Brad Rex is out

[speck76]

The problem is some things like Superstar Theater, the old reservations windows at Epcot and River Country are just sitting there doing nothing right in view of everyone.

So, should Disney spend the money to demolish these facilities (as they currently serve no purpose) and then, some day in the future, pay again to rebuild the facility (if a future purpose in found)?

(and much like the Odessy and Festival Center at Epcot, the ABC Theater is used for special events throughout the year)

There is ZERO reason to demolish the old skyway stations.....the Fantasyland station looks fine...the Tomorrowland station houses restrooms....

As far as half of Future World closing early that was because of the drop in attendance after Sept. 11th, they also cut the entertainment back at the Magic Kingdom but even though attendance has gone back up they haven't changed the hours and entertainment in the MK is still not back the way it used to be.

What exactly is missing from the MK right now that was there pre-9/11?.....besides the Diamond Horseshoe and the old Advland drummer?...and what has been added.....? The bad thing about remembering "the good old days" was that they were not really that good to begin with.....you just do not remember the bad parts....

 

[speck76]

Actually Future World closing at 7 was not a result of Sep 11th. I have maps from the early 90's that show FW closing at 7. After 9/11 FW started closing at 6 and WS did not open till noon. Once attendance went back up the times went back to normal.

that is just another example of invalid fanboy complaints.....

there has never been much reason to keep UofE and JII open past 7.....and hte FW attractions that do generate business usually stay open until 9....

 

[mousermerf]

that is just another example of invalid fanboy complaints.....

there has never been much reason to keep UofE and JII open past 7.....and hte FW attractions that do generate business usually stay open until 9....

Energy actually does suprisingly well. It's just logistically a bad idea - the show that starts at 9pm wont end until 9:45pm. It was the reason it was pulled from EMH. Even getting it to open an hour early in the morning presented a huge hassle of getting the final show timing correct for a 7pm or 9pm close.

As silly as it sounds, if energy doesn't just open at 9am and close at 7pm then there's complex math to be done and it usually takes 5 people and an half hour of arguing to get it right.

 

[WDWCPbrandon]

Not to get too far off the topic of this thread... the subject of FW closing at 7pm is just a business decision based off attendance during the latter part of the day. Most guests begin to move their way towards World Showcase in the evening, if they have dinner reservations and for Illuminations, so the attendance in Future World drops in the evening for that reason. So as a smart business practice, management decides "why continue to operate an attraction when it is operating at below half its capacity?" Why should we have CM's running attractions when there aren't that many guests entering the attraction. It's done to reduce labor.
Because of some of the newer more popular attractions though, majority of FW is open until
9pm when you think about it.

 

[mkt]

I remember when FW closed at 9.

Not a soul was there.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Is the complaint that Epcot closes at 9 pm in the summer also from the fanboys? It's nice that Epcot still closes at 9 pm in January, but that is ridiculously early in the summer. Future World looks amazing at night and the average non-resort guest only gets to see it on the walk out from IllumiNations. It should be open til 10 or 11 pm during peak seasons--it used to be open that late. Even MGM is open later with its rather small lineup of attractions.

 

[imagineer boy]

So, should Disney spend the money to demolish these facilities (as they currently serve no purpose) and then, some day in the future, pay again to rebuild the facility (if a future purpose in found)?

(and much like the Odessy and Festival Center at Epcot, the ABC Theater is used for special events throughout the year)

There is ZERO reason to demolish the old skyway stations.....the Fantasyland station looks fine...the Tomorrowland station houses restrooms....

No, but they could refit them instead of demolish them. A new show could easily be put in the Superstar Theater. And maybe the skyway station in Fantaseyland could be refitted to be a small shop or restauraunt. There are endless possibilities with what they could do with them rather than just let them sit there and serve no purpose.

 

[tirian]

Well, Tomorrowland management could at least make sure that the waterfall at the old Skyway station functions. It's just a pump.

