Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II)

[flynnibus]

wow, the Peoplemover looked VERY bumpy in that video. I never had the opportunity to ride it at Disneyland either

DL's was a lot more crude in many ways, and not just the propulsion. But it offered a very significant distance and duration of ride as it went out into the autopia area as well as all around TL. While MK still has the cooler people mover propulsion.. it too has been stripped of nearly all it's best portions.. looking into the buildings from above..

 

[jt04]

Hey Eddie, any insights on Kathy Magnum? Did you ever work with her on any projects or is there any work she did that you found especially interesting?

Not to put you on the spot or anything.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Hey Eddie, any insights on Kathy Magnum? Did you ever work with her on any projects or is there any work she did that you found especially interesting?

Not to put you on the spot or anything.

Not at all. Kathy Mangum has been with the company for many years, yet I have never worked with her directly.
We have been in meetings together many times. She has a great personality and is fun to be with, and her primary skill is in being a show producer. It's not like a designer where you can see a "signature look" or "point of view" in their work. Kathy is a field trained and proven producer and her projects show that polish. WDW Tower was her first project as a producer if my memory serves me correctly. She worked as a SP on WDW Splash as well. In more recent years, her projects have been more visible, like Nemo Subs and Carsland. She works well with designers and is respected by John Lassiter.

 

[jt04]

Not at all. Kathy Mangum has been with the company for many years, yet I have never worked with her directly.
We have been in meetings together many times. She has a great personality and is fun to be with, and her primary skill is in being a show producer. It's not like a designer where you can see a "signature look" or "point of view" in their work. Kathy is a field trained and proven producer and her projects show that polish. WDW Tower was her first project as a producer if my memory serves me correctly. She worked as a SP on WDW Splash as well. In more recent years, her projects have been more visible, like Nemo Subs and Carsland. She works well with designers and is respected by John Lassiter.

Awesome. If Lasseter is pleased with the move I think that speaks volumes. Thanks for the response.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

She is an Executive VP now which is like a Senior VP (that's where I ended up) I guess or likely above it. So much has changed. I believe she may be the first female Imagineer to hold that prestigious position. Congratulations Kathy!

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

It's funny that when Blue Sky DB was showing her Avatar, it is a shot from the Moonrock Crater wall from the Encounter Restaurant at LAX. This reminded me that when we were doing it, one of the edicts from WDI was that we couldn't pull talent away from other jobs, meaning it was a low priority. We desperately needed skilled rock sculptors to do that wall and they were all busy and did not dare show up and do it. I ended up taking cardboard discs of various sizes and scribing and carving most of the wet plaster myself. Not a proud moment but it had to get done. I'm totally unqualified to do this and when the real guys showed up, they were pretty embarrassed by it and wished they had come by and sculpted it after all. Susan Dain, a talented scenic artist had the idea of doing it all in metallics and that saved it in my opinion. I was pretty happy with it, but I can see their point! I'm attaching my sketch elevation of the wall and BSDB's Avatar.

Wow! I had no idea that you actually sculpted the wall yourself! (And the rock guys shouldn't have been embarrassed by it. You did a great job!)

While we're on the subject of Encounter... Jim Hill posted an article yesterday on his blog about his recent dining experience, along with photos. I haven't been in many years (I rarely fly in/out of LAX) and had no idea that some changes were made.

When did the atomic googie dining chairs (as seen in Eddie's attachment) get replaced with the vinyl Ozzie and Harriet kitsch-en dinette chairs in Jim's photo? Ack! They simply do not fit! Encounter is not Prime Time Cafe!!

 

[flynnibus]

Is encounter easily walked to from the terminals? I sit in LAX all the time but never saw any mention of the facility while wandering inside.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Is encounter easily walked to from the terminals? I sit in LAX all the time but never saw any mention of the facility while wandering inside.

The Theme Building sits near the entrance to LAX. It's an easy walk from Terminals 1 and 2 to the north and Terminal 6 to the south, and a bit more of a hike from Terminals 5 and 7. The other Terminals are walkable but it's definitely a hike, especially if your gate is at the far end of the terminal.

 

[flynnibus]

The Theme Building sits near the entrance to LAX. It's an easy walk from Terminals 1 and 2 to the north and Terminal 6 to the south, and a bit more of a hike from Terminals 5 and 7. The other Terminals are walkable but it's definitely a hike, especially if your gate is at the far end of the terminal.

Thanks - next time I have some more time there I'll check it out. United is Terminal 6.. so I should be within the bubble

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Wow! I had no idea that you actually sculpted the wall yourself! (And the rock guys shouldn't have been embarrassed by it. You did a great job!)

While we're on the subject of Encounter... Jim Hill posted an article yesterday on his blog about his recent dining experience, along with photos. I haven't been in many years (I rarely fly in/out of LAX) and had no idea that some changes were made.

