A Spirited Perfect Ten

[BrerJon]

Go and ask him all the really hard questions we all wish that we could if we were in your position. If possible, of course

Mike, I love the quote from Walt Disney in your sig. It basically shows Walt himself was a Doom-and-Gloomer!

 

[Mike S]

Mike, I love the quote from Walt Disney in your sig. It basically shows Walt himself was a Doom-and-Gloomer!

That's why I chose it

 

[GoofGoof]

The original author seems to have left nothing but a vapor trail. Why? Why doesn't Mr. Snyder blog in another venue and protest that his articles were spiked? To my way of thinking, this entire scenario is just too pat. All the pieces in this puzzle were very quickly found and put together in record time and without the slightest bit of difficulty. And the entire story has been accepted as fact when precious few facts have been established. Hearsay has been elevated to evidence.

Something caused the article to be pulled. I think it's a pretty likely scenario that Iger or someone at Disney complained. I'm sure they used the childish shots at Iger's appearance or personality as a reason to call foul and ask for the removal. Unfortunately the author's attempt to appear witty may have overshadowed some valid points and questions. It made the whole tone of the article seem like a personal vendetta.

I don't think most people are assuming anything as a fact. If there was real evidence of the $800M being used for bribes it would be a major news story. The writer will probably pop back up again, but he has bills to pay so he may not want to risk attacking again for fear of more retaliation.

Edit: it actually looks like all of that writer's content was removed. Maybe he was fired or he may have been writing under a pseudonym.

 

[NormC]

The Oscars lost all credibility when it gave Michael Moore'on Best documentary for Bowling for Columbine. When you edit several interviews together to make it say what you want it to say it is no longer a documentary, it is fiction.

 

[WildcatDen]

You can't.

Reminds me of that scene in the Santa Clause where Scott Calvin basically asks Charlie if he could've become Santa without him and Charlie's response? "You Couldn't". So yeah, not "You can't" but close, right?

 

[Goofyernmost]

So what can we do to get wider press interested in Igergate? How do we bring this to the public's attention like SaveDisney managed to with Eisner?

It should be a good one for many publications - the boss of Disney is on course for a bumpy opening for Shanghai that will make EuroDisney's first years look quite healthy in comparison, losing stockholders tons of money, and in the process $800M has disappeared, possibly into the pockets of Chinese officials.

The only article to give negative analysis on Shanghai gets shut down by Iger's wife, in a big breach of journalism ethics.

These events should be really interesting to Wall Street publications, and anyone doing corporate investigative journalism, but nobody seems to care except us. Has Iger really built such an impenetrable wall of love around him that nobody has the slightest interest in questioning him anymore?

See if you can get Roy Disney to speak out on it. It might be a long distance call, but, you could give it a try.

 

[lazyboy97o]

See if you can get Roy Disney to speak out on it. It might be a long distance call, but, you could give it a try.

Roy Disney is alive. It's Roy Disney and Roy Disney who are dead.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Roy Disney is alive. It's Roy Disney and Roy Disney who are dead.

Well, let's round him up and get him on the job. We need some effectual behind the scenes people. I'll bet if we looked in the phone book (do they still make those) we could find out where Walt Disney lives as well and get him involved. Now that would pack some punch!

 

[bhg469]

Mike, I love the quote from Walt Disney in your sig. It basically shows Walt himself was a Doom-and-Gloomer!

He wasnt at the last meeting!

 

[BrerJon]

He wasnt at the last meeting!

He was too busy enjoying Frozen Summer Fun. And Frozen Winter Fun. Pretty much a lifetime of Frozen Fun, actually.

 

[Cesar R M]

He was too busy enjoying Frozen Summer Fun. And Frozen Winter Fun. Pretty much a lifetime of Frozen Fun, actually.

goes amazingly right with Walt's frozen head I presume.

 

[PhotoDave219]

See if you can get Roy Disney to speak out on it. It might be a long distance call, but, you could give it a try.

Ouija board.

 

[WDW1974]

I really do not post much due to my particular background but I have to say the moment I saw the dress this is what went through my mind. Sadly, this is not at all uncommon as its an easy way to manipluate search results to gain a more desired (for them) outcome.

Believe what you will but this isn't as far fetched as it sounds.

Thanks for chiming in. I think in our society in general people are always wanting/willing to jump on the easiest answer because it doesn't make them think.

