Dewayne Bevil: Disney near top of most-admired list.
Walt Disney Co. is near the top of the list of mostadmired employers, mingling with well-known, high-tech entities, a new survey concludes.
Disney trails only Google on the list, taken from a survey of 220,000 adults compiled by Morning Consult, a polling, research and media company. In the “best overall” list, Disney is followed by Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Harley-Davidson, Tesla, BMW, UPS and Hershey.
A separate poll by Morning Consult found that salary and stability were the top concerns when deciding where to work. Both were listed as “very important” by 71 percent of those polled.
In the most-admired survey, Disney also ranked second when broken down into all age groups, including millennials, Generation X and baby boomers. When divided by gender, the home of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse maintained its second-place status with women, but dropped to No. 6 on the men’s list.
Respondents rated companies between January and May. They were asked if they would be proud to work for
a company and had the option of checking “yes” or leaving the response blank. The businesses were ranked by the percentage of people who said they would be proud to work there.
When broken down by education level, Disney was second most-admired among those with less than college, fourth among folks with bachelor’s degrees and sixth among people with postgraduate degrees.
In the income breakdown, Disney was second again with those earning less than $50,000 per year, fourth in the $50,000-$100,000 range and fifth among people who make more than $100,000.
Democrats and independent voters ranked Disney second as well, but Republicans in the survey put the company in fourth place.
Google also landed the top spot in each subcategory.
Epcot changes in the works?
A recently approved permit signals parking changes could be part of the work being planned at Epcot.
The South Florida Water Management District issued a new permit this month for canal modifications that allow Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to build and operate a new stormwater management system on the northeast side of the theme park.
The plan is to reconfigure an existing canal to “to provide a more contiguous area for possible future changes to parking capacity and back of house areas within Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center,” according to a staff report included with the permit.
The project also includes creating two dry retention areas for water treatment at the park “where future construction is planned,” the report said.
In May, Disney filed for the permit, which expires in June 2022.
“At any given time, we have numerous projects in various stages of development across our resort,” Disney officials said in a statement, declining to give more details.
Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, spoke of “a major transformation” during the D23 fan event in November.
"It will be more Disney. It will be even more relevant than it is today,” said Chapek. “And, at the same time, it will stay true to our original vision. Stay tuned, there's a lot more to come on Epcot.”
Tussauds greets Bieber
Justin Bieber's new look — right down to a freshly minted tattoo — has arrived at Madame Tussauds Orlando.
The true-to-life figure was unveiled at the International Drive attraction last week. The singer is decked out in ripped jeans and a yellow plaid shirt.
The reveal was postponed while Tussauds artists put on a replica tattoo that the actual Bieber added. It reads "Better at 70," and it can be seen through a rip in the figure's jeans.
“I know that fans are going to be looking for every last detail,” said Ashley Priselac, studios manager at the attraction.
Madame Tussauds visitors have consistently made Bieber their top choice to be added in the attraction since it opened two years ago, said Todd Andrus, regional head of marketing for the Southeast U.S. for Merlin Entertainments Group, which operates Madame Tussauds.
Worldwide, there are 11 wax Biebers in Madame Tussauds attractions. The model revealed in Orlando is the first of its kind. Other figures of Bieber, now 23, have him as a floppy-haired teen in a “wet and shirtless” look.
“We decided this one with this outfit, with more semblance of what he wears on tour, was the best option” in Orlando, Andrus said.
Teen and twentysomething fans lined up to get a close-up look at the figure Wednesday. Some raised the shirt to inspect its tatted-up abs.
“I can expect that there’s going to be a lot of love to him, but we’re going to make sure that he looks perfect every day,” Priselac said.
It took artists six months to create the figure, including the sculpting of the figure’s clay head and the insertion of thousands of hairs, one by one, Tussauds says.
Among the other singers already installed at the International Drive attraction are Beyonce, Rihanna, Pitbull, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.
Allegiant Air adding stops
Allegiant Air is expanding service by adding four destinations from Orlando Sanford International Airport, the airline announced last week.
Starting Aug. 30, the airline will offer yearround nonstop service to Gulfport, Miss., according to a news release. By mid-November, flights will also begin traveling to Milwaukee, Norfolk, Va., and Newburgh, N.Y.
Introductory fares ranged from $29 to $59 one-way. Regular prices were not available.
This week’s announcement was made as Allegiant added 28 routes at several airports, including the Punta Gorda and St. Pete-Clearwater airports.
Sanford airport officials are expecting to reach 3 million passengers this year for the first time.