Joe Rohde announces retirement from WDI

[Nottamus]

Big shoes to fill...but his accomplishments are there to stand the test of time!

Happy retirement!

 

[Lilofan]

Even with all the company restructuring that affects execs being laid off also, Rohde was going to go his way, with style and I’m looking forward to any books he decides to write about his Disney adventure.

 

[esskay]

Big shoes to fill...but his accomplishments are there to stand the test of time!

Happy retirement!

Sadly there isn't really anyone left to fill them. The only Imagineers left aren't in a position to have any authority or real say on anything anymore.

 

[The Colonel]

Big earring to fill. Enjoy your retirement Joe. You've earned it.

 

[Obobru]

Best to "retire" now rather than have to churn out endless IP budget crud for his final years and taint his reputation for mostly quality.

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

So a question - does WDW still have a Pension System? For folks of this caliber, and length of service?
Reason I ask ... when DW & I retired from a major Chemical Company... part of our thought process was to DECLARE (a fairly legal term), before the Company changed, or eliminated, the Pension Plan.

 

[ThatMouse]

So a question - does WDW still have a Pension System? For folks of this caliber, and length of service?
Reason I ask ... when DW & I retired from a major Chemical Company... part of our thought process was to DECLARE (a fairly legal term), before the Company changed, or eliminated, the Pension Plan.

His pension and social security is nothing compared to his savings account and potential stock options.

 

[VJ]

I also get the feeling he was Baxtered.

And he, like Baxter, will probably be taken out of mothballs and paraded around when D23 needs a new article on the history of EPCOT Center or whatever. Then back into the crate he goes.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Not sad because he left, rather happy that he was able to be at Disney for 40 years! Think how incredible that is.

 

[tirian]

You don't need that kind of talent or originality if you're just going to build "IP screen ride in a box".

—Which is what we’re getting for the foreseeable future.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

This is a sad day... I feel like he was one of the few currently at Disney that truly "gets it." His work speaks for itself.

 

[tirian]

This is a sad day... I feel like he was one of the few currently at Disney that truly "gets it." His work speaks for itself.

He wasn’t perfect (Guardians Tower), but he was the last high-level person who “got it” (all of DAK).

This is a sobering day for WDI. They’ll still produce decent attractions, but their time of being head-and-shoulders above competitors has ended. Expect to see more “Yes, but...” attractions rather than “Yes, and...” The cuts will continue to be noticeable.

So long, Joe. We’ll miss you.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

but his accomplishments are there to stand the test of time!

Only if Chapek doesn’t ever believe that they aren’t more Disney, more family, more timeless, and more relevant.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

It kind of makes sense that he's retiring, if you think of the state Disney is currently in... Iger's gone; Chapek's in charge of the hen house now, any project that isn't near completion is essentially mothballed and things won't be "normal" for another year at best. What big project is left for him at Disney? 2020 will be a year to remember for Disney parks, but for all the wrong reasons.

 

[The Colonel]

Joe was the primary reason the Adventurers Club came into existence. IMO, the single greatest Disney attraction ever.

 

[PhantomTeaMistress999]

I am so sad right now.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just the fact that he was able to create the masterpiece that is Pandora out of an IP most people (myself included) couldn't care less about makes him a legend in my eyes.

...what about James Cameron?

did you not see everything before the ride or were you blindfolded up until they handed you the flight vizors?

See above.

And the rest of AK and Aulani amongst other things...

Woah there, newt...she’s rearin’

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Joe was the primary reason the Adventurers Club came into existence. IMO, the single greatest Disney attraction ever.

...this one is ticking timebomb...so I’m gonna leave it alone

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Joe always did seemed to be too good to be true for WDI. Meaning, too much of a philosophizing artist to work for a penny-vacuuming marketing machine like Disney. The time seems right.

Bulldozers for AK's Zootopia starting in 3... 2... 1...

I think the legacy is “complicated”...to say the least.

I’m too lazy to read...so forgive if this is repetitive:
Anyone have a theory on what exactly happened?

I see 4 possibilities.

 

[JoeCamel]

My guess is a combination of not wanting to be 72 cutting the next land opening ribbon and being Baxtered