Originally Posted By HMButler79 Now that MAGICAL site, you know the Disney version of that Roger Ailes channel, has picked it and up said administrator (who is probably on Meg's speedial), is vehemently denying it. Others saying it's "intresting" and that there HAVE been internal discussions. Now we will never hear the end of this if they got a hold of it!
Originally Posted By Pentacat So was Al Weiss a casualty of this or of some rumored personal issue? As as near 40 year veteran of the parks he probably sees this as tantamount to burning the place to the ground.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^^^ I think it's a bit of that, and the fact that he was filling a unneeded position. If this goes through, and Staggs is at the forefront, I think it's very telling that he WAS a casualty of this. As of now.. too early to tell.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 And it was confirmed by WHO that the Board was at WDW??? Pray tell?? ALOT of Concierge CMs are company apologists and will argue to the death to defend it. So we need more deatils..... ---- exactly Butler- this is a whole lot about nothing at this point IMHO. Is something being discussed- obviously...is it at the radical far end of the possibility spectrum- truth is no one here has any idea
Originally Posted By sjhym333 Al Weiss was a casualty of being a 40 year veteran who was making a large pay check and no longer had the support of the upper mgmt team. As in every business people rise and fall because the people above them either support them or not. Al, who was a nice guy, had risen as far as he could in the company and the new guy in charge isnt supporting him and is also about ready to leave his mark on the parks division.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost My question would be...after 40 years of service, presumably making the company money, how could any one be that far above him? Did the young whippersnappers sneak into the top spots ahead of him. Line cutting, so to speak?
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ Honestly, it really seems that Staggs is exercising his power more and more these days. And when it comes to the thread at hand, that's worrying, too.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 When you're that high up there are fewer people above you. Great if you are in favor. Really bad if your not.
Originally Posted By TTARider Ah, that MAGICAL website... thats the place where you get banned for having an opinion!
Originally Posted By TTARider Or, should I say.. an opinion that doesn't jive with the admin, or his peanut gallery of pet-users.
Originally Posted By Expo_Seeker40 I'm tickled by how the Disney fan community is caving in on itself on various sites re: this topic. Sweatshirt moms vs newb photo dads, vs know-it-all fanbois vs visit-once-a=year fanbois. I've seen things across the internet range from topics re: the entire destruction of Disney parks to it become Muslimified to Bob Iger at a stand with an auction mallet and yelling prices. Beyond the shenanigans, take a moment to realize they are considering selling it off....not that they are, not that it's been bought, but that something that was near and dear to the company has been considered to be sold off so the company can dump their money into interactive advertising, full immersion media, etc.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Beyond the shenanigans, take a moment to realize they are considering selling it off....not that they are, not that it's been bought, but that something that was near and dear to the company has been considered to be sold off so the company can dump their money into interactive advertising, full immersion media, etc.<<<< Exactly. Just the consideration shows that they have no respect for legacy, history, and their founder. To them, just another cash grab, a profit. Not surprising in principle, this is Iger, after all. but on this scope? Terrifying. Fanbois who laugh this off, opinions on if you believe this is happening or not, aside, as the PRINCIPLE is mainly what they laugh off, honestly loose a bit of credibility with me. How can people NOT see that Iger and Co. have no cogent idea on how to conduct themselves? This is visible proof! Again, not if you believe if this is happening in the here and now, but the possibility, and the reaction to it.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I believe the possibility of ANYTHING in corporate America can happen having been a part of a large management team for 34 years..I have seen an awful lot over that time span.... However I just hope they realize the swift and massive negativity this concept would be handed. If they don't believe for a minute that a certain % of their base is emotional based and in many cases ( not to offend anyone or make light of any other groups contributions)- Boomer based- emotionally and stock ownership wise.. they are sadly mistaken. Do I believe they might be looking at a spin off corporation to separate incomes/ profits etc.. yes. Do I like it - No. Even though they may say it's only paper, it represents more than that. Many times in the corporate world the parts are equal to more than the sum- especially stock price wise. It also can weed out the issues without the parent company taking a hit also... but many times this does not work either and the landscape is riddled with failures in this regard as well. A part of me wants to deny this would be considered, but another part of me knows some of these bastards would sell grandma's right leg if they thought there was profit in it.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>A part of me wants to deny this would be considered, but another part of me knows some of these bastards would sell grandma's right leg if they thought there was profit in it.<<< I think that's exactly what's happening here. If it's happening.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<However I just hope they realize the swift and massive negativity this concept would be handed. If they don't believe for a minute that a certain % of their base is emotional based and in many cases ( not to offend anyone or make light of any other groups contributions)- Boomer based- emotionally and stock ownership wise.. they are sadly mistaken.