http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/8065731.htm



As many as 3,000 stockholders, seated first-come, first-served in the Convention Center ballroom, will hear presentations by Disney executives, watch videos of coming attractions, ask questions, and have a last chance to vote on Eisner and other matters. At lunchtime they can watch pickets outside, protesting media consolidation.



:eek:

Originally posted by Darkbeer
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/8065731.htm



:eek:

3000 is a lot of people for a live event.

Lets see, there are about 2,800,000 shareholders......

And about 10+ years ago they used to set up for about 10,000 folks.... (I used to own stock...)

Roy and Stan are offering discount transportation to Philly, for their event on March 2nd..... how many will want to stay the extra day ;)

I have a funny feeling that the line will be longer than Peter Pan....:eek:

Originally posted by Darkbeer
Lets see, there are about 2,800,000 shareholders......

And about 10+ years ago they used to set up for about 10,000 folks.... (I used to own stock...)

Roy and Stan are offering discount transportation to Philly, for their event on March 2nd..... how many will want to stay the extra day ;)

I have a funny feeling that the line will be longer than Peter Pan....:eek:

10 years ago you couldn't get info from the internet in minutes. Press conferences were much larger back then too ya know.

I just feel you're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Originally posted by Loric
10 years ago you couldn't get info from the internet in minutes. Press conferences were much larger back then too ya know.

I just feel you're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Wait, BEFORE the publicity of the "Internet", they could pack places like the Anaheim Convention Center main arena (about 10,000 capacity), and now, on the "biggest" annual meeting in 25 years they are going to restrict the admission to the event.....:mad:

They can't have done it on purpose DB.

The venue had to have been booked ages before the info came out and this actually became an "event" other then a run of the mill shareholder meeting held in non-Disney-dense area.

How many people goto the meeting for other companies they hold stock for? They get the info off the internet and thus there isn't a need to attend. Like how lots of people Tivo'ed Janet's malfunction. Or heck, how many of us here at Mouseplanet read the Larry King transcript rather than watching the show?

Welcome to the information age. that's why i'm posting to this board rather than meeting you down at the local Soda Fountain or something to discuss this issue.

Quoth Spaceship Earth:

Physical distance is no longer a barrier to communication. Today, the entire world is our next door neighbor. Our news is their news, their news ours. We share our hopes and concerns with the whole planet. We truly live in a Global Neighborhood.

Now, if they had it in Anaheim today they'd still need the larger venue because that's how many employees are in the area and apt to attend.

Originally posted by Loric
They can't have done it on purpose DB.

The venue had to have been booked ages before the info came out and this actually became an "event" other then a run of the mill shareholder meeting held in non-Disney-dense area.

How many people goto the meeting for other companies they hold stock for? They get the info off the Internet and thus there isn't a need to attend. Like how lots of people Tivo'ed Janet's malfunction. Or heck, how many of us here at Mouseplanet read the Larry King transcript rather than watching the show?

Welcome to the information age. that's why i'm posting to this board rather than meeting you down at the local Soda Fountain or something to discuss this issue.

Quoth Spaceship Earth:

Physical distance is no longer a barrier to communication. Today, the entire world is our next door neighbor. Our news is their news, their news ours. We share our hopes and concerns with the whole planet. We truly live in a Global Neighborhood.

Now, if they had it in Anaheim today they'd still need the larger venue because that's how many employees are in the area and apt to attend.

Yep, last year Disney had 42 folks show up in a major snow storm in Denver.... since the mid 90-'s, Disney has moved the stockholder meetings from places like Anaheim and Orlando to weird places that few stockholders could easily attend....

The decision of location of the meeting is at least to keep many stockholder/employees away from the meeting as possible.....

And yes, they did it ON PURPOSE>>>>>

Yes, the location was intentional, but you're griping about the size of the venue - like they purposely limited who could attend.

All thing considered, that size venue for that location was a practical choice.

You can gripe about location all you want but don't gripe about venue size - it's not justified. It's complaining for the sake of complaining. Hindsight is 20/20, but no one expected a large turnout before things started happened and by then it's too late to change venues.

But will these seemingly infinite communications become a flood of electronic babble? Or will we use this power to usher in a new age of understanding and co-operation on this, our Spaceship Earth.

