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

[Eddie Sotto]

Cheers, Eddie. Exciting stuff!

I like to think so, being on so many platforms and going in many directions is the best way to communicate. Appreciate the fans here and the threads that went on for literally years. Thanks to all.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

We appreciate the posts and podcasts Eddie!

I feel it's important to put the expert opinions of yourself, Tom Morris etc out there, not just to document the interesting tidbits of what was done in the past, but to remind fans of themed entertainment about the importance/potential of the industry. With some of Disney's recent projects it feels like the knowledge that was collected and past down was forgotten, but you help to remind us that it is still out there for others to learn.

Exactly. My priority in the industry now is to preserve the "magic" experience before "hospital practices" snuff it out. We want to elevate safety to something so trusted that we can restore what we love. futureproofexperiences.com is a really daring endeavor, and a good use of those lessons we learned along ago of ethics, reassurance and not compromising when it comes to the guest experience.

 

[techgeek]

Hey now! .. .Just stopped in to say hello and give you some info. You can stay in touch via the press link at sottostudios.com. I'm also a Blooloop.com author, so you can read the latest editorials on the industry. The sottostudios.com podcast button has podcasts has Season Pass, Cars that matter, Quarantined Creatives, themed attraction and monorail news. the press link on our site has latest Covid19 solutions and futureproofexperiences.com. We also launched wackysoapbopxracers.com which covers my time at Knott's. On Twitter, there's mostly Disney stuff which is @boss_angeles. So I'm still out there but in new ways and formats...thanks for the interest..

Great to see you back, if only temporarily!

We noticed you were recently quoted in a major USA today article:

Theme parks could go mask-free next year if rapid COVID-19 testing is in place, ex-Disney staffer says

Former Disney staffer Eddie Sotto says theme parks could do away with face masks by next year if rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 are ready in time.

www.usatoday.com

Sotto, now president of his own eponymous design studio, believes that social distancing, face coverings, sanitizer stations, deep cleaning of shared surfaces, and the other remedies that parks and attractions have introduced to deal with COVID-19 just aren’t cutting it.

“You can’t treat people like they are in a hospital,” Sotto says, referring to the attempts to keep people safely apart at what are inherently social spaces and the practices that disconnect visitors from theme park magic. “It’s a death spiral for the industry.”

I know you probably can't deep-dive on this much beyond what's already out there, but there was a little eyebrow-raising around here at some of the directions you were leaning into re: rapid testing. How long do you think the window will be for an approach like that to exist? Eventually of course the hope is this is all under control with vaccines and whatnot and we can fall back to 'normal' life, until then we have distancing and masks, and there doesn't seem to be room for much 'middle ground'. It seems like it might be a lot of trouble to set up such a system when it might only see use for a few months in the spring / early summer, if the optimistic timelines come to fruition. And how do you make a health test fun anyway?

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Understood. Read what we have at futureproofexperiences.com as it addresses much of what concerns you.
"Rapid testing" to many means "careless". We are going digital testing to avoid chemical processes which can deliver more false positives. We like a rapid solution that "senses" the virus in your breath using terahertz waves, and does so in about 2 minutes. It's backed by cloud based machine learning to triple verify results, so it's not a "nurse driven" operation, and in the lab is at 95% accuracy, so far, so it's worth taking to the field for further testing which we are intending to do here in LA very soon. It's already in testing in Europe. Our med team is working with the tech firm as we represent the "experience design" side of that equation. VERY exciting, but time will tell with testing. As you can imagine, many lab tests fail the operational rigor (and accuracy needs) of a theme park, hence the digital solution and exploring it. ramglobal.com is the tech provider and we are the "guest experience" designers. This solution can learn, (like tuning a radio) to sense other viruses so it's something that can always be there as a part of the entry process, and fun to do.
As to all this going away anytime soon, look at the TSA. They still screen for terror decades after 911, with a low threat and would anyone fly if it was gone? Reassurance is part of the solution. Would anyone insure a venue with no protection, after germ warfare is a proven weapon? We are looking ahead, and yes, a lot remains to be seen but to me, saving the guest experience in a way that's safer than the real world is worth fighting for.

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Be safe. "Last caaaaaal.. BOARD!"

 

[flynnibus]

Be safe. "Last caaaaaal.. BOARD!"

View attachment 499978

welcome back!

 

[Eddie Sotto]

Thanks, hope you are doing well. I may not be here all the time, but pop in to post updates, etc. Extremely busy right now.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Seeing this thread pop back up put a smile on my face.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Welcome back, Eddie!

