The Best One Yet - 🎢 “Less Epcot, more Amalfi” — Disney’s emptiest rides. Kura Sushi’s surge. She-cession’s finale.

Episode Date: July 12, 2023

“Disney World Hasn’t Felt This Empty in Years” — That’s the headline right now for Disney, because Americans are getting their passports stamped. Kura Sushi is the Japanese-American stock sensation of 2023 — Because the #1 craving of investors this year is restaurant stocks. And the She-cession is officially over — After a Pandemic drop, the percentage of the women in the American workforce just hit an all-time high.$KRUS $DIS $SPYWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: ⁠www.tboypod.com⁠ Follow The Best One Yet on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, and ⁠Tiktok⁠: @tboypodAnd now watch us on ⁠Youtube⁠ ______________________________ 0:00 - Intro 1:01 - McDonalds Wedding 3:02 - Disney World is Empty 6:58 - Kura Sushi 13:24 - She-Cession 16:53 - Takeaways 18:20 - Best Fact yet 19:46 - ShoutoutsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Cevice Wednesday, July 12th, and today's pod is the best one yet. It is a T-Boy, Jack. We actually have a story later in the show that mentions Cevice, don't we? I mean, Jack, Cevice in the morning, Cevice in the evening, Cevice at supper time. Says nobody. Sevice Cirque with salsa, you can have Cevice any time.

Let the record show Nick speaking for himself. Sushi is like a glorified Cevice. Jack, first story. What have we got on the show? Disney World hasn't felt this empty in Yon. Because Americans are doing less Epcot, more a malfe. For our second story, Kurosushi has already dominated Japan. Now it's conquering the U.S.

Because the number one thing investors crave right now is a restaurant stock. And our third and final story. During the pandemic, we had a she session. A she session. An economic recession for women. But Yetis, we just got the numbers. And the she session is officially finished. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

A lovely mix of stories, Jack. It's wedding season, kid. Oh, you sandbag and son of a gun. And the newest wedding trend is not what you think it is. No, no, no, no, no, no. Yeties, it is not bridesmaidsmates and it is not budineers. The newest wedding trend is not mismatched dresses or statement flowers either. Yeties, the newest wedding trend is fast food.

The newest wedding trend is the cheapest wedding trend. Get this, besties. McDonald's just launched a wedding package over in Indonesia. $200 will feed the entire guest list. Yes, we'll take three. For $200, you get 1004-piece chicken McNuggets and 100 chicken burgers. Okay, because just like a wedding cake, a Big Mac, it has layers. And nuggets are the new canapes.

Did you say wedding cake? Because we thought you said McFlurry shake. Now, you don't have to be a bride on the budget to enjoy this meal. No, you don't because Jack and I will take a French fry over an hors d'oe of the week. Yes, we will. And can the maid of honor get a McRibb? Drop the bouquet, grab a McMuffin. And Ronald McDonald's not the only one, catering your plus one.

Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style, and what did we notice, Jack? Taco Bell will cater your wedding here in the United States. Shake Shack has a food truck specifically for weddings. Denys will literally host a wedding at Denny's. Yeties, what Jack and I are trying to say here is, do you take this quarter-pounder to have and to hold? For richer or for saucier? To love and to chew.

Till bad breath, do us part. Who invited Grimmis? Jack, let's hit our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural T-Precurcent. That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go.

We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. For our first story, according to the Wall Street Journal, Disney World is emptier than ever. We got to ask, why has Disney turned into Never? as in people are never going there. I didn't know where you're going down, but I like it.

Yeties, the Wall Street Journal led with an aggressive headline this week. Wasn't that intense, Jack? Here it is. Disney World hasn't felt this empty in years. And to back up that bold claim, the Wall Street Journal provided quotes from recent visitors. One recent visitor said, I couldn't believe how light the crowds were last week. And then to back all that up, the Wall Street Journal also provided some data. The average wait time for a popular roller coaster over the 4th of July weekend was only 27 minutes.

Okay, Jack, can we sprinkle on some context here? What is the typical wait time at Disney World? That's about half as long as the typical wait for the rock and roller coaster. I mean, Jack, pause the pod. Let's go hit Space Mountain, my friend. I know. Yeah. Elsa's M.I.A. apparently.