So, in this case, it would be:

Willow has bad taste (unless you're a SW fanboi!);
Willow was simply supporting her husband;
Willow wanted people to be talking about her -- mostly in a bad way;

You don't read anything else into it. You ignore the fact that a story that placed her husband's very legacy in play was wiped off the Internet with absolute intent by individuals working on her orders. You don't read into the fact that Willow is as conservative as they come (simply look at what she has worn in the past). You don't read into the fact that she has worked VERY hard to NOT ever be seen as Mrs. Bob Iger, even if that is exactly what she is. You don't read into (and most people wouldn't know that) that people who had no idea who she was on Sunday were talking about her and her bizarre/tacky fashion choice.

You just go with the three simple statements I listed above and that is that.

The fact that until late on Sunday when you typed in a search on Google or Yahoo for ''Disney CEO'' what you still got very high in said search was a link to a dead story entitled ''Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China'' with a prominent photo of a HKDL tee featuring Yoda wearing Mouse Ears. An image that Iger and TWDC simply couldn't scrub of the 'net.

But guess what you get now?

You get a smiling Willow Iger wearing her ready for cosplay Yoda dress instead.

Look, Disney is placing most of its eggs in the China basket. Iger is pinning almost his entire legacy on it because if it fails on a massive scale, no one (even on Wall Street) will be crowing about buying Marvel and Lucas. If you don't think that Disney will do just about anything to silence any serious (and, yes, a HuffPo Op-Ed by a member of a media dynasty who actually works in China would be taken quite serious from Burbank to Wall Street to China) criticism of what Iger is doing than you are hopelessly naive about how major media corporations work in this country. Sumner or Rupert would have likely done the exact same thing.

You use your power to censor any threats to your power. It is Corporate Suite 101.

 

[WDW1974]

Now, since I'm hopelessly lost in Oscar posts, I'd like to state an opinion on Disney and how it is conducting business in China vs. what was said in that story.

The columnist never claimed that Disney was engaging in anything illegal at all. None. He stated that graft is a huge issue over there and the government is cracking down.

That is fact and that illustrates one of the major issues in doing business in the mainland.

The columnist never mentioned anything about SDL's 'missing $800 million' ... I did here. Actually, so did others. And we've been doing so for many months.

I'm also not saying Disney paid anyone off, let alone to the tune of $800 million.

However, a fact of doing business in China is money going to officials. Obviously, Disney (no company, I would think) would pay off people to the tune of $800 million as an entry fee.

But ... is it fair to question ... to wonder if some of that money might have been used for unethical and illegal uses? Again, considering what is going on, I'd say yes, it is.

And, considering that an Op-Ed that that had pretty much nothing to do with the above topics was censored ... well, I have to wonder (again, I did play a journalist a few lifetimes ago) if Dissney, if Iger wasn't concerned that the topic was going to be raised.

I certainly hope it is at the shareholders meeting. I wasn't planning on going, but maybe it's about time for Bob to meet the Spirit. Someone needs to ask the tough questions even if his answer is a blowoff ''That is absurd. TWDC always conducts itself in the most ethical manner possible and I won't even dignify that by saying anything else!''

Because either Disney is guilty of something, Disney is afraid of something or Bob's ego is so large that he'd put his wife's position and credibility on the line.

I admit I don't know which of the above is true. But neither does anyone else here (unless Bob has decided to start reading here!)

 

[WDW1974]

I spent lunch (well, more like breakfast) reading through the thread on the new P&R head Bob Chapek (who?!?!) with the inevitable comments about waiting and seeing.

That's fine if you are naive, if you are young, if you haven't been visiting WDW since the 1970s, or if you think WDW has never been better.

I think it's a profoundly dumb way of viewing things.

I've watched WDW get stale and neglected and overbuilt over the past 15 years and the refrain has always been the same ''just wait and see'' ... ''give them time'' ... ''let's see what (fill in with your exec of choice) can do, let's give him or her a chance.''

Uh-uh.

Not me.

It has been 15 long years since the Millennium. And most WDW lovers (or DL lovers) (or DLP lovers) will tell you that issues were showing in the late 90s already.

So, now another deck chair has been rearranged and to what end? Simply to put people in positions who are willing and able to carry out Bob Iger's vision of what WDW should be.

What has given you any confidence in the last decade that he even cares a little bit? Nothing.

What are you waiting for?

$200 MK tickets ... paying for FP ... a stratified system where only people who pay will get treated like VIPs ... another 8,000 hotel rooms or timeshares ... $75 a ala carte entrees for lunch at theme park restaurants ... $300 rooms at Pop Century ... more dead real estate in crowded hot parks that feel more like outlet malls ... more upcharge events at ever increasing price points ... would you like me to go on?

