Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<A question directed to everyone scared of an outside company buying WDP&R, do you think Oriental Land Company would still be running a 22 year old monorails after everything that has happened the past 2 years? Do you think they would cancel monorail operations on EMH nights? Do you think Disney would let another company do what they are doing to WDW?>> Disney forces OLC to hold higher standards than it will maintain in its own parks. That's why I'd love for them to just dump them and let someone else have a go. The news I keep hearing is just very disheartening regarding Bob Iger and his desires to change the face of the company. Legacy means nothing to him. He's thinking about the parks like a manager and not an owner. That's why there's no long term vision for any parks outside of Japan. It's all about doing the very least and living off a Legacy of some amazing men and women.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>Do you think Disney would let another company do what they are doing to WDW?<< Not a chance. But remember, we did not get here overnight. This has BEEN a slippery slope. The canaries in the coal mine from 14 years ago were correct. While being written off as doom and gloomers. Death by a thousand cuts
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Has Mickey (or The Weatherman) threatened to bury you in the swamps if you talk?>> <<Nope - I just don't need to be fanning the flames. I have no idea whatsoever what is being discussed online or on all those exciting social media apps - I only know what folks are talking about in the office.>> There seem to be an ever increasing number of people who think something's up. Some that think it's basically a done deal, which I don't. ... But I did get an interesting phone call from Sun Valley after Bob showed up early with Tom and Anne, so if people are talking (or even whispering in lobbies) about it there, I think there's no way you can't take it as at least a serious possibility. <<I'm glad to be in Singapore and then NYC next week - I don't want to get embroiled in all this conjecture firsthand.>> Oh, Lee. C'mon, dude. Where's your sense of fun? And wouldn't you really REALLY rather be at WDW? Doncha know they're going to show Fantasmic seven nights a week again? ;-)
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Oh, and a lot of the talk seems to be coming from inside WDI. I can't see an upside from anyone there tossing wood on the fire because if P&R is sold off, WDI will likely be a shell of what it has been much like a UNI-Creative. So I can't see anyone getting their jollies there simply by putting this out because their blue sky project got shot down or they have nothing to do.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Due to the lack of an banter on most other boards about this topic, I doubt that there are any concrete facts to release The silence is deafening, but also telling. There are many folks out there that do not owe body and soul to Disney. I think that if there is a real story out there, it would be everywhere by now. I, of course, could be wrong, but it wouldn't be the first time. ;-) I'll just wait and see what, if anything, is forthcoming. Then I shall decide whether or not I care..>> I'll start with this and then come back ... But when Disney bought Marvel did you hear ONE WORD about them talking and negotiating for MONTHS before sealing the deal? One word? Anywhere? I'll come back to that one ... Most Disney sites with discussion boards do NOT have the freedom to post what they want. Or the amount of people with connections that LP does. I started this thread based on factual knowledge I had that went back years. I also use real world knowledge and sources when deciding what to post. I did not know there was anything serious going on now. But so much has happened over the past two weeks. Disney has been up to something ... something big ... something a whole lot bigger than giving Meg Crofton control over DLR and DLP or what Disney will be whoring to the fanbois at D23. What that is, I can't say ... I can only speculate. But, as I, and others, have stated, you won't hear any FACTS unless Disney announces a deal or someone at an incredibly high level leaks something, which could open them up to criminal charges due to SEC rules. If Disney was working on a deal and was hoping to reach a final agreement by the end of the fiscal year, you wouldn't hear a peep until then. If Disney was working on a deal and it fell through, then you'd likely never hear a thing. (which I'd add wouldn't make the fact Disney was negotiating a sale somehow not important because it would still speak to a mindset of wanting out of the business or very little exposure from the business -- those are key points!) Now, did you hear one word about Disney buying Marvel before it took place? And have you heard anyone from Disney just issue an outright denial? Sometimes, silence really can speak volumes.
Originally Posted By PirateFrank << A question directed to everyone scared of an outside company buying WDP&R, do you think Oriental Land Company would still be running a 22 year old monorails after everything that has happened the past 2 years?>> what makes you think that the powers that be will treat this deal with the same care that the OLC deal was conducted with? Iger and Co seem to care not for the well being of this legacy....why would they protect it in sale?!? Moreover, such a binding protection may be just the very thing they need to acquiesce in order to consummate a sale....until a deal is announced and there are assurances of such an agreement, I would be very worried that Iger is selling the farm without giving a hoot about whether the owner poisons the land after the fact....
