Brad Rex is out

[Scar Junior]

Brad Rex's claim to fame is having told Deb Wills (of allears.net) in an interview that there would be no Epcot 25th Anniversary. Before that no one liked/disliked him.

It's sort of like how Ouimet at DLR was seen as a father figure because he was in the parks doing low-level jobs and seemed genuinely concerned for the place.

A little something you do and that's what you're remembered for.

I've heard many Rex stories that put him out in the park working frontline positions.

Hey Epcot has received tons of attention with Brad Rex--more than the other 3 parks. He'll be missed by me at least.

me too

with all due respect, perhaps i am overly sensitive to this as mr. rex afforded me many an opportunity to bend his ear during my time at epcot, but that is a completely unfair statement, especially if you have no idea how the inner workings of the company operate...mr. rex is an upstanding gentleman who was a joy to work for, and is the furthest thing from a "mr. bigshot"...mr. rex acts with an amazing amount of class, nothing like the personality of a "mr. bigshot", thus making this assumption unfounded...

i would highly doubt that not having a 25th anniversary celebration was not solely the decision of mr. rex, or even largely the decision of mr. rex...the idea of an official park celebration is large enough that i would think it was more in the hands of mr. rasulo...

again, sorry if this looks upset, but "mr. bigshot" seems like a highly unfair assumption to me...

tim :king:

:sohappy: well said :wave:

 

[OmegaKnight]

The story of why Brad wanted to come work for Disney is pretty neat. When he was a kid, he went to the 1964 Worlds Fair and saw Walt Disney in the distance. Even though Walt was busy doing other things, he still took time out of his busy schedule to talk to this young child. Brad is one of the most down-to-earth Disney execs on property and he was a joy to meet and work with when I worked at Epcot.

People here are bashing him too much over decisions that he probably had no control over. I seriously doubt it was his decision alone to not do anything earth shattering for the park's 25th anniversary but you have to look at it from an overall park standpoint: would you rather spend part of your yearly budgeted money on a one day celebration or on new attractions/rehabs that will last for years to come?

Brad is always hanging around in the park, talking to both CM's and guests about their experiences that day. He will definitely be missed at Epcot.

 

[CaptainMichael]

This doesn't make much sense. Epcot seems to be headed in the right direction....Disney-MGM, not so much.

 

[marni1971]

Also, how do you know they won't be as fondly remembered as their predecessors? I never got to see Horizons or World of Motion.

If you did you`d know there is no comparisson.

Big news indeed. It`ll be interesting to know where this order came from (or did Rex jump ship) - and who`s the replacement.

 

[Captain Hank]

Brad Rex did a ton of great things for Epcot. While I may not agree with all of his decisions, he was a great guy, and very approachable. I got to meet him several times, and he was the nicest guy. Contrary to what many on here believe, you could tell that he really did care about Epcot and its future. He was seen out walking the park quite often, certainly more often than any other park VP. Personally, I'm sad to see him go.

 

[George]

If you did you`d know there is no comparisson.

Big news indeed. It`ll be interesting to know where this order came from (or did Rex jump ship) - and who`s the replacement.

I don't see how you can say there is no comparison. I like all 4 rides (WoM, Horizons, TT, and M:S), but there is a large group that liked the old school dark rides much better and there is ANOTHER large group that likes the newer more thrilling attractions much better. In MY dream fantasy world I'd have all four attractions, but Epcot had to change. I've met way to many people in my life who hated Epcot, thought it was boring and always excluded it from their to do list on Florida/Orlando vacations. Now, more and more of these people consider adding Epcot to their itinerary. I don't think there were enough hard-core fans of the original EPCOT (of which I am one) to keep the park financially afloat. And I think there is a large group of people who will look back fondly on TT and M:S when they are gone. There will be tribute videos and fans that hearken back to the good old days no matter how good the "current" attractions are.

 

[I-4Warrior]

In regards to Mission:Space and Test Track not being fondly remembered as well as Horizons and World of Motion, I disagree (partly). While Horizons does have a Mr. Toad-style cult that still carries its torch, I NEVER hear anyone crying that World of Motion is gone. The lines at Test Track on a given day would indicate that it has built up a massive fanbase that would certainly miss it if it were to go by the wayside. The hype of Mission:Space certainly didn't hold up over time, so, no, this ride won't be missed once it's gone by anyone other than thrill-seekers.

 

[JimboJones123]

I'm glad nobody posts on a message board about me and my job. Especially since I work nowhere near as hard as Rex. That is all.

