Guardians Tower announcement Saturday in SD ...

[seabreezept813]

Remember when companies were run by senior executives who may have started in the proverbial 'Mail Room' or Customer service, Now companies are run by Frat Boys who partied through school, Got accepted to the 'management training' program and effectively never held a REAL job doing real work ever. And the only reaction to a business downturn is to CUT, CUT, CUT.

No more Mike's or Sully's...sadly it's rare to get into any field without selling your soul and playing the political game

 

[raymusiccity]

Died or killed off?

Died from neglect

 

[Matt_Black]

And that would be my bottom line..there is no Disney without my favorite laughing place

And the thing is, they could easily silence all the "Splash Mountain is racist" if they just did a VERY carefully marketed re-release, perhaps with a bonus feature hosted by Leonard Maltin featuring various African-Americans who don't have a problem with it. Then, people would watch it, realize the the animated bits are cool, the live-action bits are kind of boring, and there's no real malice otherwise.

 

[NearTheEars]

You're right that I posted a glowing review of Tiffins. I also commented extensively on price points (and that we did the $28 Taste of Tiffins menu because I wasn't willing to gamble on the costlier options).

In the past you've lamented the degradation of Disney dining, and how things are being "Walmarted" to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The homogenization of menus also bothers me, which is why I'm a fan of restaurants like this (and Skipper Canteen) that are more exotic.

The prices are up there, there's no denying that. Personally, though, I take far greater issue with some crumby burger at Pecos Bill being $16 (yes, really) than food that is actually high quality having (what I think is) standard Disney mark-up. (Actually, for $28, I'd consider several of the Taste of Tiffins options to be good values in real world terms.)

Maybe I'm just another crazy lifestyler, but I realize I'm going to be overpaying for food virtually anywhere at WDW, but my strong preference is in favor of quality, ambitious menus if that is going to be the case. From that perspective, I have a hard time knocking Tiffins. (Maybe that wasn't your intent?)

The same applies with Ample Hills (which I saw you mention previously). The sundaes there are $8.50, but the product is unique and incredibly high quality (particularly the butter cake one). From my perspective, the value proposition is significantly better there than $4.79 hot fudge sundae at Aunt Gravity's. The latter is $4 cheaper, but it's also the same ole generic soft serve sundae you could buy anywhere. The former is a premium product.

Extending the examples further, I think you'd agree that All Star Sports is overpriced at $100/night, but a harbor view room at Hotel MiraCosta is not overpriced at $300/night (even if that is a tough pill to swallow).

I have no issue with Disney (or any company) charging premium prices, so long as they are delivering a premium product.

Great post.
Higher quality dining is among the most requested things here.
Not shocked it's expensive. Theme park markup + better Ingredients = a much bigger bill.
If folks are looking for quality at more reasonable prices, there's plenty of options off campus.

 

[seabreezept813]

This branding is 100% fueled by the success of Potter. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of why people like that land. Disney is turning into Universal, crapping on nostalgia and praying on familiarity.

If only Disney understood that Potter is something special..I have yet to see it's equal in terms of current brands..I know this is my opinion, but I think Potter just reaches such a diverse audience because it first became popular as book (English teacher bias) , which sometimes I think Disney forgets that their best work starts with excellent literature. I honestly have no interest in Universal's offerings, with the exception of Potter. They have the ace. The only property Disney has acquired that comes close for me is Star Wars. But I still wouldn't go to a park just for that. In my very personal opinion, Disney historically has the whole package, but Universal played a trump card. Now I'm savng for both parks for our next trip. I'm sure I'll enjoy Universal's other offerings, but Harry Potter is what will bring me in the door. And maybe Star Wars will do the trick, but I'm not sure Disney is going to find what they are looking for..

 

[seabreezept813]

And the thing is, they could easily silence all the "Splash Mountain is racist" if they just did a VERY carefully marketed re-release, perhaps with a bonus feature hosted by Leonard Maltin featuring various African-Americans who don't have a problem with it. Then, people would watch it, realize the the animated bits are cool, the live-action bits are kind of boring, and there's no real malice otherwise.

To be honest, I love the film. And because I'm familiar with movies from that time, I've never really figured out the objections about this one particular film. Historical prejudices will always reveal themselves in art, film, lit. But why not learn from these instead of pretending they don't exist? In many ways I find it offensive that people are denied the ability to see James Baskett's stunning performance.

 

[2351metalcloud]

The nation's amusement park operators told Walt he would go broke if he didn't give Disneyland's customers the rides and entertainment forms that they already knew -- the stuff that was proven to make money. Instead, Walt envisioned something that audiences didn't know they wanted, but that his guts told him they would love. And in so doing he created a new and exciting brand.

