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

[JD80]

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

You're mostly wrong about all this. Or at least your context in skewed.

 

[jah4955]

and the Dreamfinder.

Having ridden 1.0 numerous times, I, then and now, consider 1.0 as "timeless" as can be. I believe that if they bring it back, with the relatively small updates that would have organically happened if it had never closed (akin to many of the HM updates over the last 54 years), I believe they'll have a crowd-pleaser for perpetuity!

 

[HauntedPirate]

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.


-

One word - Burbank.

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….!

-

A certain President of WDW has an intense dislike of him and his pavilion, if rumors are to be believed.

 

[Figments Friend]

Having ridden 1.0 numerous times, I, then and now, consider 1.0 as "timeless" as can be. I believe that if they bring it back, with the relatively small updates that would have organically happened if it had never closed (akin to many of the HM updates over the last 54 years), I believe they'll have a crowd-pleaser for perpetuity!

This.
100%.

I have said the same thing over the last 20+ years.
The Original was timeless and could have easily become a perpetual experience with light updates.
The fact it was completely desimated and every element gutted is an inexcusable tragedy.

There is a reason those of us who experienced it and heard its ‘message’ speak so passionately about it.
And why we remember it so clearly.

People are still talking about it all these years later.
It was a masterpiece.
And we will NEVER forgive those responsible for seeing it removed.
And are still adamant about seeing something truly imaginative return to the Pavillion.

Some day.

-

 

[HauntedPirate]

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.

His comments reinforce my belief that there is some kind of "money-generation heat map" of the parks within TDO. Something isn't producing revenue? Replace it. An area of land isn't generating money? What can they build there.

 

[jah4955]

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.

Doesn't help things that they just made him "Top 50 Orlando Tourism List" #1 for seemingly making so much #2

 

[SamusAranX]

One word - Burbank.


A certain President of WDW has an intense dislike of him and his pavilion, if rumors are to be believed.

Can you blame him? That pavilion could have been Journey into the Imagination with Rapunzel and Friends if it wasn’t for all those silly park goers and their love for legacy attractions

 

[aladdin2007]

Ah yes reading between the lines we just want to greater monetize the land and areas we already deal with rather than offer true expansion. Not a fan of this dude

Agree

 

[James Alucobond]

His comments reinforce my belief that there is some kind of "money-generation heat map" of the parks within TDO. Something isn't producing revenue? Replace it. An area of land isn't generating money? What can they build there.

I mean ... why would that be surprising? They should certainly understand utilization and revenue in each and every corner of the parks. It's how they react to that information that can at times be troubling, not the fact that the data exists.

 

[dlfan1313]

I wish I had a psychology degree to lend credence to my belief that executives aren't smart, they aren't even good business people. They are sociopathic ladder climbers. All this dude has to do to earn his millions is regurgitate nonsensical, trendfacing babble with an air of authority, attend the right functions, look and sound the right way, and know when to jump ship. This guy, and those who surround him, have no clue what they're doing.

 

[aladdin2007]

I wish I had a psychology degree to lend credence to my belief that executives aren't smart, they aren't even good business people. They are sociopathic ladder climbers. All this dude has to do to earn his millions is regurgitate nonsensical, trendfacing babble with an air of authority, attend the right functions, look and sound the right way, and know when to jump ship. This guy, and those who surround him, have no clue what they're doing.

This!! Well stated! He must have been getting scared getting closer to retirement with little marks to show for it, so rip up the parks and get that lightning lane revenue cash flow to show he accomplished things after all .

 

[Comped]

I've been lucky enough to meet (and get to know some of) several generations of Disney executives over the years, spanning all the way from before Magic Kingdom was opened to the present day. There is a significant difference in behavior, belief, and capability, between those first 25 years or so, then the next 10 to 15 years, and finally the last 10 years or so. Up until not long before Eisner left, you could at least trust that at some point in their souls the executives cared about the parks, or the studio, or what have you. Much of that driven by the fact that until relatively recently (historically anyway), there were still quite a few people with some level of importance who had connections to those early days, some even to when Walt and Roy were still alive. They started passing on, over the past 15 years or so, and the company has seen a decline in leadership as a result. Because there are less people who can tell then what the best way is to do things, in terms of the company culture and in terms of history and in terms of what the guests actually want. Surveys are manipulated, "relevant" IP pushed to the forefront (even if questionable in use), and decisions made that actively compromise the guest experience.

It is my firm belief that this current crop, not just in Orlando but elsewhere, in large part anyway, do not know. They don't ask and nobody tells them otherwise. A director of a particular division of the company once said to me that his kids knew more about Disney than he did despite working at the company for over 20 years. I had one higher up (in a related division)ask me what guests thought about MDX, saying he never used it when he took his family to the parks usually but decided to do it that time because his brother-in-law complained the app was nearly unusable. A park vice president once told me that she prefers staying in her office to being on stage. I could go on and on and on. Many of these leaders have been recruited for technical or business expertise rather than believing in the company as much as Disney likes to claim otherwise. Fair play for some jobs I suppose, but if you're dealing with guest or customer related issues, it does help to have some idea.

Many actors and writers, myself included, say that if you want to create good art, you must have a darn good understanding of what came before you, what you are currently doing or will be doing, and what your competitors are doing. Why you do what you do. I can't say that's common sense anymor sadly, and not just at Disney.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

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

I definitely know people, Disney people, on message boards, etc. that definitely don't "get" the fandom of him and aren't fans

"Hate" may be a bit strong but they don't get the love for him.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Having ridden 1.0 numerous times, I, then and now, consider 1.0 as "timeless" as can be. I believe that if they bring it back, with the relatively small updates that would have organically happened if it had never closed (akin to many of the HM updates over the last 54 years), I believe they'll have a crowd-pleaser for perpetuity!

I don't know about perpetuity - I do think some of it is absence makes the heart grow fonder. Don't get me wrong, I loved the original and would welcome it back, but very few things last forever and stay popular. Horizons was a walk on for a while before it closed as another example

Definitely will be a hug improvement over what we have now but could also see some small updates needed 5+ years later just to keep it fresh

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I definitely know people, Disney people, on message boards, etc. that definitely don't "get" the fandom of him and aren't fans

"Hate" may be a bit strong but they don't get the love for him.

If you never went on the original ride, it's not hard to understand why

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If you never went on the original ride, it's not hard to understand why

I am sure that is part of it but some of these people are long time fans .... But do think the fact the current attractions isn't great certainly isn't helping convince people that don't "get it"

 

[Figments Friend]

I definitely know people, Disney people, on message boards, etc. that definitely don't "get" the fandom of him and aren't fans

"Hate" may be a bit strong but they don't get the love for him.

If they are primarily based in California, then that is understandable.
These people in most cases never had the chance to experience the Original ‘Journey’.
They are probably basing their understanding of the character on the crappy, current version of the Attraction.

In that case, it can be completely understood as to why they do not understand the appeal of Figment.
They have only ever known the bratty, annoying pest, who is indeed unappealing.
They never had the chance to meet the Figment people knew and loved, who was curious and inquisitive…and….well, appealing!

-

 

[Thelazer]

I'd love to know who and why they have this hate for what "Figment" represents... what, he represents your childhood, your never ending sense of wonder. What cold hearted executive HATES there childhood so much?

 

[DisneyHead123]

Seriously, what are they waiting for?

I think the issue is that a new Figment dark ride is unlikely to boost LL sales significantly.

 

[Thelazer]

Uh... your joking right?