I was too afraid to do Space Mountain when I was 12. I don't blame you. It's a scary thing. I did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That was peak acceleration for me. The scariest ride we all know is it's a small world after all with those little just creatures coming at you, man. Who is that little Norwegian dude? That's not a doll.

That's a troll. Yeties, we got to ask, why are there fewer people at Disney World right now? What is going on? Is Pinocchio giving the people splinters? Are they running out of those giant turkey legs? Winnie the Pooh have an accident. What is happening over at Disney World? Well, analysts have a few reasons for why Disney's theme parks are suffering right now.

First, maybe the conservative attacks on wokeness are actually harming Disney attendance. The governor of Disney's home state has signed multiple bills to punish Disney. Okay, so maybe it's the politics. Or maybe Disney just raised prices too high. People are finally saying no, Disney is facing fan fatigue. We looked it up. Five years ago, the most expensive one-day ticket to Disney World was $129. And Jack, what is the most expensive one-day ticket to Disney World today? $189.

which is almost 50% higher in just five years. Sit down, stand up and sit back down in your wallet again. Jack and I were looking at the numbers. We're thinking maybe it's something more magical for why Disney World is so empty. I wouldn't say magical. Can we roll with magical? Well, it feels like a tinkerbell situation.

When you hear this takeaway, you're not going to think this is magical. That's a good point, Jack. So Yeties, Jack and I, we jumped in T-boy style. We noticed that the attendance at Universal Studios, a rival to Disney World, is also down recently. So it's not just a Disney thing. which means we need a takeaway. So mirror, mirror on the wall, what is the Disney takeaway of all?

Oh, that's the magical part. That's what we were thinking. Yeti's summer 20203 is when America got its passport back. A funny thing, Jack and I also noticed. There was another article in the Financial Times similar to this empty Disney World theme. Cape Cod is kind of empty right now, too. There's a big jump in rental and hotel vacancies compared to previous summers. And it's not just Florida and it's not just Cape Cod.

The national parks have also seen a drop in attendance from their peak. Is it a coincidence that all these popular U.S. vacation destinations are struggling this summer? Well, Jack and I think, probably not. We do know that Americans are still traveling a lot this summer. Yes, we do. But we think they've pivoted to traveling abroad. And Jack and I are seeing this in the data. Delta Airlines announced last quarter,

they're enjoying record revenues for international flights this summer. Jack and I are noticing it in our Instagram. feeds. Everybody is not hitting up Epcot this summer. They're hitting up the Amalfi Coast. Our buddy Timmy is like literally in Capri right now. This year is the year that the world opened up. So people are spending more on travel. But they're going to Mekanos, not the magic kingdom. Because summer 2023 is when America got its passport back. For our second story, Kura sushi. They've seen their sushi stock double this year. Yeties, this sushi stock is at an all-time high. Kura sushi. is a Japanese company that perfected robo sushi in Japan.

And now it's here in the U.S. Jack, I will never forget handing you your first hand roll over there. You did in New York City. Takamaki, no maki. It was great. Well, I'm 35 now, and I still, I thought sashimi was saviche and vice versa. I screwed the whole thing out. This was an issue recently on the podcast.

Jack thought I'd been talking about sushi the whole time. Don't even get him started on the nigeri. I thought Seviche Wednesday was sashimi Wednesday. Yeah, he was thinking Tekamaki, not foodamaki. It was a long story. Either way, it's still not happening. No maki for Jackie. In the meantime, we got to talk about a top performing stock this year, Jack. It's the billion dollar sushi chain that has 47 restaurants here in the United States, and it's grown fast. Kura sushi. It's a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese chain.

They're doing everything from like your classic California roll to your Yuzu Tuna. But yet is Japan has a lot of innovation. But this one is better than the bullet train. This is the biggest innovation since Yamazaki. What did they create, Jack? We're talking, of course, about the sushi donut. Kura sushi invented something called the sushi donut. Jack, you sprinkle in more context? It's an infinite loop of sushi, which alternates between salmon and shrimp atop rice.

You begin on one side, and you never really end eating that sushi. And the stock of this publicly traded company just jumped 11% on some great earnings. In fact, Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style. We noticed that Kura sushi stock. has doubled this year. In fact, Kurosushi's stock is at an all-time high. If you didn't get the Ponzo party boat, is it even a party? But Yetis, here's what Jack and I find fascinating about Kora sushi. Kora has pulled off something that no other business has.

