What happened to insiders?

[BasiltheBatLord]

It’s true that there used to be several users on the DL side of the forums who had genuine intel and reliable track records, but I can't think of a single one who's still active. TP is still around, but he stopped sharing information after the "DIS Influencer" exposé came out and he was named in it. There are still a couple of solid sources on the WDW side, though they’ve started to get drowned out by what I’d call “wannabe insiders”, people without real connections who just aggregate rumors from social media, present them as if they’re legitimate intel and then repeatedly pull a “whoops! anyway...” when their accuracy inevitably ends up being less than stellar.

 

[Figments Friend]

So many people were shifted out of the Company, let go, termed, or retired over the last few years.
So it is no surprise that things have thinned out as far as the real ‘Insiders’ go.

WDI itself had a massive turnaround during the Florida move proposal fiasco…with many people leaving the Company or moving on.
With such an upheaval, many of the folks with real ties went with them.

Info is also kept more quiet, as the increase in social media and the desperateness of the ‘lifestylerz’ and ‘vloggers’ for such nuggets has made the Company realize they need to keep a better lid on the can.
They like to be the ones controlling the message, perhaps even more so today.

But…stuff still does trickle out.
And there are certainly still folks out there who purposely ‘leak’ things to drum up excitement or gage responses.
This has always been going on…

-

 

[Figments Friend]

I think the rumour mill was also driven by imagineers trying to push their projects.

Oh indeed.

-

 

[CaptinEO]

No idea on the reasons why, but the lack of rumors does make things pretty boring. Could use @TP2000 neighbor lady talks for sure.

Al Lutz's writing style is greatly missed. Seems the current Micechat team misses the fun/snark Al had for "burbank" and "TDA".

Someone did mention Disney announces projects so far in advance. That D23 where they spitballed ideas a few years ago is a prime example of the company not knowing what theyre doing and was super embarrassing.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

There’s only been one “insider” for about 20 years

There are at least 2 very reputable ones on this very site with long track records of proven, accurate information

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There are at least 2 very reputable ones on this very site with long track records of proven, accurate information

Any that can approve budgets?

 

[TP2000]

The neighbor lady is still there it appears, TP just moved away. So maybe he can give you her address and you can be the next insider.

She actually retired. And like most upper-middle class retirees, she and her husband wisely got the hell out of California and recently moved to one of those Del Webb communities in Arizona. They love it there! We still do Christmas cards.

 

[TP2000]

TP is still around, but he stopped sharing information after the "DIS Influencer" exposé came out and he was named in it.

That sentence is about 55% to 60% accurate.

There's a few folks here who know the long, rather boring real story, but it's such an old story with roots in the 1990's that it's not really worth it in this future year of 2026.

 

[TP2000]

Someone did mention Disney announces projects so far in advance. That D23 where they spitballed ideas a few years ago is a prime example of the company not knowing what theyre doing and was super embarrassing.

I would have to imagine that's why so little is leaked and rumored nowadays.

They seem to throw anything that's 80% complete out onto the stage every two years at D23 Expo, introduce each thing via one hazy piece of artwork taken from 1,500 feet in the air at 480p with carefully over-scripted language vetted by Legal, and then just sort of wait a decade or more for it to get funded. Eventually.

"Look What Our Summer Intern Drew! Coming Sometime After 2030 If It's Approved! But It Won't Be So Hazy!

Sort of takes the legitimacy out of their product lineup, seems to me.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Would the real Troy Porter please stand up?

Oh not this again…

 

[Brer Oswald]

There are at least 2 very reputable ones on this very site with long track records of proven, accurate information

Martin and Len?

 

[mickEblu]

Martin and Len?

Martin never spills the beans though. Spirit was a giver.

 

[Nunu]

Martin and Len?

Yes, also @ToTBellHop .

 

[Phroobar]

"When everyone is an insider, no one is."

 

[_caleb]

Many here acknowledge Disney's strategy of "buying" influencers with souvenirs and access to information. Disney strategically (but not always effectively) opens/closes the information spigot to try to shape conversation among the fandom.

