A Spirited Perfect Ten

[DDLand]

Cars Land is the exception, Lasseter used every bit of his political influence to make Cars Land happen quickly. He also burned a lot of bridges at TWDC doing so. There is no one in the Lucasfilm organization with that kind of juice with the BoD.

I'm not going to dispute the why and the how of the DCA project, but you are missing the best champion on the Board of Directors I can think of. Not from LucasFilm, but the man who's spearheaded its relaunch. Spent Billions on acquiring and marketing it. Personally announced the project and is putting it in the flagship park (leaving a pretty significant legacy).

Robert Iger.

I know for you this probably sounds stupid, but you have to admit he can get involved when he chooses to. I remember reading an interview of his from a couple years back touring through the parks talking about the design process of Cars Land. He went on RSRs and was taking note of effects not working. He was walking the property like someone who actually cared.

He has the most to gain. This would be the perfect send off project for a CEO who is widely respected in the industry (anyone remember what else is happening in 2018?). Reinventing Walt's Park and boosting profits and returns in the process. He'll be heralded as someone who was willing to "take a risk" and wait for the new SW characters before starting construction. He'll be noted as someone who wisely accelerated the project and got it built in less time then Cars. He'll be remembered as someone who brought synergy to the next level.

Then he'll retire.

Even you have to admit the above plan sounds tempting to someone @WDW1974 constantly accuses of having an "ego." Whether or not that's the case is irrelevant, it's a flashy goodbye for a CEO.

 

[JoeCamel]

As of the 21'st of December there was a Beetlejuice show the ride itself is gone though.

That was three weeks ago, keep up man keep up

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'm not going to dispute the why and the how of the DCA project, but you are missing the best champion on the Board of Directors I can think of. Not from LucasFilm, but the man who's spearheaded its relaunch. Spent Billions on acquiring and marketing it. Personally announced the project and is putting it in the flagship park (leaving a pretty significant legacy).

Robert Iger.

I know for you this probably sounds stupid, but you have to admit he can get involved when he chooses to. I remember reading an interview of his from a couple years back touring through the parks talking about the design process of Cars Land. He went on RSRs and was taking note of effects not working. He was walking the property like someone who actually cared.

He has the most to gain. This would be the perfect send off project for a CEO who is widely respected in the industry (anyone remember what else is happening in 2018?). Reinventing Walt's Park and boosting profits and returns in the process. He'll be heralded as someone who was willing to "take a risk" and wait for the new SW characters before starting construction. He'll be noted as someone who wisely accelerated the project and got it built in less time then Cars. He'll be remembered as someone who brought synergy to the next level.

Then he'll retire.

Even you have to admit the above plan sounds tempting to someone @WDW1974 constantly accuses of having an "ego." Whether or not that's the case is irrelevant, it's a flashy goodbye for a CEO.

You're buying into fluff and lies.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I merely want Disney to live up to the standards they set for THEMSELVES in years past.

I hear that all the time. Let's assume it's true. What you are asking is that they live up to the standards set by someone else. They have their own standards probably. If you bought a company from someone else, would you necessarily not have a different agenda and follow that of the previous owner. Disney is no different, the people that set those standards are no longer: a) alive or b) with the company or c) give a damn about past standards.

On top of that what you observed at this moment in time, may not even exist 10 minutes from now. Timing is everything. It is amazing how many people forget what things were like back in the beginning. I remember seeing stuff like that in the 80's, but, it was gone the next time I passed the area. Again a snapshot in time, not necessarily what everyone witnesses and if you're truly just having a good time then many of those things would go unnoticed and that was the case in your early visits. Now, you have seen it all and you are able to focus on negatives that you didn't even notice in the beginning.

Since shortly after Walt passed away, the, so called, standards have been a product of the Marketing Department that most of the free world fell for hook, line and sinker.

 

[DGracey]

I'm not going to dispute the why and the how of the DCA project, but you are missing the best champion on the Board of Directors I can think of. Not from LucasFilm, but the man who's spearheaded its relaunch. Spent Billions on acquiring and marketing it. Personally announced the project and is putting it in the flagship park (leaving a pretty significant legacy).

Robert Iger.

I know for you this probably sounds stupid, but you have to admit he can get involved when he chooses to. I remember reading an interview of his from a couple years back touring through the parks talking about the design process of Cars Land. He went on RSRs and was taking note of effects not working. He was walking the property like someone who actually cared.

