation, we have received proxies for 80% of shares voting to approve the resolution. For item 4, approval of an amendment to the company's restated certificate of incorporation, we have received proxies For item 5, approval of the proposal on limited acceleration of executive pay, We have received proxies for 24% of shares voting to approve the proposal. That concludes my report, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Belinda. Based on that report and subject to the final confirmation of voting results by the Inspector of Election, I declare that all of the nominees for election to the Board have been duly elected and the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been duly ratified. That the proposed amendment to the company's restated certificate of incorporation is approved and that the shareholder proposal was not approved. I I also note that a majority of votes present and eligible to vote approve the advisory proposal on executive compensation. Will take some questions.
And joining me on stage momentarily are Jay Rizzullo, Senior Vice President, Executive President and Chief Financial Officer of the company and Alan Braverman, Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and secretary of the company? And if you'd like to ask a question, please proceed to one of the microphones and wait to be recognized. And when you're recognized, please state your name, Tell us where you're from, who your favorite character is, your favorite attraction is and then proceed with your question. Again, I would like to ask that you limit Your question is no more than 2 minutes in order to give other shareholders an opportunity to be heard and that you not raise or repeat topics that have previously been raised? I would also ask that speakers refrain from raising personal matters or grievances since it's really not fair to make Everybody here sit through those matters or matters of personal concern.
So now we will open to questions. And I guess I will start with number 2. Good morning.
My name is Donna Bell from Portland, Oregon. I am a shareholder and my favorite character is Maleficent. Several years ago, the company stopped issuing annual reports with Disney Artwork and photographs and annual reports are now available online in PDF format and you can download them. My Question is, why can't you include the beautiful artwork online?
That is a good question. Angela? We went from paper to online to save a few trees, certainly believe is a good cause. I thought we actually at one point we did have photos online. I'm looking Angeline and Danumuca?
Do we still or do we discontinue that? We discontinued that. Why? Okay. So when we discontinued sending out the physical copy, we kept the photos and the artwork 2 years, who explained to me we didn't get that much consumption I guess of those and so we discontinued it.
I always liked them frankly.
I do too.
Although I get to see those pictures up close and personal all the time. But I'm sure that there's some cost associated with it, albeit small and that's why we but we appreciate your interest in it. Thank you. Number 1?
Buenos dias Mr. Chairman. I'm Jane Garcia from Detroit. Last year, we had it in Phoenix, a little warmer. Portland is beautiful, gracias.
Board of Directors, muchisimas gracias for all that You do in all your companies. It's very important to all of us. A special shout out to Monica, who does so well representing our community. I think It's very important that you are standing out in diversity. Diversity has always been very important.
And I think that your inclusion of The global world where we look at is so important, including the Hispanic community that nationals there and some other organizations That you do so much for. A special shout out to Lourdes in south of over there in Disney and beautiful Florida. I think it's so important that we work that they the work that you do not only giving joy to the world, but also giving back to the community. I just Dan begin to tell you that I come all the way from Detroit, which is a comeback city because nothing's been possible And it is going to happen and maybe you can really have a shareholders meeting there. We have a new mayor.
He would welcome you so well. Trust me. I just wanted to make sure that I come and always make sure that we give our muchisimas gracias to all of you for what that you do. And my shareholders, good morning to all of you. Portland is beautiful and muchisimas gracias.
Again, my name is Jane Garcia from Detroit. Gracias.
Thank you very much. We've moved our meeting from place to place over the years. We actually we've been fairly diverse in terms of where we have visited. We'll put Detroit on the list of Consider consideration, I can't promise it, but we'll put it on to consideration. If you can promise us good weather though in March in Detroit, then maybe we'll make it happen.
Andrew? Thank you. Those were very nice comments. Number 3. Hi, good morning.
I'm Justin Danhof representing the National Center For Public Policy You said that ABC and ESPN have at times made mistakes and that Disney's news organizations presented the news in the way That sometimes you weren't very proud of. After last year's meeting, I had confidence that 2013 would be a better year, but I believe that confidence has been misplaced. ABC's coverage of the IRS targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups is about one example. A September Rasmussen poll found that 53% of Americans believe the IRS broke the law, 23% aren't sure. A Quinnipiac poll found that Americans by a wide margin 76% to 17% want a special prosecutor appointed.
