A Terror-rific Spirited 13th (ToT fans have lots to fear)...

[wdwfan4ver]

The time to do that was 2005, before they started building actual crowd pleasers like ToT, Rat, Crush and Mickey & the Magician. The resort doesn't need fewer attractions to entice visitors in the short term, nor the negative press that would come from a wholesale demolition of the park.

A better option would be to remove everything beyond ToT and Stitch Live, including the whole Backlot Tour and park section (keeping RnRC's infrastructre) and expanding out from there. Lots of room for a complete Hollywood blvd, multiple rides, shops, eateries etc. A map to give some an idea:

green = keep
red = demo / expand
purple = backstage area to be relocated or worked around

For those unfamiliar with the park's layout, at the top left corner of the pic you can see where Catastrophe Canyon is located on the tram tour.

The "easy" fix approach remains this:

- Marvel replacing The Backlot
- Star Wars in the wooded area west of Place de Remy
- Hollywood Blvd starting where the Tram Tour station is
- Redoing the carpet spinner and animation building as Pixar attractions, making that side of the park all Pixar related (as it mostly is now with Rat, Toy Story, Cars & Crush)
- Adding TSMM to Playland
- Running a refurbed Fantallusion along the parade route at night during summer and Christmas, saving the Star Wars fireworks for Season of the Force

Is it the best option? No, but it's realistic with the current people in charge of TWDC and would make the park a full day experience with an overall more pleasing appearence.

There is a big flaw besides of the amount being closed and the cost. I really question of Disney really wants Star Wars Land in WDSP. I am saying that because their original park is having Star Tours: The adventure continues under construction right now with it supposed to open in March of this year. Having 2 parks with Star Wars doesn't make much sense plus I don't see Disney wanting to close a new version of Star Tours right away

 

[Animaniac93-98]

There is a big flaw besides of the amount being closed and the cost. I really question of Disney really wants Star Wars Land in WDSP.

At one point Avatar was under consideration for the park. Regardless of what they pick, the space exists for major expansion without removing most or all of what's currently there.

 

[Daveeeeed]

The time to do that was 2005, before they started building actual crowd pleasers like ToT, Rat, Crush and Mickey & the Magician. The resort doesn't need fewer attractions to entice visitors in the short term, nor the negative press that would come from a wholesale demolition of the park.

A better option would be to remove everything beyond ToT and Stitch Live, including the whole Backlot Tour and park section (keeping RnRC's infrastructre) and expanding out from there. Lots of room for a complete Hollywood blvd, multiple rides, shops, eateries etc. A map to give some an idea:

green = keep
red = demo / expand
purple = backstage area to be relocated or worked around

For those unfamiliar with the park's layout, at the top left corner of the pic you can see where Catastrophe Canyon is located on the tram tour.

The "easy" fix approach remains this:

- Marvel replacing The Backlot
- Star Wars in the wooded area west of Place de Remy
- Hollywood Blvd starting where the Tram Tour station is
- Redoing the carpet spinner and animation building as Pixar attractions, making that side of the park all Pixar related (as it mostly is now with Rat, Toy Story, Cars & Crush)
- Adding TSMM to Playland
- Running a refurbed Fantallusion along the parade route at night during summer and Christmas, saving the Star Wars fireworks for Season of the Force

Is it the best option? No, but it's realistic with the current people in charge of TWDC and would make the park a full day experience with an overall more pleasing appearance.

@Imagineerland really proves that it is possible to fix the park. It never will be as good as Tokyo DisneySea (it doesn't have to), but it can easily be Island's of Adventure caliber.

 

[flynnibus]

The communications in the Miklin case were made on bulletin boards and social media by both the employer and employees

As they related to a labor dispute and fell under both organized labor and concerted activity - THAT is what the case was about... and does not change the scope of the NLA.

there are limits as to the extent that an employer can restrict those communications

When it comes to the NLRB and the NLA... the scope is narrow, as highlighted before. The cited case does not apply to all social media or bullitin board activity by employees. You're reading a decision without any concern for the scope and applicability of it.

