Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Yes, Spirit of 74, duckling, Mr. Lutz told us he was aware that Disney executives have been reading his web-footed site for years. He said he was familiar with various email addresses and such and who it was that was behind them. The whole idea was quite facinating to him. ORWEN: And why would any executive bother to waste their time reading what Mr. Lutz had to say if his reports were considered 'useless' or 'untrue'. ORGOCH: Walt Dizzy Whirl needs an Al Lutz even more 'n Dizzyland does. Any volunteers???? ORDDU: Apply in person. Padded expense accounts not necessary!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<And why would any executive bother to waste their time reading what Mr. Lutz had to say if his reports were considered 'useless' or 'untrue'.>> Why would anyone waste their time listening to Rush Limbaugh?? Who knows, but millions do.
Originally Posted By Park Hopper Hey, Spirit, you seem to have the inclination, the contacts and, if I may say so, the long-windedness to be the WDW version of Al Lutz. Why don’t you do the job?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Except that, Roadtrip duckling, it's even more significant that a Disney executive would care about what Mr. Lutz has to say than it is for your typical Disney fans or-- ORGOCH: --than a person listenin' ta Rush Lamebrain just 'cause they don't mind bein' brain washed. ORDDU: In any case, spirit of 74 already answered that particular question in his own post. So, trying to compare Mr. Lutz to Mr. Limbaugh is quite a stretch. ORWEN: I'll say! I mean, Mr. Lutz NEVER used Oxicontin or whatever that illegal potion was!!!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Hey, Spirit, you seem to have the inclination, the contacts and, if I may say so, the long-windedness to be the WDW version of Al Lutz. Why don’t you do the job?<< Excuse me... but what have I been doing here for the past few years??? Where is my glory as WDW's most vocal critic??? Sheesh!!!
Originally Posted By u k fan What the heck, here goes, I may as well have my 2 cents. It's late and I'm feeling devil may care. First I'd like to say that I have at best read about half a dozen of Al's articles and I'm not a frequent visitor to his site. I have learnt over time from every Disney web site under the sun including this one that anything written about Disney (even by themselves) should be taken with a pinch of salt until it's either actually happened or I've seen it for myself. I have read the article that this thread is referring to and I do not feel it to be very balanced, skimming over the good and focussing on the negative aspects. As someone who doesn't read all of Al's articles I can't say if that's his usual style so I'm not commenting on him in particular, but if a writer is consistently not balanced in his writing then it starts to look like an agenda and thus damages the integrity of what's written. For example, for my first trip to WDW 7 years ago I bought almost every guidebook on the market, easily a dozen. There was one guide called Orlando Like a Pro written by Rick someone-or-other (the front cover has him and his family on ET) and in his write up of Universe of Energy at Epcot there was no mention of Ellen Degeneres featuring in the attraction. He mentioned Bill Nye, Jamie Lee Curtis and even Einstein, but no Ellen. Given that the attraction is dubbed "Ellen's Energy Adventure" that seems like a pretty big exclusion and starts to make me feel like the writer may have left her out because he is anti-gay. This makes me question what else he has left out because of his political views and consequently while I still own the book I don't trust any of the information in it. If the content of Al's articles consistently dwells on the negative, instead of being balanced by offering equal space to the positives that he acknowledges exist then I can see how people might start to discredit what he writes!!!
Originally Posted By Park Hopper I'm sorry, TDLFAN but I always think of you as TDR's most vocal advocate. But if you want to start writing a column on the failings of WDW including the guilty exec's names and details of their dastardly deeds then by all means, take on the mantle of Florida’s Al Lutz. The Disney on-line community will thank you for it. Well… most of them will.
Originally Posted By Disneybrad The Book Orlando Like a pro is very well know for it's Anti-Disney Bias. So it is not surprising that the parts of it about Disney are inaccurate. Quotes from Amazons Reviews: "Big Mistake. I learned nothing from this book. It's basicly the details of how much the author's family prefers Universal to Disney. You should purchase this book if you are interested in what the author's kids favorite meals are, otherwise stay away." "This book is all about why you should visit Universal Studios and how other parks compare to Univeral Studios. It is filled with totally lame jokes. Rick Namey obviously thinks he is a comedian. He is NOT." From the intro of Book Itself: "Author Rick Namey, an Orlandoan since 1958, has dedicated himself to spending as much time and as little money as possible in his hometown's theme parks and attractions, and has become one of the world' s leading authorities on his area. Now he shares his secrets for saving time and money -- like why you should NOT buy multiday Disney passports and why the world's BEST theme park is not on Disney property."
Originally Posted By kennect TDL, You probably could become the Al of the eastcoast but it would take some work on your part....Your own webpage with endless blog entries as to how everything is wrong with a few good things thrown in...Go for it...
Originally Posted By oc_dean Wow! Lots of mudslinging around here. Anybody going to deny there ARE problems at WDW that DO need to be addressed?