Even Democrats want a special prosecutor appointed by a 2:one margin. Yet from July 2013 through January of this year, a period with over 2 dozen breaking stories on this matter, including the Justice Department's appointment of an Obama donor to head this investigation, ABC News devoted a mere 8 words to this story. 7 months, 8 words. A second example, then I'll stop. In 2009, before the Affordable Care Act became law, Charlie Gibson did an ABC News Fact Check segment on President Obama's If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan promise.
ABC reported that critics that questioned the President's pledge were simply wrong to do so. That's the pledge that was later awarded PolitiFact's lie of the year. But by then Obamacare was already the law of the land. Since then President Obama has apologized and said he was sorry To those who thought they could keep their health insurance based on assurances they got from him, do you wish to say anything right now to the millions of people, the millions of Americans who expected to be lost their health insurance, perhaps apologize for the role ABC News played in causing that harm? First of all, thank you for your comments.
I do not wish to address them specifically. I will pass on Your comments to ABC News, I actually stand by ABC News, who I believe behaves extremely not only presents the news in a fair and balanced manner, but behaves in a high integrity kind of way. And while there are times when critics come forward and point out mistakes that they've made? I think overall the quality of our news is something that we should be proud of. But again, I will pass your comments directly the ABC News management so they can consider them?
Thank you. Number 4. My name is Wayne H. Stoll. I'm a Navy with Portland.
And as an Oregon Duck, I think my favorite character might just be Donald. And I want to thank you for letting us use him as our mascot. And I think he'd make a great linebacker given his personality. Now my question is, has there been any consideration on a stock split. We have not actually discussed splitting the stock to my knowledge in quite a long period of time?
Obviously, from time to time, we take a look at how we return value or capital to shareholders? They're not from time to time, actually all the time. We actually believe that right now the return of capital to shareholders is something that we should don't feel very good about with our buyback program and our increased dividend and the investments that we've made in a variety of different businesses that we've continued to grow our company and create value for shareholders? And I don't think this is something that is necessarily on the table. Jay, I don't know if you want to comment about it at this point.
No. That was
used to be very popular a decade ago to split shares to get the price At a lower $20 to $30 level for the retail shareholders, that has become less important even to retail shareholders over time. You see many companies that Continue to have significant share prices and frankly at $80 a share, we don't feel the need to take on the expense of doing that? Thank you.
Thank you. Number 2?
Hi. My name is Cory and I'm a shareholder from Arizona. My question today is, has The Walt Disney Company ever considered getting in the summer Angela?
That's a good question. We've gotten that question a few times over the years. And the answer is no that we Well, I guess it was considered at one point many years back, but it hasn't been something that we've talked about recently. We obviously offer a lot of different activities for all kinds of people of all different ages, from all different places in the summer, but running a camp is not a business that we thought was necessarily the kind of business that we should be in. We do obviously create all kinds of entertainment for people during the summer, but we think that that business is one that should be left to others.
It's not necessarily what we would do we feel we would do best. Do you go to summer camp?
No.
If we had a summer camp, would you go?
Maybe.
Maybe. Isn't Arizona a nice place to spend the summer?
Sometimes can be very hard. Yes,
well. Thank you very much. Number 1?
Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Iger. And I'd like to thank you and the Board members for all your hard work in bringing Walt Disney as far as you have. I really do appreciate it as a shareholder.
What I wanted to actually talk about sorry. My name is Elizabeth Casale and I am from Portland, Oregon. And My favorite character would have to be Mickey, who I've known since I was very little. My question actually is in regards to the parks and And some of the information that we talked about today, you had mentioned in 2014 that we showed significant increase in park attendance In 3 parks, if I recall. I was writing it down in the dark.
So I apologize if I'm wrong. Hong Kong, Disney, Disney Park Disney Paris and Walt Disney World. And I believe you said that the increase is actually double digit. I think that was correct, which is fantastic. But my question is really in regards To the original Disneyland Park, which in my opinion is really where our roots come from and where Walt's real heart lay from the beginning.
