Tomorrow (Friday), I am flying down to Orlando (my first flight since before the pandemic). I will be spending the afternoon at Disney Springs, having dinner at The Edison, then going to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Drawn To Life.
Then I will get a good night’s sleep and in the morning, take a shuttle to Port Canaveral for an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy.
This is a make-up cruise for May 2020 Mediterranean cruise that was canceled. While the cruise was essentially paid for back in 2020, I spent enough on licensed products (fish extenders, t-shirts, phone case, etc.) that I deserve a data point on the Disney Consumer Products ledger. I also contributed more than I want to admit to Etsy and Amazon.
So while I won’t be around for the next week or so, I did want to leave you with some reading material. So if it’s cold and snowy where you are, or if April showers extend into May, just think of me on the sunny deck at the Quiet Cove pool, sipping a margarita. It’ll warm your heart. 
Fuskie
Who is glad that Disney is such a quiet, boring company that he won’t miss any news while he’s cut off from the internet while sailing the seven seas, or at least one of them…
Mouse Marvels
Bad Bunny is set to join the Marvel universe.
The Grammy-winning artist will star as El Muerto in a standalone Marvel movie for Sony, scheduled for release in 2024. Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance during the announcement at CinemaCon.
El Muerto is Juan Carlos, a man who was a champion wrestler who fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match. When Marvel character El Dorado came to kill a weakened El Muerto, who was stung by Spider-Man, Spider-Man saved him and the two defeated El Dorado.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/26/entertainment/bad-bunny-spide…
MouseEats
You just healed my hand with an arepa con queso," Mirabel Madrigal tells her mother, Julieta, in the movie “Encanto,” while holding a cheesy arepa – a round corn cake.
“I healed your hand with love,” Julieta replies.
“Encanto,” which won the Oscar for best animated feature this year, follows the magical Madrigal family who all, except for Mirabel, have superpowers. While the film’s themes are based on family and love, its foundations are rooted in Colombian culture, which includes spotlighting the arepa as an essential part of its cuisine.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/encanto-arepa-colombia-or…
MouseBucks
At the first meeting of Walt Disney World’s private government since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure to dissolve it next year, officials said Wednesday they were still confused about what the new legislation meant, even as some ripple effects were starting to be felt.
The administrator of the government, called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, said the expansion of a solar power project could be delayed because of financing challenges linked to the legislation, and the union for the district’s firefighters expressed concerns about what the dissolution might mean for members’ lifetime benefits.
After the meeting, Donald Greer, who has been a member of Reedy Creek’s board of supervisors since 1975, said the board could not provide clear answers on those issues because “we don’t know where we are going.”
https://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/disney-government-in-d…
Online posts are using flawed logic and false information to malign The Walt Disney Co. as sympathetic to pedophiles or predatory toward young children after the company publicly opposed a Florida bill banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Posts shared thousands of times on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have attempted to link Disney to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They’ve highlighted Disney employee arrests as alleged evidence of a companywide problem. They’ve pointed to Disney prioritizing diverse content as evidence of the company “grooming” kids.
But these attacks on Disney, which have escalated across social media since the bill passed in late March, are misleading and not supported by facts.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/516405-factcheck-posts-…
The Orlando Sentinel reports that according to new filings with the state, The Walt Disney Company gave donations of around $125,000 to the Republican Party of Florida during the start of the legislative session.
Last month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that all political donations in Florida would be put on pause and further reviewed.
Disney has since come under fire from the Republican party after the CEO and Company denounced the Parental Rights in Education Bill, colloquially referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The donations in question came during the legislative session in which the bill was debated and passed.
https://wdwnt.com/2022/04/the-walt-disney-company-gave-12500…
Walt Disney World Resort has earmarked nearly 80 acres of land to bring a new affordable housing development to life in southwest Orange County, Florida. This initiative has been in the works for quite some time and builds on The Walt Disney Company’s long legacy of bringing positive, lasting change to the communities it calls home—making an important difference locally to address one of the nation’s greatest challenges.
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-world-earmarks-…
The Walt Disney Company has named Kristina Schake as Executive Vice President, Global Communications, reporting to Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Geoff Morrell. She will be responsible for the Company’s worldwide communications strategy and operations, while also serving as lead spokesperson. Her appointment is effective immediately.
Schake has spent three decades working at the nexus of government, media, business, entertainment, and technology. Most recently, she was appointed by President Biden to lead the nationwide COVID-19 vaccine education campaign and was previously Global Communications Director for Instagram. Schake was Deputy Communications Director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and served in the Obama administration as Special Assistant to the President and Communications Director to the First Lady.
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/kristina-schake-named-execu…
MouseStuff
Amid the polemic that has surrounded the Walt Disney Company over the last months, from the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” to political protests and even direct attacks from the Florida government, Walt Disney decided to take a massive step that Guests consider to be in the right direction, though long overdue.
Recently, the Walt Disney Company decided to rename its iconic “Rainbow Collection,” shifting its focus to be more openly supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community. The new collection was officially renamed The Walt Disney Company Pride Collection.
https://insidethemagic.net/2022/04/disney-renames-iconic-col…
MouseHugs
For nearly a century, The Walt Disney Company has found inspiration in the wonders of the world we share and has taken action to support a healthier planet for people and wildlife around the globe. That includes reducing our environmental footprint, caring for wildlife and their habitats, and creating stories that inspire action. We call these collective efforts Disney Planet Possible—tangible actions we’re taking to put possibility into practice and inspire optimism for a brighter, more sustainable future.
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-planet-possible-shar…
Fuskie
Who expects the analysts call for the upcoming earnings report will be very interesting with lots of questions about Disney World and the Reedy Creek Improvement District for which there will probably be few answers…
Premium Home Fool: Ask me a Foolish Question, I’ll give you a Foolish Response!
Ticker Guide: The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Intuit (INTU), Live Nation (LYV), CME Group (CME), MongoDB (MDB), Trip Advisor (TRIP), Vivendi SA (VIVHY), Mimecast (MIME), Virgin Galactic (SPCE), Axon Technologies (AXON), 51Jobs (JOBS)
Disclaimer: This post is non-professional and should not be construed as direct, individual or accurate advice
Disassociation: The views and statements of this post are Fuskie’s and are not intended to represent those of The Motley Fool or any other sane body
Disclosure: May own shares of some, many or all of the companies mentioned in this post: https://tinyurl.com/FuskieDisclosure
Fool Code of Conduct: https://www.fool.com/legal/the-motley-fools-rules.aspx#Condu…
Invitation: You are invited to interactively watch Motley Fool Live online television: https://www.fool.com/premium/live/
Call to Action: If you like this or any other post, Rec it. Better yet, reply to it. Even better, start your own thread. This is YOUR TMF Community!