Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Michael Eisner should not be grouped in with Steve Jobs or Walt Disney." Of course not, but it takes unique talent and vision to achieve what Eisner did during his tenure. He may not have been the creative genius that Disney and Jobs were, but to say that his legacy at The WDCo is significant would be an understatement. "Apple puts the customer first, shareholder second." That's debatable.
Originally Posted By popcorndave Opened Walt Disney World as a summer/christmas high-school hire. Great wage, bennies.. pretty awesome for an 11th grader in high school. Started out selling popcorn on Main Street, then "moved up" to food service for Adventureland, Mile Long Bar, Sunshine Tree Terrace, Tiki Birds, cokes and snacks near Jungle Cruise and the awesome JC and the Silver Stars Steel Drum Band. Miss 20thousand leagues under the sea Mr. Toads Wild Ride Monsanto Circle Vision 360 Eastern Airlines If You had Wings The Original Hall of Presidents (up to Nixon) Ticket Books, E tickets, the awesome Main Gate Pass Dinner at the restaurant at the top of the Contemporary Hotel The one thing i won't miss is that damn Anita Bryant warbling her "Sunshine Tree" Orange Juice Song.. . Back in those days, you lived the fantasy. Now, you just pay for a bad copy of it in the theme park today.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Apple puts the customer first, shareholder second. A rare order of priorities in today's business.>> Although Apple has spawned a near-religious devotion among its fans (and I was one until they priced themselves out of just about every market), I'm not at all sure that is true.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip The greatest thing that ever happened to secure the legacy of Walt Disney is that he died before his original plans for an E.P.C.O.T. were ever implemented. It would have bombed, bankrupted the company, and put his legacy in the garbage bin.
Originally Posted By Mr X I would say that Steve Jobs put IMAGE first, if anything. And when you really come down to it, so did Walt Disney. And it works. Many companies have devoted customers, but very few have outright fans. Wanting to associate your image with theirs is a big part of it. This includes an outright hatred of competitors like Microsoft or Universal, seen more like enemies who are "against the image" even though if you looked at it objectively you'd see that they're all peddling pretty much the same junk.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That's a great way of putting it. The pricing of Apple products (and the huge profits that they get, quarter after quarter) indicate that they have a very strong interest in keeping their shareholders happy. The pretentious design-iness keeps the fans happy and really fulfills the image requirements. Like Disney, it has various things that appeal to different people, and it does everything to protect itself and ensure that people perceive it as being somehow unique
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn Check out my recent WDW trip report in the WDW Trip Reports section. Having not gone to WDW (all four parks) in more than ten years, I was richly impressed with what I experienced. There's a lot that I will miss with not seeing ever again, but I was impressed with the new things I did experience. Additionally, having driven over the mountain pass, down into the valley that is now Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney is certainly more that able to keep turning swamps into something fantastic. It was really magical looking over the treetops of a tropical jungle against mountainsides and seeing a very Disney-fied resort carved out of it. But, to the things we will never experience again, I have to say this: God bless YouTube. Keep posting high-def videos.
Originally Posted By disneyfan4ever82 For a thing that I'll probably never see again at Walt Disney World, that would be clubs like those on Pleasure Island. I know the place wasn't particularly liked, outside of Adventurer's Club and Comedy Warehouse, but for a young man like myself with an autism spectrum disorder who lives in a small town with nothing much in the way of nightlife, going there was a tremendous amount of fun. I had a lot of fun dancing and laughing there, and even learned some lessons on how to approach people. I know they're overhauling the area now to be shops and restaurants, but I would love for there to be something for adults to enjoy that doesn't involve eating or buying merchandise. At least there's still Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk resort.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "At least there's still Atlantic Dance Hall at the Boardwalk resort." What's it like?
Originally Posted By disneyfan4ever82 Atlantic Dance Hall is nice. They play a mixture of dance songs from the past and the present. It's a big area, and admittedly a little bare, at least compared to the decoration of a place like 8TRax. It's also nowhere near as busy as the clubs on Pleasure Island used to be, but a smaller crowd can be nice, too.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Good to know. I'll have to check it out if I ever get back to WDW.
Originally Posted By ExpDave "One of the great things about the parks was the idea that you could stroll through the stores and be transported to the place the area you were in represented. Not today. For me it is one of the things that has robbed the parks of their charms." I absolutely agree on this, it's one of the major reasons I no longer enjoy going.