Just a few years ago in Park history, I want to say it that way, there was a significant investment done Into the what was the original 20,000 Wings Under the Sea Ride. And that was obviously brought up to the defining Nemo summary, which was a very exciting new adds to the park and everybody was very happy about it. I do realize that with the fill and An exit for that ride vehicle, the amount of time it takes to get people on and off, it's not really as probably profitable as some of our other rides They're at the park, say, the Haunted Mansion as an example with the moving walkway to get on to the dune buggy. So I know that There is a bit of investment that was put into it, but also the feel that maybe the profitability of that ride wasn't as high. We were just there recently about a month ago and realized that The submarine ride was closed down.
Now I see that it does say that it's opening sometime I think it is either late this year or early next year after refurbishment. My question is in regards to that ride, not only is it a lower profitability because of the size of the actual Right vehicle, but I'm sure that the upkeep when you're looking at the actual size of the lagoon as well as the water's operation of that is quite extensive. Is there any thought process for even though we love the submarine ride, if it was an original from Walt, is there any thought process in possibly taking that ride out and putting something in maybe more towards the Marvel This universe idea.
There really isn't. I actually was very much behind and very much in favor of bringing that attraction back? You mentioned it was an attraction created initially by Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It It was shut down I believe in 1996 and we brought it back almost 10 years, I think 10 years later after it's been closed down or dormant for a long period of time and we re themed it based on Finding Nemo, which I mentioned earlier, very, very successful Pixar film. You're right that although we don't look at it in terms of profitability, we look at it in terms of volume or how many people can actually experience that attraction over different periods of time?
Loading and unloading those subs is not the this thing in the world to do. It takes a little bit more time than some of the other attractions. So because of that, we don't get as many people through it. But because it is such an iconic Disney Land attraction, because we are really proud of the attraction that we recreated back in, I think, 2000 and 6 or 2007. We believe that it's in its rightful place, open and actually there for guests to enjoy young and old.
Angela. There's no plans. We are looking at opportunities to bring Marvel into our parks and we are looking at opportunities to increase the presence of Star Wars in our parks. And I I think you expect since there's already Star Wars present at Disneyland that there's more ahead to Disneyland. Also Disneyland in 2015 celebrates its 60th anniversary, which we're excited about and there'll be a whole new menu of activity available to commemorate the 60th or diamond at Disneyland.
But thank you very much. Number 3. Good morning. My name is Dwight Morgan. I'm from Pasadena, California.
I'm A mere passport holder as well as a shareholder. A couple of years ago, I mentioned that people were ripping us off at Disneyland with the renting of multi day passes? And I was thrilled to find that though it slows down admission to the park, they're taking care of that issue. Angela? That makes me really pretty happy.
I'm hoping that you're working on getting the Magic Plus to Disneyland Resort as well as Walt Disney World and maybe combining all of those computers so that different parts of the parts organization can talk to each other? Right now, I understand it's still snail mail from California to Florida. But my real purpose is today I'd like to talk about pin trading and why pin traders They seem to be pushed about in the park. Not that we've lost our homes. We used to have tables where we could trade pins and we now come to the park and the tables are gone or no, you're not here today, you've got to go over the other part of the park.
I'm wondering is there some way that in At least at Disneyland, we could have access to somebody that could tell us what is really going on with pin trading. Because we go to the online website and tonight it will tell us that a new pin is coming out tomorrow, tomorrow morning when I get to the park? No, that got delayed until next week. That's not real efficient Angela and doesn't make for happy pin traders? Well, thank you very much.
I know that pin trading has been very, very popular actually in all of our parks around the world. And I will pass your specific comments along to Michael Coldblazer who runs Disneyland. One of the reasons why we have limited pin trading in terms of presence in the parks is as the parks have gotten more popular or we've had more traffic, we've had to be Careful that the pin traders don't interrupt the normal flow of traffic and essentially reduce the quality of the experience for the other guests who are not interested in pin trading. But specifically, I'll pass those comments along to Michael and see whether there's anything specific he can address for you. If you want to leave your name, Angela?
I didn't catch. I know you're from Pasadena, but I didn't catch your name. My name is Dwight Morgan. And I go to Disneyland every Thursday. So thank you.
