Article: How The Mouse Stumbled........

[HauntedPirate]

Finally finished reading the article. Decent enough, as long as you can sift through the author's personal grievances with Walt and the world in general. Not really ground-breaking, a few interesting quotes from Iger make it quite clear that he is both somewhat clueless and archaic in his approaches to the parks and streaming.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I assume their rationale is that super fans often have deep convictions that they are not easily dissuaded from, and that might not be conducive to working with a team and / or considering the proverbial “Family from Colorado”.

I think they simply believe that stereotypical Disney adults won't take their job seriously and be distracted at work. Or worse, violate company policies about spreading rumors, trying to pawn goods on ebay, or not treating their job like a job. Or maybe there's a established history of super fans being thrilled at first to get the job, only to burn out quickly when they realize working at WDW is far less magical than vacationing there.

In theory, the ideal candidate is someone who has some fundamental knowledge and appreciation of Disney, but has the responsibility and work ethic to know when work is work and have the kind of customer service and task specific skills to deal with all types of guests and situations that the job requires.

Obviously, someone who has to be trained from the ground up on Disney lingo, products and standards is going to be a challenge, especially if they also don't take the job seriously, or see little value in it. This happens a lot with min wage front line employees and leads to high turnover, which is also a problem.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I think they simply believe that stereotypical Disney adults won't take their job seriously and be distracted at work. Or worse, violate company policies about spreading rumors, trying to pawn goods on ebay, or not treating their job like a job. Or maybe there's a established history of super fans being thrilled at first to get the job, only to burn out quickly when they realize working at WDW is far less magical than vacationing there.

In theory, the ideal candidate is someone who has some fundamental knowledge and appreciation of Disney, but has the responsibility and work ethic to know when work is work and have the kind of customer service and task specific skills to deal with all types of guests and situations that the job requires.

Obviously, someone who has to be trained from the ground up on Disney lingo, products and standards is going to be a challenge, especially if they also don't take the job seriously, or see little value in it. This happens a lot with min wage front line employees and leads to high turnover, which is also a problem.

It’s just weird because this generally isn’t the standard. Imagine video game companies refusing to hire avid gamers. Sportswear companies refusing to hire people obsessed with sports. Animal shelters refusing to hire people who are obsessed with animals. Etc.

I do think there’s a phenomenon in Disney fandom where people get really behind particular ideas and become inflexible. I can see wanting to screen for that trait specifically - you can’t have total purists running a company meant for the public at large. But saying that in-depth love and knowledge of their own company is a liability? Like why? Is there really evidence that Disney fans are uniquely toxic compared to gamers or athletes or foodies and so on? (Genuine question. I mean for all I know, maybe there is. But if that’s not the case, Disney’s stance seems strange.)

 

[bmr1591]

People cry meeting characters. Not kids, grown adults. I’m sorry, that’s weird. And I’m sure Disney wants to not have them officially affiliated with their brand.

 

[jpeden]

We haven't heard from our friend @PREMiERdrum in quite some time and he seemed to have his thumb on the pulse of some of these issues. I hope he's still around on the boards as I enjoyed his information.

 

[britain]

I think there are plenty of corporations that avoid hiring people that “care so much” about their cause that they are ineffectual / don’t get along well with others. Disney is just in the spotlight because it’s a huge, famous and powerful corporation AND because it’s easy to spot its most extreme fans. Harder to spot Ford fanatics - but they are there.

Look, what we’re really talking about is emotional maturity and mental stability. You could be the biggest Disney fan on earth, but you have to be chill about it. Have the social skills necessary to cultivate strong relationships with people who are interested in different things than what you like, and be excellent at your work skills.

Back in the early 2000’s I applied to work at WDI. One of the lines in the job description was something like “You can tell the difference between the make-believe magic we create and the ‘magic’ of collaboration and hard work.”

Did that really need to be said? I guess it did.

