News D23 Expo 2022

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You're assuming they would build if people stopped coming and they had to draw us back.

I assumed they'd build because people keep coming and they need somewhere to stick all of us.

I think we might both be wrong.

Perhaps

But the easy one to get…right now…is that there is Zero point to putting one dime into wdw based on their current financial spot.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I still think the most shocking part of this thing was how badly Josh botched just about every major anouncement.

The Lightsaber training doesn't appear to have paid off.

 

[CoasterSnoop]

It's astonishing how bare this presentation was considering the number of postponed (or presumably cancelled now, I suppose) projects from last D23 that we somehow still know nothing about.

And despite that, we devoted a whole section of this professional presentation to spitballing? What is going on?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I still think the most shocking part of this thing was how badly Josh botched just about every major anouncement.

The only thing I can offer in his defense (because it was absolutely clumsily executed) is that the audience kept cheering at inappropriate times and then not cheering at inappropriate times. The whole cadence of the back-and-forth with the crowd fell completely flat.

 

[mightynine]

I really do wonder about the future of WDW. You have two whole parks - EPCOT and Animal Kingdom - and a good bit of a third - Magic Kingdom - that were absolutely not designed with vertical integration with IP as their focus, but they are part of a company that now only sees things with that mindset.

The shoehorning of things will only get worse IMO, and that’s why you’ll end up with “What if Zootopia was in Animal Kingdom because in that park, we tell stories with animals?”

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's astonishing how bare this presentation was considering the number of postponed (or presumably cancelled now, I suppose) projects from last D23 that we somehow still know nothing about.

He even alluded to them. He said something like "COVID made us stop working on a bunch of stuff we previously announced," and then... nothing.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think we've reached a point where I'm afraid of Disney announcements instead of excited about them. Not just because of some of the nonsense today, but other things they've done over the past 5+ years. It's like, "oh no what are they going to potentially remove and/or ruin now??"

This was my first thought with the Harmonious announcement, everyone got excited and I thought we likely end up with a worse show using the same ugly industrial barges in the lagoon.

This was a horrible D23 but the lack of change may be a good thing until we get new management, everything they’ve done in the last 3 years has been a downgrade, maybe it’s best if they don’t touch anything right now.

 

[danlb_2000]

I still think the most shocking part of this thing was how badly Josh botched just about every major anouncement.

There was a major announcement?

 

[djkidkaz]

At the end of the day, they know people will keep going to WDW and pay the asking price. They may not be the same people, but they won’t run out of guests in the short to medium term.

Nothing will change drastically until that no longer happens.

I don’t necessarily agree. If people stop showing up then they also refuse to spend because the money isn’t flowing in anymore and they tighten the purse strings.

The only way change happens and the parks grow is when you have a leader who isn’t afraid to spend when things are going well. You need the cash flowing in and a leader who says “Let’s invest in our future!” to see growth.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I really do wonder about the future of WDW. You have two whole parks - EPCOT and Animal Kingdom - and a good bit of a third - Magic Kingdom - that were absolutely not designed with vertical integration with IP as their focus, but they are part of a company that now only sees things with that mindset.

The shoehorning of things will only get worse, IMO and that’s why you’ll end up with “What if Zooptopia was in Animal Kingdome because in that park, we tell stories with animals?”

I agree with all of this, but I'll defend WDW on one point and criticize the fans on another point.

- Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland is by far the worst offender in this respect, but it's cooler to bash on WDW than on DLR.

- I don't think there's a lot of room to criticize Pandora in DAK and Zootopia in DAK at the same time, which a lot of people try to do. If you care about vibe, atmosphere, and ethos, then Pandora fits. If you want to be very literal and say you care about animals qua animals, then Zootopia fits.

 

[stitchcastle]

I really do wonder about the future of WDW. You have two whole parks - EPCOT and Animal Kingdom - and a good bit of a third - Magic Kingdom - that were absolutely not designed with vertical integration with IP as their focus, but they are part of a company that now only sees things with that mindset.

The shoehorning of things will only get worse, IMO and that’s why you’ll end up with “What if Zooptopia was in Animal Kingdome because in that park, we tell stories with animals?”

Yeah, we're well past that with Pandora and Galaxy's Edge being the big watermarks for it. It's just gonna be more of this sort of IP-driven expansions from now on. The thoughtful design and creativity of the old days are long gone.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I still think the most shocking part of this thing was how badly Josh botched just about every major anouncement.

He was exposed for the tool he is a couple of weeks ago.

He’s just confirming it now

 

[LSLS]

There was a major announcement?

There were for other parks.

 

[UpAllNight]

Did they also say END of 2023 for Moana? Yeek

 

[Captain Neo]

Lmao is this the new game? Don’t announce anything but just show some ideas they are pitching to Chapek that may or may not happen and even they do will look nothing like the art?

“So we got nothing but here’s some ideas we’re spitballin’ check out this art!”

*audience filled with brain dead disneytards cheers*

 

[Disney Maddux]

If you know me and my history here, well, to quote Palpatine:

Long have I waited...

 

[JenniferS]

Checks the front page … yup, @wdwmagic has started individual threads for today’s announcements and non-announcements.

Later, Peeps. It was fun spending these past two hours with you.

 

[LSLS]

The only thing I can offer in his defense (because it was absolutely clumsily executed) is that the audience kept cheering at inappropriate times and then not cheering at inappropriate times. The whole cadence of the back-and-forth with the crowd fell completely flat.

True, but I'm blaming delivery. You say you are announcing something new. You bring out Mando, you talk about him, you talk about GE. And then 3 minutes later realize you didn't actually say this is a meet and greet and only disneyland.

 

[fgmnt]

I really do wonder about the future of WDW. You have two whole parks - EPCOT and Animal Kingdom - and a good bit of a third - Magic Kingdom - that were absolutely not designed with vertical integration with IP as their focus, but they are part of a company that now only sees things with that mindset.

The shoehorning of things will only get worse, IMO and that’s why you’ll end up with “What if Zooptopia was in Animal Kingdome because in that park, we tell stories with animals?”

I don't think of myself as someone overly deferential to the myths of legend-statused Imagineers, but I can only imagine how poorly Pandora would have gone over if Rohde was not there. It is an absolutely pitch-perfect addition to that park. To see it followed up with Moana in that same park is pretty insulting to anyone that could be called an external stakeholder to a project.

It has been clear for a majority of my life that regardless of the captains steering the ship in Burbank, they will treat EPCOT with open contempt. The original construction of that park is completely antithetical to how they want to run the parks division, so they will kneecap it, upcharge it, and straight up implode the heart in vain attempts to fix what they perceive to be fundamental problems with the park.

 

[LSLS]

He was exposed for the tool he is a couple of weeks ago.

He’s just confirming it now

Oh I've been on your side for a while. But, I honestly thought he'd be a great speaker and great at spinning and bringing up hype.