I should be pretty easy to find. Thank you. And you trade pins obviously. So we can see Obviously, we're not going to trade with you. If there are pin traders there, that's the place to look for me.
I will make sure that we get your name and that we connect you with the right people so you can talk about it. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Andrew? Good morning.
My name is Louis Feldman. I'm from Portland, Oregon. I'm a shareholder. Last year 2013, we had the privilege of taking my 2 special needs children to Disneyland for the first time in February, and It was very successful. The cast members were delightful to work with and very helpful.
Unfortunately, in May, The issue broke about the misuse of special needs passes and the company shifted It's policy. And I was wondering if management was going to reexamine the issue because At this point in time, the way it is structured, it is not effective for various special needs groups. And so just an issue of perhaps the pendulum has swung a little too far in the other direction and wanted to get your comments on that. Well, Thank you very much. This is an issue that we know got a lot of attention because we did change our policy.
The changes that we made were not designed to take privileges or access away from anybody that deserves them? And what was going on as you alluded to this is that the access that we had been providing was being abused. In some cases, it was the people who were applying for the access and then reselling to people who really did not deserve the kind of access that we were providing. The result was that people who really did deserve the access were not getting the access that they should have that. So we've had to be really careful with how this is managed.
And I think a lot was misinterpreted when we changed our policy again. It was not intended to take away privileges or anyone that really needs them? In fact, we pride ourselves on the access that we provide people that have a real need. So if there's something very specific that you've experienced, I can easily have you I can easily have that addressed. But in general, And I realize this has taken a little bit time to cycle through both as kind of a news item, but also from an operational perspective because we're basically getting the requests or considering the requests in sort of much more rigorous fashion to make sure that we're eliminating abuse.
But again, the intention was not to take privileges away from any of those that deserve it? Absolutely. It was very understandable given the situation. It's just in terms of the fast passes and Angela? For autistic children as I have, we cannot even the FastPass lane sometimes does not work as well for these children in treatment.
Waiting 20, even 30 minutes sometimes is difficult for them. With the tenants up, I understand there are other issues. Well, I don't know that we should use the tenants being up as an excuse for that. It is extremely difficult for an autistic child to wait on line for a long period of time that we should be able to address that. And I can gladly connect you with someone.
We've said we have representatives from parks and resorts here that can talk to you directly you can do so after the meeting. It's worth it. We'd love to hear your input, specific input. Number 2. Angel?
Hi. My name is Constantin Schnecker. I am an individual shareholder from Germany, currently holding 1,000 shares. I have come all the way from Germany to ask Andrew? Two questions to you.
A long trip to Portland, Oregon. My first question is regarding business This is in Germany. Germany is an important market in Europe where the Disney Channel has been free to air for 2 months now. I would like to know from you if you are Satisfied with how things are going in Germany? Or do you think there's still a lot of room for improvement?
And what Studied international business and communication in Asia at a university in Germany. And I also speak Chinese, and it is my dream to work for Andrew? Shanghai Disneyland. I have applied for many positions at the Shanghai Disneyland Resort. However, I have never received any positive Text from them?
Did you receive any feedback? No, nothing, nothing. Yes. And that's actually Angel? I just wanted to know from you what you would suggest me to do so that my dream will come true and I'll be able to contribute to business success in China.
Thank you. Can you sing, dance or act? We're looking to hire almost 1,000 people who can sing, dance and act. No. No.
I don't even know the song actually. Okay. I'll try something else. First of all, let me address Germany. We are both satisfied with our recent progress in that country.
You cited the launch of the new Disney channel, which we're extremely excited about and so far so good. We've had a couple of good months of Audience reaction, both on from a size perspective, but generally from a quality perspective. But I also believe there's a lot more we can do and there's a lot more improvement. The launch of the channel was designed basically a major first step to grow our presence in Germany significantly. I will say over the years, we've not been as successful in Germany as I believe we can or should be given the size of that market Andrew and the passion and interest in Disney that people have in that market.
So more to come, but so far so good with the channel. In terms of Shanghai Disneyland, Jane Parker, who is our Head of HR for the company is here. You can give her your name. I can tell you that we're planning to open sometime in the latter part of 2015. We have to hire 1,000 people, not just performers, people can sing, dance and act, but people with all kinds of different skills, talents, experience and I don't know what your background is other than the fact that you're from Germany, but I will at least give you a chance to provide your resume and I will make sure that someone gets back to
you. Great.
