Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Sorry, I was not referring to Lee or even Disney by this one. Sadly on Wednesday I was a casualty of the lovely credit crunch and am now "Spending more time with the family". Great, huh?>> Oh Dave, that sucks! Sorry to hear that ... don't know what else to say other than I can appreciate the pain as someone who is currently underemployed and therefore a non-entity as far as the US government is concerned. Drop me an email when you feel up to it.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Thanks for the concern but I'm fine. As safe as anyone can be in this climate. Plenty busy with potential projects so we will just have to wait and see what happens. I'm an eternal optimist - I believe that if you have the right skills and experience then there will always be a demand for your services. >> I dunno about that. ... I'd like to agree with you, but in today's world it seems that skills and experience don't matter very much (just look at the type of CMs who were axed in Orlando). I don't know your take on things, but a friend was at WDI the other day and described the mood as being 'like a funeral.' <<I'm as devestated as anyone at WDI at the decision of Wing to retire - I've known Wing a long time and he is arguably the most successful imagineer to ever hold office in Glendale. A consummate professional and tremendous talent. I'm sure I'm not the only one that will miss him on the first floor of 1401F.>> I'm always suspicious of what goes on behind closed doors, especially at Disney ... but one would have to question the timing of both his and Marty's decisions. Marty resigns right when D23 is getting off the ground. Wing resigns with expansion in Asia being the big focus. Strange.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<One of the highlights of my recent visit to MGM was seeing a couple of Dharma Initiative jumpsuits at the ABC Commissary.>> Soon to be for sale at Sid's One of a Kind shop ... if they could only sell that Kin Shriner aqua jacket from General Hospital that has been there longer than the BAH!
Originally Posted By leemac <<Marty resigns right when D23 is getting off the ground.>> D23 is NOT a WDP&R product - there is no correlation between Marty's retirement and the fan club.
Originally Posted By MPierce Sorry to hear the news Dave. I know how dedicate you are to your work even when it has been stressful to you. A person like yourself always comes out on top in the long term. Good luck with your new job what ever you choose it to be.
Originally Posted By MPierce I am still wrestling with the meaning of two Disney legends deciding to retire at this time. I just feel it's rather odd timing.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<D23 is NOT a WDP&R product - there is no correlation between Marty's retirement and the fan club.>> Yeah. I know. Still, Marty is the face of P&R to the fan community and D23 is a huge push to win them over (and steal em away from sites like this where people might bitch when they lower quality and raise prices or allow attractions to fall into disrepair or basically say anything that isn't 100% approved by the company) And I just love that Zenia Mucha is the Publisher because I can't think of a warmer, fuzzier, more magical (when you take away all the four-letter expletives she likes to use) person at the company to run a fan initiative (even in name only). Jay Rasulo is almost huggable by comparison.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> And I just love that Zenia Mucha is the Publisher because I can't think of a warmer, fuzzier, more magical (when you take away all the four-letter expletives she likes to use) person at the company to run a fan initiative (even in name only). << I love it when a woman talks dirty to me! By the way Spirit, I'm still waiting for her reply to my email. As a matter of fact I haven't heard from Robert Iger or Meg Crofton either. Come to think of it I haven't heard from anybody at TWDC or WDW that I emailed.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I love it when a woman talks dirty to me!>> Not that way, trust me. She is scary. <<By the way Spirit, I'm still waiting for her reply to my email. As a matter of fact I haven't heard from Robert Iger or Meg Crofton either. Come to think of it I haven't heard from anybody at TWDC or WDW that I emailed. >> I'm saddened, but not surprised. They know exactly who they are dealing with since they know of your online activity (trust me on this). They don't want to encourage people actually contacting them with legit issues ... that would negate the whole purpose of Guest Services (which is designed to make you disappear ... well, your issues, whether or not they make you feel magical by doing so) ... they don't live up to their own word and they don't really give a damn about your complaints or even compliments. ... They know best and they don't want to be bothered with you. (which is exactly why you shouldn't give it up! ... there's more than one way to skin a mouse, after all!)
Originally Posted By MPierce Just curious, with the big names at Disney that seem to be stepping down do you think they are purging the system? If I'm not mistaken you alluded to this happening sometime ago. I'm talking before the cuts were announced. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Just curious, with the big names at Disney that seem to be stepping down do you think they are purging the system? If I'm not mistaken you alluded to this happening sometime ago. I'm talking before the cuts were announced. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.>> Honestly, I'm not sure what they're doing ... and as usual, I'm not sure they even know what they're doing. There's very much a 'cone of silence' behind the scenes with info very hard to come by be it on projects that are already started or personalities. For instance, this week's DC announcement came as a surprise to me. ... And they are very quiet on China.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 I saw the headline about DC, just didn't care to read the article, so what are they planning there? Disney park or just a park?
Originally Posted By sjhym33 I think there are several things going on. In terms of Marty's retirement I think that this has been coming for awhile. Marty has been more of a figure head for years rather than the leader he once was. I think Disney kept him around because of his years with the company and they were afraid of how the Imagineers would react. But little by little they have reduced his role so that he was nothing more than a figure head at first and then an ambassador last. Probably a very expensive ambassador at that. I expect that he was gently nudged out but I also think that Disney will use him when they need him as an independent contractor. Which has tended to pay well in the past. One of the things that I also think Disney is signalling is we probably shouldnt expect anything big to come down the line for a while. The cut backs in Imagineering a year ago and Sklar and Wing leaving probably means that Imagineering will go thru a slow period for a while until someone greenlights a major project. When I ask my sources who work in several divisions and tend to know whats happening whats coming next I get a collective...nothing.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I saw the headline about DC, just didn't care to read the article, so what are they planning there? Disney park or just a park? << Basicly it's going to be a resort hotel along the Potomac River. It will sit on a 15 acre plot. They aren't really talking about it, and haven't announced if it's going to be DVC or not. You know, kind of like Bay Lake Tower. Details of when the construction will begin have not been announced either. Remember it's the Best Kept Secret at Disney!
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Ah so Disney can get their share of the Washington tourists? And gear the hotel to lure them to WDW or DL next trip??
Originally Posted By sharpc "Ah so Disney can get their share of the Washington tourists? And gear the hotel to lure them to WDW or DL next trip??" Seems to be a fairly profitable venture with more and more people traveling to D.C. recently. Finding a nice hotel that is willing to help people experience the area has proven quite difficult (at least in my experience). While Disney might not be able to make it affordable, it will still probably be a large hit. I would have liked to have seen a revisit of the "Disney's America" concept of a theme park, but I doubt that will ever happen with most of the current management. Back to the OT, I do find it rather odd that many of the big names in Imagineering are all quitting around the same time. I have the deepest respect for both Wing and Sklar, and find it difficult to accept that both decide now is the best time to step down. The only reasoning I can find is the combination of gentle nudges of TWDC as a cost-cutting measure and the presence of great retirement packages..
