Brad Rex is out

[JimboJones123]

My appologies for thinking that an attaction that is 365 days old is not 'new'. I will not make that mistake again. You're probably right. Disney should build a non-character attraction every 3 months. Then I'd go a lot more. I'm sure that's what everyone here is thinking too. Thank you for setting me straight, I appreciate it.

Me thinks your chain is getting either yanked, or you just need to unclip it.

 

[mkt]

Actually if you think about it isnt everest really just a version of the matterhorn?

I wouldnt really call everest original.

Nothing is original

Everything manmade draws from some sort of other influence in the world.

I think we should all be upset about all of these clones of cave drawings, the wheel, and fire we see worldwide.

 

[WDWFigment]

I think the case could be made that Grand Fiesta, despite featuring the Three Caballeros, is a non-E ticket ride that doesn't really center around marketing characters. What does Disney have to gain by putting these 60 year old characters in the attraction? They could have just as easily put a character from Meet the Robinsons and spun a story to tie it in to the Mexico theme, but instead they made (from all accounts) a high quality attraction. It has characters; is that always so bad?

 

[WDW Monorail]

"There comes a time to understand, to reach out and touch tomorrow take the future in our hand"

Hopefully Brad's succesor, whom has been selected, will follow the above quote to the best of his ability.

 

[ImaYoyo]

Me thinks your chain is getting either yanked, or you just need to unclip it.

Nah, I just enjoy posts that are meant to be a rude attack. They're fun and I COMPLETELY understand that it's so much more difficult to portray one's self in a controlled and polite manor. It's just so darn difficult! After all, when we were teenagers, we thouroughly enjoyed being difficult too.

 

[jedimaster1227]

Will this spell the greenlighting of JII and Dreamfinder?!?

The project is still on the table, its just rebuilding its broken budget after Nemo's Overbudget Adventure dipped into the bank...

 

[tirian]

Brad Rex put a lot of effort into Epcot, considering what he was given. He oversaw the park's comeback after it faultered in the 90s. Although everyone does not agree with his changes, you have to admit that Epcot has become a "must-see" park again, as opposed to the outdated 80s theme park featured in the Simpson's "EFCOT" parody. The VPs don't have complete control over their parks; the Imagination and Wonders of Life missteps were beyond Brad's control.

Overall, Brad did a great job. I really wish that it were Phil or (as people have begun to say) Inoverherhead Meg that were getting replaced.

p.s. Al Weiss isn't WDW's problem. Rasulo is.

 

[tirian]

Tiki room....nope. No defense for that.:lol:

I can't think of anything to say, except: "You're right!"

:lol:

 

[speck76]

Just read on Miceage that Brad Rex is stepping down this week. So much for Mr. "There will be no Epcot 25th. anniversary" bigshot. I hope Rasolu and Al Wiess are next. We need real visionaries to revamp Epcot Center not these lazy goons.

Like you know ANYTHING about Brad Rex....

 

[speck76]

Lets just say that the new management team at Disney (this includes Iger, lasseter, the new chairnman and the new board) really want to reinvigorate disney and that means getting rid of these lazy bums and getting people that will bring about rapid improvements to the parks.

"Let's just say....."

famous last words that really mean "in my idiotic and uneducated opinion...."

When "operations" dictates the direction of ANY company, that company will FAIL.....

 

[pheneix]

"Let's just say....."

famous last words that really mean "in my idiotic and uneducated opinion...."

When "operations" dictates the direction of ANY company, that company will FAIL.....

Case study: Universal Orlando Resort: 2004 - 2006

 

[mkt]

"Let's just say....."

famous last words that really mean "in my idiotic and uneducated opinion...."

When "operations" dictates the direction of ANY company, that company will FAIL.....

Brad. You are awesome

 

[mkt]

Case study: Universal Orlando Resort: 2004 - 2006

Damnitdamnitdamni!

You beat me to it P.

 

[TinkerBell9988]

:wave: Bye bye, Brad Rex! Nice knowin' ya.