 

[Ausdaddy]

I'm glad nobody posts on a message board about me and my job. Especially since I work nowhere near as hard as Rex. That is all.

No kidding. (That's directed toward the part about people posting about my job on the message board, not about you working nowhere near as hard as Rex :ROFLOL: )

 

[Enderikari]

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.

Welcome back Ghostbuster626...


Or is it Return of Ghost...?


Or Lewis Carroll?

 

[ZapperZ]

Why is it that so many Disney fans hate whoever is in charge of the place? When it was Eisner, everyone hated him. Now that Weiss is in charge of WDW, everyone hates him. What did these cats do that made you hate them so much?

I don't hate Bob Iger, and from what I have gathered, "many Disney fans" don't either. And last time I checked, he's very much in charge of the place.

Zz.

 

[ImaYoyo]

Do we have anything official? Miceage does not bat .999 as much as we would like to think.

Also, I was able to work a Cross-U with Brad at the Millenium Showplace during the "Sweetest Pastry Competition on Earth" and he is a super guy who's not afraid to get his hands dirty. I also attend church at the same place he does, and I can tell you he's also very active in Disney-connected organizations outside of his regular role, such as VoluntEars and RAVE. I wonder if Djuan Rivers or Chris Lutz would be considered for a replacement if this is in fact true.

 

[EpcotMark]

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.

That was a really stupid thing to say. Shame on you.

 

[EpcotMark]

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.

The VP does NOT have free reign over what is in the Park. GET A PULSE!

 

[EpcotMark]

with all due respect, perhaps i am overly sensitive to this as mr. rex afforded me many an opportunity to bend his ear during my time at epcot, but that is a completely unfair statement, especially if you have no idea how the inner workings of the company operate...mr. rex is an upstanding gentleman who was a joy to work for, and is the furthest thing from a "mr. bigshot"...mr. rex acts with an amazing amount of class, nothing like the personality of a "mr. bigshot", thus making this assumption unfounded...

i would highly doubt that not having a 25th anniversary celebration was not solely the decision of mr. rex, or even largely the decision of mr. rex...the idea of an official park celebration is large enough that i would think it was more in the hands of mr. rasulo...

again, sorry if this looks upset, but "mr. bigshot" seems like a highly unfair assumption to me...

tim :king:

I CONCUR

 

[TarzanRocked99-]

If it was an announcment about Phil leaving at MK then I would be pleased, but I have to say I am very sad to hear about Brad's departure, he is an outstanding guy.

 

[mkt]

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.

Phil Holmes is a horrible Manager. Brad Rex was one of the handful of good managers remaining.

 

[Shaman]

This doesn't make much sense. Epcot seems to be headed in the right direction....Disney-MGM, not so much.

Agreed. Who is in charge of The Studios? They need to be replaced ASAP.

 

[CrashNet]

with all due respect, perhaps i am overly sensitive to this as mr. rex afforded me many an opportunity to bend his ear during my time at epcot, but that is a completely unfair statement, especially if you have no idea how the inner workings of the company operate...mr. rex is an upstanding gentleman who was a joy to work for, and is the furthest thing from a "mr. bigshot"...mr. rex acts with an amazing amount of class, nothing like the personality of a "mr. bigshot", thus making this assumption unfounded...

i would highly doubt that not having a 25th anniversary celebration was not solely the decision of mr. rex, or even largely the decision of mr. rex...the idea of an official park celebration is large enough that i would think it was more in the hands of mr. rasulo...

again, sorry if this looks upset, but "mr. bigshot" seems like a highly unfair assumption to me...

tim

Well put. Brad is a great guy, and I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting and speaking with him several times while I was a CM at Epcot. He's probably one of the best VPs any park has had in quite some time, and I'm sad to see him leaving at the end of next week. He is moving on to another higher level position at a different company, so he's moving up in the world. I wish him the best.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

If you did you`d know there is no comparisson.

Big news indeed. It`ll be interesting to know where this order came from (or did Rex jump ship) - and who`s the replacement.

I can understand that to a point, but how many millions of people are going to remember Test Track on their first trip to WDW instead of Horizons?

I'm glad that more people came out of the woodwork on this one. It has always bothered me on these boards when people (not everyone!! just some people) seem to badmouth Disney brass with no visible reason. This thread has just about proved to me that the OP must have had some private grudge with Mr. Rex because so many people came out with a reason in support of him.