Disneyland seems pretty similar to Knot's Berry Farm of the time or various Wild West parks when it opened. What made it so great? Was it because they put in various themes into the park instead of keeping consistent theming throughout the park?

Many of the things put into Disneyland were already fairly popular when they were put in: the Wild West, Davey Crockett, Tom Sawyer, pirates, trains, fairy tales, astronauts, and space ships.

He even put Mickey Mouse into the park at the beginning probably because he was a popular cartoon character. (See: http://dukemedia.com/walt-disney-mindmap/)

Some people here really overrate the original Disneyland. It's not like it was the Taj Mahal or Mont Saint-Michel or something else like that.

 

[brb1006]

To be honest, I love the film. And because I'm familiar with movies from that time, I've never really figured out the objections about this one particular film. Historical prejudices will always reveal themselves in art, film, lit. But why not learn from these instead of pretending they don't exist? In many ways I find it offensive that people are denied the ability to see James Baskett's stunning performance.

I wish Disney acted like Warner Brothers when it comes to stuff like that.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

When you really look at it everyone is nerdy/dorky about something whether they admit it or not.

For us on here it's Disney.

Exactly! Everyone has their obsessions and frankly, that has become more acceptable in our culture more than ever. You don't need to look any further than the sucess and media coverage of things like SDCC, E3, and even the D23 expo for proof of that.

 

[ProjectXBlog]

I wish Disney acted like Warner Brothers when it comes to stuff like that.

nice to see "maycontainfeminists" and "blessedwithgloriousbutt" finally agreed on something

 

[tirian]

Remember when companies were run by senior executives who may have started in the proverbial 'Mail Room' or Customer service, Now companies are run by Frat Boys who partied through school, Got accepted to the 'management training' program and effectively never held a REAL job doing real work ever. And the only reaction to a business downturn is to CUT, CUT, CUT.

Who isn't accepted to the management training programs?

 

[Donaldfan1934]

And the thing is, they could easily silence all the "Splash Mountain is racist" if they just did a VERY carefully marketed re-release, perhaps with a bonus feature hosted by Leonard Maltin featuring various African-Americans who don't have a problem with it. Then, people would watch it, realize the the animated bits are cool, the live-action bits are kind of boring, and there's no real malice otherwise.

I can't believe Disney can't figure out a way for this to work. Someone has to know how to do it if people here on this forum do.

 

[Matt_Black]

Really, it's a no-brainer to market it exclusively to the Disney Movie Club. That way, they avoid any sort of mess trying to put it on retail shelves, and the DMC isn't something casual fans are members of anyway, most likely.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I can't believe Disney can't figure out a way for this to work. Someone has to know how to do it if people here on this forum do.

There's really nothing Disney could do or want to do, I can bet. Why release the film and have a s***storm on their hands, when they can just leave it be, pretty much pretend it doesn't exist, and keep people quiet?

No amount of Blacks giving the opinion that the film is not offensive will help Song of the South, especially in this day and time.

 

[Matt_Black]

No amount of Blacks giving the opinion that the film is not offensive will help Song of the South, especially in this day and time.

... Yeah, I'm not even touching this one.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

... Yeah, I'm not even touching this one.

Agreed. Regardless of whether or not we think there's a proper process in which Disney can release the movie, going any further in this discussion might get ugly and end up breaking the no politics rule.

 

[Californian Elitist]

... Yeah, I'm not even touching this one.

You already gave your opinion/proposal on the subject.

 

[Matt_Black]

You already gave your opinion/proposal on the subject.

Yes. What I will not do is give my reaction to your statement, which, though phrased similarly to my proposal, comes across in a very different spirit.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yes. What I will not do is give my reaction to your statement, which, though phrased similarly to my proposal, comes across in a very different spirit.

I honestly don't care as to whether Disney releases Song of the South on video or not (I've seen more offensive things in film and television, though I see the issues with the movie). I just said Disney will most likely not be releasing the movie any time soon.

As a Black female myself, I personally know fellow Blacks who would be offended by Song of the South. Getting a bunch of African-Americans to defend the film won't help, as they'd probably get called a phrase in which the first word starts with a "U" and the second word starts with a "T." And again, with all that's going on, Disney most likely doesn't want the attention they'd receive if they were to release it the way it is.

 

[Suspirian]

And the thing is, they could easily silence all the "Splash Mountain is racist" if they just did a VERY carefully marketed re-release, perhaps with a bonus feature hosted by Leonard Maltin featuring various African-Americans who don't have a problem with it. Then, people would watch it, realize the the animated bits are cool, the live-action bits are kind of boring, and there's no real malice otherwise.

and the "various African-Americans" are supposed to be the voice of an entire race? Paying a few black people to say something isn't offensive when countless of others believe otherwise probably isn't the wisest choice.