Originally Posted By dagobert It's not directly related to SDL, but the Disney Store in Shanghai is about to open this year. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=861449283898877&id=302042929839518">http://www.facebook.com/permal...29839518</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ThemeparX has some new construction photos that show the boat ride in Fantasyland is finally beginning to look recognizable: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.themeparx.com/shanghai-disneyland/">http://www.themeparx.com/shang...neyland/</a> If I had to guess, I would say that the queue and load would be in the multi-roofed structure on the right side, and the ride would proceed counterclockwise so the indoor portion is toward the end of the ride. It will be interesting to see how much of the ride is visible from the walkways, since it looks very exposed at the moment. It also doesn't look like a park that will be ready to open in less than a year And for all of you conspiracy theorists out there, a Shanghai official who was closely tied to the SDL project has been accused of bribery: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2015/4/3/free-trade-zone-ex-official-detained-for-alleged-shanghai-di.html">http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2...-di.html</a>#
Originally Posted By dagobert Thanks for the link to the pictures. The park must be far behind schedule, although it looks already very interesting.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Thank you for the pictures, Ferret, duckling. Wouldn't it be just wonderful if you could go to the opening of Shanghai Disneyland with us Cauldron girls? You could save some money if you were willing to fly the friendly skies on a broomstick with us! ORGOCH: Like as if Ferret's dumb 'nuff ta take ya up on a stupid idea like that! ORDDU: I'm not at all surprised to hear about the corruption taking place in the other article. The whole world is so corrupt these days it's unbelievable...
Originally Posted By FerretAfros If I don't have to pay for flights, I have pretty low standards about the accommodations; why else would I tolerate flying Delta? How much worse could a broomstick be?
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Got a death wish? Ya'd best leave well 'nuff alone an' stay strictly away from us an' our brooms, Ferret--'specially Orwen's!!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert Construction picture of the carousel in Fantasyland. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.themeparx.com/shanghai-disneyland/?p=6147#post6147">http://www.themeparx.com/shang...post6147</a> It looks very tall. Maybe it will have two floors like the carousel at TDS?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It does look big, but I don't think it's quite big enough for 2 levels. There are 2 levels of scaffolding in it, but those are typically around 7' tall, which is smaller than a normal floor of a building. It will probably just be a really big carousel, hopefully with lots of neat details It looks like the ride structure is already being installed on the inside. It's interesting that it's relatively far along, yet the structure still has a lot of work to go
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORGOCH: Guess it wouldn't be a true Dizzy theme park without at least one a them spinner rides.
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's a new concept art about the lobby of the Toy Story hotel. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/302042929839518/photos/a.408006435909833.89949.302042929839518/882254888484983/?type=1&theater">http://www.facebook.com/302042...&theater</a> And this one is for the SDL hotel, which has already been posted somewhere in this thread. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/302042929839518/photos/a.408006435909833.89949.302042929839518/882254465151692/?type=1&theater">http://www.facebook.com/302042...&theater</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I'm not in love with the Toy Story lobby, but I guess it's the modern equivalent of WDW's Value resorts (All Stars, Pop, Art of Animation) so it seems very much in line with those And every time I see the SDL Hotel image, it reminds me of a cruise ship. I think it's because of the weird chandelier and the atrium-like columns around the sides. It's not bad, it's just very striking to me
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Interesting post from Spirit about the Shanghai management shakeup last year. Given how quickly and unexpectedly it was announced, it made me wonder at the time, but I didn't have any real information either way. Given the suspicious shady-business-practice information we've been hearing in recent months, it's an interesting idea to ponder... <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-spirited-perfect-ten.894588/page-608#post-6674926">http://forums.wdwmagic.com/thr...-6674926</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert That doesn't sound good. I am still wondering, if it was a good idea to build a park in China.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Oh, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a good idea to build a park in China. Judging by the crowd at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, it seemed like the vast majority of visitors didn't really understand the concept of a theme park-type experience (whether waiting in an organized queue, planning a day's itinerary in an unfamiliar tourist destination, or watching a 3D movie) and there will be a steep learning curve. Combine that with the relatively-unknown Disney brand, and it seems like an odd choice for such a big investment that still seems so risky Prior to the groundbreaking on the project, I read a theory that it was being done to get a permanent foothold inside China. This would then allow Disney to have more access to the growing market, crack down on blackmarket/bootleg items, and create a face for the company moving forward. Even if the resort itself lost money, it would theoretically be worth it for the other gains I'm not sure if I believe that, but it's an interesting idea to think about. Similarly I'm not sure where I stand with all of these recent rumors (they seem like a tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory, but there's also no other decent explanation available), but it's fun to ponder what's going on
