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EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment

HMF

Well-Known Member
Well I mean, they definitely could. They could bankrupt the company and then we have nothing :/
That can be true about anybody. Plus I would rather see the company bankrupted and DL sold to a historical trust that will actually care for it over the animated corpse that the company is now. I don't trust the company anymore and believe it has outlived its usefulness.
 

Disgruntled Walt

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
That can be true about anybody. Plus I would rather see the company bankrupted and DL sold to a historical trust that will actually care for it over the animated corpse that the company is now. I don't trust the company anymore and believe it has outlived its usefulness.
If the company ceases to exist, I think there will be a lot more to worry about. At least right now it's still the same company that Walt founded, and someone with a good head on their shoulders can make different decisions than the ones disgruntling you now. If the company is split up, who knows what could happen? I may disagree with some of their recent decisions, but I'd never hope for its dismantling. That could spell disaster for ALL of it, and I definitely DON'T want that.
 

jah4955

Well-Known Member
If the company ceases to exist, I think there will be a lot more to worry about. At least right now it's still the same company that Walt founded, and someone with a good head on their shoulders can make different decisions than the ones disgruntling you now. If the company is split up, who knows what could happen? I may disagree with some of their recent decisions, but I'd never hope for its dismantling. That could spell disaster for ALL of it, and I definitely DON'T want that.
yeahhhh...I shudder to think what would happen if Saul Steinberg broke up the company in 1984 as alleged (it's debatable if it was ever really his intention, as he just wanted a "get rich quick scheme" and IT WORKED for him.).

(I'm going to overgeneralize again a smidgen, so please don't pounce with "WELL WHAT ABOUT THIS AND THIS AND THIS?????")

I vividly remember the sad state of Disney in 1984 (the low point the product of a slow fading that began with Walt's passing). WDW was great of course, but aside from seeing an occasional t-shirt, virtually no one gave Disney much (if any) thought beyond that.

I really believe that if Disney ended in 1984's Steinberg attempt it would even be, at best, even far less in the public consciousness than it was at its nadir.

For all his faults, one of the many great things Eisner did achieve was getting Disney and its offerings "out there" into public awareness everywhere he could.

I wouldn't say its at its 90s peak, but I would say Iger (again, in-spite of all his faults) too has tried to maximize brand awareness/exposure.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
Wasn't it Iger who more or less turned the public image of Disney into this big money-hungry behemoth that's obsessed with owning everything, though?
Iger has his faults in that case, I do agree. But like it or not, I think his idea was to bring in all these established brands with guaranteed fandoms and put them under one giant umbrella. It's pretty impressive to shareholders when you're the brand known for "owning everything" and yet still beloved by many and overall still one of the most liked brands.

I think you can get a lot of leeway as a company when the other guys are just about or worse in terms of money hungry and wanting to buy up everything. I mean Comcast buys Universal to try and repair their image, Netflix just bought Warner Bros, Six Flags buys Cedar Fair. To put it lightly, he's just playing the game that EVERYONE is playing at this point. Most companies feel like they're started to just get bought out by the bigger fish.

Disney had the simple decision. Become the bigger fish or explain to your shareholders why you shouldn't be swallowed by the bigger fish when the time comes around, because it was going to and still could technically. With the streaming wars still ongoing, many have talked about the possibility of Apple coming in.
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
Wasn't it Iger who more or less turned the public image of Disney into this big money-hungry behemoth that's obsessed with owning everything, though?
There were people who held that belief for a long time but it didn't really become completely accurate until Iger came in.
 

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
394da8a9-9547-4921-99f2-63dd8ff40d21_text.gif


Uh ..Um....Figment got a new Bus wrap where instead of just his head....He now appears to be popping out of the window...

that%27s-it-charles-nelson-reilly.gif
 

HMF

Well-Known Member
If the company ceases to exist, I think there will be a lot more to worry about. At least right now it's still the same company that Walt founded, and someone with a good head on their shoulders can make different decisions than the ones disgruntling you now. If the company is split up, who knows what could happen? I may disagree with some of their recent decisions, but I'd never hope for its dismantling. That could spell disaster for ALL of it, and I definitely DON'T want that.
If I saw any signs of hope on the horizon, I would probably change my mind but right now it seems like the next CEO will be Josh and more of the same Iger philosophy that will continue to plague actual creativity at the company.
 

AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
If I saw any signs of hope on the horizon, I would probably change my mind but right now it seems like the next CEO will be Josh and more of the same Iger philosophy that will continue to plague actual creativity at the company.
I feel like Josh is more of a yes man than Iger though and have hopes he would let off the leash a bit more. Honestly, I would be more worried the other way around that he hasn't had much chance to shine as his own person rather than fully backing whoever was in charge at the time over him being "another Iger".

