Let's break this down: Disney is going to invest a lot of money in Disneyland no matter what the City of Anaheim does. There's money on the table for Disney to make from fans by developing new attractions based on Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Frozen, and Disney's not in the habit of leaving money on the table. The company's already announced that it will expand the presence of these franchises in its parks, and Disneyland will get its share of that investment. And part of the new Disneyland Resort investment will be a major new parking structure, in addition to in-park improvements.
So why the fuss? By making this offer, Disney is helping its allies in Anaheim's City Hall by giving them some political cover for continuing to exempt Disney from a ticket tax. With this proposal, Anaheim officials can claim that they leveraged a valuable investment in the community from Disney in exchange for the extension, so it doesn't look like they gave away a new source of income for the city for nothing.
And so long as people overlook the fact that Disney isn't about to stop investing in the gold mine that is Disneyland, it all works for everyone.
Ultimately, what this comes down to is Disney saying, "Look, Anaheim, if you don't start collecting the tax you're already not collecting, we will go ahead and make a billion-dollar investment we were going to make anyway."
Long live the status quo.
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Or is this exemption from additional taxes specifically on entertainment admissions?
From the article, and other linked articles on the subject, to me it reads more like they won't add any additional taxes onto ticket sales, implying that ticket are already subject to sales or other taxes.
Any specific additional tax is a cash grab in my opinion.
I agree this is pretty nasty from Disney. What are they saying, if Anaheim doesn't extend the exemption Disney is just going to stop maintaining their parks?
Disney, I am sure there are many, many real estate companies that would love your sweet, overpriced freeway adjacent OC land if you feel it is too much of a tax burden to maintain.
What, like they didn't already? ;)
If what TH is saying is true, and Disney is buying those hotels, then that would be so deliciously ironic. After all, those hotels are one of the main reasons why Walt wanted to expand eastward.
Also, if I were the city if Anaheim, I'd do whatever Disney wanted me to do. No offense to anyone who actually lives in Anaheim, but Disneyland is probably the only thing keeping them on the map right now. (Well, that and it's close proximity to L.A.)
I'm not one to vote for piling on the taxes, but there are occasions where people or companies should contribute more to maintain the environment that they help to create. What's Disney going to do...shut down the park? Not improve? bull****. They are going to improve and expand regardless because they have to, lest they not be able to maintain the numbers they do. They will continue to buy where they can so that they can assume control of the environment as much as they can around the park. That's what Disney does.
If it's a threat, it's an empty one, but it sets the table for politicians to be spineless, or to cash in. Anyone check their pockets yet?
Okay, I will make one more comment. Considering how greedily Anaheim taxes hotel rooms, it would be pretty shameless to tax tickets, too. We're going both to San Diego and Anaheim, and the hotel tax at the latter is about double the former!
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