Al Lutz says Fantasyland Budget has been "Reduced"

[ryno1982]

He may not have much news about WDW, but his trip review three years ago was spot on. I wish it was still on Miceage.

 

[cdunbar]

I'm not an Al basher but the thing is he just seems to be SOOOOO negative, and that just really does not attract me to reading anything he posts.

 

[bauton]

What if the leaked prints were the originally approved over the head of Rasulo plans, and then were cut say 50% after the approval?

What if a ticked off cast member decided to leak the plans to show the world what they missed out on, in hopes of getting the plans re-instated?

Too much drama and/or intrigue for TDO?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Oh...look....the usual rabble.:lookaroun:lol:


Honestly...I think it's a bit too early to be jumping down anyone's throat. We don't even know the true and official plans yet. It could have been much bigger originally and yes, has been cut down. Maybe the version we saw IS the cut version. There's no way to know.:shrug:

It's not a bad thing...yet. Could be, though.

Hopefully the budget hasn't been cut again; I have to say, I will probably be satisfied with whatever comes as long as it includes the Little Mermaid dark ride. More would be great, but that attraction really looks cool.

I agree. TLM is needed most of all...Aesthetics can come later for FL, as I have said. The West side of FL looks fine.

Tell me there's not a new sheriff in town! :lol:

Tell us who the new sheriff is, and desist with this sanctimonious joke.:lol:

In trying to squeeze some positive news out of this, I am at least encouraged that there was an actual tease about some kind of WDW announcement at D23, for a change.

But seeing that it's come out that TWDC pretty much considers the D23 expo to be an "Anaheim event," (see the Iger article in yesterday's LA Times), I'm not surprised if there won't be all that much WDW hoopla.

That, too. I'm happy D23 is ramping up everything for themselves and Disney....


...but what about WDW.:shrug: Another thing I have qualms with, we seem to get the short end of the stick at D23.

It's possible the entire expansion plan was a hoax. Don't forget that.

Nope.

The FL budget was inevitably going to be slashed. WDI always asks for more money than it needs so they can still have a reasonable budget after all the cuts; and as long as certain egos stay out of the project, FL should still be okay. Mermaid is still coming, re-theming is still happening, and the MK is still on track to get better. Any improvement is still an improvement; no use crying over something that WDI knew would never get approved anyway.

Finally! Reason!:sohappy:


Thanks, Tiri.

 

[cdunbar]

Tell us who the new sheriff is, and desist with this sanctimonious joke.:lol:

Yes please do, I'm actually really curious to whom you're referring, and I do mean that in the nicest of ways.:wave:

 

[tirian]

Because it's basically built on top of TTF, land that already has something built on it, land where there is no aparant need for change.

And, as I've been told, it would involve the removal/retheming of another attraction in the park.

Toontown Fair has been on the chopping block for years. The tents are deteriorating and have been patched several times. Neither WDI nor TDO cares whether or not TTF remains.

 

[WDW1974]

HA! :lol::lol::lol:

So... Let me get this straight.

FL plans get leaked. You, along with many others, wet their pants. To the point of embarassment. You start talking about how great this is going to be. You start talking about the detail (even though it was a blueprint with absolutely NO detail). WDW is getting the attention you said was on the way all along. You even start armchair engineering a phase 2 beyond the project.

Yet there was no confirmation the blue prints were even real, or potentially the latest design that was actually a "go". Even though if I didn't know any better, listening to you, I'd have thought half of the project was already completed.

At no point did you show any hesitation that this was GOING to get built.

Now... For the past week or two, sources have been saying the budget for this project has been slashed.

And you call the "slashed budget" report a "pathetic rumor".

:lol::ROFLOL::lol:

And when questioned why you think Lutz is wrong, you point to his changing of a reason why their new dragon doesn't work. Of course, you didn't mention anything about how he was the first to report the dragon didn't work in the first place... Or about the press event that wasn't going to go off, or the removal of Flotsam and Jetsam. And that's just what he's broken about Fantasmic. Listen... He may have a bias against WDW. That doesn't mean his info is wrong. That just means he laughs harder when he's right.