 

[Ayla]

It’s just weird because this generally isn’t the standard. Imagine video game companies refusing to hire avid gamers. Sportswear companies refusing to hire people obsessed with sports. Animal shelters refusing to hire people who are obsessed with animals. Etc.

I do think there’s a phenomenon in Disney fandom where people get really behind particular ideas and become inflexible. I can see wanting to screen for that trait specifically - you can’t have total purists running a company meant for the public at large. But saying that in-depth love and knowledge of their own company is a liability? Like why? Is there really evidence that Disney fans are uniquely toxic compared to gamers or athletes or foodies and so on? (Genuine question. I mean for all I know, maybe there is. But if that’s not the case, Disney’s stance seems strange.)

Yes.

 

[Kamikaze]

This sentence jumped out at me.

According to two former corporate employees, the company eschews hiring what one referred to as “superfans,” viewing a love for the brand as “a huge turnoff.”

I think it goes a long way towards explaining what they have done with the parks in recent years. They do not understand why we value the experience and they don't want to. They see us weirdos as nothing more than a money spigot that can be tuned and turned ever higher.

Thats not exactly what it says. They're saying they don't like HIRING fans, not that they don't like taking money from them.

 

[britain]

Reminds me a little of when Rogue One was being assembled and just wasn’t clicking. Lucasfilm hired Tony Gilroy to fix it even though he even said he wasn’t a Star Wars fan. But he was a good filmmaker, and he did a good job.

Now people could probably make the argument that too much of Disney (and especially Star Wars) is being made by “experts” in their field that don’t actually get what fans like. That’s especially what the Chapek era felt like, but it’s still there in both of Iger’s terms in office.

If Disney was pumping out excellent stuff - aesthetically and commercially - we probably wouldn’t care so much about a policy of not hiring super fans.

It’s because they DON’T seem to be good stewards of their brands at this time that the “no super fans” policy stings a little.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Yes.

Lol, I get that Disney fans have super strong feelings about things, but I think that has to be true of any fandom, right? Aren’t gamers a notoriously - er - passionate - bunch? Maybe the difference is that you don’t have non-gamers who bother to learn how to code games, so hiring outside the fandom isn’t even an option.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I think there are plenty of corporations that avoid hiring people that “care so much” about their cause that they are ineffectual / don’t get along well with others. Disney is just in the spotlight because it’s a huge, famous and powerful corporation AND because it’s easy to spot its most extreme fans. Harder to spot Ford fanatics - but they are there.

Look, what we’re really talking about is emotional maturity and mental stability. You could be the biggest Disney fan on earth, but you have to be chill about it. Have the social skills necessary to cultivate strong relationships with people who are interested in different things than what you like, and be excellent at your work skills.

Back in the early 2000’s I applied to work at WDI. One of the lines in the job description was something like “You can tell the difference between the make-believe magic we create and the ‘magic’ of collaboration and hard work.”

Did that really need to be said? I guess it did.

I think the unspoken undertone of this discussion is that this is to some degree (not 100% but to some degree) about neurodiversity. “Intense interests” and being ND often go hand in hand. As do differences in social skills and how social relationships are approached.

I sometimes Google stats on the ND population in the US - one article I read estimated that over 80% of people in Silicon Valley are ND! I think the landscape is clearly changing there and will only continue to change. How companies approach that, I don’t know, but I think they’ll have to adapt in one way or another. Excluding “super fans” seems like an outdated (at best) policy.

 

[britain]

I think the unspoken undertone of this discussion is that this is to some degree (not 100% but to some degree) about neurodiversity. “Intense interests” and being ND often go hand in hand. As do differences in social skills and how social relationships are approached.

I sometimes Google stats on the ND population in the US - one article I read estimated that over 80% of people in Silicon Valley are ND! I think the landscape is clearly changing there and will only continue to change. How companies approach that, I don’t know, but I think they’ll have to adapt in one way or another. Excluding “super fans” seems like an outdated (at best) policy.

I think you’re definitely onto something, but there’s something about being ND that is a powerful strength to being a visionary software developer that isn’t as helpful for WDI and Park Ops. It depends on the ND, which, obviously, can be so many different things.