Thank you. Number 1.
Hi. My name is Teri Williams.
I live in Gresham, Oregon. I'm a shareholder and I'm a Disney Vacation Club member. I wanted to ask a little bit about the Cruise line, I've had the privilege of being on all four of the Disney ships, and intend And to continue visiting them because they're a fabulous experience. So what expansion? Do you have any plans, more Generarius, kind of what's on tap for the cruise line?
Well, first of all, thank you for your business. We're proud of our cruise ships, all 4 of them. We are currently not planning to commission or build more ships than the 4 that we have. Don't rule that out forever, but we're extremely satisfied with 2 new ones, the Dream, the Fantasy that were launched in 2011 2012, not just from an experience perspective, but from a business perspective. We are looking at a number of new itineraries.
Usually, I have all of them in my head, either because I've studied them or I have interacted with the cruise ship boats. I must say I'm drawing a blank on what the new itineraries are. But I know that we're expanding where the fleet is sailing to. You know that we sail up not far from here, Northwest into Alaska, which has been extremely successful. The 2 big ships, the Fantasy and the Dream spending most of their time in the Caribbean?
I know we have a big European trip coming up for one of the ships? Jay, you're looking at your notes. You want to add anything to that? No.
Everything is time. Everything is time.
But thank you. So near future, expanded itineraries, but not expanded fleet.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
3. Hello. My name is Mary Di Prado. I am a shareholder Chanel, it is a scientific method of early childhood education with more than a 100 year history. Its graduates from the primary program that's for 3 to 6 year olds are overrepresented among creative entrepreneurs.
Examples include Anne Frank, Julia Child, founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia Jeff Bezos, the founders of Amazon Will Wright, game Angela? Advocates from the past for this method of education include Mr. Rogers, Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, and Mahatma Gandhi. I am here today to represent my company, The Monster Story Mystery Unveiled, and to ask the Board of Disney that is a self proclaimed company That is innovative and worldwide if they would be willing to start a Montessori primary program for their employees' children using my book He's a guy starting a Montessori business.
Well, thank you very much. You obviously are very passionate about what you do, about Montessori. I doubt that that is something that we would do, but I can pass on what you've already expressed what it is that you want, we can pass it on to the folks that consider providing those sorts of services for our employees, so they can consider it. But I'm not we have childcare centers actually in different places that we operate, including Bristol, Connecticut, where ESPN is, in Burbank and Glendale, we have a big presence and in Orlando. But beyond childcare, I don't really think that we'll be in the business of providing education for the children of our cast members and employees?
It would set your company apart to have childcare with over 100 years Scientific research backing it up with so many creative entrepreneurs that can help propel your company into the 21st century and beyond.
Well, thank you very much. Andrew. Number 4?
Hi, I'm Gary Patton from Mountain View, California. I'm a shareholder and I have a custodial account for my son. And I did that a few years ago because of the certificate. And I framed it. And when I gave it to him for Christmas, I told him he now is part of the mouse.
And I want to thank you for making efforts to keep the certificate available? I know it's hard. You can't do it. You got to save trees. And if I can say, Angela?
It's an honor for me to be here. It's my 2nd meeting to attend. It's about 8 years in the Anaheim area. That's my job. And I was transferred to the Bay Area going through my Disneyland withdrawals?
But I think the meeting that I attended in the pond here in Anaheim was when you first came on board Angela? And what little I know about the company and I know personally some cash members at Anaheim that I've gotten really attached to. So I feel like I I have an understanding of what they go through. But I would I'd like to suggest that my favorite character is Robert Iger. Angela.
And I don't want to sound disrespectful, but I wonder if you would actually dissolve with acetone. Dissolve with acetone. And I say that as a compliment Because and I'll say again, what little I know, especially you're it's such a much higher level than I am. I feel like I really Have identified with the magic that exists and somebody said earlier that Disneyland is special. It's the original part.