One implication of this case is that the NLRB may challenge an employer’s policies and practices even where workers are not unionized - an expansion of their authority. No boasting necessary.

No, the scope didn't change, and has been part of the NLA. The finding in the Milkin case was simply over the statements being made NOT invalidating the protected speech regarding the efforts against the employer's sick policy and the threats made regarding the signs.

1. Is this connected to a labor dispute? Unknown. (hence my prior use of the word - hypothetically)

No - end of story. Throwing shade over your employer's failures to maintain show standards has nothing to do with employment conditions.

The guy is getting ballsy and throwing shade.

My guess... his main project of Pandora is wrapping up.. this ToT garbage is yet another @#$% show project he's been forced to make work.. and the guy sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[MisterPenguin]

My guess... his main project of Pandora is wrapping up.. this ToT garbage is yet another @#$% show project he's been forced to make work.. and the guy sees the strobe light at the end of the tunnel.

FTFY!

 

[SorcererMC]

My guess... his main project of Pandora is wrapping up.. this ToT garbage is yet another @#$% show project he's been forced to make work.. and the guy sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

I do find the timing curious - that is why I initially said he may be seeking leverage. Rohde has been at Disney for a very long time. Certainly he knows how to play politics and take calculated risks. What are they going to do - fire him?

Otherwise, agree to disagree. I appreciate you taking the time to offer a rebuttal.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

It looks like a bunch of plastic thrown up by a five year old. Not alien, not distopian, just ugly arts and crafts only a parent could love.

Oh he certainly does...

 

[Quinnmac000]

In other theme park news, Mark Woodbury of Universal Creative got promoted to Vice Chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts as the now second in command for all Universal Parks. Its been told to be if Baxter got Staggs and Chapek's position instead of them. Should lead to some big things park wise with a creative in high levels rather than business/merch.

 

[HMF]

In other theme park news, Mark Woodbury of Universal Creative got promoted to Vice Chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts as the now second in command for all Universal Parks. Its been told to be if Baxter got Staggs and Chapek's position instead of them. Should lead to some big things park wise with a creative in high levels rather than business/merch.

Putting creative people in charge of creative endeavors, What are they thinking?

 

[Bolna]

Theyre getting:

A new day parade
2 new stage shows
An updated castle projection/fireworks show
New VIP character overlays with 2 meet n' greet areas

Am I missing something?

Yes, operation Sparkle was great, but is that going to get people there? Refurbs that were long overdue?

The 20th only had Disney Dreams, but did very well. That's why I think, it will be a test for how well they can get people in. But I am convinced that Operation Sparkle hurt their result last year.

@ParentsOf4 I don't think DLP needs the same attendance numbers as the MK or DL to be successful. But it needs to get guest spending higher. There is the issue. Europeans don't spend like crazy on vacations. If you need to stretch your finances for 6 weeks of vacation time, you are less likely to spend on big items during your vacation. I feel like the way DLP pricing is set is not good at getting people separated from their money. Getting in is fairly affordable, but then everything else is so expensive that people try to not spend any money. I can totally see families choosing to bring their own sandwiches because of fast food pricing, who would have spent money on food if it had been slightly cheaper. Also, the low hotel occupancy is a result of hotel prices being totally crazy high. You can get better hotels for less money in Paris, one of the most expensive cities in Europe for hotels.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

In other theme park news, Mark Woodbury of Universal Creative got promoted to Vice Chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts as the now second in command for all Universal Parks. Its been told to be if Baxter got Staggs and Chapek's position instead of them. Should lead to some big things park wise with a creative in high levels rather than business/merch.

Woodbury is hated in UNI Creative as much as Bruce Vaughn was at WDI.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Woodbury is hated in UNI Creative as much as Bruce Vaughn was at WDI.

According to who?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

According to who?

How about someone who has worked with Woodbury in the past?