Originally Posted By Park Hopper I don't even think you'd have to create your own web site. If you go to Mice Age and tell them what you want to do, I'll bet they'd be happy to host your blog.
Originally Posted By kennect Park, Why would you want to stay in Al's shadow when you could create your own thing? I wouldn't wanted to be associated with him under any circumstances...Plus Al has Kevin Yee doing the eastcoast thing already...TDL, could do it on his own much more effectively in my book...
Originally Posted By Park Hopper Kevin Yee has absolutely no credibility in my eyes. Because of the ridiculous things he was writing, I stopped reading him years ago. But who knows. Maybe he’s changed. Is he now writing AL Lutz style exposes naming names and taking no prisoners? If so then why are people on this board longing for an East coast Al Lutz. I’m guessing that Kevin Yee isn’t filling the bill. After all, Al did feel it necessary to do a WDW article himself…
Originally Posted By oc_dean I finally got around to reading Al's WDW update. And while I praise and thank Mr. Lutz for all his updates throughout time ... and whatever good that comes out of them ....... In Inspector57's defense ... I wouldn't mind seeing a brand new blogger take Al Lutz on. And go ahead and present the truth. Explain the negative situations that are real, just like Al does ... but present it in a style where more people will take it more seriously. Has he seen "Wicked", and "Mommie Dearest" one too many times? Sorry. That last spread about WDW was just a bit much on the "style". :/
Originally Posted By danyoung >Anybody going to deny there ARE problems at WDW that DO need to be addressed?< Where's Lewis Goofy when you need him?
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I don't think anyone would deny that there are problems at WDW. However, the biggest problem of all is that the parks and resorts there are too expensive to operate as a business. If you stripped out the DVC time share sales and real estate transactions at Celebration that Disney has used to pad the bottom line for the past 10 years, you would find that Disney parks aren't all that profitable. On a park by park basis, most of them lose more money than they generate. Al Lutz likes to play a good vs. evil card with Disney executives, but never acknowledges that there are alternatives to some of the choices being made on the business front. No one wants to see budget-conscious decsions being made over decisions that are creatively driven. However, no one would pay $100 a day for admission to Disney parks either -- which is about what it would cost a guest if Disney actually had to cover their operating expenses with admission fees. You only have to look around at other park operators to know how difficult it is to run these sorts of businesses. Universal Studios hemorrages a lot of money for NBC Universal. General Electric is very interested in selling the Universal parks, but there aren't too many buyers interested in owning a money-losing business. Six Flags is on the ropes and doesn't have enough free cash flow to pay its debts or invest in its parks. Cedar Fair hangs on by the skin of its teeth, but doesn't generate any massive windfall. Is there a balanace between business and creative decisions? Absolutely! But there should also be some balance in reporting about these situation that exposes reality instead of always spinning the Fantasyland version where its heroic Mickey Mouse fighting off the evil businessman giant of the beanstalk. If only life were that simple . . . By the way, the Haunted Mansion in Florida does look horrible. I agree 100%. It needs immediate attention and has been in bad shape for over a decade. It would be nice to see this attraction refreshed and brought back to life -- well as much back to life as you can for a house full of ghosts. ;-)
Originally Posted By RoadTrip << If you stripped out the DVC time share sales and real estate transactions at Celebration that Disney has used to pad the bottom line for the past 10 years, you would find that Disney parks aren't all that profitable. On a park by park basis, most of them lose more money than they generate.>> Thank you. Many on these boards say that the reason WDW parks are suffering is because of the money spent on building DVC units. The truth of the matter, as you have indicated, is that the profits from DVC have subsidized the WDW parks and provided a greater level of maintenance an d service than would otherwise be possible. Of course that would seem reasonable to any thinking person given the amount of construction that has gone on. If DVC were a cash or profit drain Disney would NOT be looking to create more of them. In fact it is the existence of DVC that keeps the Magic Kingdom afloat. If some of our intrepid reporters like the Spirit and TDLFAN do not understand this basic concept, how can they possibly be qualified to comment on any other aspect of the Disney operation? Long story short... they can't.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<If some of our intrepid reporters like the Spirit and TDLFAN do not understand this basic concept, how can they possibly be qualified to comment on any other aspect of the Disney operation? Long story short... they can't.>> Just joking (well, kind of) guys. You know I love ya. But PLEASE, get over this DVC is the source of all that is wrong with WDW thing and face reality.
Originally Posted By leemac <<By the way, the Haunted Mansion in Florida does look horrible. I agree 100%. It needs immediate attention and has been in bad shape for over a decade. It would be nice to see this attraction refreshed and brought back to life -- well as much back to life as you can for a house full of ghosts. ;-)>> mrichmondj just wait until next fall. The MK's Haunted Mansion has some pretty cool new tricks being prepared by WDI for the show. It is about to get a new identity. Watch this space...
