Originally Posted By leemac <<And you haven't noticed a down-tick in the Disney Parks One World Order propoganda since Tom took over? I have.>> No idea - I still see a lot of it. I suspect it would have more to do with Michael Mendenhall jumping ship to hp and his successor Leslie Ferraro now having her imprint on the global marketing. As long as Disney Destinations LLC exists then we will have Disney Parks.
Originally Posted By leemac <<There's no way you can get me to believe that Jim's actions didn't irk Rasulo. >> Jim was a veep at the time (and still now I believe) - Jay could have removed him in a blink of an eye if he was "irked". I'm sure he couldn't care less than some small event for Epcot's 25th.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Weiss needs a serious wakeup call regarding WDW. I have no doubt that Potter is seriously cutting into their profitability, along with the stagnant economy. Now is the time to infuse the resort with new attraction projects while Uni works quietly behind the scenes to expand Potter even further. Disney's current track is short-sighted and will not produce favorable results down the road, once the economy turns around.<<< Here's hoping Potter expands, then, and really gives WDW what for, then... Competition is a fun thing.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Which begs the question... did the EPCOT 25th event have any effect, however small, in giving the green light to D23?<<< I'm sure it really showed that they had a dedicated niche demographic that would pay for such events. Shame is...D23 doesn't really cover these things. They spread themselves too thin, and offer more style than substance. EPCOT 25 was substance, and the substance that D23 should market.
Originally Posted By MousDad >>Very wrong - I have several '82 styling products that were produced before the 25th. One gray tee has the Future World logos and there was a denim jacket too.<< I didn't mean retro merchandise was invented at Epcot 25. But I'm quite sure it's appropriate to say that the retro trend has become significantly more widespread and "mainstream" recently. Not that I think the trend is entirely healthy in some respects, but it's definitely there.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Very wrong - I have several '82 styling products that were produced before the 25th. One gray tee has the Future World logos and there was a denim jacket too.<<< And there's a TON out now. There was SOME effect, as they've continued the idea. As they continued the line of LE Figments that began with the Oct 1 07 plush. (that I clutch) (not really, he just sits on my dresser with the 25th Anniversary map they put out that day, and a wheel map fro 82. ;-) )
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I'm sure he couldn't care less than some small event for Epcot's 25th.<<< Because it was small. Meaning money wasn't spent on it. Meaning that if they spent money, he would have gone against it....
Originally Posted By CaptainMichael <<<Because it was small. Meaning money wasn't spent on it. Meaning that if they spent money, he would have gone against it....>>> Everyone involved with Parks and Resorts could learn alot from this event. MacPhee did much more with less on that day than I've seen in a long time. Top notch event (for what it was).
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Everyone involved with Parks and Resorts could learn alot from this event. MacPhee did much more with less on that day than I've seen in a long time. Top notch event (for what it was).<<< FREE!!!! Hi, D23.... Fireworks, ceremony, Sklar, Merch and free buttons/maps Doesn't take a lot to keep us happy.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer It's just a shame that they didn't get SSE open for Oct 1 2007. That would have been fun.
Originally Posted By MousDad >>Jay could have removed him in a blink of an eye if he was "irked".<< Maybe he was. He ain't getting a lot of press in the super secret RFID bat cave. >>I'm sure he couldn't care less than some small event for Epcot's 25th.<< Considering he probably didn't even know it was Epcot's 25th... I didn't have anything to do with Epcot 25 and didn't go, but you sure seem to think it was really insignificant. Why? Sure it was small in terms of budget and relative size of crowd. But a group of concerned fans taking the intiative to call the Mouse on a stupid decision, and making enough of a public show of force to compel the Mouse to respond, so they don't look even more stupid - that's huge.
Originally Posted By CaptainMichael <<It's just a shame that they didn't get SSE open for Oct 1 2007. That would have been fun. >> Had they known in a timely manner that we would be having a 25th, I have no doubt they would have started sooner on it. At least the wand was down!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Had they known in a timely manner that we would be having a 25th, I have no doubt they would have started sooner on it. At least the wand was down!<<< Agreed. And the wand's demolition was sped up to meet the Oct 1 2007 date, a very good friend tells me.