Iger is many things but I don't think his plans would bankrupt the company anytime soon. As he bought a ton of other stuff and has some very reliable money makers under their belt. While there is less ratio of original/sequel/reboot content, those sequels/reboots essentially fund the movie side of the company when they keep making $1 billion dollars or at the worst, be wildly successful and allow them to tap again into the brand with all sorts of tie ins
 

FigmentsBrightIdeas

Well-Known Member
394da8a9-9547-4921-99f2-63dd8ff40d21_text.gif


Uh ..Um....Figment got a new Bus wrap where instead of just his head....He now appears to be popping out of the window...

that%27s-it-charles-nelson-reilly.gif
More Figment rep, atleast it seems it’s becoming more permanent. Would seem a foolish decision to invest in doing all that if you weren’t going to invest in the ride & more.
I feel like Josh is more of a yes man than Iger though and have hopes he would let off the leash a bit more. Honestly, I would be more worried the other way around that he hasn't had much chance to shine as his own person rather than fully backing whoever was in charge at the time over him being "another Iger".
My thoughts on D’amaro also, from what I’ve read about him regarding his interactions w CMs.. the fact he says Figment’s one of his favorites at the D23 unveiling of the meet n greet a couple years back, and the comments he makes directly referencing the OG Journey Into Imagination positively in the most recent ‘Imagineer That’ video, gives me hope.
My guess, is he’s basically just trying his best to stay on good terms with management to keep his position. Gotta say though.. found this quite funny, how Iger was “bristled” upon hearing about the concept of D’amaro being the next CEO. Boy, he ‘really’ must be a threat to Iger eh? Pretty weird reaction right? 😂 If the blatant narcissism of Iger wasn’t showing enough at Tony Baxter’s Legends award ceremony regarding his comments. This sure shows it. LOL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ike-the-ceo-in-waiting?embedded-checkout=true
 
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FigmentsBrightIdeas

Well-Known Member
Love the fact that you can very clearly see now that the current Sound Lab Figment is the former classic Realm of Art Figment holding the jar full of rainbows. His right (well ‘his’ left) arm is Infact posable. 🙂 It’s ‘so’ clear how he should be lifting/waving a lid and holding a jar w (through a light fog effect coming from the jar & projection/projection mapping) a rainbow to paint colors around the realm with instead of a phone & cord.
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FigmentsBrightIdeas

Well-Known Member
In all due seriousness though, who ever would’ve guessed we’d go from that great original utilization to seeing the most “phoned-in” attempt (literally!) at utilizing him again the way they did in the ‘02-current ride. 😆👌🏻 Like honestly, who thinks having him come in on a phone is a great idea for a major show scene of a “whimsical journey into the realms of imagination” or a “grand return”? Nothing like seeing Figment talking on a phone with Dr. Nigel Channing (despite him being in the same institute with us, seeing us as we ride apparently, judging by the opening scene & the vocal narration throughout) in a room full of nothing to inspire my creativity. The “whimsy”! 🙌🏻 How stupid.
And the funny part is, I swear.. they used a newly fabricated (for ‘02) static figure to do a similar action in the “Blast” finale (for 15 seconds, granted, but still).. why?? Who knows? lol! Pretty bizarre right? What a waste. May aswell be called Journey Into the Flavoring Institute of Fruit Stripe Gum with Figment (that must be what’s in the elusive “taste lab” you never see, cause you only get 15 seconds of any real flavor of what’s described/ what should be, near the end. Everything else during the 7 minutes of ride time is sensory exam crap that makes no sense. Like, they very clearly knew what we wanted, hence all the little references here & there and what can clearly be seen near the end (all done in static figures & painted flats mind you).. sooo yeeeah, why make the rest of the ride the crazy way it is?:
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FigmentsBrightIdeas

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, btw, wonder what the validity of this info is.. that Garth Jennings, supposedly was a director on the 02-current ride. Doesn’t sound all that plausible to me personally but hey, it’s worth a shot contacting them and seeing if they Infact did anything. : @Shishagumi
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FigmentsBrightIdeas

Well-Known Member
Iger has his faults in that case, I do agree. But like it or not, I think his idea was to bring in all these established brands with guaranteed fandoms and put them under one giant umbrella, yet still beloved by many and overall still one of the most liked brands.
Good idea on paper, but sadly the execution’s been pretty bad as of late. No use owning all these proven popular brands if you’re not gonna keep the unique identity & integrity that made them so popular to begin with intact. If you’re so set on changing them so much & not continuing them on tastefully, you may aswell just go with an original project ‘inspired by’ said IP or brand you don’t own and make it your own ‘or’ possibly hire some of the creatives behind those properties to create something new for the company instead.
 
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