Disney(World) vs. Disney(land)?

[jt04]

Why would you guarantee that? What does a paper in Missouri or New York care? Beyond the shareholder interest, people don't care to follow stuff like this unless they are Disney fans - in which care they are already on these boards.

TWDC is the largest media company on the planet. Iger and Lasseter are celebrities in their own right. If they are truly feuding and there is all this drama behind the scenes it is HUGE news. It impacts everything from the stock market to Hollywood's boardrooms.

And I am calling shenanigans.

This story would be the stuff of pulitzers if true. Jason Garcia could make a career off of it. The media would be all over it and yet not a hint of a feud anywhere. Time will tell.

 

[menamechris]

TWDC is the largest media company on the planet. Iger and Lasseter are celebrities in their own right. If they are truly feuding and there is all this drama behind the scenes it is HUGE news. It impacts everything from the stock market to Hollywood's boardrooms.

And I am calling shenanigans.

This story would be the stuff of pulitzers if true. Jason Garcia could make a career off of it. The media would be all over it and yet not a hint of a feud anywhere. Time will tell.

Whatever, dude...haha

 

[lazyboy97o]

I will be there in 3 short months: reveling in all the changes since 2009, closing my eyes to the minor flaws, and hoping for the "big stuff" to get fixed. And oh yeah, I am a pixie dust sniffer.

So you admit the issues are there, just that you choose to ignore them?

 

[unkadug]

I am clearly not a Disney expert; nor an insider, as some others here are.
I'm just a middle aged mom of two teenaged boys who would rather spend my vacation at WDW than anywhere else in the world. I missed going to my Happy Place last year and the year before because of the deaths of my parents a mere 18 months apart.
I will be there in 3 short months: reveling in all the changes since 2009, closing my eyes to the minor flaws, and hoping for the "big stuff" to get fixed. And oh yeah, I am a pixie dust sniffer.
Everything that I have read in this thread has made me very excited for the future. TDO can make things right. Apparently the cash is there. All the execs need now is the will to spend it. C'mon folks, give us our Potter-swatter. We've earned it.

If they spend it, then what will pay their hefty bonuses?

 

[FrankLapidus]

That is an interesting article. Personally, I can't really see Lasseter "throwing a fit" and threatening to leave in 2013 unless Iger does; with TWDC now owning Pixar, would he walk away from the company he helped to build or would he just step down from his jobs at WDAS and WDI? I could see Iger leaving earlier than he has said he will if he does have immediate plans to run for political office in the next couple of years but I don't know enough about his ambitions to offer any kind of definitive opinion.

 

[JenniferS]

So you admit the issues are there, just that you choose to ignore them?

I am not in a position to change things.

So, I can go - and spend 10 days and moaning about everything that isn't perfect.
Or, I can stay home, protest with my $$ - and essentially bite my nose off to spite my face.
Or, more sensibly, I can go - have myself a heck of a time, enjoy what is good, lament what is not, and leave it to some others to raise the hue and cry and gather the pitchforks.

Sounds like "big, spirited change" is coming.
Even if it doesn't, I'll still go. Which in some people's minds, probably makes me responsible for everything wrong at WDW.
That's okay, the more some of you protest by staying home, the smaller the crowds are for me and the other pixie dust sniffers.

 

[ChrisFL]

If anybody was interesting in reading that article from DIS.

Several months ago, various posters on internet discussion boards starting putting a curious tag-line in their signatures. “Change is coming, BIG, SPIRITED change!” As the months have gone on, more details have come out regarding what kind of big change could be coming within the Walt Disney Company and the potential positive results it could bring to Walt Disney World. Continue after the break to find out why Iger might be on his away out sooner than anticipated and why the trickle down effect it creates for the Walt Disney World Resort could be a very good thing!




Details are understandably scarce and sometimes vague, but I’ve been able to gather various pieces of information and fit them together. First, it should be noted that Bob Iger, CEO and Chairman of the board of The Walt Disney Company, has already announced his intent to retire and move on to the next phase of his life, presumably as a politician (no, really, that’s what I’m hearing). By March 31st, 2015 an announcement of his successor will take place and the new CEO will take the reigns of the company.



So how could that timeline be accelerated? As discussed on the rumor segment of the DIS Unplugged, apparently Iger, affectionately referred to as “the weather man” by many in the fan community, has been in a feud with John Lasseter. John Lasseter is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lasseter was upset at the marketing plan for the film John Carter, which was directed by his friend Andrew Stanton. When the film flopped due to his perception of sabotage, he threw a huge fit to oust Walt Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross. He went so far as to threaten to leave the company if Ross was not immediately replaced, and sure enough, shortly after John Carter was released and flopped, Disney announced Ross’ replacement, Alan Horn, an outsider with a wealth of film experience.



So what does this mean for the weather man before 2015? Lasseter has apparently also threatened to leave the company if he (Iger) is not replaced before the June 20th, 2013 release of Monsters Inc 2. This is not to be taken lightly, as a shake up of this caliber could have a rippling affect throughout the entire company. If this happens and Iger is removed from power, it is likely he will take either CFO Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Parks & Resorts Tom Staggs, or both with him. Depending on who he takes and who replaces him, others including Meg Crofton could be on the way out too, and there are many in the fan community who would jump for joy if it comes to fruition. I think the best way to describe the resort under current management is what some call “the Rizzo factor.” They’re tooooourists, what do they know? The next time you see empty buildings at Pleasure Island or the missing Lights of Winter, look around at all the people with 1st visit buttons on, completely oblivious to what once was, and you’ll see just how obvious the Rizzo factor really is. We can only hope that with a change at the top, the Rizzo factor will be significantly reduced.



