A Spirited Perfect Ten

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
1.) A project that had been on the table dating to the late 90s that was greenlit ONLY because guests were falling below that MAGICal nine attractions a day threshold and the park was bursting at the seams (again, due to removing attractions, shops and dining locales, adding ODV, haviing FP dump people out of queues and renting double-wide strollers and ECVs to ever-larger guests);

2.) Again, we go back to a project that was largely BOH tech upgrades as well as apps, door locks and MAGICal tracking bands. Not an attraction. Not anything that made people take WDW trips that they wouldn't have anyway. Just a $2 billion plus expenditure ... you know the cost of an EPCOT Center;

3.) The only real addition in your list. A project that has only started vertical construction in last few months. A project announced in 2011 that will open in 2017-18. Largely, also, a vanity project for Iger to take the sting out of JK Rowling going to UNI and doing right by her creations;

4.) Seriously?! Of course. He should get full credit for the latest redo of Disney's mall/lifestyle center and infrastructure.

5.) We are now in 2015 and all he has done is save huge labor costs by closing vast swaths of that park and removing an eyesore. Sure, stuff is coming (good stuff, some possibly great) MANY YEARS from now when he will absolutely be gone from the company.



My opinion is it's disgusting.


Again, you are being subjective. I'm obviously being a Devils advocate through this whole discussion if that wasn't clear. The merit of the projects is everyone's subjective opinion (and I'm sure the general consensus is most don't have merit), but it was never my intention to talk about the worthiness of the projects. There are still 5 large scale investments that were "approved" during the last decade. We can all hate every single one of them if we want, but it does not change that objective fact.

You can't simultaneously discredit NFL because it somehow predates Iger and discredit DHS because it somehow post dates him. We don't need to spin the numbers to make him look worse.

Simply leave it at the five projects he did approve for WDW we mostly don't like, and there should have been "more" because one large scale project per theme park per ten years is simply not good enough.


My actual opinion though? There is a reason I've been to every other Disney (and some Universal) parks more often than the one time I've been to WDW in the last ten years... And proximity is definitely not it.
 

thehowiet

Wilson King of Prussia
"Mr. Iger, et al, would you be willing to take a 1 week vacation to Walt Disney World with the regular guests, stay at the POP Century, ride the bus to the parks every day, go through the steps of getting magic bands, try to get restaurant reservations, and FP+, fight the crowds, eat the same food, look at the same "Disney Parks" generic merchandise you can find at every shop, decide whether or not you need a chiropractor after you ride Space Mountain, wave at the broken yeti, visit City Hall and Guest Relations at each park and listen to the compaints for at least an hour, observe the abandoned buildings in Epcot, take a ride on the quarter century old monorails and hope they don't break down, and tell us whether you've had the most magical time possible?"

This is another good one. If the executive leadership actually cared about the guest experience half as much as they cared about the numbers, they would at least consider it. Unfortunately, I doubt Iger would even set foot in POP, let alone stay there as a guest.

I particularly applaud Iger's handling of the Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney redo. In 7 short years they have gone from an entertainment/retail center to an entertainment/retail center. The blistering pace of this transformation has been impressive, to say the least.

LOL. Dynamite.
 

bhg469

Well-Known Member
I don't know. Springfield is nice but I think a bit overrated. Even as a longtime fan of the Simpsons. Diagon or Hogsmeade leaves me speechless. Springfield isn't bad by any means but I wasn't overly impressed, except with Moe's.
Well i will be in diagon on March first. When I was there a year ago it was still walls. I think the biggest things I loved about springfield was the colors. It was so true to the show I was shocked at how it looked. Inside Moe's was sensory overload.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Well i will be in diagon on March first. When I was there a year ago it was still walls. I think the biggest things I loved about springfield was the colors. It was so true to the show I was shocked at how it looked. Inside Moe's was sensory overload.

I can see that. I don't know why it didn't completely wow me. I can't put my finger on it. They did a nice job. A really good job.

I'm liking what I'm seeing them do in Hollywood though.

Moe's 100% transported me though (definite sensory overload). I was meh on the food court part. I'm just picky and would have loved individual restaurants. I know that's sort of what it is but again, I'm probably just being overly picky.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I can see that. I don't know why it didn't completely wow me. I can't put my finger on it. They did a nice job. A really good job.

I'm liking what I'm seeing them do in Hollywood though.

Moe's 100% transported me though (definite sensory overload). I was meh on the food court part. I'm just picky and would have loved individual restaurants. I know that's sort of what it is but again, I'm probably just being overly picky.
The entire point of the Springfield overlay was to retheme the food court.
 

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Agree. I used to be one of those "leave the car parked and rely on Disney transportation" people. Then during our last trip, after seeing how long people were waiting for a bus, we decided to just drive to the parks. Never rode a bus again.

I always have a car but I don't stay overnight either (I'm mostly local ... lol). However, I do use the busses and monorail and boats when I'm there. I just don't feel like driving once there. Yeah it takes longer and the time I wait for the bus I could probably be on the road to the next park.... for me it's not really being immersed in the bubble but driving there and back I'm ready to just sit and use their transportation methods. LOL. It's just a different mind frame from someone who doesn't make just yearly or every other year trips.

