Countdown To Fun saying goodbye.

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Interesting, wow hes onto things then now isnt he, thats great, depending on where the funds end up. Though I was kinda hoping this decision was made for hat demo.

Hat is coming down. I've been hearing this since 2009 and was told 'fiscal 2011' and well, we all saw that come and go and 2012 come and go ... I gotta believe it will happen in the next 18-24 months. But, NO, I don't know that.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
No more parades at the Studios. DHS is getting out of the parade business. Some of my friends who work in Studio Parade Maintenance were told they are shutting down the Parade Maintenance and other support depts. They are tearing the down the buildings and getting rid of everything and people will be transferred to other depts that have openings. This supposed to happen on Apr. 4.

Telling for mutiple reasons ... :)
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Ah, that makes sense. George K. killed the horrible Disney Channel Rocks show in Anaheim after one season a couple years ago, so it makes sense he got to Orlando and said "Yikes! This tacky old thing is still playing here?! Are you kidding me?"

And the not-good Countdown To Fun Parade was a dramatically shortened, understaffed and hacked up version of two previous DCA parades. Again, George had a direct point of reference from superior entertainment performing at Disneyland Resort, and he thought "You call this a parade? And you say the word 'parade' with a straight face?"

No wonder they both get killed off in his first 90 days in Orlando. George has a lot of work cut out for him. Although one could easily imagine his reactions and feedback were a tad more professional than my own quotes attributed to him in red above. :cool:

Key word in the above isn't in RED ... it is three letters, starts with a 'C' ... (relax mods, I said three letters! :) )
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
George Kalogridis was brought in to make NGE work at ANY cost. So ...

The biggest challenge we're facing is stockholder support for reinvesting. The large shareholders (whom DNGAF about the parks) want to reel in capital spending, meanwhile we're dealing with some growing and serious issues at the parks. Big picture issues including NewFant reception (its sure is pretty but where are the rides) as well as overall perception of the parks.

We're looking at maximizing attendance and profits while delivering the biggest bang for the buck but lets face it, DHS is the #4 park in WDW and the #6 Disney Park in the US. It has serious "dated" issues. American Idol is the most current addition to property at DHS and it doesnt exactly pack them in anymore (personal observation). They most likely were trying to go for name recognition on a pop culture thing instead of something that that would LAST. The studios are adrift and in dire need of help and a direction.

Now how do you right that ship and giving us a direction for THAT park while we're supposed to be reining in captial costs? And thats just Studios, DAK's shortcomings at 15 are becoming vastly apparent. Epcot is holding its own but for how much longer? New Fantasyland's reception show that guests want what they've come to expect from Disney: high-quality, well-themed, storytelling attractions that are more than eye-candy; the guests want things to actually do.
 

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
Key word in the above isn't in RED ... it is three letters, starts with a 'C' ... (relax mods, I said three letters! :) )
Agree. Neither of the last two efforts were parades. Just loud obnoxious traffic jamming noise makers with broght colors.

It would be one thing if they bothered to use some of the Disney catalog for music, but it is basically Shamu Rocks sans whale.
 

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
Agree. Neither of the last two efforts were parades. Just loud obnoxious traffic jamming noise makers with broght colors.

It would be one thing if they bothered to use some of the Disney catalog for music, but it is basically Shamu Rocks sans whale.

True I dont know why they are intent on using soundtracks that arent even Disney inspired. Now could we get rid of the annoying move it shake it dj mess at MK, Mr. K?
 

Nmoody1

Well-Known Member
I'mI fear ib 10 years tine WDW entertainment will consist solely of 'dance parties' :(

What I find most frustrating about this is despite fhe fact we are losing a parade, tge two WDW 'kingdoms' atill xhurn out the same dull parades that we've been watxhing for nearly 12 years! At least if they make cutbacks at DHS they xould at leaat inject some effort into other parades - mainly getting a new nighttime parade and sorting out the re-occuring dream cone true parade!
At tge same time entertainment offering is pretty ahocking - they may be fan favourites but change is well overdue at Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid shows. I dont think we even need to delve into Fantasmics downfalls.

Whatever relief options are planned behind these receny entertainment cutbacks (if any), lets hope they spring into action a bit quicker than NFE took to construct!
 

BrightImagine

Well-Known Member
Last trip we park hopped from Universal to DHS for the first time ever. It gave me a new appreciation for DHS. There sure is a lot of concrete at Uni... so going over to DHS was like a relief on the eyes. The stretch from the entrance to the Great Movie Ride and onto Sunset, they are both gemlike and I hope they never change. The entertainment at DHS however... I can take or leave and have felt that way for many years. We usually try to stay out of the way of CTF and Disney Channel anything... no offense to the extremely hardworking castmembers of course, but they don't compare to MGM of the past, or to even the Pixar Play Parade. If the daytime entertainment were to go away and that meant that we would get some fresh attractions in the periphery of the park, I would say that's a fair trade.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
No more parades at the Studios. DHS is getting out of the parade business. Some of my friends who work in Studio Parade Maintenance were told they are shutting down the Parade Maintenance and other support depts. They are tearing the down the buildings and getting rid of everything and people will be transferred to other depts that have openings. This supposed to happen on Apr. 4.
Any chance those buildings are located in future expansion areas?
 

SeaCastle

Well-Known Member
Any chance those buildings are located in future expansion areas?

I thought that the parade buildings were located on the Indy expansion pad, but I may be confusing that with other entertainment buildings. If the buildings in question are the ones behind Star Tours/Indy Stunt Show, this may play in with the World Drive entrance being shut down and relocated.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Parades are over rated in general and create too many logistical problems. However there are places and times they are great features such as MSEP. Sometimes less is more and EPCOT proves you do not need parades to have a successful theme park.

Looking forward to more 'Studios' changes.
 

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