I like to think of it as a giant 18 story shiny magic 8-ball advice oracle... which sorta resembles a golf ball ;)

Darkbeer's comments are right on and unfortunately he speaketh the truth. In recent years Disney has been trying to "control" this event. Now, in Denver with that bad snow storm you can't pin the blame for the severe weather on Disney. I remember a few years ago, concerning the severance Ovitz received and the shareholder protest about it, there were very angry people attending that year. In fact, CNBC mentioned that shareholders voting "withhold" about that matter managed to get a 13% withhold rate on the proxy ballot that year, without an organized protest (such as SaveDisney.com's current efforts).

The answer is clear: GET THERE EARLY EARLY EARLY!!!!

And may the Force and the Pixie Dust be with you!

Originally posted by Loric
They can't have done it on purpose DB.....

Now, if they had it in Anaheim today they'd still need the larger venue because that's how many employees are in the area and apt to attend. Of course, they won't have it in Anaheim, or Orlando, or anywhere that might draw a large crowd of interested parties. Now, snow-bound states are a *much* safer alternative.

By the way, the shareholder meeting is being held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, which has over 1/2 million square feet of meeting / convention space. Disney is one of two events that day - the other is a high school career fair. There is *NO* reason that Disney could not book a larger meeting room if they wanted to allow more people to attend in person. That's a big IF, and we can assume that they don't want more attendees or they would have made the change.

AVP

Yoo Hoo, Disney fans!

Philadelphia Convention Center, which has over 1/2 million square feet of meeting / convention space.

That's very interesting!

I think Eisner and the Disney board made a huge blunder in having this year's stockholders meeting at a location that can't hold as many shareholders as in many years in the past.

Why? Well, mix this year's contentious atmosphere with a small auditorium and forget about the atmosphere inside the hall for a bit... After all, inside is where Disney will have the most control.

But outside the hall, that's where all of the disgruntled stockholders (many of whom will become shockholders when they find out they can't get in! ), will be even angrier when they can't get in. Who else will be outside, covering all this? Yup. The media.

The news hounds outside will have lots of delicious soundbites from cold and angry shockholders not able to get into the meeting before the place filled up -- and if they weren't upset with Eisner and the board before that, they will probably have a beef or two about things which the reporters will lap up like a parched hounddog drinks from his doggie dish.

Disney has control over the media inside the hall (assuming they let any of them in at all) but they don't have any control at all over the media outside on the public streets. Add to that mix the angry shockholders, and we're gonna see some spectacular TV and newspaper reporting.

So, that's why I'm thinking the Disney company would have been a lot better off simply having a location where far more people would have been able to enter the meeting, which is more under Disney's control.

And it will be cold in Philly. The forecast from the Weather channel for Tuesday calls for a 40% chance of showers with 56° as a high and 37° as a low. Wednesday's overnight low is forecast to be 33° with a daytime high of just 50° under partly cloudy skies.

Even an overnight low in the 30's won't do much to cool tempers of angry shockholders, but it will add to their aggravation.

Not only is inside the buildling warm, dry, and a comfortable place to sit that has entertainment, but inside the building is where the restrooms are!

I agree with RichKoster; the first thing I thought upon reading Darkbeer's post is what a monumental mistake this is on the WDC's part...
Now, you're going to have angry shareholders outside the venue, and they are going to be vocal. The media is going to eat this up. The idea that the WDC didn't anticipate a large crowd is ludicrous; they knew perfectly well prior to booking this the actual space that would probably be needed, and have had ample time in the interim to change the venue. Roy and Stan have anticipated this; I recall reading a comment at the site to this effect, and recommending shareholders arrive early.

How much do you want to bet that supporters of Michael Eisner and the current board will be shipped in to fill the seats?

Yes, Roy and Stan are going to try the same thing, but you know that Disney has got to be also planning something.

It will be funny to watch the proceedings and stockholders approach the microphone with pre-written questions like:

"The board of this company works so hard, how do you do it?"

"DCA is a fantastic theme park, are there any plans to build more great theme parks like DCA?"

"My stock has risen greatly over the past few months, is the company planning a stock split?"

Not only that, but if you check the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am, and seating begins at 8am instead of 9am. I can see that I'm going to have to get up even earlier than anticipated. And this after staying up late writing up an article about Roy's rally. Ugh. :mad:

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
Not only that, but if you check the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am, and seating begins at 8am instead of 9am. I can see that I'm going to have to get up even earlier than anticipated. And this after staying up late writing up an article about Roy's rally. Ugh. :mad:

I do not feel the slightest bit sorry for you- at least you get to be there!!! (Very jealous here). I imagine they will be pulling all sorts of stunts to throw off the shareholders; I am looking forward to your article!