Orlando's not seen as the destination by most people who visit (not everyone, of course). Walt Disney World is. Why have a car when they can do it all for you? I do agree people should get out of the bubble and do other things but really, who cares if they do or don't? LOL
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Again, you are being subjective. I'm obviously being a Devils advocate through this whole discussion if that wasn't clear. The merit of the projects is everyone's subjective opinion (and I'm sure the general consensus is most don't have merit), but it was never my intention to talk about the worthiness of the projects. There are still 5 large scale investments that were "approved" during the last decade. We can all hate every single one of them if we want, but it does not change that objective fact.

You can't simultaneously discredit NFL because it somehow predates Iger and discredit DHS because it somehow post dates him. We don't need to spin the numbers to make him look worse.

Simply leave it at the five projects he did approve for WDW we mostly don't like, and there should have been "more" because one large scale project per theme park per ten years is simply not good enough.


My actual opinion though? There is a reason I've been to every other Disney (and some Universal) parks more often than the one time I've been to WDW in the last ten years... And proximity is definitely not it.

The devil's advocate had topless redheads. Not sure you can compete.....
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
I don't know, I kind of see it. A day where a guests does 9+ attractions was a day with moderate-at-best crowds. Walkways weren't jammed, you could find a seat a lunch without too much effort, CMs weren't stressed out of their minds, maybe even took a few minutes to chat. An altogether much more pleasant experience than a day so busy the average guests gets 4 or 5 rides down before throwing in the towel.

The logical fallacy, of course, is assuming that riding 9 rides--rather than the conditions that allowed the guest to ride 9 rides comfortably--is what made the guest happy. But unlike the LSAT, there's no logic test on the GMAT. So a common MBA mistake.

My brother pulled it saturday & sunday.

The trick is to FP+ the headliners (POTC, HM, BTMM) and keep moving into something that is loading now or short wait (Tiki/COP). Keep moving, it can be done.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
I always have a car but I don't stay overnight either (I'm mostly local ... lol). However, I do use the busses and monorail and boats when I'm there. I just don't feel like driving once there. Yeah it takes longer and the time I wait for the bus I could probably be on the road to the next park.... for me it's not really being immersed in the bubble but driving there and back I'm ready to just sit and use their transportation methods. LOL. It's just a different mind frame from someone who doesn't make just yearly or every other year trips.

Orlando's not seen as the destination by most people who visit (not everyone, of course). Walt Disney World is. Why have a car when they can do it all for you? I do agree people should get out of the bubble and do other things but really, who cares if they do or don't? LOL
I think that part of the reason that people express the idea that having your own vehicle is good is based on what we are constantly hearing about the cost of a Disney Vacation. I know that I bother to write all this stuff out millions of times because I really feel that these people are missing out on so many things when they just lock themselves into the resort.

Yes, it has everything that is needed to survive for weeks on end without ever stepping foot outside of the property, but, it comes at a very high price. When I think that so many kids are never going to be able to go to WDW because their parents are convinced that there is no way to afford it and not stay in the complete care of Disney. I have gone there for 32 years, 43 trips and have only stayed onsite once and I couldn't wait to get out of the place. I even had a car, but I felt confined to the place, stuck in a room the size of my walk-in closet at home for a price that took my breath away and that was a discounted rate.

After a while I decided to add the non-expiration part to my remaining tickets and went exploring. I love central Florida. 60 miles to the east is the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches that run into it. 60 miles to the west is the Gulf of Mexico and likewise on the beaches. Kennedy Space Center, Lego Land, Sea World, Universal and even Silver Springs are within driving range. Wondering down the highway past miles and miles of orange groves and so many other things that it boggles the mind.

I just want to dispel the idea that driving around WDW or parts of Florida is any big deal. It isn't. My children all have a love of WDW because the real magic was in the parks. All that was in the hotel that wasn't in outside hotels is a TV with extremely limited selections of stations to watch. The without ADR choices of dining was not only limited but awful. The Food Courts are not on anybody's list of fine cuisine.

That all, of course, is just my opinion and not the opinions of others. I just want to try and get across the point enjoying MK, Epcot, DHS or DAK can be affordable and very enjoyable without confining oneself to a single destination in a very interesting state.
 

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Interesting food for thought

Disney and more says MyMagic+ will be in Disneyland in 2016 Paris 2017 Tokyo 2018

They also talked a lot about the future park enhancements coming. Supposedly lots of backlot tour props from DHS are going to the studios in Paris.
Not surprising. I mean, they already dumped old Horizons and Animal Kingdom stuff there. The frame of the Discovery River Iguanodon figure has been sitting out in the elements for years now.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
Not surprising. I mean, they already dumped old Horizons and Animal Kingdom stuff there. The frame of the Discovery River Iguanodon figure has been sitting out in the elements for years now.
Such a waste. They could've at least put it somewhere else in DinoLand.
 

matt78

Well-Known Member
Staggs is the one in control of the theme parks.

Anyone who thinks that Iger has anything to do with them is soley mistaken. All Iger cares about is the numbers.

Of course, these are the exact same holes that are unwilling to green-light a Star Wars expansion until they see the numbers from the next movie. Ya know, to make sure its a succesful franchise and the whatnot. I mean, its only the most profitable & marketed IP ever made, but the Disney execs are quite sold on this so-called "Star Wars".....

Then why have Star Wars Weekends if Star Wars isn't a draw for the park? Why did they spend $4 billion for it if they don't have any confidence in it?
 

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Such a waste. They could've at least put it somewhere else in DinoLand.
Behold
IMG_2058.jpg

If they were smart enough to find a way around the issue of CTX having a specific story and getting around timelines or whatever, you could have a paddock off to the side of the Institute near the exit as a photo-op.
 

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