There are plans for the old Fantasyland Skyway station.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Well, Tomorrowland management could at least make sure that the waterfall at the old Skyway station functions. It's just a pump.

There are plans for the old Fantasyland Skyway station.

CMs can just tell guests that the waterfall turned off when they turned off all of the 2nd floor toilets in what is the largest restroom complex on property. No flushing toilets upstairs = no waterfall.

 

[Figment82]

When was the waterfall turned off? It was working at least since March 23rd, as I actually took photos of it. I haven't been over that way since.

 

[mkt]

Well, Tomorrowland management could at least make sure that the waterfall at the old Skyway station functions. It's just a pump.

There are plans for the old Fantasyland Skyway station.

Tomorrowland Management is just as bad as Dinoland Management.

 

[speck76]

No, but they could refit them instead of demolish them. A new show could easily be put in the Superstar Theater. And maybe the skyway station in Fantaseyland could be refitted to be a small shop or restauraunt. There are endless possibilities with what they could do with them rather than just let them sit there and serve no purpose.

but they do serve a purpose.....

 

[dxwwf3]

that is just another example of invalid fanboy complaints.....

there has never been much reason to keep UofE and JII open past 7.....and hte FW attractions that do generate business usually stay open until 9....

That's one thing I've never really understood. Soarin', Mission Space, Test Track, and usually Spaceship Earth are always open until park closing. Those are the only attractions that need to stay open until the park closes. Now you can make the argument that the park needs to stay open later than 9 pm, but that's a different story. As it is now, there is no reason whatsoever to keep the other half of Future World open later than 7 pm.

 

[bugsbunny]

Eisner is appreciated by those that have a good head on their shoulders, and hated by those that don't.

Yes, not every move he made was golden.....but I can not think of anyone that never made a bad call...Walt included.

Make a bad call? Eisner was manipulative, morally bankrupt, untrustworthy, plain as can be JERK. He thought nothing of it to just ridicule and devastate his closest friends and employees simply to better himself.

His main purpose was to take care of 2 things: himself, and Sid Bass ( the biggest Dieney shareholder at the time). Shareholders and public concern was only something he would pay lip service to. Basically, the main reason Eisner got booted is because Bass lost all of his share on a margin call after 9/11. That huge influence allowed a shift in the Disney board and gave Roy Disney the leverage he neede to finally get rid of him.

Certianly he took a company from $2 Billion to $20 Billion, but at what cost? After 1994 when Frank Wells died, Eisner canned Katzenberg and then basically ran the company into the ground with simple minded "look at me! I'm in charge!" decisions. After 1994, Disney is pretty flat in earnings and revenue. They bought ABC and Fox Famliy and that increased the booked value of the company by like $10 Billion. Doesn't mean it was done right!!!

His downfall started once Wells and Katzenberg left. He lost his #2 and #3 people and his grand decision: take on both jobs! He was already Chairman and CEO of Disney and then he took on the President title and Chair of the Studios. Why? Becuase he thought he was the only one that could do it and ONLY he had the talent.

How about how he over paid for the Fox Family Channel? He paid $5.2 Billion and afterward, Disney's own Strategic Planning figured it was worth $1.75 Billion? Disney didn't take a write down for it and its speculated simply becuase Eisner didn't want to look like he over paid by $3 Billion.

Or what about his best friend Mike Ovitz? Hires him as President, profesionally humiliated him, and then has Disney pay him over $100 million in servance pay for 14 months worth of work? And THEN tells Ovitz, were still friends, right?

Or how he flat out refused to pay Katzenberg his bonus for the simple reason: he didn't want to do it because it would appear Katzenberg had won. Instead, Eisner lets it get drawn out in court and embarasses Disney. It was great to see that the CEO of a company called one of his closest friends and #3 in the company a "little midget" and that "I'm not paying him, let him try to get it out of me". Who could forget that Ovitz had negotiated a deal that would have got Disney off the hook for "only" $90 million. Instead, Eisner reneged on the deal the final settlement was $300 million when it go to court.

