Originally Posted By Members Only So after all the negativity on here of late, and the problems detailed within WDI, I thought we should have a positive thread. A thread to give thanks, and congratulate those Imagineers who truly do 'get it'. I just finished watching Joe Rohde's highly informative 10th anniversary lecture on the creation of DAK. It seems to me anyway, he truly is one of the people in Imagineering who still 'gets it', that still gets what a Disney park is all about. Not only did he give a highly informative speech, but you can also tell the hard work, and emotion he and his team personally put into making DAK the best it can be. I get the feeling he enjoys visiting DAK as much as the guests, which is what truly being a great Imagineer is all about, you have to love your work to have the passion to make it great, and by all accounts he is often seen wandering around DAK, or drinking at the Adventures Club (Another one of his great creations). If you have not watched the four part video, you should definitely check it out. Anyway, thanks Joe and your team if your out there somewhere, for the great experience that is DAK.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Joe is indeed an awesome imagineer and totally gets it. His work is fantastic in the main (won't question Chester and Hester's here). He keeps my faith burning, and shows that edutainment and Disney still go hand in hand. He has not only inspired and created wonderful things in Disney, but the rest of the zoological world has sat up, taken note and action. Wonderful work. And yes, he gets it!
Originally Posted By MPierce If all the imagineer's were as gifted as Joe Rohde think what all the parks would be like. His attention to detail definetly shows in the AK, and the AC. All you have to do is listen to him speak, and you can tell he has a love for Disney. I certainly hope that in the near future we will get to see more of his excellent work.
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct Add me to his fan club ... I love the insight into his thinking and creativity. He is a very stong personality indeed. He is also well funded it seems. I mean, he has BACK UP to create the visions he has for the parks. Thank you Joe. ) and his team
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 When I saw his work on Everset I thought he was amazing. Yes he goes get it.
Originally Posted By mickeyboy43 Animal Kingdom is one of those fully immersive parks. where you feel as if you are completely somewhere else. Its also highly organized similar to Magic Kingdom, and opposed to the lack of structure in DCA and DHS. Animal Kingdom really is a beastly park. its imaginative, and a truly amazing work. I am definitely in the fan club of Joe Rohde.
Originally Posted By dshyates I enjoy Joe's work, but I do think he is part of the problem Disney has with exorbitant cost and lengthy times to completion. Does he really need a six week expedition for 10 to Tibet to build a convincing roller coaster for an amusement park? I know Walt did it for "The Three Caballeros" but it was Walt's company. Joe I believe, while an extraordinary talent, is , shall we say, working the system. That, in the long run, is passed on to "me". Although I did hear that Universal's creatives are Summering in Hogsmeade to "capture the essence" of the wizarding world.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I enjoy Joe's work, but I do think he is part of the problem Disney has with exorbitant cost and lengthy times to completion. Does he really need a six week expedition for 10 to Tibet to build a convincing roller coaster for an amusement park? I know Walt did it for "The Three Caballeros" but it was Walt's company. Joe I believe, while an extraordinary talent, is , shall we say, working the system. That, in the long run, is passed on to "me".>> I strongly disagree. While WDI pads expenses and Imagineers pad expense accounts, Joe is most certainly NOT in that group. The time Joe and his team spent abroad for research is why DAK is such an amazing and immersive park environment. The time Joe spent in the shadow of Everest was well-spent ... and let's not forget the Discovery Channel special that went along with Everest's opening that was a perfect example of what synergy should be. There's a lot of waste at WDI, but trying to pin it on Joe Rohde is misplaced.
Originally Posted By mousermerf Placing it on folks who installed all those color changing LED's around SSE that are not being used is a much better way to approach the problem.
Originally Posted By mickeyboy43 "I enjoy Joe's work, but I do think he is part of the problem Disney has with exorbitant cost and lengthy times to completion. Does he really need a six week expedition for 10 to Tibet to build a convincing roller coaster for an amusement park? I know Walt did it for "The Three Caballeros" but it was Walt's company. Joe I believe, while an extraordinary talent, is , shall we say, working the system. That, in the long run, is passed on to "me". Although I did hear that Universal's creatives are Summering in Hogsmeade to "capture the essence" of the wizarding world." I agree with the seeming stupidity of the trips. Maybe a one week visit to the mountain, but not 6 weeks. As far as money spent in actual production, I say spend as much as needed to make a good experience! hmm... Hogsmeade.