Someone has already alluded to it in this thread – many in Universal Creatives’ upper and middle management are lazy and inept. Kong is the latest example of this disappointing realization. Of course not all of them are careless and riding out their high six and seven figure salaries and bonuses. Mike West is one example of a manager that cares and has the talent to back up his position. Unfortunately he has been stymied with Kong, just as he was with Simpsons and Minions. The past year we have seen an exodus of UC talent, including Lisa Nash, because they are tired of the BS. Ask Scott Trowbridge why he left UC. It wasn’t just the sweet offer from Disney that motivated him to leave his high level position. There are of course many more examples but let’s talk Kong now.

Kong had a lot of promise and could have been spectacular, what it ended up being, in my opinion, was just passable. Just as I predicted park guests love it, specifically the tunnel scene. I knew they would and therein lies the problem and the reason why we will continue to get attractions that just barely make the grade for the foreseeable future. Instead of UC and Comcast living up to a standard they set for themselves (as Disney used to do and is starting to once again in some cases), they will be lazy and deliver just enough to get by.

First, here’s the good about Kong. The queue is well executed and sets the mood (nice job Greg). The queue AAs are nice but I wouldn’t have expected anything less from Advanced Animation. They are the only domestic AA company besides Garner (handed to them on a silver platter by WDI) that have figured out how to pull off compliance software in house and really make it work. There is just enough detail in the queue to deliver an entertaining and interesting experience in anticipation for an amazing ride (if only the last part could have been delivered). I applaud the effort in installing on-board AAs for each ride vehicle. It doesn’t bother me that much that their motion is jerky and that they look like the old Sally AAs back from ET because it is something different and it works for most of the passengers past the first few rows. I love the size of the show doors into the building. Last but not least, obviously the Kong AA, just as I’ve been saying all along, is very realistic and well executed in some ways.

Now for the bad and the reasons why this attraction is only passable in my opinion. Let’s start with the fact that there are really only five (and I’m being generous here) scenes of any consequence and they are, once again, 75 percent screens. Not only did Woodbury cut much of the queue but he cut major portions of the ride as well. This is a fact, Woodbury does not “get it” and I’ll leave it at that in order to protect myself and several others. There are a few on these boards that I’ll reveal specific and personal experiences regarding working with him and others from UC but I can’t get too specific in public for obvious reasons. These cut scenes had some to do with budget but more to do with not appreciating or understanding what makes a theme park attraction stand out. To open a major dark ride attraction with just two screens, a projection tunnel/motion base, a few bats, and one large-scale animatronic is an embarrassment in my opinion.

Among the scenes that got cut: a high-speed (practical not screens) chase through the jungle, a scene where the RV breaks down and our driver gets nabbed, a detour through the insect pit with AAs etc. etc. Some of the cut scenes made it pretty far before being cut by the man that most outside of UC revere out of ignorance and those that know him and work with him fear more than anything because he has quite a temper and rules with an iron fist as opposed to a collaborative and open management style that you find more often at WDI. Some of the scenes didn’t even make it to an official pitch because they were seen as gratuitous and unnecessary. I don’t know about you but I think the high-speed chase in the middle of all those screen scenes would have been a welcome respite from the same old UC tricks and would have made the experience more complete and unique. Just two more practical scenes would have made it more complete.

How about, even with what they had to work with, a little variety. Why couldn’t the first two screens show a different scenario and characters for each driver? Maybe the tunnel could have randomly had Kong either be hostile or friendly followed by the AA angry or friendly (as he is now). Than we also have the execution issues. Why, after all these years of imagery technology advancement do we still have a black wall at the bottom of the tunnel screens? Take a look at Comcast’s own corporate headquarters lobby for an example of extremely hi definition LED panels that could have been installed on those walls to further immerse us in the scene as opposed to taking us right out of the illusion. The transition from tunnel to Kong AA is also not executed well. There is no reason why we should be seeing blank screen when they could have flown in a foliage assembly covering frame and screen during the transition and flown above or below during projection sequence for example.

So many are going crazy over the ride system. In this case I question why did it have to be AGV? Did the trackless setup add anything to the experience? The nice scenery in the Kong AA scene goes underappreciated because the audience is wearing the 3D glasses. These are some of the criticisms that to me make this just an “ok” ride. So many missed opportunities and so many cuts make it a disappointment in my book. Yes the guests love it and yes many in the fan community also love it. That is why we will most likely never see Universal live up to its potential without an IP holder like Warner Brothers forcing them to.

