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A Spirited Perfect Ten
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Nubs70
Well-Known Member
So what is your position on Hope Solo??
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Also should be in jail.
Spirited Weekend Shanghai Surprise:
I'm sure you all (not really) recall last year when longtime Euro Disney SCA head Philippe Gas quite suddenly wound up being named the GM of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Seemed a bit abrupt, no? Considering how well liked Gas was in his native France and how close Disney was to taking actual ownership control of the resort for the first time in its history, it was not planned.
What you might not have known (and, indeed, I didn't know some of these details until the last 48 hours) was the murky circumstances regarding Gas taking over and why he did.
First off, he replaced a 24-year WDC veteran in Mike Crawford (no, not dead Card Walker's Twit Pal and D23 ... well, I don't what the heck he does for them but I'm sure he's underpaid!) who had up until the prior week (late July) been SDL's GM. He also had the Sr. VP tag and, more importantly, was President of the Walt Disney Holding Company of Shanghai.
Mike began his career at WDW as a member of the College Program as an undergrad at Bowling Green (back when being a CPer actually meant something). He was more than the title 'GM' implies -- that was the reward -- as he was instrumental to bringing the negotiations to build there to a conclusion in 2009. He was by far the highest ranking (leaving out Bob Weis and WDI) Disney official working on the project in a leadership role. And, unlike Bob Weis, Mike and his entire family had relocated to Shanghai.
Shanghai was home.
But, mere weeks after Bob Iger's announcement to Wall Street and the American press about an $800 million infusion for SDL that was described as being for additional attractions and expanded capacity, Crawford made it very clear he was 'uncomfortable' with the way the project was moving forward (read into that what you like), the delays (moving from an internal Spring 2015 planned opening to a late 2015 opening to a winter 2015 opening that has since moved to mid-2016), and -- most importantly -- the alliances that he/Disney were being forced to make in order to keep the project from totally falling apart.
Apparently, he brought the complains to Tom Staggs, who did nothing, so he went directly to Bob Iger, who (according to my sources) ''tried to talk him down'' ... indeed, The Weatherman thought he had averted a storm and had talked Crawford into remaining in his position comfortably.
That was not the case.
As I've been told, once Mr. Crawford and his family were safely ensconced at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore, word came down that the widely seen as a Disney-lifer (think Georgie K mold, but higher profile in business quarters) would not be returning to Disney. I have it on good authority that he told this to Bob Iger via a very brief email and that Tom Staggs made numerous pleading phone calls on Bob's behalf imploring him to stay and knowing it wouldn't look good to have Disney's highest ranking non-Chinese face simply desert the project just as China's massive anti-graft campaign kicked into high gear.
Regardless, Crawford was clearly unhappy and worried about being high enough in the Disney hierarchy, yet low enough, that he could be made into a fall guy for both the CCP and TWDC.
Within a week, while in Singapore and without clearing out his Shanghai office or his home, Crawford was named President of the Asia-Pacific region for Four Seasons. A position that was created expressly for him.
All of the 'power' for Disney's Chinese businesses now resides firmly in the hands of Stanley Cheung, who was quickly named to a position that had never existed before last July, Chairman of TWDC of Greater China. I'll put the official press release here, so I don't repeat things: http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/dis...president-walt-disney-company-asia-stanley-ch .
Oddly enough, Crawford had expressed concerns over Cheung's role in the company and his ''chummy'' relationship with government officials (also known as Shendi). Cheung has been pushing certain contracts that not only did Crawford not agree with, but they were in direct conflict with existing policies (and even contracts) with global vendors out of Burbank. Cheung would make decisions and insist they had to be regardless of any consequences for the project to continue to move toward completion ...one can only wonder (unless some reporter in the business community actually does their job and looks into this) whether Crawford was thinking he and his career (and possibly his freedom) would be one of those consequences.
I'm sure you all (not really) recall last year when longtime Euro Disney SCA head Philippe Gas quite suddenly wound up being named the GM of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Seemed a bit abrupt, no? Considering how well liked Gas was in his native France and how close Disney was to taking actual ownership control of the resort for the first time in its history, it was not planned.
What you might not have known (and, indeed, I didn't know some of these details until the last 48 hours) was the murky circumstances regarding Gas taking over and why he did.