Originally Posted By mickeyboy43 I do agree with Spirit, however, that blame cannot be placed on one person alone. Its like a snowball effect. When one person does it, they all do it, and with varying levels of success. The environment at DAk is very immersive now, while it was not as interesting a park when it first opened 10 years ago. I thought it was going to end up being a flop then, but I was wrong. Either way, I do like alot of the detail put into Everest, which I suppose wouldnt have been possible without a 10 person, 6 week hiatus/
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Animal Kingdom is truly an amazing park. Whatever time was spent traveling showed up in the final product. It is the type of place I believe Walt Disney would have loved. Please accept my application to the Joe Rohde fan club.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I do agree with Spirit, however, that blame cannot be placed on one person alone. >> And arguably the credit can't also be leveled at one person. Joe didn't start out with a singular vision for this park - it took the input of that initial team including Kevin Brown, Zofia Kostyrko, Chris West, Tony Marando and Patsy Tillisch to get the foundations of the park ready for approval. Then you can add in the likes of show producer Ann Malmlund, John Shields (HUGELY influential on the overall layout and landscaping of the park), Paul Comstock (horticulture), show producer Kelley Forde and Disney's Mister Rock Skip Lange who helped shape the menu for Opening Day and beyond. Joe would be the first to say that he has been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a great WDI team. A lot of it was fortune - many of the folks that joined the team in '89 and the early '90s had spent years working on Eisner's regional entertainment portfolio and corporate workplace ideas (the first real out-of-the-berm stuff to be contemplated) before it was nixed. Joe had never led a project until DAK. It just goes to show what a great leader he is. He continues to lead the park and that is the key to DAK's success - someone capable of driving forward the five year plans and with the cumulative knowledge to know where the park has come from and where it is today. There isn't another portfolio exec who has the same length of service on any given project.
Originally Posted By Members Only <<<I enjoy Joe's work, but I do think he is part of the problem Disney has with exorbitant cost and lengthy times to completion. Does he really need a six week expedition for 10 to Tibet to build a convincing roller coaster for an amusement park? I know Walt did it for "The Three Caballeros" but it was Walt's company. Joe I believe, while an extraordinary talent, is , shall we say, working the system. That, in the long run, is passed on to "me">>> I disagree also. What animation company regularly immerses its self in the essence of the film it is working on? Pixar. What animation company, by many, many miles produces, currently, the best animated films? Pixar. Capturing the essence of a time/place is vital to a creative project attempting to emulate said time/place; Pixar practices this, so does WDI, and so did Walt in his own way. The end product that is DAK, I feel more than justifies Joe’s trips. <<< And arguably the credit can't also be leveled at one person.>>> Agreed, that is why I put Joe and his team
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<And arguably the credit can't also be leveled at one person. Joe didn't start out with a singular vision for this park - it took the input of that initial team including Kevin Brown, Zofia Kostyrko, Chris West, Tony Marando and Patsy Tillisch to get the foundations of the park ready for approval. Then you can add in the likes of show producer Ann Malmlund, John Shields (HUGELY influential on the overall layout and landscaping of the park), Paul Comstock (horticulture), show producer Kelley Forde and Disney's Mister Rock Skip Lange who helped shape the menu for Opening Day and beyond.>> Great point, Lee. And I did say 'Joe and his team' above because you can't do anything, as even Walt showed, without a great team. Joe certainly had that. If you look at any of the parks that are regarded as being on another level by most, be it DAK, TDS, DLP or EPCOT, the one thing they all had in common was a great singular vision shared by an amazingly talented group of individuals. Then take the opposite ... DCA had some great individuals working on it ... dare I say one of the most talented guys at WDI today was responsible for one of the larger messes in the old parking lot ... but what DCA lacked was a clear singular vision, a great leadership ... and, yeah, funding too. But there's a reason why DAK has had a great first decade and is the only Florida park you enter nowadays and the message ... the story ... is clear.
Originally Posted By Skellington88 "Then take the opposite ... DCA had some great individuals working on it ... dare I say one of the most talented guys at WDI today was responsible for one of the larger messes in the old parking lot" Yea Tim Delaney. Carnival rides? what was he thinking.