We're pulling for you, Mark. Hope it helps to know that all the MousePlaneteers are waiting at the edge of their mice for your reports! :D

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
Not only that, but if you check the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am, and seating begins at 8am instead of 9am. I can see that I'm going to have to get up even earlier than anticipated. And this after staying up late writing up an article about Roy's rally. Ugh. :mad:

This reminds me of the fifth Harry Potter book; the Ministry of Magic wants to expell Harry, so they change the time of his hearing at the last minute, making it several hours earlier....lol. Maybe you shouldn't go to sleep, Mark. ;)

Two men who need to be sure to get there very early so they are on the inside and conducting business, else literally and figurtively be left out in the cold: Roy Disney and Stanley Gold! Can you imagine the scene outside with the media if those two people didn't make it inside the building?

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
Not only that, but if you check the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am, and seating begins at 8am instead of 9am. I can see that I'm going to have to get up even earlier than anticipated. And this after staying up late writing up an article about Roy's rally. Ugh. :mad:

Mark, as our family says when we go to WDW: "Sleep is for wimps." ;) I can ship you some good ol' New Orleans dark roast coffee with chicory. Arrange for medical personnel to start an I.V. drip of it into you. This is history, and you are the witness of it for us. Think of the history of freedom and perseverence our country now enjoys that all got started in Philadelphia! The signing of the Declaration of Independence! The Liberty Bell! The U.S. Constitution! The tie-in to the patriotism and pride Walt Disney celebrated in Davy Crockett, Johnny Tremain (the liberty tree) and Swamp Fox! Your deed be noble, the price of Disney to it's fans and shareholders is worth the cost of a little sleep! Go therefore, and take No-Doz, ye be there for all of us, all of us yearning to see Mickey Mouse breathe free! Yea, and Minnie too! Represent us well....and watch "A Clockwork Orange" and keep a weather eye out for us! Go, Mark, go! :) (And Mark, bundle up too, and stay warm!)

Lol- very well stated, CarolKoster! I was thinking we could all pitch in and send him triple shot latte's through the night.

Originally posted by wendybeth
Lol- very well stated, CarolKoster! I was thinking we could all pitch in and send him triple shot latte's through the night.

Wendybeth, Down here in New Orleans we have that good Cafe Du Monde cafe au lait. Probably similar to what you're talking about. Whatever works, but I can vouch for Cafe du Monde cafe au lait.

I went to Disney Investor Relations and checked it out. Confirmed: If the site fills to capacity the overflow will be turned away! You must bring your proper documentation including photo identification and entry ticket or brokerage statement with you in order to be admitted. Entry does indeed start very early. Here's the URL:

http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors/events/presentations.html

--Sigh--

Enjoy the Oscars tonight. Get as much proper rest as you can. This week's gonna be a humdinger!

Yoo Hoo, Mark!

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
Not only that, but if you check the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am, and seating begins at 8am instead of 9am. I can see that I'm going to have to get up even earlier than anticipated. And this after staying up late writing up an article about Roy's rally. Ugh. :mad:

Good luck to you on getting in to both events. If you manage to get in, look for Disney Echo founder Chris Harrower. He'll be wearing an official "Choo Choo Barn" shirt (from http://www.choochoobarn.com ). If he's lucky enough to get into Disney's shockholder meeting as well as Roy Disney's meeting the day before, Chris will be covering it for the Disney Echo.

Here's hoping both of you get in!

Yoo Hoo, Mark!

Originally posted by Mark Goldhaber
the Disney Investor Relations web site, they've moved up registration from 8am to 7am,

I'm looking at the Disney Investor Relations website right now at http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors/events/presentations.html and it still says that registration begins at 8 am (not 7 am).

Are you looking at a different page? If so, what's the URL?

It does say on the above page that "The doors to the seating area will open at 8 a.m." but I do not see 7 am listed for the start of registration. It says, "Registration begins at 8 a.m."

Please show me where the updated registration time is. Thanks!

According to the Disney Investor Relations WWW site Q & A, see URL above, quoting:

[....]

Q: What time will the doors to the hall open?
A: The doors to the seating area will open at 8 a.m.

[....]

Q: Can I make advance reservations for a seat?
A: No, seating is first-come, first-served. We suggest that shareholders arrive prior to the start of the meeting for a seat, as we expect a capacity crowd. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

End of quoted material.

Now, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer article that Darkbeer quoted there will be seating for 3,000. Maybe they'll add more seats? In any case, prudent to get there early!