First off, he replaced a 24-year WDC veteran in Mike Crawford (no, not dead Card Walker's Twit Pal and D23 ... well, I don't what the heck he does for them but I'm sure he's underpaid!) who had up until the prior week (late July) been SDL's GM. He also had the Sr. VP tag and, more importantly, was President of the Walt Disney Holding Company of Shanghai.
Mike began his career at WDW as a member of the College Program as an undergrad at Bowling Green (back when being a CPer actually meant something). He was more than the title 'GM' implies -- that was the reward -- as he was instrumental to bringing the negotiations to build there to a conclusion in 2009. He was by far the highest ranking (leaving out Bob Weis and WDI) Disney official working on the project in a leadership role. And, unlike Bob Weis, Mike and his entire family had relocated to Shanghai.
Shanghai was home.
But, mere weeks after Bob Iger's announcement to Wall Street and the American press about an $800 million infusion for SDL that was described as being for additional attractions and expanded capacity, Crawford made it very clear he was 'uncomfortable' with the way the project was moving forward (read into that what you like), the delays (moving from an internal Spring 2015 planned opening to a late 2015 opening to a winter 2015 opening that has since moved to mid-2016), and -- most importantly -- the alliances that he/Disney were being forced to make in order to keep the project from totally falling apart.
Apparently, he brought the complains to Tom Staggs, who did nothing, so he went directly to Bob Iger, who (according to my sources) ''tried to talk him down'' ... indeed, The Weatherman thought he had averted a storm and had talked Crawford into remaining in his position comfortably.
That was not the case.
As I've been told, once Mr. Crawford and his family were safely ensconced at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore, word came down that the widely seen as a Disney-lifer (think Georgie K mold, but higher profile in business quarters) would not be returning to Disney. I have it on good authority that he told this to Bob Iger via a very brief email and that Tom Staggs made numerous pleading phone calls on Bob's behalf imploring him to stay and knowing it wouldn't look good to have Disney's highest ranking non-Chinese face simply desert the project just as China's massive anti-graft campaign kicked into high gear.
Regardless, Crawford was clearly unhappy and worried about being high enough in the Disney hierarchy, yet low enough, that he could be made into a fall guy for both the CCP and TWDC.
Within a week, while in Singapore and without clearing out his Shanghai office or his home, Crawford was named President of the Asia-Pacific region for Four Seasons. A position that was created expressly for him.
All of the 'power' for Disney's Chinese businesses now resides firmly in the hands of Stanley Cheung, who was quickly named to a position that had never existed before last July, Chairman of TWDC of Greater China. I'll put the official press release here, so I don't repeat things: http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/dis...president-walt-disney-company-asia-stanley-ch .
Oddly enough, Crawford had expressed concerns over Cheung's role in the company and his ''chummy'' relationship with government officials (also known as Shendi). Cheung has been pushing certain contracts that not only did Crawford not agree with, but they were in direct conflict with existing policies (and even contracts) with global vendors out of Burbank. Cheung would make decisions and insist they had to be regardless of any consequences for the project to continue to move toward completion ...one can only wonder (unless some reporter in the business community actually does their job and looks into this) whether Crawford was thinking he and his career (and possibly his freedom) would be one of those consequences.
Sounds like every Marvel film I've seen.
My plush Yoda (wearing Mouse Ears) weeps for you!
I'm hoping for a trifecta of E-ticket dark rides (Alice, BatB, Frozen).
You'll be very very happy, I think.
Ah, but they don't. They sell the place based on PR spin created at Celebration Place. None of them talk about Disco Yeti, CoP falling apart, PotC being a disaster, a Studios park that for most families may have 3-5 attractions to do etc. So, they aren't telling about what WDW is offering. They're telling people about a perfect place that doesn't exist, and has never existed.
I don't know that their businesses would collapse. Miceage (and before that when Al was part of Mouseplanet) grew to true businesses by showing DLR as it really was and pulling no punches.
And if you claim to be a fan and use that to make money and get freebies from Disney, don't you have an obligation to your audience to be honest? MAGICal Steve aka @wdwmagic may not agree with some of what I post, but he'll criticize Disney on these boards when he sees fit. I still see loads of ads here, including WDW and DCL ones.
Oh, and I'm not talking about Mongello or Brigante. Anyone with a quarter of a functioning brain gets that they are totally BRAND advocates for TWDC. Universal? I know not of what you speak should be used anytime anyone accuses Mongello of actually having ethics.
