Paramount CEO spotted in surprising location as he preps antitrust battle with California over Warner Bros. deal

Announcer: “Hey David Ellison, now that Rob Bonta‘s challenging your $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, what are you going to do next?”
David Ellison: “I’m going to Disneyland!”
Amidst the backdrop of Paramount’s high-stakes $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been dramatically paused by a federal judge, the studio’s billionaire boss is skipping any summer yachts to stay put in LA, we hear — and was even seen at Disneyland over the weekend.
While Jennifer Lopez was spotted yesterday in Venice reenacting Madonna‘s “Like A Virgin” video in a gondola, and Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are on a yacht in Mallorca and Katy Perry while Justin Trudeau live it up in the South of France, billionaire Paramount boss Ellison has been in Los Angeles awaiting a big week in his studio’s proposed deal for Warner Bros.
Multiple spies saw the Paramount Skydance CEO grabbing breakfast at the swanky Grand Californian Hotel’s Storytellers Cafe over the weekend. We hear that the characters of Mickey, Minnie and Pluto, plus Chip ‘n’ Dale, mingled with diners The popular buffet brunch spot runs $62 per adult.
Paramount on Friday outlined its preference for a trial start date, and is waiting for a judge to decide in the high-stakes antitrust lawsuit brought against the studio by a dozen state AGs and the WGA.
The studio wants the trial to start in November while prosecutors want to wait till April.
The trial dates could make a huge difference in the case’s final tab: After Sept. 30, Paramount is on the hook for $650 million for each quarter that the transaction doesn’t close — that rings up to about $7 million per day. (And they say Disneyland is expensive!) Paramount added “ticking fees” into its winning bid for Warners, ironically as a show of confidence that its deal wouldn’t face the regulatory hurdles that it is now trying to clear.
A spy told Page Six Hollywood, “Ellison is getting ready for a big week” in town. “David is camping out here” with his team, said a source, while everyone else kvetches about the heatwave.
No word if Ellison tried out any rides at Disney — or if this legal roller-coaster is enough.
Paramount did not comment.