He has the most to gain. This would be the perfect send off project for a CEO who is widely respected in the industry (anyone remember what else is happening in 2018?). Reinventing Walt's Park and boosting profits and returns in the process. He'll be heralded as someone who was willing to "take a risk" and wait for the new SW characters before starting construction. He'll be noted as someone who wisely accelerated the project and got it built in less time then Cars. He'll be remembered as someone who brought synergy to the next level.

Then he'll retire.

Even you have to admit the above plan sounds tempting to someone @WDW1974 constantly accuses of having an "ego." Whether or not that's the case is irrelevant, it's a flashy goodbye for a CEO.

Thank you for such an intelligent post. I think you're bang on.

 

[DDLand]

You're buying into fluff and lies.

Am I? You don't think that Disney PR wouldn't play it up how I described it above? That the markets would adore this move? That Robert Iger isn't the least bit tempted by legacy building?

Frankly I think SW Land is a safe bet that will almost be a guaranteed success. I think Disney thinks this too. That's why they're going full speed ahead. I have a strong feeling that SW Land is a pet project of Iger's. I could be wrong and he's just too focused on Shanghai and ESPN to care, but I have a feeling that's not the case.

His contract ends June 30 2018. Say it opens two or three months later. He and new CEO Staggs are on hand to do a symbolic changing of the guards. Everyone will talk about the genius of Iger. Oh and Staggs will be sure to remind them that it only gets better. Opening early next year SW Land 2 will launch in Orlando. They'll eat it up.

Is it fluff? Yeah. I'm not sure if simply observing fluff is the same thing as buying it though.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Am I? You don't think that Disney PR wouldn't play it up how I described it above? That the markets would adore this move? That Robert Iger isn't the least bit tempted by legacy building?

Frankly I think SW Land is a safe bet that will almost be a guaranteed success. I think Disney thinks this too. That's why they're going full speed ahead. I have a strong feeling that SW Land is a pet project of Iger's. I could be wrong and he's just too focused on Shanghai and ESPN to care, but I have feeling that's not the case.

His contract ends June 30 2018. Say it opens two or three months later. He and new CEO Staggs are on hand to do a symbolic changing of the guards. Everyone will talk about the genius of Iger. Oh and Staggs will be sure to remind them that it only gets better. Opening early next year SW Land 2 will launch in Orlando. They'll eat it up.

Is it fluff? Yeah. I'm not sure if simply observing fluff is the same thing as buying it though.

Iger wanted to offload the parks. He doesn't like them. He is building Star Wars Land because it was demanded by Wall Street.

Staggs already had a big hand in running the Company into the ground once. There shouldn't be excitement over him getting a second chance at it.

 

[Nubs70]

Disney is talking about sinking $800M in construction costs in FL and CA in one year. That's more than Universal spent on both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley over 5 years.

That's money that could have been spent on stock buybacks.

Once you sink that kind of money into a project, you don't want it sitting around collecting dust. You want that investment increasing cash flow as quickly as possible. You want to show shareholders that it was money well spent.

You want the hockey stick as close to a 90 degree angle as possible.

 

[indyumd]

Iger wanted to offload the parks. He doesn't like them. He is building Star Wars Land because it was demanded by Wall Street.

He also made them double down on building a far more immersive, more expensive Star Wars Land in the last year that he made sure to personally announce at D23. Regardless of his motivations for greenlighting them, its clear that he wants Star Wars (the movies and the land) to cap off his legacy at Disney.

 

[Nubs70]

Some analytics:
2,259,847 page views/year =
6191 per day
258 per hour
4.3 per minute

That aught to be worth some WDW swag.

 

[John]

I hear that all the time. Let's assume it's true. What you are asking is that they live up to the standards set by someone else. They have their own standards probably. If you bought a company from someone else, would you necessarily not have a different agenda and follow that of the previous owner. Disney is no different, the people that set those standards are no longer: a) alive or b) with the company or c) give a damn about past standards.

On top of that what you observed at this moment in time, may not even exist 10 minutes from now. Timing is everything. It is amazing how many people forget what things were like back in the beginning. I remember seeing stuff like that in the 80's, but, it was gone the next time I passed the area. Again a snapshot in time, not necessarily what everyone witnesses and if you're truly just having a good time then many of those things would go unnoticed and that was the case in your early visits. Now, you have seen it all and you are able to focus on negatives that you didn't even notice in the beginning.