Because, you see, that is the ''wait and see'' approach. That is what you'll get.

And all while you have this tremendous tool called 'social media'' that fanbois waste blathering on about the Orange Bird, the WRE, Hub changes, paint, wall carpeting and how they generally hate each other. Change could be made ... REAL CHANGE ... if the idiots in theTwitverse ever got together. Oh, they won't ... because on some level they like getting treated like by corporations.

It's always easier to be a victim then to stand up and ruffle the feathers of those in power.

 

[WDW1974]

One last comment and I need to run from this MAGICal realm for the afternoon, but would you hand a 15-year-old keys to a new S-Class and go ''Have fun, Brandon!''? Would you want a brain surgeon operating on you who had been moved over from the business side of hospital operations? Would you want a novice flying your 737 through a violent storm? Would you let just anyone babysit your kids because they know what kids are, they may even have some?

I know people will claim these examples have nothing to do with Bob Chepak (I am gonna need to BRAND him with a nickname and being foliicly challenged myself I am not calling him Bald Bob!) but the underlying point absolutely fits.

Just because you're an executive in one unit of a massive corporation IN NO WAY makes you fit to run a division, a totally unrelated division, you don't have a day's experience in. C'mon, how stupid, how flat out dumb does one have to be to believe otherwise?

 

[danv3]

I certainly hope it is at the shareholders meeting. I wasn't planning on going, but maybe it's about time for Bob to meet the Spirit. Someone needs to ask the tough questions even if his answer is a blowoff ''That is absurd. TWDC always conducts itself in the most ethical manner possible and I won't even dignify that by saying anything else!''

If you do go, Disney can charge pay-per-view rates for people to watch the proceedings online!

 

[alphac2005]

I spent lunch (well, more like breakfast) reading through the thread on the new P&R head Bob Chapek (who?!?!) with the inevitable comments about waiting and seeing.

That's fine if you are naive, if you are young, if you haven't been visiting WDW since the 1970s, or if you think WDW has never been better.

I think it's a profoundly dumb way of viewing things.

I've watched WDW get stale and neglected and overbuilt over the past 15 years and the refrain has always been the same ''just wait and see'' ... ''give them time'' ... ''let's see what (fill in with your exec of choice) can do, let's give him or her a chance.''

Uh-uh.

Not me.

It has been 15 long years since the Millennium. And most WDW lovers (or DL lovers) (or DLP lovers) will tell you that issues were showing in the late 90s already.

So, now another deck chair has been rearranged and to what end? Simply to put people in positions who are willing and able to carry out Bob Iger's vision of what WDW should be.

What has given you any confidence in the last decade that he even cares a little bit? Nothing.

What are you waiting for?

$200 MK tickets ... paying for FP ... a stratified system where only people who pay will get treated like VIPs ... another 8,000 hotel rooms or timeshares ... $75 a ala carte entrees for lunch at theme park restaurants ... $300 rooms at Pop Century ... more dead real estate in crowded hot parks that feel more like outlet malls ... more upcharge events at ever increasing price points ... would you like me to go on?

Because, you see, that is the ''wait and see'' approach. That is what you'll get.

And all while you have this tremendous tool called 'social media'' that fanbois waste blathering on about the Orange Bird, the WRE, Hub changes, paint, wall carpeting and how they generally hate each other. Change could be made ... REAL CHANGE ... if the idiots in theTwitverse ever got together. Oh, they won't ... because on some level they like getting treated like **** by corporations.

It's always easier to be a victim then to stand up and ruffle the feathers of those in power.

Excuse me, but if I'm not mistaken, the Iger era is now ushering in The Art of Shaving and many other fine mall shops at the soon to be former Downtown Disney. What am I missing? As they say in the CoP, "that's progress dear." Progress towards completing the transformation of the "resort" into a time share and mall. Thanks, Bob.

 

[BrerJon]

Excuse me, but if I'm not mistaken, the Iger era is now ushering in The Art of Shaving and many other fine mall shops at the soon to be former Downtown Disney. What am I missing? As they say in the CoP, "that's progress dear." Progress towards completing the transformation of the "resort" into a time share and mall. Thanks, Bob.

I really, really wish that instead of calling the rebuilt area "Disney Springs" they had named it "It's A Mall World".

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I know people will claim these examples have nothing to do with Bob Chepak (I am gonna need to BRAND him with a nickname and being foliicly challenged myself I am not calling him Bald Bob!) but the underlying point absolutely fits.

Is Bob CHEAPak to obvious/easy (assuming it proves to be true)?