I'm among those who believe "insiders" (including the ones on these boards who randomly come and go) are part of this strategy.

I think Josh's Disney will understand and employ this more than Iger's.

 

[CaptinEO]

I would have to imagine that's why so little is leaked and rumored nowadays.

They seem to throw anything that's 80% complete out onto the stage every two years at D23 Expo, introduce each thing via one hazy piece of artwork taken from 1,500 feet in the air at 480p with carefully over-scripted language vetted by Legal, and then just sort of wait a decade or more for it to get funded. Eventually.

"Look What Our Summer Intern Drew! Coming Sometime After 2030 If It's Approved! But It Won't Be So Hazy!

View attachment 908105

Sort of takes the legitimacy out of their product lineup, seems to me.

So very true, its always the most vague bland concept art for a project that isn't usually funded at the time of announcement. If the final product happens it goes through many many revisions that usually never live up to the initial promise.

 

[CaptinEO]

That sentence is about 55% to 60% accurate.

There's a few folks here who know the long, rather boring real story, but it's such an old story with roots in the 1990's that it's not really worth it in this future year of 2026.

My favorite part about that story was them claiming you used theme park message boards to oust Michael Eisner to get Bob Iger in.

Like yes I'm sure the Disney board and investors were all on Miceage forums to get all their information . Also you clearly are not a fan of Iger regardless so that story never made any sense to me.

 

[TP2000]

My favorite part about that story was them claiming you used theme park message boards to oust Michael Eisner to get Bob Iger in.

That entire story that was told falls apart the moment you start picking at it. Like most conspiracy theories, especially the glamorous and exciting ones, it requires you to suspend rational thought and basic common sense at several key junctures in the tale.

But so many folks were so willing to want to believe it, they refused to step back for 3 seconds and think it through.

Like yes I'm sure the Disney board and investors were all on Miceage forums to get all their information . Also you clearly are not a fan of Iger regardless so that story never made any sense to me.

To be fair, as I've been chatting on chat boards for coming up on 30 years this summer, you could probably dig up old comments of mine from Usenet in the '97-'99 era, or Laughingplace in the '04-'08 era, etc. and see my thoughts on Eisner and Iger all evolve.

But then as rational humans talking about stuff we love, we all evolved our thoughts on those two men.

I remember being fairly opinionated in '04-'05 that it was time for Eisner to go. I was very supportive of Roy Disney's public campaign at that time. DCA 1.0 had been a horrific failure and was a huge embarrassment, and even the quick fixes thrown at it in '02-'04 were cheap downgrades (Tower of Terror, Bugs Land, MSEP, XGames, etc.). Paul Pressler was a complete disaster as Parks Chairman circa '98-'02, and Cynthia Harris's policies and operational decisions were literally killing Disneyland guests during that time.

I don't think anyone didn't want Eisner to leave by 2004.

My thoughts on Iger evolved similarly through the 2010's. By the time he chose Chapek to lead the Parks in 2015, I was quickly souring on being an Iger fan. That wasn't anything unique to me, I think the majority of us Parks fans felt the same way and our opinions and thoughts changed a lot in the late 2010's.

And to your point, a lot of my opinion was definitely shaped by the bitchy Al Lutz commentary of that era. Classic laughs!

 

[_caleb]

@CaptinEO, @mickEblu, @TP2000, are you guys saying there has never been any sort of attempt to use these boards as part of a marketing strategy?

 

[Phroobar]

My favorite part about that story was them claiming you used theme park message boards to oust Michael Eisner to get Bob Iger in.

Like yes I'm sure the Disney board and investors were all on Miceage forums to get all their information . Also you clearly are not a fan of Iger regardless so that story never made any sense to me.

It's been well documented that GeorgeLucasOnABench was behind the Eisner outage. It was a genius misdirection by George to blame TP2000. You can tell by the comparisons between Disney and the Titanic that where being made at the time by Al Lutz.