 

[Quinnmac000]

How about someone who has worked with Woodbury in the past?

Facts most employees get gruntled by their bosses and say how they could do better than their bosses until they get to that level and become the bosses before them. Need more than oh one person says its bad. His track record hasn't been quite accurate as well for Universal in comparison to others in the know which makes me think he has a certain vendetta/agenda.

 

[MonkeyHead]

Where exactly would they have put this fabled high speed practical chase? The show building fills the entire expansion space.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Where exactly would they have put this fabled high speed practical chase? The show building fills the entire expansion space.

Thats what a lot of other people who were in the know were saying.

 

[MonkeyHead]

Not to mention the logistics of a driver being nabbed... and who exactly would take over the driving duties after?

I imagine it would all have to be completely projected shadowplay on the back window in the dark or that wouldn't work at all.

 

[Mike S]

In other theme park news, Mark Woodbury of Universal Creative got promoted to Vice Chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts as the now second in command for all Universal Parks. Its been told to be if Baxter got Staggs and Chapek's position instead of them. Should lead to some big things park wise with a creative in high levels rather than business/merch.

I remember shaking his hand in Diagon Alley during softs

He had to leave quickly though so I couldn't say much beyond, "great job."

Where exactly would they have put this fabled high speed practical chase? The show building fills the entire expansion space.

Certain people just set themselves up for disappointment. From the very beginning we knew this ride would be mostly an expanded version of Kong 360 in Hollywood.

Too bad F&F isn't being similarly improved.

 

[DDLand]

As I understand the whole mess, the issues didn't actually stem from alcohal and cultural misfires as has become the meme these days.

The hotel issues were real, and did lessen the appetite for future hotels at new Resorts. Still the primary issue came from real estate sales. Just going off of memory, I recall real estate sales came in at 50%ish of the originally anticipated numbers. There was a recession hurting the real estate sales, but the overly rosy expectations and Disney's lack of experience dragged the entire project down the tubes.

This dismal number compounded by the high overhead of underutilized hotel rooms slammed a Resort that could have worked, but was just too unstable to recover.

Overtime Disney was able to get debt management on somewhat manageable footing, but as @lazyboy97o pointed out, it and the licensing fees were always making the margin for profitability razor thin. All it would take was a small push to send things spiraling out of control.

The push came in the form of Walt Disney Studios Paris. With the additional overhead of a new underutilized theme park, a Resort on unstable footing found itself in trouble once more.

At this time, it's worth noting how the management structure works out. Disney receives licensing and services fees based on revenue, not profit. Disney doesn't care if the Resort is just breaking even because it still gets a nice cut. Euro Disney on the other hand wants to make money, so how does it balance the two? Disney created a business model that disincentives spending on upkeep and additions. So when they found themselves in trouble after WDS, Euro Disney began slashing upkeep and over the next decade things degraded. Like an alcoholic trying to find peace by drinking, Euro Disney tried to find profitability in quality cuts. Just like an alcoholic found his problems only getting worse, Euro Disney has only found themselves in a more terrible situation.

Guests took note; that and a bad economy degraded guest desire to visit. To break the vicious cycle, it would take a new management approach that stressed quality and incentivized expansion.

Attendance has never been terrible, but all the ancillary stuff always dragged down the Park performance.

At this point it's matter of cost benefit. Disney is going to need to spend Billions. Not just on WDS, but also on Disneyland Paris too. It too needs to expand a roster stuck in the 1990s.

Project sparkle is only scratching the surface of what needs to be done, and they already spent a billion dollars. I'm inclined to say that they may actually get a better bang for their buck in WDW, Disneyland, or Shanghai.

Let's see if they can fix this thing.

 

[HMF]

Woodbury is hated in UNI Creative as much as Bruce Vaughn was at WDI.

Maybe, but he appears to be better at getting quality results.