Originally Posted By leemac <<But a group of concerned fans taking the intiative to call the Mouse on a stupid decision, and making enough of a public show of force to compel the Mouse to respond, so they don't look even more stupid - that's huge.>> I could flip the question around and ask why you think it was so significant. I'm not involved in Ops - I have no idea how they came around to the 25th idea - I also don't recall WDP&R stating categorically that they had no plans for the milestone but my memory isn't great. Either way that small ceremony has had no lasting impact on WDW. I doubt whether it truly was motivated by fanbois clutching pitchforks - if it was then it was unprecedented. I don't think WDW has been motivated to appease the fanbase before or since that date. If that was the case then we would still have Toad in MK and AC in Pleasure Island. WDW deals with an entirely different demographic to its left coast cousin. There is little reason for WDW to "manage" fanbois as it is a small minority of guests.
Originally Posted By Rsey103 >>(...he just sits on my dresser with the 25th Anniversary map they put out that day, and a wheel map from 82. ;-) )<< EpcotExplorer, I got one of those wheel maps on the park's opening day in 1982. Just wish I could find it!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I could flip the question around and ask why you think it was so significant.<<< MousDad mentioned it already...Merch, D23, etc... >>>I doubt whether it truly was motivated by fanbois clutching pitchforks - if it was then it was unprecedented.<<< We only clutch plush. More angrily at times than others. ;-) >>>EpcotExplorer, I got one of those wheel maps on the park's opening day in 1982. Just wish I could find it!<<< Awesome! eBay has a ton of them, if you ever want a replacement.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 How come I can start a thread where I am not even sure of the facts and come back a day later to six pages of posts? And that's with two of my pals off in their corners instead of adding to my post count here! Seriously, some of us have to pack for spending the rest of the year (or almost) in Asia and can't possibly contribute in the meaningful way we'd like ... that said, let's dive in a bit ... I think I just hooked a Leemac! ;-) <<This is yet another example of fanboi foaming. Erin does exactly what her job entails as a resort ops lead - but for some reason she is regarded as pure evil. It isn't the individual at fault but the role - Al's Worldwide Ops brief has led to this point. I have virtually no interaction with Erin at all but she appears capable.>> I know many folks who deal (or have had to) with her over the years and she plain flat out isn't well-liked or respected by most of the cast. She is quite capable of delivering on Burbank's/TDO's/Jay and Al's agendas/mandates/numbers. But I recall people telling me she was godawful when she was MK VP ... it was after Greg Emmer was moved and it was under her leadership the place really first took that noticeable dive toward the abyss of mediocrity it currently occupies. Just following orders is never a good excuse or answer to me ... and it does call up images of German soldiers in WWII (I know, a very unfair and extreme comparison so take it as hyperbole yet the underlying point is valid). <<Same as why I'm sure fanbois will have wet dreams if Jim is given more power. Jim is seen to have done no wrong - mainly because of one event.>> I wouldn't say that either. Yeah, he earned lots of fanboi love by acknowledging EPCOT's 25th, which DISNEY SHOULD HAVE ... and in a big, park specific, year-long way when Rasulo couldn't have cared less about such a milestone. Jim has earned respect from CMs because the guy has been there since the late 1970s and still believes in doing things the Disney Way (the real one ... not the BS PR one). <<I have no idea what is going on at WDW Co. or what has led to this "chatter" - I thought that Jim was responsible for implementing Nick Franklin's mulit-billion dollar NGE so I'd be surprised if he was shifted to a new role - unless this NGE is so fundamental that it will affect the WDW Ops role.>> Jim is responsible for that, but I've been hearing his responsibilities have increased. I have no idea how true this is, so I wanted to toss the chum in the water and see what I attracted! But NEXTGEN appears to be all they care about in FLA that isn't timeshare or luxury home development ... I sure know I'm wetting myself in anticipation over the new interactive queues planned for Mansion, Dumbo, Pan, Pooh and a few others ... think I've heard PoC and BTMRR also prominently mentioned.