What about Pixar? Disney could have owned it for $15 million!! Eisner ed all over them and tried to break every contract with them. He would agree to a movie and as soon as it did good, say a squel wouldn't count toward the contract. In the end, Disney ends up buying Pixar for BILLIONS!! Why? Simply because Eisner had decided that their animation was unstoppable when the Lion King was out. After it fell flat on its face, he didn't want to eat crow and accept Pixar back into the picture.

While Eisner did bring the company to a golden era, he did it on the backs of very competet indviduals that he basically raped and threw out the door. He would constantly promise things to employees just to keep them in check, do the opposite, and then pull the rug out from them and say that they had "resigned". He has no moral compass. What would have Disney been like today if he would have shown a little integrity? Or better yet, what would it be like today if he had been able to put his son Breck on the Board or at his successor (as he admitted he wanted to do)?

If you think Eisner was appreciated "by those that have a good head on their shoulders", I'd like to see who they are! you are obvioulsy misinformed! Eisner would never reconsider any decision he made or change his mind when it was obvious even to himself that he was wrong. YOu can't put a price on it, but I wonder how many BILLIONS he squandered because of his own ego.

 

[culturenthrills]

Is the complaint that Epcot closes at 9 pm in the summer also from the fanboys? It's nice that Epcot still closes at 9 pm in January, but that is ridiculously early in the summer. Future World looks amazing at night and the average non-resort guest only gets to see it on the walk out from IllumiNations. It should be open til 10 or 11 pm during peak seasons--it used to be open that late. Even MGM is open later with its rather small lineup of attractions.

I didn't even mention that. It is ridiculous that the park still closes at 9 pm during the summer. This park used to be open every night during the summer until 11 pm. Even after MgM opened. It should stay open till at least 10 pm during the summer. It is great during the off season cause usually it stays open later than the other parks but it is ridiculous that it still closes early.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Eisner is appreciated by those that have a good head on their shoulders, and hated by those that don't.

Yes, not every move he made was golden.....but I can not think of anyone that never made a bad call...Walt included.

He did make a lot of good moves, but then most of them were in the first ten years of being CEO and most of the bad ones were in his last ten. His problem was that he stayed on too long and I'm sure he'd still be largely remembered as the saviour of Disney if he had of bowed out, say, in 2000.

But, then again, I don't have a good head on my shoulders.

 

[culturenthrills]

The bad thing about remembering "the good old days" was that they were not really that good to begin with.....you just do not remember the bad parts....

I am not going to get into a shouting match with you but why is it on this forum when anyone complains about the current state of WDW they get tagged as some nostalgic fanboy. My mom who goes to WDW maybe every 1-2 years has noticed that the upkeep isn't what it was and she isn't some fanboy. And my family has had friends who have visited and had problems(dirty hotel rooms, poor customer service). So it is not just me. I like going to all theme parks. I just think that WDW peaked in the mid 90's and has been on a slow decline since then. Can they turn it around? Yes, if the right management team is in charge of the place. The company turned DL around and now it has returned to its status as the original and the best. I realize Disney is a business but people expect a certain level of quality from them and in some areas WDW has been lacking.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Don't ya think already?

 

[WhyteAL]

I have never meet Brad or any other upper management at diseny. But I do agree that Epcot was at a steady decline in the late 80's early 90's and if Brad was responsible with helping change that...then he will be missed. I assume that who ever steps up to the VP position will continue to work on park improvements we all seem to notice Epcot needs, (they are on the right track) just let's no loose focus. MGM should be next, followed by MK. IMO :wave:

The post about Eisner and the things he did, I would like to point out that many in corporate america have that type of attitude. I worked as management in Sprint for many years and noticed this behavior on a daily basis.

*edit* Clemson are your smileys actually bitting the horse....LOL

 

[coastermaster83]

I wish epcot was open later year around. I can remember when I was younger in the early 90s late 80s when I was at epcot with my parents and we would be there till 11 or 12 at night and then drive back home. It was alot of fun back then now its like fireworks, goodbye.