When did the atomic googie dining chairs (as seen in Eddie's attachment) get replaced with the vinyl Ozzie and Harriet kitsch-en dinette chairs in Jim's photo? Ack! They simply do not fit! Encounter is not Prime Time Cafe!!

When I heard that they changed out Lisa Krohn's award winning chairs, I kind of didn't want to go back unless I had to. I'm glad Jim picked up on it as the new chairs belong in a diner. In fact, I gingerly suggested that she modify the chair for the Encounter so they would be even sleeker, and she is so kind and collaborative, she made the changes. I asked her to consider running the rod supports for the back inside of the cushion so there would be no exposed joinery. Lisa made it work and the chairs were awesome. I think her work really made the difference in the place and made it unique and otherworldly. I adore her design sensibility.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

BTW- I'm speaking at D23 panel discussion tomorrow with Tony Baxter and Tom Morris on the topic of how the original animators brought their film skills to park design. I'll focus on Herb Ryman. If you are in the vicinity of the Disneyland Hotel you might find it of interest. I think it is ticketed.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Wow! I had no idea that you actually sculpted the wall yourself! (And the rock guys shouldn't have been embarrassed by it. You did a great job!

Desperate men do desperate things.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

BTW- I'm speaking at D23 panel discussion tomorrow with Tony Baxter and Tom Morris on the topic of how the original animators brought their film skills to park design. I'll focus on Herb Ryman. If you are in the vicinity of the Disneyland Hotel you might find it of interest. I think it is ticketed.

You west coasters have all the fun. Sounds like it will be a very fascinating panel. I look forward to watching a bootleg of the talk on youtube next week!!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Quick Question: After DLP, what projects did Tom Morris work on before being Show Producer for HKDL?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Quick Question: After DLP, what projects did Tom Morris work on before being Show Producer for HKDL?

I'll ask him and get back to you.

 

[StageFrenzy]

I'll ask him and get back to you.

If the winds true and tom is working on something that starts with a T and ends in a omorrowland. Could you mention something along the lines of rocket jets back on top and Peoplemover or else? Feel free to paraphrase that last part... or not.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

D23 was fun. The panel was Tony Baxter,Tom Morris and myself. Tony focused on his past with Animator Claude Coats, Tom talked Marc Davis and I chimed in on Herb Ryman. We discussed those who taught and influenced us and the audience seemed to appreciate that very much. We did some online interviews afterward that covered many topics (technology, what we would do if we could, etc.), and this is the first time all three of us have ever been interviewed together. Worth a listen if you can find them. John Donaldson, the author of Herb Ryman's biography (http://incanio.com/about/index.html) was also in attendance and fun to chat with. He kept me honest! We did a pre speech fact check. Tom Morris and I hung out a bit afterward, Tony had family in the park to escort. I try avoid prying what my friends working on as it is all highly confidential so I'm sorry to not have much insider stuff. Al Lutz is a better leak anyway. Tom is busy travelling quite a bit so he is being tapped for something, I just don't know what. I forgot to ask him for the laundry list of projects. Didn't seem like enough time to go through it as we were being approached alot. Sorry about that. A shout out to our dear thread poster "Jeanine" who came by to say hi! Met so many fun people and stuck around for the Dick Van show afterward. All in, it was an exciting evening (personally, a big highlight was getting to meet and chat with Dick Van ).

 

[Eddie Sotto]

If the winds true and tom is working on something that starts with a T and ends in a omorrowland. Could you mention something along the lines of rocket jets back on top and Peoplemover or else? Feel free to paraphrase that last part... or not.

I made a point of praising "Tron Uprising" last night which neither Tom or Tony had seen and my vote for a Tron project. (http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_c...-two-parter-quot-scars-quot.aspx#.UCfNEanRdd0)
Fans seem to all be up for a Tron something. Tony has a secret "competition ride" he is pushing and said it would be good for that property. You know how passionate I am about "competition" type rides like the Rocket Bikes, or Knott's SoapBox ride decades ago, so I hope he gets his made. All talk at this point, but fun to dream a little. Also a shout out to PR guru Tim O'Day for the invite to D23.

 

[WDW1974]

BTW- I'm speaking at D23 panel discussion tomorrow with Tony Baxter and Tom Morris on the topic of how the original animators brought their film skills to park design. I'll focus on Herb Ryman. If you are in the vicinity of the Disneyland Hotel you might find it of interest. I think it is ticketed.

Desperate men do desperate things.

Sorry, there was something amusing about those two responses of yours back to back.

Not that I am reading anything in ...

 

[WDW1974]

Oh, and enjoyed the video of the Peoplemover from 1990 (the year of my first DL trip, btw) ... people who love it in Florida have no idea how much better and longer (I compare it in length to PoC in CA vs. FL) it was. Such a relaxing way to see so much of DL.

What a waste ...