Let me bullet point a couple things for you:

- If the budget has been cut, it's not because they're going to use the money to the betterment of other areas that need it. That's not how they operate these days. You can't point to one case of this, where MANY people can point to MANY cases where projects were scaled back or not done at all. If money is cut, it's because they don't want to give up profits. Believing anything less is nothing short of stupidity.
- Lutz knows what he's talking about. He may have a slanted view, but you better take what he says to the bank, even if you don't like it. It's well known that he's broken stories that made people throw fits inside TDA. As usual, just because what he reports isn't what you want to hear, he's wrong.

Also... I'd like to know when I get to say "I TOLD YOU SO". I said from the second I saw those plans that we wouldn't see that exact build. And I still say that. When we see bulldozers (and not a second sooner... Not even at the D23) I'll believe it.

It's getting pretty obvious that your stances you take on things are to get a reaction out of people. It's getting old.

That's pretty accurate all around. The spin is enough to make your head pop off.

And when some of us, especially certain folks, put out information they're ripped because sometimes they have the audacity to be wrong either in timing (the removal of AC props to HKDL) or the way in which the action will be implimented (reduction of pyro in shows across WDW versus cutting back performances). The important stuff ... the real issues get buried by crap coated pixie dust.

Al's right far more than he is wrong. And while his sniping about WDW gets on my nerves at times, at the heart of it, most of his points are dead on.

So, he said the F-Land budget has been reduced. That's what I've heard. And that's what everyone I respect online has heard. He is correct. To what extent the budget has been cut is impossible to say since it's a work in progress. We saw the same thing play out on Space Mountain to a much smaller degree.

Is Al saying the budget has been cut from the blue sky $750 million plan Eric Jacobson wanted? Or the $500-600 million that appeared to be the actual number? Or is this even more? Who knows? But Al is accurate.

And for anyone to be talking about the blueprints as a hoax really needs a reality check. People at Disney were very pi$$ed when they hit the web. Folks, including this site's owner, were asked to take them down. Disney doesn't act like that over fake blueprints on a non-existent project.

The only question really is what stage those prints were/are. I guess we'll find out when Disney sees fit to make an announcement.

Threads attacking Al are really absurd. Anyone with a clue, anyone who remotely follows Disney and what he writes knows the man is batting about .875 for this decade.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

That's pretty accurate all around. The spin is enough to make your head pop off.

And when some of us, especially certain folks, put out information they're ripped because sometimes they have the audacity to be wrong either in timing (the removal of AC props to HKDL) or the way in which the action will be implimented (reduction of pyro in shows across WDW versus cutting back performances). The important stuff ... the real issues get buried by crap coated pixie dust.

Al's right far more than he is wrong. And while his sniping about WDW gets on my nerves at times, at the heart of it, most of his points are dead on.

So, he said the F-Land budget has been reduced. That's what I've heard. And that's what everyone I respect online has heard. He is correct. To what extent the budget has been cut is impossible to say since it's a work in progress. We saw the same thing play out on Space Mountain to a much smaller degree.

Is Al saying the budget has been cut from the blue sky $750 million plan Eric Jacobson wanted? Or the $500-600 million that appeared to be the actual number? Or is this even more? Who knows? But Al is accurate.

And for anyone to be talking about the blueprints as a hoax really needs a reality check. People at Disney were very pi$$ed when they hit the web. Folks, including this site's owner, were asked to take them down. Disney doesn't act like that over fake blueprints on a non-existent project.

The only question really is what stage those prints were/are. I guess we'll find out when Disney sees fit to make an announcement.

Threads attacking Al are really absurd. Anyone with a clue, anyone who remotely follows Disney and what he writes knows the man is batting about .875 for this decade.

Sounds about right.

And how can this be a bad thing...? YET. The original budget could have been grossly inflated and might have needed trimming, as they usually do.:shrug:

Yes please do, I'm actually really curious to whom you're referring, and I do mean that in the nicest of ways.:wave:

He never tells....Part of his "game". He also avoids our comments that way.

 

[WDW1974]

You totally aren't understanding the point.

I never once saw anyone say ANYWHERE that the MI coaster was halted so that the money could go toward EXPANDING the FL addition.

The rumor was that the MI coaster was halted so that that money could go towards paying the bill for the FL addition. NOT MAKING IT BIGGER... But to help pay for it.