 

[wickedfan07]

Soarin is a clone (I hate it as stated before), Missions: Space half baked ride to please thrill junkies (I hate it too), Test Track the only acceptable thrill ride out of the 3 put into Epcot. Finding Nemo (I'm support due to it brought back the seacabs in a way), Laugh Floor (I'm not too happy with because it replaced Time Keeper and doesn't belong in Tomorrowland), and Stitch is half baked, not too well planned out and isn't what I'd call a show kids could really enjoy without being afraid of the dark and sudden noises. What I'm saying is, why can't we have some new additions that are not character based and not an e ticket all in one again. Answetr I always get its not what sells. Well you know what, Walt and the Imagineers DID NOT go by what the people wanted, people wen't in and loved what he and his imagineers created for Disneyland, by putting in all these character based attractions they are ruining the parks and their image and not to mention storylines. And by puting in more of them isn't helping it! The people going to the parks for the first time now a days are gonna think all Dinsey can do is put movie based attractions in their parks and not think there was more than that in the past. I am ok with a few every now and then but its not right when everything coming out of WDI is nothing but Characters. If by doing nothing but throwing logs in the fire is all that Disney is going to do then they need a real wake up call. Why can't we have maybe some new countries in World Showcase? Why can't we have the original Enchanted Tiki room back? Why can't Disney put something better in the 20k lot than a cheap playground? Why can't Disney come up with any original ideas anymore is the real question. Whatever happened to the imagination in Imagineering? Eisner has been gone for awhile now and though i have seen alot of improvements at the parks its still not enough. So why can't Disney create great originals like the Haunted Mansion or Horizons? Because they choose not too, simple as that.

"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as their is imagination left in the world." - Walt Disney

There is still Imagination in Imagineering, but there's also something called the Dollar. (Maybe you've heard of it.) Disney is a business and is run for the sole purpose of collecting said Dollars. The Company will do whatever it takes to make money, and if characters help sell the product, they'll be there. If Disney ignored what its customers wanted, the parks would become outdated and fail to attract an audience. We wouldn't need to argue over any more anniversary celebrations because there'd be no parks to celebrate for.

There are people like John Lasseter who seem to want to tell original stories, but a change in management does not mean an immediate change in the parks. Some attractions, like Gran Fiesta or the Laugh Floor, may have been in development before these new faces came into play, so we may be experiencing the leftovers. Does that make these attractiosn bad? No.

As Walt said, Disneyland, and everything created after it, will continue to grow and change for a very long time. Yes, it would be great to be able to walk into 3 new World Showcase pavilions, a new E-ticket for the 20K lagoon, and a better Tiki Room, and it'd be great to be able to experience these attractions tomorrow. But how can the parks and the dreams grow if they are all created at once? A theme park is meant to evolve over time, not suddenly change. Maybe you'll miss something in the process of this change, but that's life. Enjoy ewhat's here now, and enjoy the change. There are still many original ideas floating around Imagineering, and who knows, maybe some of them will be built someday. (Things go in cycles, someday the traditional and original dark rides will probably be back in style.) It can't happen instantly.

And speaking of the old Tiki Room, how do you remember it? I'm two years older than you and I don't remember any of it firsthand. (I do have a video of it floating around here somewhere though.) I only remember walking past it while it was being turned into its current show.

As for Brad Rex, I don't really know anything about him, so I have no idea if his departure will be good for Epcot or not. I do hope that his absence does not effect the continuing string of refurbishments we've seen lately. I look forward to experiencing Nemo and Gran fiesta in June.

 

[disneyphilip]

Brad Rex is a horrible operations manager. You can thank Disneys marketing department for wanting more charecters at epcot and Siemens for the "tons of attention" that epcot has been receiving lately.

The new VP needs to look at what made the original Epcot Center unique and restore it to its former glory. Epcot should return to a focus on futrism, science, technology, and global cooperation no more cartoon charecters. Thankfully, Siemens is leading the charge.

HEY! Don't you be dissin' 'da new character-themed Epcot attractions! They've been doing a GREAT job in bringing new life into some otherwise dated and tired attractions!

So, be fair!

The "original" Epcot never really worked with most audiences anyway.

 

[Scar Junior]

Changes in VPs across the board is one thing. Brad Rex being forced out is another. I've never met him, but I do admire how things have progressed under his leadership. The parks will never be perfect, all we can hope is that they improve. And I believe that under Mr. Rex they have. Whether that improvement was not enough for his superiors remains to be seen.