 

[Eddie Sotto]

So, just to update you.
As producer, I enlisted the extremely talented Laramie Dean, the only surf punk guitarist to headline with Dick Dale, of DL Space Mountain on-board audio fame, to "re-shred" a surf punk version of that original ride soundtrack, ("Escape from Space Mountain") even bringing "Halyx Wookie" (DL SciFi Band) bassist Roger Freeland to the session and Cali punk "Agent Orange" drummer Dave Klein. So great, so far. Work in progress. I'll add "We have ignition!" More to come.

 

[Eduardo Cz 1982]

For the guest experience it would be GREAT for the GF to have some kind of Jazz Band or something like that! Am I crazy?!?

 

[brb1006]

Hey now! .. .Just stopped in to say hello and give you some info. You can stay in touch via the press link at sottostudios.com. I'm also a Blooloop.com author, so you can read the latest editorials on the industry. The sottostudios.com podcast button has podcasts has Season Pass, Cars that matter, Quarantined Creatives, themed attraction and monorail news. the press link on our site has latest Covid19 solutions and futureproofexperiences.com. We also launched wackysoapbopxracers.com which covers my time at Knott's. On Twitter, there's mostly Disney stuff which is @boss_angeles. So I'm still out there but in new ways and formats...thanks for the interest..

Thanks for the update man.

 

[trainplane3]

So, just to update you.
As producer, I enlisted the extremely talented Laramie Dean, the only surf punk guitarist to headline with Dick Dale, of DL Space Mountain on-board audio fame, to "re-shred" a surf punk version of that original ride soundtrack, ("Escape from Space Mountain") even bringing "Halyx Wookie" (DL SciFi Band) bassist Roger Freeland to the session and Cali punk "Agent Orange" drummer Dave Klein. So great, so far. Work in progress. I'll add "We have ignition!" More to come.

I saw that on Twitter yesterday. That's going to be awesome.

 

[pocketlint]

So, just to update you.
As producer, I enlisted the extremely talented Laramie Dean, the only surf punk guitarist to headline with Dick Dale, of DL Space Mountain on-board audio fame, to "re-shred" a surf punk version of that original ride soundtrack, ("Escape from Space Mountain") even bringing "Halyx Wookie" (DL SciFi Band) bassist Roger Freeland to the session and Cali punk "Agent Orange" drummer Dave Klein. So great, so far. Work in progress. I'll add "We have ignition!" More to come.

this is so cool Eddie..
i've seen agent orange back in the day

i am now trying to learn the 4 string bass during these times..

rock on and rock out

 

[brb1006]

I would have kept it if I did not think it was going to zero in the next 3-5 years.

And before someone trots out the tired ford thinks WDW is going to close, No the business units outside of cable networks are doing fine.

TWDC will fail because of instead of cutting the cable properties loose while they are still worth something Disney will double down on 'saving market maker status' on cable and bankrupt the company doing do.

Reality is cable bundling is going the way of the buggy whip.

Parks and Studios will continue under new ownership. TWDC as a corporate entity will be no more. ABC who knows considering they are the ratings basement dwellers, cable propertes who knows

I'm aware that I'm commenting on a now banned account. But comments like this makes me wonder how Ford feels about the current state of the Disney Company.

 

[brb1006]

thanks for the promo! I try to find different angles and attitudes for the same questions so the audience is not entirely bored.

Since you mentioned The Season Pass Podcast, I need to check out the newer episodes where you were interviewed (it came in two parts). Plus it's been 4 years since I last checked that podcast out after "Disney Dish", "Fine Tooning", "Marvel Us Disney", and "I Want That" by Jim Hill (featuring Len Testa and Drew Tailor), The Mad Chatters Podcast, and RetroWDW (which I highly recommend for older fans of WDW).

 

[Communicora]

I saw this on twitter and thought I should share it here. Eddie's doing a virtual talk for the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Virtual Talk | Imagining the Impossible: The History of Herb Ryman with Former Imagineer Eddie Sotto​

 

[flynnibus]

hrmm... registration link doesn't show the event? is it full?

edit: oh, cutoff was noon today.. grr

 

[lazyboy97o]

Mary Blair & the success of Disney's Tomorrowland

On the importance of diversity in design, Eddie Sotto reflects on the importance of Mary Blair's murals at Disney's Tomorrowland

blooloop.com

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

Mary Blair's beautiful murals actually still reside within Disneyland's Tomorrowland - they're still there, underneath the Star Tours and Space Mountain murals. Wish they would re-surface...and concerned about what will happen to her mural at The Contemporary.