I made one trip to Walt Disney World and made the mistake of wearing my Disneyland shirt. Time? I told him, well, without our little park in California, you guys wouldn't exist. And I suggest my character, my favorite character, because I want to compliment you And everybody that works with you, I feel you put your heart and soul into this company. And I feel like you're tremendous.
And I've got a little 7 year old friend and she gave me this little bracelet to wear. It's got her name on And she said, if anybody asks you if that's your name, you tell them it's your 7 year old friend. We've seen Frozen four times And we will see it again if it stays on the screen longer. But I've got and I want to also mention, I think the Lone Ranger got a real bad rap. And I'm biased, But there's fact to that.
I really enjoyed the movie. Thank you. And can I ask you two questions? Hong Kong Disneyland Park. And I now have been able to acquire all 5 of them, which is very rare.
And the white one is my favorite. And I have friends that have family in China and hopefully I'd like to go to the Shanghai Park if I can ever afford And I've got one friend, family in Beijing. Every time she goes, she asked me if I wanted it.
One of these days I'm going to make it
and maybe I can get into the park. If it's okay, I'm sorry to talk so long. But I've got 2 questions. Is it possible for Mulan to become a princess and for her castle to be in Shanghai? That's one question.
And number 2, is there going to be a sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean?
Angela? Thank you for your time. Thank you. First of all, thank you very much for such kind words. Appreciate that very much, your support and obviously your interest in the company.
We're not planning to build a Mulan Castle, I think that was your question. We're building a big castle, the tallest, biggest castle we've ever built, Shanghai Disneyland, but it will not be seen in Mulan. There will be some Mulan presence in the park, but we're not giving away what that will be. And your second question? It's going to be a sequel of the Pirates.
Sequel, yes. Sequel of the Pirates, Sorry. We've had development for what would be a 5th Pirates sequel. We've not officially green lit the movie, but I can tell tell you that there's work being done on creating and developing it, but no other announcements specific to that? Thank you.
Number 2? First, my name is Gregg Hinkelman and thank you for coming to Portland. A couple of things. 1, I was pleased to see the Maleficent trailer. When I heard you guys were making that movie, I thought you were going to make a movie about my 3rd grade teacher.
So, thank Thank you for that to say Disney character. 2, one of the things that I'd like the Board to look at, especially on the theme park side, is the growing You've been on the Internet is true, right? That the Lilly Bell is now no longer going to be available to regular schmucks like me, but it's now Exclusive to Club 33 members and special groups. So there's more and more of this creeping of Exclusivity going into the parks. And I get the annual passport thing.
I get that. You want to take care of the people that live there locally, who Take their money and spend it there more easily than I do living here in Portland. So I'd like you guys to look at that and to see how much exclusive are you guys going to get and include the rest of us? Thank you. Okay.
Thank you. Well, I appreciate your comment. There is so much available at our parks for everyone. I couldn't even begin to list all the different experiences, particularly in Orlando, which we resided, which is the largest of our facilities around the world. So when you look at what is exclusive, it's very, very tiny, really tiny.
And in some cases, we brought a few things back we wouldn't necessarily have even brought back if it weren't for the real passion of a small group of people in some cases the members of D23, which by the way you can become a member of D23 for a relatively nominal fee. I think $75 a year is the maximum. There's another package which is a little less and then there's actually a free membership as well. And we did feel that people who joined D23 are among our most ardent fans deserve just a little bit of something for the fee that they pay that other people don't necessarily get. It is so small in terms of what's available?
We try to be as inclusive as we possibly can for all of our guests. So I'm sorry you feel that way. Lilly Bell, by the way, I is it brought back to D23 numbers? I'm not aware of that. I don't think it is, right?
It's exclusive because no one can use it. Is it open? What's that? You can go to City Hall and get a pass to go, but it's not exclusive, but you have to have a pass. But anyone can get one?
Okay, there you go. Sort of exclusive, I guess. First come first serve? Number 2. My name is Jeff Henkelman.
I'm his brother. I'm a D23 Day 1 member. Angela? My question actually is about ABC News. I think personally they're doing a fantastic job, so the complete opposite what was said earlier.
My question is sometimes it seems ABC News is a training ground for CNN. And to keep the talent that they have now, Good Morning America is doing a fantastic job. David Muir, I swear, is the hardest working news Journalist in TV and is there every day. So is Disney doing anything to keep the fantastic Talent that ABC News has. Well, yes, of course.