I have to of course add that this is a rumor, and a big one at that considering the potential chain reaction it could have within the company and specifically on the parks. However, this comes from a source I consider to be reliable. Stay tuned on this one as well. It certainly will be interesting to see how it all plays out!



Lastly, in keeping with the big spirited change indicated by this blog’s title, more and more visible signs are appearing to indicate Disney might have something up its sleeve for WDW. As of today, Walt Disney Imagineering has completed a change in structure and Kathy Magnum, a 30-year veteran of Walt Disney Imagineering and a principle designer of the recently opened Cars Land at DCA has been assigned to Walt Disney World with the title of Executive Producer, Walt Disney World Portfolio. It certainly seems to be an interesting move and in my opinion, gives more credence to the rumor about Cars Land coming to DHS. This will be another development we watch closely!

I can't WAIT until '74 sees this...

 

[jed012788]

And nothing to make up for the TDO debacle that was Space Mountain. Or SSE. Or a hundred and one other things that could, should and were to have been better right now but aren't.

The reality is that we cannot change the past. All we can do is hope for good things in the future. It will take significantly longer to fix the problems than it took for management to cause them, and it will require patience. But every positive change is a major step in the right direction.

I, for one, am ready to forget the past if it means that a bright future really is coming.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The reality is that we cannot change the past. All we can do is hope for good things in the future. It will take significantly longer to fix the problems than it took for management to cause them, and it will require patience. But every positive change is a major step in the right direction.

How much can we hope though when those making the few positive changes are the very same ones who made and continue to make so many negative changes? This question applies not only to Walt Disney World, but also the executive leadership of The Walt Disney Company.

 

[jed012788]

How much can we hope though when those making the few positive changes are the very same ones who made and continue to make so many negative changes? This question applies not only to Walt Disney World, but also the executive leadership of The Walt Disney Company.

If all the rumblings are true, and a massive personnel shakeup is imminent, that's something to be hopeful about.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I can't WAIT until '74 sees this...

Or Kevin Yee for that matter.

 

[alissafalco]

How much can we hope though when those making the few positive changes are the very same ones who made and continue to make so many negative changes? This question applies not only to Walt Disney World, but also the executive leadership of The Walt Disney Company.

yeah, you are right about that...

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I am not in a position to change things.

So, I can go - and spend 10 days and moaning about everything that isn't perfect.
Or, I can stay home, protest with my $$ - and essentially bite my nose off to spite my face.
Or, more sensibly, I can go - have myself a heck of a time, enjoy what is good, lament what is not, and leave it to some others to raise the hue and cry and gather the pitchforks.

Sounds like "big, spirited change" is coming.
Even if it doesn't, I'll still go. Which in some people's minds, probably makes me responsible for everything wrong at WDW.
That's okay, the more some of you protest by staying home, the smaller the crowds are for me and the other pixie dust sniffers.

Or you could try visiting Disneyland, which would have many more new things for you to experience than WDW since 2009. If you've never been there, it could be ENTIRELY new to you. You might actually like it.

They have better pixie dust to sniff, IMO.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If all the rumblings are true, and a massive personnel shakeup is imminent, that's something to be hopeful about.

This is true, but I am still cautiously optimistic. Iger was supposed to shake things up, but kept most of Eisner's hated team, of which he was a member, intact. I seem to recall people thinking Rasulo would shake things up. I never believed Staggs would, but many continue to think he is doing just that. Even following the failure of Pleasure Island being retooled, nobody was sent packing, just reassigned. People keep getting shuffled around like a corporate game of musical chairs.

 

[asianway]

Or you could try visiting Disneyland, which would have many more new things for you to experience than WDW since 2009. If you've never been there, it could be ENTIRELY new to you. You might actually like it.

They have better pixie dust to sniff, IMO.

Or the cruise, and best of all, Tokyo-but I do understand a lot of people don't feel comfortable flying internationally

 

[alissafalco]

Or the cruise, and best of all, Tokyo-but I do understand a lot of people don't feel comfortable flying internationally

I don't think it has to do with flying internationally, I do that often. It's the cost and the actual flight time. I live in NY and flight to Tokyo would cost close to $2,000 (thats just for the flight!) and it takes almost 20 hours! That's why I don't think I'll ever make it to Tokyo. It might be a little easier and cheaper if you live on the west coast.

 

[GoofGoof]

Pixie Hollow would have been more than just a redressing of Mickey's ToonTown Fair like Storybook Circus. It also would have included a new flat ride, likely using the Mater's Junkyard Jamboree ride system. Add in ridiculously expensive meet and greets, and you've got a sizable chunk of change.

If that is true I am glad they went with plan B. We get mine train, circus land and a scaled down princess meet and greet for less money than the original pixie hollow and meet and greet areas. Sounds like a pretty smart business decision to me.

 

[ChrisFL]

I don't think it has to do with flying internationally, I do that often. It's the cost and the actual flight time. I live in NY and flight to Tokyo would cost close to $2,000 (thats just for the flight!) and it takes almost 20 hours! That's why I don't think I'll ever make it to Tokyo. It might be a little easier and cheaper if you live on the west coast.

I've had flights to-from Tokyo and Tampa that only took 13 hours and cost about $1,200 (kayak.com is the best place to find rates)

 

[alissafalco]

I've had flights to-from Tokyo and Tampa that only took 13 hours and cost about $1,200 (kayak.com is the best place to find rates)

Really?? I'll have to check that out.

 

[asianway]

I don't think it has to do with flying internationally, I do that often. It's the cost and the actual flight time. I live in NY and flight to Tokyo would cost close to $2,000 (thats just for the flight!) and it takes almost 20 hours! That's why I don't think I'll ever make it to Tokyo. It might be a little easier and cheaper if you live on the west coast.

Did you see the NYC cruises that have a day trip to WDW?