>> No, they're not mistaken. That's why they're considering it. You're giving the American public way too much credit here. The vast majority of Disney theme park visitors are NOT hard core fans who care about Walt's Legacy™ as much as we do. They only care that the parks are somewhat clean, somewhat operational, and mostly filled with attractions that they themselves enjoyed in their youth, that they can now enjoy with their kids. Beyond that, the American public doesn't give a ratatouille behind who owns them or who operates them. Like it or not, this is precisely why we got stuck with the crappy Winnie the Pooh C-Tickets in MK and DL, and not the fabulous E-Ticket in Tokyo. Americans have been quietly accepting the Walmarting of their society, and the multinational conglomerates like Disney are fully well aware of that fact. This is why they're considering the sell off of the parks. Burbank knows in the end, the public will keep coming back, again and again, no matter which company actually holds them.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I'm afraid I agree, however, if a noticeable change occurs in a downward fashion, it will be noticed. We aren't all that dumb. Disney is a destination because it is unique both in types of attractions and quality. If they grew up with Disney, they are routed somewhere in that image. They may not care about who owns it but they do care that it remains identifiably Disney. In fact, I don't even care. Just keep giving me what I am looking for and I will return. As much as I admired Walt Disney, and I did, he is dead and has been for almost 40 years. I no longer give him credit or blame for whatever happens in the Disney Company. The Walmarting idea is both incorrect and overplayed. I know for a fact because I have done it myself, that Disney type clothing is much better quality at Walmart then at Disney itself and the price? Well, I am not one that feels some sense of fulfillment because I paid more for less. Brand has it's limits.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Sorry, he has been dead for over 40 years. That's what I get for trying to type faster than I think.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Do you know? I wonder if I am now at the point if I even cared if the parks closed altogether. They haven't been what they were for so long, and that is such a disappointment.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<They may not care about who owns it but they do care that it remains identifiably Disney.>> Which is just like the Tokyo resort. Disney doesn't own it, but it's often "more Disney" than its American counterparts in Orlando and Anaheim. Most Disney theme park visitors have been accepting of the decline in quality -- what is commonly referred to as "Walmarting" on Disney discussion boards -- over the past decade or two. The fans keep going back, even though the cost has outpaced inflation while the quality has not remained the same or improved. If Disney sold the parks to another company like OLC, most visitors wouldn't even know nor care. As Dave pointed out, the quality has been in decline for a very long time, so it really doesn't matter anymore who owns them. I totally expect the continuation of the Walmarting and the regular increases in gate admission, food, merchandise, and hotel rates. And that is something I do care about. Honestly, if Disney did sell the domestic parks to OLC, I'd be tickled pick. There's a strong chance that OLC could do a vastly better job than Disney has done, and they certainly couldn't do any worse. I say, let them have a shot at it. I'm done with Disney's way of doing things.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Spirit, word on the street is this was just a routine BoD meeting.>> <<Oy Spirit! You can't just drop a bomb and then disappear into other spirited realms. From Twitter: *Just a routine BoD Meeting *Prince there to discuss DLP *Prince there to discuss the Four Seasons problem>> I don't pay much attention to word on the street when that street is Fanboi Lane at the corner of Twitter Avenue. I pay attention to my own sources, knowledge/perspective and ... what I like to call good old-fashioned common sense. I also read FOR COMPREHENSION ... something I'm reasonably certain that most people in the world do not do. I was going to take a shot at just my vocal online 'fans', but this isn't something just confined to the Disney online community. So, why don't you all harness up now and I'm going to take y'all on a Spirited Wild Africa Meets Crazy Online Fanbois and Webmasters Trek through the jungle, both real and imagined. First, it wasn't a routine BoD meeting. We can go back and forth on this, but it really doesn't matter. Disney can call it 'routine' (although they aren't acknowledging it at all) or any person who places info online can. It doesn't make it so. Second, the Prince is a VERY rich, VERY private, VERY important dude. He has people who have people who still have people that deal with the minutiae such as the day-to-day finances of DLP. He does not need to be in Orlando in late June with the entire Disney BoD to deal with this. Again, fanbois, not how Disney (or any venture at this level) is run. Third, see the above. The Four Seasons at WDW simply is not something very pressing on his radar. Now, back to that trek into the wilds of Africa. A certain MAGICal webmaster, who has done his best to attack my credibility while showing his own lack thereof, posted the following yesterday << I understand that the board were brought in by Iger and Staggs to take a look at some of the new additions at WDW and where they may be expanded. For example, the entire board did the Wild Africa Trek. They do have these get togethers out in the field every now and then.