There's a deep bench at ABC News and a lot of drummers that have emerged, David Muir being one of them, although he's not much of a newcomer anymore. And they're really proud of the team that they've got there, Some familiar names and many names that will be familiar in the years ahead. True, some people have left to go on to CNN. People have left for certain reasons, in some cases, voluntarily, in some cases, we were trying to make room for a new generation or new crop of talent at ABC News. I think they've got a great group there though.
Thank you for your interest. Number 1.
Good morning. My name is Greg Alexander. I'm a Resident here, Portman. And thank you for bringing the meeting here at this time. My question regards Copyrights.
Disney is well known for policing their brand very tightly. And at some point, the copyrights for the early films of Disney, it's going to expire and pass into the public domain. And I wonder Is the company concerned about that? And what are there any plans in terms of how that would affect branding and possible revenue loss?
Alan, you want to address it first? Our General Counsel, Alan Braverman, and I can talk some specifics. Angela? It's a subject that we've been looking at for some time. I think what I can say is along with copyrights, We have extremely strong trademarks and have aggressively registered our trademarks around the world, Which I think even after copyrights expire either here or in foreign markets Gives us a fair degree of enduring protection against anyone going out and marketing what we think of as Disney IP in a way that would confuse the consumers?
So we feel like we've taken the right measures and crudely measures against the possibility of copyrights expiring? We believe that we make movies in a very special way? And even though some copyrights have expired, we still think our movies with the Disney name on it really stand Wintle? Snow White would be a great example of that. Snow White and the Huntsman was made by another studio a few years ago as an example.
Did not have our music, did not have certain elements that made our movie as charming and as Angela, I guess, as popular as it still is, even though it was made back in the late 1930s. That's one example. Peter Pan movies have been made. Other studios have plans to make other movies based on some IP that we derived our stories from. We still stand by the approach that we take when we make films, make them inclusive, optimistic, generally films that deserve the name Disney on them?
Thank you. Number 3.
Hi. My name is Eugenia Horn and I'm currently in Boise. I grew up in the Southern California area. Yes, so I went to Disneyland a lot. Please keep the submarine.
It's one of those things that's nostalgia for me.
Will you keep the what?
The summary.
The summary. Thank you.
The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I rode that numerous times and also For the Jungle Boat ride, I can practically tell you some of the history of the park just from going there. The thing was related to The Last Gentleman is that I grew up on Disney. The type of movies, The animation, particularly the 2 d animation, I feel is kind of getting lost. To me, that is the Disney brand, it is unique. No one else can do that.
My favorite movie and favorite character Angela? Jafar from Aladdin. And as I say, to me that is a work of art comparable to Leonardo da Vinci. And it just kind of concerns me that we have the computer graphics and other properties, which Disney is a caretaker of intellectual property in movies That no one can match. There's jokes about the attorneys.
You don't want to mess with a Disney attorney ever.
He doesn't look that fearsome.
But my basic concern is, Is it going to be the tradition of the 2 d movies, the animation, even if it's Sure. I know it's too expensive, but to me and to a lot of people that is the Disney Unique brand.
Well, thank you. First of all, on the movie side, we're just trying to make great movies, tell great stories, memorable characters, worlds that are created that people believe could actually exist or people want to visit. I can't think of a better example than Frozen. And I think when people watch Frozen, they don't think 2 d or 3 d, they just really engage with the storytelling and the characters. And and I think it sort of proves the point that it doesn't matter what the genre is or the type of technology that we use to create or tell the story, it's about how good the story is really.
There currently are no plans in place to make another 2 d film. The last one we did was The Princess and the Frog. There are plenty of activities in the company for other forms of hand drawn animation. We recently released a number of Mickey shorts for instance that are basically derived from hand drawn animation style. We'll continue to look at opportunities like that, but it's unlikely at least in the near term, particularly since we don't have anything in development that you'll see a hand drawn or 2 d animated feature film from Disney.
But thank you. We have time. I guess I'll take 2 more questions. Number 4.