Again. Very different things.

I said it. I got it from a source in WDI. I believe it.

Nothing has changed.

TDO said TPFKaTD-MGMS doesn't need added capacity at this time (I disagree, but that's another subject) and felt the capital was needed in MK (don't disagree with that either).

 

[WDW1974]

The FL budget was inevitably going to be slashed. WDI always asks for more money than it needs so they can still have a reasonable budget after all the cuts; and as long as certain egos stay out of the project, FL should still be okay. Mermaid is still coming, re-theming is still happening, and the MK is still on track to get better. Any improvement is still an improvement; no use crying over something that WDI knew would never get approved anyway.

Exactly.

WDI has also learned to ask for waaay more than it expects to get, so that it can actually work with what it eventually is given.

 

[headhoncho34]

I said it. I got it from a source in WDI. I believe it.

Nothing has changed.

TDO said TPFKaTD-MGMS doesn't need added capacity at this time (I disagree, but that's another subject) and felt the capital was needed in MK (don't disagree with that either).

WDW needs to cut the ________________ and start constructing these projects to get them open around early 2011. The proposed plan was to have all these projects built by the 40th , so we should see construction starting at WDW soon. Although i agree that all the money they are receiving should go to the MK since its the main park at WDW.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I said it. I got it from a source in WDI. I believe it.

Nothing has changed.

TDO said TPFKaTD-MGMS doesn't need added capacity at this time (I disagree, but that's another subject) and felt the capital was needed in MK (don't disagree with that either).

Good to hear...

As much as I want DHS to get something, I have always thought MI was not a good, or original fit.


The money is better off in MK.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

WDW needs to cut the ________________ and start constructing these projects to get them open around early 2011. The proposed plan was to have all these projects built by the 40th , so we should see construction starting at WDW soon.

Hopefully they can do SOMETHING (anything!) in two years.


I have doubts, but it's possible.

 

[WDW1974]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jt04
I don't claim to be reporting inside information unlike Al. As I have said, I am not an insider nor do I have connections to any insiders. I speculate on future happenings based on past events and research. I've always made that clear.

Al on the other hand claims insider knowledge without retractions when he gets it wrong. Enderikari explained it very well in the WDW74 thread (wdw74 was also completely wrong and it was claimed to be insider information.)

You are calling out the wrong person for "making things up". I just call it as I see it. Pure opinion. :xmas:

Slick, I liked that.

I wondered how long it would be before you invoked his name. I told you I could get you an autographed picture of him. Just think, you could sleep with it under your pillow every night.

After TDO had the FL expansion rammed down their throats, did anyone here actually believe they wouldn't do everything in their power to cut the budget.

You've noticed JT's online bulge for me too! I might be flattered if I was into crazy dudes!:ROFLOL:

 

[stitch2008]

Tell us who the new sheriff is, and desist with this sanctimonious joke.:lol:

I AM THE NEW SHERIFF.:lookaroun

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I AM THE NEW SHERIFF.:lookaroun

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:


Does jt's Sheriff have a face like a mask, too?


Wait, that's ALL the always happy and cheerful, TDO Group...:lookaroun:lol:

 

[DisneyNut2007]

On the D23 Expo, Al says: "They will also be trying to showcase some WDW plans at the Expo; however the leaked blueprints for Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland and the smaller budget that project now is getting has left some Imagineers wishing they could just ignore Florida for the time being."

That's all he says on WDW, but you can read the full update here:

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al082509a.htm

I sure hope this isn't true!

Don't listen to that big, fat, liar/crybaby!

Granted, Al likes to take potshots at WDW.

He likes to pot-shots at all things Disney!

 

[HMF]

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:


Does jt's Sheriff have a face like a mask, too?


Wait, that's ALL the always happy and cheerful, TDO Group...:lookaroun:lol:

Someone doctor Jay Rasulo's face in there.:animwink:

 

[The Conundrum]

Is anyone here actually going to D23? Im considering picking up a ticket just to see the theme park stuff.

I'll be the one shouting at Rasolu

 

[The Conundrum]

Someone doctor Meg Crofton's face in there.:animwink:

I wish I had that really goofy/hideous pic of Phil Holmes smiling in that creepy way. It would be hillarious photoshoped on darth's body.