Kora cut costs and made the experience more fun for customers. Yadis, what we're saying here is that Kora figured out how to create a more premium experience that also happens to cost Kora less money. Because Kura is a robot-run restaurant. Kora happened to pioneer the revolving sushi bar. If you see a nice sashimi or you need that nigeri, you can grab it off a conveyor belt that passes by each table in the restaurant. So Kora doesn't need waiters.

If you're done with your sake and want a refill, a rolling robot is going to deliver your drink for you. So Kora doesn't need busboys. Oh, and in the back, the rice cooking has been automated too. So sushi chefs can finally focus on the fish. This is all different than like your Benihana, which has to train the chefs and then pay them like shrimp flipping celebrities that they are. Corasushi, they've got the same entertainment value proposition as Benihana,

but they're doing it with a fraction of the staff. They've also got a lot of signs written in Japanese, so you actually feel like you're kind of in Japan, which is kind of a thrill. Am I in Tokyo? No, I'm on a strip mall in the middle of Florida. Now, they invested in all this expensive machinery and robots, but in the long run, that's the, cheaper option than the human labor. Jack and I are seeing that profit puppy in the numbers. Kura achieved a 23% profit margin last quarter, which is nearly double the 14% profit margin of

sweet cream. At Chipotle, the guac is extra. At Kura, the edamami is extra. And the profit is too. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Kura sushi? The number one industry investors are craving right now is restaurants. Yeties, the biggest IPO of 2023, it's Kava, the fast casual falafel chain. Their stock has doubled since their IPO. We also have Panera bread and Johnny Rocket, who also planned to IPO this year. Oh, you want more numbers?

The Olive Garden, their stock is up 50% in the last year. Outback Steakhouse is up 60% in the past year. And Kora sushi is up 100% in the last year. There's actually a restaurant-specific ETF that tracks a whole bunch of restaurant stocks. Yeah, ticker symbol eats EATZ. And it's performing twice as well

as the rest of the stock market. Yeties, you're going. out more and restaurants, they're charging more. That's why the number one stock investors are craving right now. Restaurants. You took the words out of my mouth. You did it better. I don't know why I'm saying it like that. No, I just like what you did. For our third and final story, the number of women in the U.S. workforce just hit its highest point ever. And that means that the she session is thankfully over. The she session. The she session is an incredible. hard word to say. I keep saying she's sheshen. I just keep saying she's session. It's a term coined to describe the

extra economic hit to women during the pandemic. Because Yadis, the reality is, for a few reasons, women suffered more economically than men during the pandemic. The first reason is that the service sector completely collapsed, like hotels and restaurants. And that hurt women workers more. The second reason is that schools went remote and child care facilities often shut down. That hurt women workers more. Because the reality is that women disparate women displeased. proportionately carried the child care responsibility in America. So a lot of families had to make the hard decisions that meant more women took on the burden of helping out the kids at home than men did.

More women left their job to take care of the kids than men. Add it all up and that was the she session. But there was one number in the June jobs report that came out last week that shows the she session is over. Bessie's Jack and I were looking at the jobs report. We're like, hey, there's one number no one's really talking about here. That's actually like kind of a big deal number. And that number is the percent of prime working age women, ages 25 to 54, who are working or looking for work.

That percentage hit a record high last month. All right, Yeti's Jack and I will sprinkle on more context here. Before the pandemic, the percentage of working age women, that age was 77%. But one month into the pandemic, the percent of women working dropped from 77 percent to 73 percent. Now, we know what you're thinking. It's 77 percent to 73 percent. It's just like a small dip. It's not a big deal.

It must not be. But it's not small. Those four percentage points is actually a huge number. It is huge because those four percentage points translate to two million women who had to stop working during the pandemic. But three years later, that deficit of two million women in the workforce, it's gone. Jack, we talk about the numbers that we just got last month. Last month, the percentage of women aged 25 to 54 in the workforce hit a record high in America of 78. Okay, so, Yeties, in the last three years, we've gone from 77% participation, down to 73% participation, and up to 78% participation.