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "I read a theory that it was being done to get a permanent foothold inside China. This would then allow Disney to have more access to the growing market, crack down on blackmarket/bootleg items, and create a face for the company moving forward. Even if the resort itself lost money, it would theoretically be worth it for the other gains" I would have to think this makes it worth the risk. There's a huge payoff if it works. Now all they need is a weekly TV show ;-). You know, big corporations tend to be very conservative, but this and MyMagic+ don't seem to be the actions of a corp unwilling to take chances. I know Iger is hated for his reliance on synergy (and I understand the desire for the parks to create their own IP). And on the movie side, there's not too much originality outside of the animated features. But he does seem willing to take a significant risk or two.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >Now all they need is a weekly TV show ;-).<< Or a whole TV network of their own. When Eisner was looking at the project, having a Chinese version of the Disney Channel was a huge component of it; when the Chinese government turned that proposal down, that's was ultimately ended the project for him. Like many of Iger's plans, he wants to do this come hell or high water, and he appears to be perfectly content without the Disney Channel. If this truly is a way to get Disney's foot in the door, I think that was a very foolish move >>You know, big corporations tend to be very conservative, but this and MyMagic+ don't seem to be the actions of a corp unwilling to take chances.<< But when you consider the amount of aging infrastructure and underperforming technology systems that needed to be replaced in that time regardless of MM+, it looks like a much less ambitious project. It's simply the next step down a path that WDW has been taking since the late 80's, to keep guests on Disney property for the entirety of their vacation. Similar systems have been in place on cruise lines and at high-end resorts for years, so this just seems like the next logical step in that light. Sure, the RFID brought something new to the table, but that had been used at many ski mountains for similar systems prior to WDW using it Iger isn't afraid of risky moves. I think that his stock buyback program is very foolish. I also question the wisdom of his studio tentpole strategy. My problem isn't that he's not taking any risks, but rather the risks he is taking. It seems like he's constantly reducing the company's reach to a very intense hold on just a few small items, rather than a very broad reach across a wide variety of things. It seems to be performing well in the short term, and perhaps it will pay off in the long term, but I have serious doubts.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I should also add that I really enjoy seeing early interviews and press releases about MM+ and all of their promises that never came to be. So many of them sound like things cooked up by people who had no real world experience (instant parades and shows to disperse crowds, rides with personalized messages), that it really feels like an "I told you so" moment. It's been fun to see the project evolve, and I'm sure it will continue to, but when you look at what they've actually done with it, it's mostly just a bunch of small incremental changes rather than the big sweeping gamechanger that they promised And it's still funny to me that they weren't expecting as many technical difficulties as they had. Disney's always been notoriously bad with IT issues, but I was actually surprised by how relatively-few problems there were with this, considering it's impacts on nearly every aspect of WDW's operations
Originally Posted By leemac <<Interesting post from Spirit about the Shanghai management shakeup last year. Given how quickly and unexpectedly it was announced, it made me wonder at the time, but I didn't have any real information either way. >> That's 2+2 and getting 5. Those of us that are close to Mike and have been for years (he worked with me at New Business Development in the Nick Franklin days) knew he wasn't happy in the GM role. The FS role was not created for him - FS wanted someone to focus solely on their China expansion as they are way behind their competitors in that market. Mike fit the bill and got the job ahead of two other candidates including one former Disney exec. I was asked to interview and declined - it isn't my skillset. Mike isn't a GM - a GM is typically the lead executive in charge of construction and execution. It is usually a real estate guy or construction guy - think Timur Galen for DCA and the excellent John Verity for HKDL. Mike is a deal guy - and sadly made a number of missteps within NBD (including the debacle over the Sydney hotel project) but he was one of Franklin's buddies and therefore by proxy one of Jay's - under his protection. I've a lot of time for Mike but Spirit is clearly trying to spin his agenda on SDL. It isn't progressing as desired but that isn't unusual for any large scale Disney project. HKDL had numerous headaches, the Disney Dream/Fantasy did, Aulani was a basket case.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That makes a lot of sense. I'm not surprised that the position wasn't created for him (it doesn't sound like the type of position that would be created in such a case), but it's interesting that he was ill-suited for the job. It just seems to raise more questions about what exactly they're doing over there and who is in charge of things Of course big project like this are going to have delays and changes along the way, but adding a year (or more?) to the timeline after construction has begun is huge. Additionally, there's still the matter of the $800 million that was added late in the project for "additional attractions and increased capacity", yet there doesn't seem to be anything added to the park's lineup. Projects like this always have limited public information throughout their construction, but what has gotten out about Shanghai Disneyland seems much more suspicious than the typical construction news we've heard from the other parks Perhaps there's nothing fishy going on, but it's hard to deny that it doesn't look too great from the outside
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Oh, I'm pretty sure there's something fishy going on over there--unless they're not planning to do anything with The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo!