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Sadly it is coincidental. Also Matt isn't interested in relocating from SoCal to FL from what he has told me (he didn't like commuting to White Plains, NY either when he was at Starwood). I also can't see Al wanting to work with him again - I think you'd need to see wholesale regime change before an individual like Matt returned to WDP&R. Maybe it is all smoke and mirrors but I doubt it.>> I've heard the same thing. But the market is tough for everyone these days, even quality execs like Matt. And since he always coveted Jay's job -- and Tom is only placeholding it for 18-24 months anyway as we all know -- a brief return to Orlando before a move to Burbank could make sense. As to regime change ... one wonders if Iger wants to do that anyway ... he got angry at Dick Cook over creating a fiefdom at the Studios, yet he allowed Rasulo to do likewise at every Disney resort worldwide ... perhaps, he wants to do a bit of housecleaning. No matter the PR spin, he can't be happy with WDW these days ... sure, they're filling rooms and restaurants ... by giving the product away. And when UNI raises the bar with WWoHP, he can't be ignorant enough to think marketing campaigns, a redone Star Tours and some Fantastyland project (that they can't even agree on after announcing it over a year ago) opening at some nebulous future date. <<The perception of there being "problems" at WDW depends on which side of the fence that you sit. Fanbois and guests are on one side and management on the other - I'm sure that Al and his Ops team believe that everything is hunky-dory and based on two key metrics they SEEM to be correct - guest attendance is flat and spend hasn't collapsed - commendable in a flatlining economy.>> It's easy for guests to spend when you give them $500 gift cards when they book stays. It's easy to keep attendance flat when you offer 30-45% discounts across the board. But if they think things are hunky dory they are more ignorant than a typical MAGICal fanboi. <<You really do live in Cloud Cuckooland if you think that a WDP&R will ever admit that there is a problem - even the strife at DCA didn't lead to an outright condemnation of the park's original direction - it just "wasn't as popular as we hoped".>> Yes, we all know that Disney loves to lie and spin ... but when Iger (at his first shareholder's meeting in Anaheim) admitted that DCA was 'a challenge' ... that's code for 'Oh, bleep, mother of God, what a freaking mess we have on our hands!' They can keep saying DREAMS, WISHES and MAGIC until 2050 and it won't change the fact they have four parks in various states of disrepair due to neglect and four parks that very much feel stale to one degree or another.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Nope, Jim is awesome because I saw him all the time when I was working at Epcot, and he never hesitated to talk to the cast and treat them like equals.>> <<Sorry Hokie - that isn't the sign of a good executive. Granted all park veeps should be visible to their cast but it is a thin line between being visible and getting the job done - and the latter can't be achieved if they are out of the office all the time. Their sole job isn't to keep the cast happy - it is important but not their primary function.>> Gotta agree with the UK dude on this one. It's great that Jim got out and interacted with the cast, but that isn't the true measure of a leader. George K is playing the 'celeb exec' card to perfection in Anaheim (wonder what Spirit told him to do that!), but he is also getting loads of credit for things that were approved, financed and, in some cases, largely built by 'Invisible Ed' Grier. What matters is results. Not whether a P&R exec is seen signing (excuse me while I vomit) autographs for fanbois or seen walking thru a park picking up a piece of stray trash.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<This is what TDO is seriously lacking these days. I hope Matt is made an offer he cannot refuse, to help WDW reverse its downward spiral in quality and flatlining attendance. They can't keep discounting forever.>> Don't you know they started scaling back discounts as soon as 2010 hit (too bad we don't have sarcastic smileys here)? I do know I love my CM pals 40% breakfast and lunch discounts around the resort ... and they just got extended until next April (including free DDP times). Sure ... they're going to stop discounting. About the time they stop selling pins and vinyl in every shop!