Since shortly after Walt passed away, the, so called, standards have been a product of the Marketing Department that most of the free world fell for hook, line and sinker.

BS! Tell that to my mother ( 20 yr retired CM) as she broke in to tears upon seeing the state of what she calls "her resort" Pop Century. I respect your "opinion" but that doesn't mean your is correct either. Sorry, but she worked hard to maintain those standards that you call a product of marketing. She was/is extremely proud of her work at WDW. I am not letting you get away with spewing crap that I know is 100% crap! She will tell you about the change in culture among both management and among cm's. About the difference in how TWDC/TDO handles things like maintenance. You are just plain wrong.

 

[Phil12]

With Disney it's unecessary to make things up to make them look bad, They do that quite nicely on their own and contrary to popular belief I don't go looking for stuff. Course with Today's Disney one does not have to it's as now it's ok to have garbage blowing in the wind and overflowing trash containers. No what's wrong simply screams what used to be called BAD SHOW.

I merely want Disney to live up to the standards they set for THEMSELVES in years past.

One of these days I should really make a trip devoted to broken stuff, trash etc and live blog it with geotags on the photos so you too can locate it for your own inspection, But when I visit I'm more interested in having fun with friends and family than documenting broken crap however that does not mean I don't see the broken crap or notice the poor service and comment about it later .

WDW is a fine candidate for bringing back the 'Ashcan School' of photography (look it up).

It's been done. Years ago there was a site devoted to broken stuff at WDW. The site failed but here's some discussion from the way-back machine: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/disney-world-blues.18587/

Oh, and don't click on the old links in that thread because they go to some site in China and you might get an infection.

 

[DDLand]

Iger wanted to offload the parks. He doesn't like them. He is building Star Wars Land because it was demanded by Wall Street.

Staggs already had a big hand in running the Company into the ground once. There shouldn't be excitement over him getting a second chance at it.

Do you remember who announced SW Land? Who not only took the stage, but took the stage in front of all the classic Hollywood media because this was a project so big that the theme park fans weren't good enough?

This guy.

The same guy who said the highest priority for the Walt Disney Company was Shanghai Disney Resort. The same guys who needs a division to shine as another one is experiencing road bumps or even major "disruption."

You can tell me at one time Disney was looking at exiting theme parks. That's not what they're doing now though. They're doubling down.

SW Land is likely going to be critical to his legacy, especially as a tool to offset ESPN's trouble.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Do you remember who announced SW Land? Who not only took the stage, but took the stage in front of all the classic Hollywood media because this was a project so big that the theme park fans weren't good enough?View attachment 125382

This guy.

The same guy who said the highest priority for the Walt Disney Company was Shanghai Disney Resort. The same guys who needs a division to shine as another one is experiencing road bumps or even major "disruption."

You can tell me at one time Disney was looking at exiting theme parks. That's not what they're doing now though. They're doubling down.

SW Land is likely going to be critical to his legacy, especially as a tool to offset ESPN's trouble.

Showing up when analysts have demanded it isn't a personal interest. Nor is finally getting around to actual re-investment "doubling down." The theme parks are just as despised as always.

 

[DDLand]

The theme parks are just as despised as always.

What would prove their interest? Original attractions?

 

[indyumd]

Showing up when analysts have demanded it isn't a personal interest. Nor is finally getting around to actual re-investment "doubling down." The theme parks are just as despised as always.

This can all be true and Iger can still see Star Wars as the way to finish off his legacy. They aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What would prove their interest? Original attractions?

Acting more of their own accord would be a start.

 

[WildcatDen]

Shame the hulk is down, it's the best coaster I've ridden.…

You need to get to Ohio!!!

 

[zakattack99]

Parsecs is distance in Star Wars too. The Kessel Run is a route that usually involves having to navigate around hazards like black hole clusters. The Falcon's fast enough and has a navigational computer so good that it can actually calculate a shorter path through those dangers and actually pull it off.

Lol you beat me 2 it I was about to explain the same thing!

 

[Smiddimizer]

Do you remember who announced SW Land? Who not only took the stage, but took the stage in front of all the classic Hollywood media because this was a project so big that the theme park fans weren't good enough?View attachment 125382

This guy.
.

He even stole one of Lucas's check shirts