Hi. My name is Crystal. I'm currently in Seattle, Washington. My favorite character is Sigmund and my favorite attraction is the Walt Disney World Railroad for very For more reason, my question revolves around the Park cast members, the Park frontline cast members, being one Former cast member myself, we are the ones really making the magic for everyone despite what's going on backstage and behind the scenes and everyone Doing all these wonderful things thinking of the content that's coming. Are there any plans to Perhaps raise the financial compensation for the frontline cast members since we are the ones That are out there every day helping to meet the magic and keep everything running from the parks?
Very good question. Thank you. First of all, I agree with you that the experience that we provide at our parks around the world wouldn't be what it is today, wouldn't be as great as it is today without Former cast members like you or cast members that provide unbelievable experience for all the people who visit. I get feedback all the time from strangers friends and family members who have visited, citing, giving me names of cast members that have made their experience better. And it makes me feel incredibly do for Disney and for the people who visit us.
We have thousands and thousands of cast members around the world, many covered under collective bargaining agreements and there are negotiations going on with unions all the time. It is clearly our intention to continue to provide the right form of compensation for our cast members either in the form of salaries or additional benefits where we provide numerous benefits to our cast members. So we look at the package and I'm certain that that will continue to rise. We're proud of our track record in this regard? We have good relationships with all the unions that we do business with.
We haven't had a work stoppage of the company for instance in over 15 years? And the other thing that we're really proud of is that since 2010, in the United States alone at our parks, we have added 10,000 jobs, which is I think just an unbelievable number and I think it's a testament to the fact not only that these businesses are so successful, but we've continued to invest in them and those investments have created a lot of jobs for a lot of people. We're proud of the people that we've been able to bring in, in that period of time. And it is our intention to behave very responsibly and fairly with all of our cast members and compensated in ways that reflect the value that they create for the company and for our customers? Thank you.
One more question, Number 3.
Number 3. Okay. I am Mary Perez from San Jose, California. Originally went to Disneyland 19 55. I own everything Disney.
I would like to vote for San Francisco for the stockholders meeting and then it He's called at the Walt Disney Museum, which has a wonderful theater and your history. Question about the parks. You're doing away with Disney Dollars. Disney Dollars, great way to give small kids A little money of their own. But most of all, you give them to the kids and they keep them.
So it's some products you can have, You give out the money and it's never spent. It's framed like most of them. And So we'd like to know if that's continuing?
1st of all, on San Francisco, we had a shareholders meeting, not Presidio, not at the Walt Disney Family Museum, but in San Francisco. Oakland. Oakland. Oh, I was in Oakland, sorry. Okay, it was close.
San Francisco. I don't maybe it doesn't count. Angela? No. We had it in Oakland, I think 4 or 5 years ago.
Gave people from San Francisco an opportunity to go without having to travel far. Disney Dollars, Disney Dollars, I don't think at this point we've got a we have plans to discontinue Disney Dollars. I'm not aware of that. I think there's still I I think we're still provider. Have you heard otherwise?
In Disneyland, it's very hard to find the Disney Dollars. I believe there are only 2 spots, That's one of them being, when you check-in.
Yes, Main Street or near, near, yes. The other one is toonTown
has them. But otherwise, everybody's been told they're going to the plastic cards.
Yes, that could be. But that could be that we're responding to more guest requests and not to have basically plastic instead of the old commemorative dollars. I'll have to look into it. I don't know. I must admit I'm not an expert on the subject.
But I'll have someone look into it. Thank you very much. Okay. We have one more I'm going to take one more question since you're and look patients. And then that will be it.
We kept people a long time. Thank you. My name is Thomas Stern. I'm from Los Angeles in Astoria, Oregon. I'd also like to be pointed to the representative from Disneyland as far as handicap issues.
But talking about Angela? Shanghai Disneyland reminded me. My adopted hometown of Astoria for the last 30 years has done a melodrama called Shanghai in Astoria. Has there been any thought of possibly doing some sort of tie in as a promo? Not to my knowledge.
The first I've heard of this. So not to my knowledge.
I suggest to be looked into.
We'll have someone look into it.
Thank you.
Thank you. Okay. That concludes our shareholder meeting for 2014. Thank you very much for your attendance. Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your votes and your support and best of all to all of you. Thank you.