VP of EPCOT implying Soarin opened 23 years ago?

durangojim

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Not sure if I’m reading this wrong b it it seems like the VP of EPCOT is implying Soarin opened there 23 years ago. Is this intentional or just a slip up? Who knows.
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UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
"...one of my first and favorite memories of the park goes back 23 years ago, when I first launched my career at Walt Disney World Resort. I took my parents to EPCOT to give them a little taste of what my new job as an industrial engineer was all about. For my father, it was his first visit to Walt Disney World; I will never forget watching his face as he saw all that EPCOT had to offer. From riding Soarin' (which remains a favorite among the family!) to walking around World Showcase, my parents kept saying "You work here?" with such amazement and wonder. I had never been so proud in my entire life!"

Sounds like she's probably combining memories of the first visit with later memories. Soarin' was obviously not there in 1999.

It's the kind of thing someone should have caught and fixed before it was posted on the official site, though.
 
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DryerLintFan

Premium Member
"...one of my first and favorite memories of the park goes back 23 years ago, when I first launched my career at Walt Disney World Resort. I took my parents to EPCOT to give them a little taste of what my new job as an industrial engineer was all about. For my father, it was his first visit to Walt Disney World; I will never forget watching his face as he saw all that EPCOT had to offer. From riding Soarin' (which remains a favorite among the family!) to walking around World Showcase, my parents kept saying "You work here?" with such amazement and wonder. I had never been so proud in my entire life!"

Sounds like she's probably combining memories of the first visit with later memories. Soarin' was obviously not there in 1999.
Thank you!!
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
It opened as part of the Disney wide celebration of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005. maybe she just wasn't good at math. Considering the speed that Disney manages to get things done, that may have been the time from the decision to build it in Epcot.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
The way I’m reading it, I see it as she is saying she took her parents to EP when she began her career, 23 years ago. Not that Soarin was built then.
 

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
"one of my first and favorite memories of the park goes back 23 years ago, when I first launched my career at Walt Disney World Resort.

When I took my parents to EPCOT to give them a little taste of what my new job as an industrial engineer was all about. For my father, it was his first visit to Walt Disney World; I will never forget watching his face as he saw all that EPCOT had to offer. From riding"


Fixed it for you. Two separate memories

I also have a feeling that when they started 23 years ago it wasnt as an industrial engineer (could be wrong), so when they were promoted to industiral engineer and they took their parents to Epcot, soaring was there. To be fair, its poorly written and more of a musing than a biography.
 

Raidermatt

Active Member
"one of my first and favorite memories of the park goes back 23 years ago, when I first launched my career at Walt Disney World Resort.

When I took my parents to EPCOT to give them a little taste of what my new job as an industrial engineer was all about. For my father, it was his first visit to Walt Disney World; I will never forget watching his face as he saw all that EPCOT had to offer. From riding"


Fixed it for you. Two separate memories

I also have a feeling that when they started 23 years ago it wasnt as an industrial engineer (could be wrong), so when they were promoted to industiral engineer and they took their parents to Epcot, soaring was there. To be fair, its poorly written and more of a musing than a biography.

That's REALLY a stretch. I guess it's possible, but I would lay heavy odds it was meant as one continuous thought. What is more likely is that the VP didn't actually write it, and likely never read it. It was probably written by an admin or even an intern based on a couple of notes from the VP, and the writer needs some coaching on fact checking, as does whoever is responsible for editing these posts.

But I wouldn't be shocked if the entire post is fabricated. Its well known among CMs that many managers do not exactly make a habit of visiting the parks. I have no idea if this applies to this particular VP, but it would hardly be shocking if it did.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
That's REALLY a stretch. I guess it's possible, but I would lay heavy odds it was meant as one continuous thought. What is more likely is that the VP didn't actually write it, and likely never read it. It was probably written by an admin or even an intern based on a couple of notes from the VP, and the writer needs some coaching on fact checking, as does whoever is responsible for editing these posts.

But I wouldn't be shocked if the entire post is fabricated. Its well known among CMs that many managers do not exactly make a habit of visiting the parks. I have no idea if this applies to this particular VP, but it would hardly be shocking if it did.
There’s nothing in that statement to lead me to believe it’s been written by someone else. And it seems reasonable that a newly hired person would take their parents to EP to show off their new job site at Disney, especially if they’ve never been. Seems very reasonable and nothing shocking here.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Disney management, first thing they learn is how to lie. This probably got him a bonus.
Not everyone in management is a liar and has to be called out. The statement as written certainly doesn’t read that Soarin was built then but that the career started then. The Chapek furor doesn’t apply to all.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Not everyone in management is a liar and has to be called out. The statement as written certainly doesn’t read that Soarin was built then but that the career started then. The Chapek furor doesn’t apply to all.

The statement as written definitely reads that Soarin' was there when she first started working in 1999, but it's almost certainly just a mistake/poorly written.

The only real issue is that someone along the line in the review process should have caught it and edited the post to make it clearer before it went public.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Well, she didn't say specifically that she brought her parents there the year she started to work for Disney. They might not have gotten there until 6 years later. I will admit that it was obviously not in 1999. So one of three things happened. 1... she didn't remember to put the year here parents visited. 2... like most of us our memories get confused from one visit to another and it was just a memory problem or 3...
she started there in 1999 and worked on many projects including Soarin and at a later time her parents visited and she was proud to have them ride soaring since she had worked on it and therefore able to finally show it to them. To me, a combo of 1 and 3.
 

Raidermatt

Active Member
There’s nothing in that statement to lead me to believe it’s been written by someone else. And it seems reasonable that a newly hired person would take their parents to EP to show off their new job site at Disney, especially if they’ve never been. Seems very reasonable and nothing shocking here.
Yes it is very reasonable. And its also very reasonable for someone who did so would not claim their Dad loved Soarin' on that trip, 7 years before Soarin' was open.

So either they fabricated the entire story, or somebody else wrote it and it was not properly confirmed and fact checked.

So you are going with fabricated. Very well could be true. I was crediting the VP with more integrity than that, but I guess I am just a trusting soul.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Yes it is very reasonable. And its also very reasonable for someone who did so would not claim their Dad loved Soarin' on that trip, 7 years before Soarin' was open.

So either they fabricated the entire story, or somebody else wrote it and it was not properly confirmed and fact checked.

So you are going with fabricated. Very well could be true. I was crediting the VP with more integrity than that, but I guess I am just a trusting soul.
People combine memories. We all do it. It’s not something malicious or a true fabrication. The problem here is with Disney‘s review and approval process not catching a factual error about their own product.
 

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