>> Recall that I started my thread about 36 hours before Iger and the BoD and the Prince arrived in O-Town. This thread was started to discuss something that I had heard chatter about off and on for months (and talk as far back as 2007 from major VC types on Wall Street, not the typical posts on a Disney fansite type). Follow the timeline now, it was then that said MAGICal webmaster apparently broke the huge news that Bob Iger was spotted at DAK with Michael Colglazier out in the park. No details were ever given. No pictures. No further elaboration. And no one really questioned him because when you do that on that site, you tend to have a short shelf life (unlike many other websites that don't make any real money, that one does and he knows where his bread is buttered). I thought, as anyone with half a brain would, that it was a bit bizarre that Bob would suddenly be at WDW (let alone in DAK) just a month after being here for the Star Tours 2.0 unveiling (he really doesn't like the place that much) and I said so. But as the week went on the bizarre details kept coming out ... Staggs was here too. As was a certain Saudi prince. And then, the entire BoD as well (which would include the dying Steve Jobs who barely moves in public without the WSJ running a full page on his comings and goings). Oh, and Iger and Staggs were having a pizza party at Via Napoli (again, sans a SINGLE photo). Then we had tweets from a local photographer and a hip-hop promoter who met Bob, Steve and Tom. It got weirder and weirder. I thought two things at this point: 1.) Either this was total and abject BS designed to come at a time when so much online 'pressure' is coming at TWDC from multiple sources; or 2.) Disney is up to something very big and they absolutely do not want anyone to know until they have an agreement or announcement. I was leaning toward the first choice and said as much here, because I, unlike many online, don't change my story. I'm either right or wrong, or a little of both, but I stick by what I post because I do so with confidence in what I write and an ability to back it up based upon what's known at the time. Well, as time went on I finally got multiple confirmations the BoD had indeed descended upon Orlando and was working under a cloak of secrecy described by one spirit as 'unlike anything I've seen during my tenure'. That brings me back to the MAGICal quote above. Please tell me I didn't lose you, our democracy may well be at stake! (OK, it's a holiday weekend and I've been binging on pixie dust!) Now ... warning: bit of a tangent here***, but follow it because I do think it is important: we have the BoD in the heat of a late June Florida afternoon (or possibly morning) harnessing up with gear and going off treking into the jungles of Harambe (I'm gonna guess Jobs stayed in the safari truck hooked up to whatever machines keep him going!) ... with no pics taken by anyone. At this point, I'll tell you that if a CM at $9 an hour (on the high side) snapped a pic and lost their job over it, that 'Iger on safari' picture would likely sell for a year's salary to any of a number of media outlets. And even if all the CMs were honorable and didn't snap one, again ... no fanbois, bored housewife/mommy bloggers or just tourists who know who Bob is would have taken one picture of/with him?!?! I mean, as Seth Meyers would say on SNL: REALLY?!??!! Do you understand how GOLDEN a picture of Bob, Tom and the Board experiencing the wild side of DAK would be? Or just a picture of Bob, with all the criticism tossed his way of late? It would 'show' that 'he cares' ... 'he's interested' ... 'he loves WDW just like we do, not like what the evil Spirit says'. That, my friends, would be a reason to celebrate if you worked for Disney PR, Social Media and/or The Disney Parks Blog. Anyone wanna disagree with that? Anyone ...? C'mon, ...all those passive-aggressive little whiney fanbois out in the Twitterverse who are so brave when they don't have to debate you and talk in an intelligent forum filled with intelligent adults. Why don't you come over here and join the conversation? You really think you understand how TWDC is run? How WDW and Disney P&R fits in (or doesn't)? Maybe you do, maybe you don't ... but why not join in? Doobie and his mods aren't going to ban you here for intelligent discourse and/or opinions. Much easier to talk in little cliques and on forums where the agenda is very obvious and you go off on all sorts of tangents that mean nothing like (in no particular order, although maybe I should do a Letterman-like Top 10): some perceived black eye Disney would get if they sold all or a portion of P&R to a Saudi, what about Walt the dead guy?, Obama and Congress and the American people would be outraged (I like this one best because if they aren't outraged over institutional Wall Street and government corruption, lack of jobs, lack of healthcare, dumbing down education, crumbling infrastructure and being in two wars for a decade now, and you really think people would care about this ... really, I need to start my Mental Health and the Disney Fan Community thread STAT), maybe the Prince just wanted to vacation at WDW the worst time of the year when the BoD happened to be there as well, because the Prince is important Bob had to play tour guide, this is all related to the Disney Decade: The Sequel coming soon to an Anaheim Convention Center geek event near you, Bob just wanted to give everyone the chance to personally lube the yeti and/or fix one broken AA on Splash Mountain ... do I need to go on? ***OK, tangent over*** You don't have that group of people at WDW for 3-4 days minimally, hidden away so no one can so much as snap a photo (except for one dude that was apparently hired to do so), plant BS agenda on fan sites you essentially control, scare CMs to a point they absolutely do not want to say a thing until the folks are long gone and keep it from the press, when it's just routine. This was done for a reason ... or multiple reasons. What are they? Catch my next post. Don't want to wear you out on this hot and sticky holiday weekend. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't wish the USA a Happy B-Day. You may be showing your age, but some of us still love ya!