I'd argue that a forum like this or the DIS Boards or Deb Wills All Ears site would be far better as accurate planning tools for anyone attempting trip planning.
I'd also argue that Mongello shouldn't even be considered an expert because he is so biased. But since CNN just had Charles Barkley (yes, that one) talking about race relations in the USA, I guess anyone can be considered an expert on anything.
I think there are multiple individuals out there already who could opt to do this, but would rather not because that is the easy, the self-serving thing to do. ... There is certainly enough anger and disappointment with the way WDW is run that a site that showed the good, bad and ugly would very much have an audience IF it was someone with an existing site and flock of followers.
I wonder if Ken Potrock is paying attention. Maybe someone should email him a link to the comments ...
Thanks. I do my part to entertain, educate and make people think ... I really didn't expect to be spending this much time back here, but things are much more exciting than they appear right now ... just not in the swamps.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Yes they have one this Fall. Construction should start in earnest this fiscal year based on the significant surge in spending.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
I'll admit it: I'm burned out on Marvel's product. Even if I wanted to see the Avengers sequel, I'd need to go back and do homework to catch up with the "universe." There's just too much that the audience is supposed to know (Infinity stones? Quicksilver? Vision (is that like the eye doctor superhero)? Scarlet something? Never heard of any of 'em.)
Based on what I've read, it sounds like the narrative is getting more and more convoluted. If you stop following the series, you can't just jump back in without being lost.
In one of the threads around here Harry Potter came up as a comparison with the Marvel movies. One of the things Potter had going for it was there was a clear confrontation that everything was building towards: Harry versus Voldemort (who now occupies the governor's mansion in Tallahassee).
What are these Marvel films moving toward? It seems like there's never an end to the story -- the story just expands and continues to introduce more characters. It just seems like a factory producing an endless stream of CGI fights and a handful of character moments.
I liked Guardians of the Galaxy a lot, but only because it felt like a standalone film. If the sequel pulls that story further into the Marvel universe, I probably won't be as impressed.
Sped2424
Well-Known Member
Awesome I guess by d23 we should get more concrete details.
ThemeParkTraveller
Well-Known Member
According to the 2015 Refurbishment Calendar, iasw is due to remain open for the rest of the year. Same with the Raceway and StarJets. None of the plans for NFL can start without these being moved/removed. It doesn't seem any significant construction is starting in Fantasyland this year, although there are two exceptions in Peter Pan and the Carousel (closing for 9 and 10 months respectively). I'm guessing the first work to start will be a makeover of existing facades from the tacky carnival tents to medieval-style buildings (like DL and DLP).
I would expect so too. They announced that they planned to determine the exact facilities (rides, restaurants, shops) going into each area by the end of 2015.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
It really is funny when they bring in Barkley to talk about anything and everything. I think the reason companies do it is because they know he's going to tell his unfiltered opinion regardless of the topic. It really is rare to find that anywhere these days.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
Infinity Stones = Marvel Galactic ( Avengers, GOTG)
Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch= brotherhood of mutants, aka x-men
Seems pretty straightforward.
But yeah, for those who are not used to see the Marvel Universe in the cartoons or comic way... its like they will need a crash course.
StageFrenzy
Well-Known Member
This originally started out as a response to @TalkingHead but @jt04 happens
I never was a "comic book guy" despite my geekieness. However I have been keeping up with the MCU through all it's films and a little of the Internets (a series of spirted tubes for the Lutzes). I have a pretty good understanding where they are bringing the "Miracles" from because much like the hillbilly @Lee I didn't stop watching THE Avenger! The MCU are moving towards Thanos and then I dunno the 8th Civil War. For now the Marvel brand* has my attention, and I will be following it until the Inhumans. After that I make no promises!
I never was a "comic book guy" despite my geekieness. However I have been keeping up with the MCU through all it's films and a little of the Internets (a series of spirted tubes for the Lutzes). I have a pretty good understanding where they are bringing the "Miracles" from because much like the hillbilly @Lee I didn't stop watching THE Avenger! The MCU are moving towards Thanos and then I dunno the 8th Civil War. For now the Marvel brand* has my attention, and I will be following it until the Inhumans. After that I make no promises!
Captain Neo
Well-Known Member
By "business park" you mean the dentistry school?