It just seems odd to me since there are bigger fish to fry... and the elephant in the living room (Disney Studios) just keeps on getting ignored.

If anyone comes across additional info, please keep us up to date.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

Soarin is a clone (I hate it as stated before), Missions: Space half baked ride to please thrill junkies (I hate it too), Test Track the only acceptable thrill ride out of the 3 put into Epcot. Finding Nemo (I'm support due to it brought back the seacabs in a way), Laugh Floor (I'm not too happy with because it replaced Time Keeper and doesn't belong in Tomorrowland), and Stitch is half baked, not too well planned out and isn't what I'd call a show kids could really enjoy without being afraid of the dark and sudden noises.

OUR Soarin' is a clone. A clone of a wildly popular Disney ride that was put into Epcot and is wildly popular at WDW. And, it's toally original. Mission: Space is NOT half baked. The concept of the ride is amazing and unique and pleases WAAAAY more people than 'thrill junkies'. Finding Nemo was a great way to use space in the Living Seas that was not being used anymore, and I bet WDW had a great reason for getting rid of what was there. Laugh Floor is an innovative way to use space that was occupied by a show they weren't even running anymore, and does (IMHO) fit in Tomorrowland, because who's to say monsters or aliens wouldn't help with our power needs in the future? Did Alien Encounter fit in Tomorrowland? I think Stitch was a cheap and eay way to revamp a ride that was too scary for children by introducing a character they liked and could relate to.

Well you know what, Walt and the Imagineers DID NOT go by what the people wanted, people wen't in and loved what he and his imagineers created for Disneyland, by putting in all these character based attractions they are ruining the parks and their image and not to mention storylines. ...The people going to the parks for the first time now a days are gonna think all Dinsey can do is put movie based attractions in their parks and not think there was more than that in the past. ....If by doing nothing but throwing logs in the fire is all that Disney is going to do then they need a real wake up call.

Disneyland was opened with numerous character based rides in 1955, including Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's ride, Dumbo, Mr. Toad's, The Mad Tea Party, and of course Sleeping Beauty's Castle was put in based on the fact that Disney would be releasing their own version of the movie. Also, the average guest doesn't care what Disney did in the past: they're at the parks now. They may have fond memories of old rides, but things are always chaging, and even Walt himself was a big fan of change.

Why can't we have maybe some new countries in World Showcase? Why can't we have the original Enchanted Tiki room back? Why can't Disney put something better in the 20k lot than a cheap playground? Why can't Disney come up with any original ideas anymore is the real question. Whatever happened to the imagination in Imagineering? Eisner has been gone for awhile now and though i have seen alot of improvements at the parks its still not enough. So why can't Disney create great originals like the Haunted Mansion or Horizons? Because they choose not too, simple as that.

I bet they will put more countries in the WS. 25 years ago when the park opened, there were only four. The original Tiki Room was suffering and needed a shot of adrenaline. It is plausible that a cheap, easy to construct and de-construct playground was put on the 20k site until something better/more suitable/whatever can be put in. I think the Imagination in Imagineering is stil there, and I know quite a few Imagineers who would take offense to that. And, it ends with 'blame it all on Eisner, he let the place go to heck'. Are the improvements not enough, or not enough for you? When Eisner came to Disney in 1984, there was one animated movie every three to five years, 158 movies in the library, the one cable channel they had, the Disney Channel, was consistently losing money, the company was flailing. Come 2005 when he left, the company boasted over 900 feature films, owned ABC, and therefore 80% of ESPN, which was a huge benefit to the company, and the Disney Store (bringing the magic to a mall near you) was his idea. Think back to the time when Disney was going to be sold off and dismantled.


If you're going to bash people, at least have a reason to bash them. Please.

 

[disneyphilip]

Overall, Brad did a great job. I really wish that it were Phil or (as people have begun to say) Inoverherhead Meg that were getting replaced.

HEY! Be nice to Meg Crofton! She's actually been doing a good job, you know.

I'm in totally agreement with those who that a lot of you bash whoever the top brass is just because they are the top brass and that they make decisions that aren't to your liking.

I'm sick of that mentality!:hurl:

 

[mkt]

The "original" Epcot never really worked with most audiences anyway.

It didn't? It worked well with me and my family... and I'm the only Disney fan in my family.