From she session to she surge. Oh, you stuck the landing. You want to throw in a she-sell seashells, by the way? I can't. But what's changed? What's caused the she-surge? It's a return to normal. It's the return to normal. Kids are at school or daycare. The service sector is booming. Americans are traveling more, and that is what's ended the she-session. All of those return to normal factors are good for women in the workforce. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the workforce? After a three-year pause, the gender gap in the workforce will continue closing. For decades, the gap in workforce participation and the gap in income

between men and women, it's been closing. But the pandemic stopped that. 70 years of progress was erased in seven months. Literally, 70 years of progress gone in seven months. But the news we just reported is that that lost progress has been recouped. Yeah, after three, years, we're back to highs. We're back to record highs. Now, does that mean that the gender gap in the workforce is closed? No, it does not. It does not mean that the gap is closed. But the end of the she session is progress. And now 70 years of gains, hopefully continues. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for Sashimi Wednesday? Disney World theme parks are struggling with low attendance this summer. Because 2023 is the year America got its passport back. For our second story,

Kurosushi is the top performing stock in the restaurant sector this year. Because they think figured out how to minimize costs and maximize fun. And our third and final story is the she session. It took four million women out of the workforce, but the she session is over. Because women's workforce participation just hit a record high. Well, Yeties, here's a couple more stories, not in the pod, but we think you need to know today. First, Microsoft is one step closer to buy an Activision Blizzard, the video game company after a judge ruled in their favor. The Biden administration's trying to block big tech mergers, but we got checks and bounces. Then AMC is launching double feature movie tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day.

And they sold 20,000 tickets after making that announcement. And finally, remember when we said temperatures hit record highs across the world over the last week? Well, that's not the only climate issue right now. Major flooding is happening across New England after insane amounts of rain hit Vermont in particular. Everyone in the Green Mountains, Jack, your whole extended family, everyone just stay safe out there awful to see the footage. By the way, Eddie's, I'm in Vermont. My family's doing fine. None of us live near water.

But my heart goes out to everyone who's affected by this. Now, time for the best fact yet. And this one sent in by Joe Dennis from lovely Athens, Georgia. And Jack, I think you're going to like this one. Push and play. Here we go. The sport dates back to 1874 when Rhode Island inventor Samuel W. Francis filed for a patent for a combined spoon, fork, and knife. It wasn't until 1909 when the term spork became formalized in the century dictionary.

A patent for a plastic spork was issued in 1970. Today, hundreds of millions of sporks are used every year. Most notably, at fast food restaurants like Taco Bell and KFC and school cafeterias across the country. The spork, 50% spoon, 50% fork, 100% genius. I mean, I can't believe we said the sushi donut. was like the brilliant innovation. This is the brilliant innovation, Jim. Well, did you hear you said the first patent included a knife, too?

In the handle, I assume? That's going to cut your hand. At this point, it's just a Swiss Army knife. I still don't know why he's calling it Spark. If it's not of the McDonald's wedding happy meal, then we're not buying it. It's pronounced spoon. Trademark that, Ronald. Yeties, you look fantastic today.

And if you want to help grow the show, you can drop down and give us five stars on Apple or Spotify. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, congratulations to Yeti and Chef Vanessa Willis down in Dallas, who's launching the first restaurant menu totally created by AI across 42 restaurants. And congratulations to Zach Richardson, who's celebrating 12 years of firefighting fires down in San Diego. Thank you, Zach. And Tony DeRosa just quit his job to open an improv comedy theater over in Michigan. And congratulations to Chris and Diane McKinley, celebrating 15 years together in Galton, Tennessee. And Katie and Logan Caldwell, enjoy that anniversary and the new Baby Daisy also in Nashville, Tennessee.

And happy Michelada Day to Casey and Momo, makers of the best micheladas you'll ever taste. And Jack, we got a 30th birthday for Max DeLong, who's celebrated with a very nice bachelor's golf trip in Colorado. Happy birthday to Tasha Moody Love. Her first birthday since retiring from the U.S. Army. And Jessica the Coondock Cooney, happy 26th birthday in South Windsor, Connecticut. And to anyone else, celebrating something today, make it a T-Boer. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.

I own stock of Disney, and Nick and I both own stock of Chipotle. And I own shares of Shake Jack.