Funny thing is, a ND (like Walt is sometimes suspected of being) would probably be the best executive the company could get. It’s just that they tend to not climb corporate ladders well. So they make better founders than successors.

(Speaking as one myself!)

 

[WaltsTreasureChest]

We are ALL Disney adults on a Disney forum

 

[Epcot81Fan]

If you’re a grown man who has “his breath taken away” by seeing a UCF sophomore in a Cinderella costume, weird would be a generous term.

 

[britain]

I would prefer there be no characters walking around, and no parades either. And no character-cluttered merchandise. I’m there for the craftsmanship of illusionary architecture, beautiful landscaping, cultural celebrations, and technological wizardry.

I don’t root for a team, I root for the greatest at the game.

 

[Tha Realest]

Reminds me a little of when Rogue One was being assembled and just wasn’t clicking. Lucasfilm hired Tony Gilroy to fix it even though he even said he wasn’t a Star Wars fan. But he was a good filmmaker, and he did a good job.

This is a great point. I like Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla film and hate he had to be replaced. That said, Gilroy was an inspired choice.

I like Chris Columbus’s work, but the Harry Potter series completely elevated once Cuarón joined.

 

[JD80]

Reminds me a little of when Rogue One was being assembled and just wasn’t clicking. Lucasfilm hired Tony Gilroy to fix it even though he even said he wasn’t a Star Wars fan. But he was a good filmmaker, and he did a good job.

Now people could probably make the argument that too much of Disney (and especially Star Wars) is being made by “experts” in their field that don’t actually get what fans like. That’s especially what the Chapek era felt like, but it’s still there in both of Iger’s terms in office.

If Disney was pumping out excellent stuff - aesthetically and commercially - we probably wouldn’t care so much about a policy of not hiring super fans.

It’s because they DON’T seem to be good stewards of their brands at this time that the “no super fans” policy stings a little.

Perfect example is Star Wars actually. Filoni is a superduper SW Fan and most of the work he's been in charge of is mediocre at best.

 

[britain]

Perfect example is Star Wars actually. Filoni is a superduper SW Fan and most of the work he's been in charge of is mediocre at best.

Not quite sure where this recent dislike of Filoni is coming from. Clone wars, rebels, bad batch all have been overseen by him. It’s as if when anybody finds anything they don’t like about the Mandalorian and its spinoffs, they blame it on Filoni, rather than Favreau.

I’m not saying he’s perfect, Asoka was too boring for me to stay interested. I think he’s just making a difficult transition to live action.

 

[Bocabear]

I would prefer there be no characters walking around, and no parades either. And no character-cluttered merchandise. I’m there for the craftsmanship of illusionary architecture, beautiful landscaping, cultural celebrations, and technological wizardry.

I don’t root for a team, I root for the greatest at the game.

I agree with that....I don't care for characters or meet and greets... In the early days of WDW you would see characters walking around sporadically, interacting with guests here and there, but there was never a drive to meet them... They sort of built that need in the 2000s instead of building new attractions... People in character costumes are cheaper than a real attraction, but eventually you have to update and expand....

 

[Animaniac93-98]

People in character costumes are cheaper than a real attraction, but eventually you have to update and expand....

But character meet n greet halls with multiple rooms and back-to-back sets are expensive to operate from a labor standpoint. Between characters, their handlers, queue attendants and photopass photographers, it's a lot. And for not much capacity either. The push from management to have them is to satisfy guest demand and sell photos, autograph books, pens, costumes and such.

But it has taken away resources and funds for park ops from other things and I agree the heavy focus on them is not necessarily to the benefit of all park guests.

I'm going to guess that Fairytale Hall is more expensive to operate and has a lower throughput than Snow White's Scary Adventures, but contributes more to merch sales and guest satisfaction. That does not mean that replacing a ride with a meet and greet was the right decision, especially in the long run. A park like MK shouldn't have to chose between the two.