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Disney World’s Jeff Vahle Reflects on Growth, Change, and Reinvestment in Parks

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
They have the space in Disney World to build everything they want without tearing anything out. That was one of Walt’s main purposes for buying up so much land in the first place. Why did they do it? It was cheaper.
Uh Walt's main purpose was the whole "giant dream city" thing. The parks and resorts were the money maker to achieve a whole city which makes a lot more sense considering its the size of major cities at the time. He wasn't actually planning for THAT much to be theme park at the time of purchasing.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
It’s more than just having the land to build it. Can they staff it? Is there return on it? Do people have the time to experience it?
Yes, I don't agree with a lot of their decisions on what to close and very strongly disagree with what is happening with RoA. The other extreme that suggests they shouldn't be closing or redeveloping any areas of the parks as long as they still have land to build new things also doesn't make much sense. WDW would be such a strange place if everything that ever opened was still operating and they had just continued building further outward in each park.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
These should have been in their sights for a long time. These question is, why has nothing been done???

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Tony Baxter this past weekend, and of course the topic of the Imagination Pavilions current state came up into conversation.

Even he is questioning a big WHY.
“Why…? “
“Why are they just letting it sit there…?”

It is extremely frustrating for him as much as it is for all of us.
We are not alone.

He did say however that there ARE still people within the Company that remember and know what the REAL Imagination Attraction stood for…and “get it’.
Which makes it all the MORE frustrating knowing it could be done, and yet no one is taking the step forward to make it happen.

Seriously, what are they waiting for?

I personally am still convinced nothing will happen until certain individuals within the Company either retire, move on, or drop.
Politics is a awful thing within WDI.


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Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
I had the pleasure of spending some time with Tony Baxter this past weekend, and of course the topic of the Imagination Pavilions current state came up into conversation.

Even he is questioning a big WHY.
“Why…? “
“Why are they just letting it sit there…?”

It is extremely frustrating for him as much as it is for all of us.
We are not alone.

He did say however that there ARE still people within the Company that remember and know what the REAL Imagination Attraction stood for…and “get it’.
Which makes it all the MORE frustrating knowing it could be done, and yet no one is taking the step forward to make it happen.

Seriously, what are they waiting for?

I personally am still convinced nothing will happen until certain individuals within the Company either retire, move on, or drop.
Politics is a awful thing within WDI.


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I was talking to my kid, my kid says some folks HATE Figment???? I do not understand this. Is this true or fake news?
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
I was talking to my kid, my kid says some folks HATE Figment???? I do not understand this. Is this true or fake news?

Is he referring to Guests in the Park, or talking about people within the Company / WDI that ‘hate Figment’….?

Guests in general seem to like him.
Those Guests who experienced firsthand or are aware of the Original Imagination Attraction love him.

Some people working within the Company do not.
And there are a few within WDI that do indeed hate him, primarily because of what he represents in their personal view.

Merchandising LOvEs him, however….!

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montyz81

Well-Known Member
These guys are business people. It is all about spin. They appeased the loyalists with words while mainly catering to new/first-time ticket sales to find growth. The problem is that the IP route will eventually run dry, especially given the number of sequels and live-action projects they have produced without a significant amount of new IP or original content. The current business model appears to be geared toward short-term gains, with limited future growth potential. I guess it makes sense, as Bob only cares about the next year or so, then he is gone. The beauty of building stories in the parks that are not connected to IP is that it gives them new avenues to expand on. Journey feels like an untapped story that could generate even more revenue in the parks, as well as across the rest of Disney's business. Pirates have done it for them. I see Haunted Mansion merchandise everywhere, not just in the parks.

I may be wrong about all this, but it honestly feels like the model Walt started with was always the right model for the parks. The original seemed to be a good blending of original stories specific to the parks with outside IP sprinkled in. Now it is the other way around. Again, I could be wrong, but the evidence states otherwise: https://www.foxnews.com/travel/disn...me-low-2025-visitors-report-ghost-towns-parks
 

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
Is he referring to Guests in the Park, or talking about people within the Company / WDI that ‘hate Figment’….?

Guests in general seem to like him.
Those Guests who experienced firsthand or are aware of the Original Imagination Attraction love him.

Some people working within the Company do not.
And there are a few within WDI that do indeed hate him, primarily because of what he represents in their personal view.

Merchandising LOvEs him, however….!

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Random folks on the interweb.

For the record, we love Figment and the Dreamfinder.
 

Smoky

Active Member
Just a friendly reminder that Jeff is the real enemy of the people. I've said it in other threads but as bad as Bob and Josh are, NOTHING compares to Jeff. He is the reason for the insane penny pinching and general decline of the parks. He is the one that loves to destroy and replace. WDW will not get tangibly better until he's fired and replaced with someone who doesn't actively hate WDW and its history.
 

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