Originally Posted By -em >>And wouldn't you really REALLY rather be at WDW? Doncha know they're going to show Fantasmic seven nights a week again? ;-)<< But it does have reduced pyro so not sure if its THAT much of a perk
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >>Do you think Disney would let another company do what they are doing to WDW?<< <<Not a chance. But remember, we did not get here overnight. This has BEEN a slippery slope. The canaries in the coal mine from 14 years ago were correct. While being written off as doom and gloomers. Death by a thousand cuts>> I can recall so many instances in the mid/late 90s when I first noticed things at WDW being 'off' ... everything from dirty carpeting in hotels rooms to attractions having effects not working to a move toward homogenizing things ... but in those days, fans were 99.9% behind anything/everything TWDC did. I don't know whether it was a pink castle cake ... a very underwhelming Test Track ... shorter park hours ... massive removal of trees/development or having to turn down a CBR room in late 2000 for being 'filthy ... Days Inn on I-Drive' quality ... but things just started to falter and show massive signs of decay ... now, it's 2011 and Disney has conditioned a whole generation of fans that the current condition of things like Splash Mountain and CoP and EE are just fine. And then you have the online whores who are making careers off of convincing the rubes that things have never been better (direct quote from Tom 'I wanna be Lou' Corless). They are like the FOX News of the Disney universe.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>But it does have reduced pyro so not sure if its THAT much of a perk <<< Whhaaaat?! The show is already a wreck, and they aren't running it the right way!? What's missing, Em?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<what makes you think that the powers that be will treat this deal with the same care that the OLC deal was conducted with? Iger and Co seem to care not for the well being of this legacy....why would they protect it in sale?!? Moreover, such a binding protection may be just the very thing they need to acquiesce in order to consummate a sale....until a deal is announced and there are assurances of such an agreement, I would be very worried that Iger is selling the farm without giving a hoot about whether the owner poisons the land after the fact....>> That is a very salient point. And one that has some merit. I've heard that Disney is very unlikely to be able to get anyone to adhere to OLC-type standards here. BUT ... I also firmly believe that Disney would stipulate a level of quality and/or investment that is, at the very least, greater than what it has been doing itself. In other words, if there's a sale, then I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that things are gonna be Tokyo quality. But I would jump to the conclusion that they won't be Disney quality anymore ... and that's (very sadly) a very good thing.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 They are like the FOX News of the Disney universe. --- for a minute there I thought you'd say they were like the MSNBC of Disney...whew
Originally Posted By -em >>The show is already a wreck, and they aren't running it the right way!? What's missing, Em?<< I noticed 4 different bursts missing (most noticeably the pyro during the sorcerer mickey mist screens)though they did add a "firecracker" bang right at the end but since all the torches were out on the Poca canoes I call it a wash...
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Disney forces OLC to hold higher standards than it will maintain in its own parks. That's why I'd love for them to just dump them and let someone else have a go.<< Wouldn't it funny if WDW was a roaring financial success under the new Chinese overlords? Especially if they didn't have to offer endless discounts to bring the customers in?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>for a minute there I thought you'd say they were like the MSNBC of Disney<< Is there any real difference? Both are corporate owned MSM that simply target different demographics.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >>Disney forces OLC to hold higher standards than it will maintain in its own parks. That's why I'd love for them to just dump them and let someone else have a go.<< <<Wouldn't it funny if WDW was a roaring financial success under the new Chinese overlords? Especially if they didn't have to offer endless discounts to bring the customers in?>> WDW could be vastly more successful IF it stopped trying to destroy itself, which, to be fair it is doing a pretty great job of. You need to spend money, vast quantities now, though. And Disney wants to spend/invest the very least it can. It has been raping the place for short term profits since the 90s. They are running out of things to cut, things to upcharge for, things to water down ... all while raising prices a few times a year and then discounting like hell. OLC understands that. ... Many of the people and companies I've worked with/interacted with in China understand that. Disney ...? They understand how many units of Cars2 merchandise they moved this week and what the stock closes at Monday. Part of me is wondering if Disney is just looking to dump a portion (maybe 20%) to use that for investing in all of the things that have been ignored/neglected for years ... but then I get back to the fact Iger wants to reinvent the company in his image and P&R ownership doesn't fit that.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 >>for a minute there I thought you'd say they were like the MSNBC of Disney<< <<Is there any real difference? Both are corporate owned MSM that simply target different demographics.>> Actually, I'd argue that FOX has a history of making things up, while MSNBC simply exaggerates ... but not the point. I used FOX because it has a rah-rah 'USA, USA!' 'tude that is clearly obvious, shows a bias and glosses over problems like they don't exist (which MSNBC does not). These podcasters/bloggers crowd definitely are apologists for Disney, much as FOX is an apologist for our country.
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer <<You need to spend money, vast quantities now, though. And Disney wants to spend/invest the very least it can. It has been raping the place for short term profits since the 90s.>> That is the issue. WDW has dug itself such a big hole in terms of receiving new things and keeping it fresh it would take HUGE investment to make up for it.
Originally Posted By ReelJustice <<That is the issue. WDW has dug itself such a big hole in terms of receiving new things and keeping it fresh it would take HUGE investment to make up for it.>> The longer they wait, the worse it gets. Gonna be real cute when all of the hotels they've built in the past 15 years require extensive renovations....
Originally Posted By WDWVacationer <<Gonna be real cute when all of the hotels they've built in the past 15 years require extensive renovations...>> They've done a good job with keeping hotel rooms fresh. Never had a bad room, nor seen a bad room in my Disney resort travels. Worst I had was a small patch of carpet wear at Saratoga Springs. Wasn't pleased, but it was under a chair and in a high traffic area of the room.
