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"I don't think the imagination pavilion works anymore." - Tony Baxter
- Thread starter Axle1986
- Start date
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
No offense to Imagination, but shouldn't they be more concerned about fixing IMAGINEERING.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
I am not sure that is possible at this point ...
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
If Disney can look outside themed entertainment and bring back the Rensainsance Man culture that permeates in companies like Google and Pixar today, they can (which is absolutely easier said than done). But like you, I am not sure how possible it is for that to happen with the current leadership and John spread over too much bread.
articos
Well-Known Member
Yes. If he sticks with WDI long enough.Fantastic, any chance of Tony leading an overhaul of Imagination! and a return to it's former glory then?
articos
Well-Known Member
Sure it is.
articos
Well-Known Member
Er, Imagineering may not have as many of the top people, but they still have a ton of incredibly creative, imaginative talent spread out on various projects, including a few of the originals like Tony. The same people who built HP/FJ and TDS (widely considered to be the best of recent years) are still in or around the industry, and various people come and go through WDI and UCreative. It's a matter of letting them do their best work with supportive management and the requisite budget and timelines to allow that creativity to result in something tangible. And fun.The reason why Imagination Pavilion isn't working is because Disney has lost it's base of talent that actually had imagination. That were able to see things that others didn't realize that they saw and point it out to us in an interesting and different way. So in that sense, he is correct, if that is what he meant by it.
Either way...it is true. It either isn't working in it's present form or it can never work because no one knows how to make it work. Both are probably true, sadly!
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
You may be right, but whatever ideas that have been flowing out of imagineering, one of two things have happened. Either they haven't been good enough to be noticed or they haven't had the ability to sell it. Either way what we get is what we have. Budget will be used as a reason but as seen by other things that happen in Disney, if you have a plan and can sell it, cost really isn't a factor. I'm sure that even if they decided to put the Imagination Pavilion back to its original condition the cost would be a mere fraction of what FLE is costing.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Indeed. I think this statement sums things up perfectly, in regards to the currant Imagination Pavilion. It is absolutely disheartening when one considers that it was imaginative works, imaginative creations, and imaginative problem solving that made the Disney name to begin with.
To coin a old phrase...What would Walt think of all of this..?
To be fair, i am positive there are indeed still a lot of highly creative folks working within Disney, but their hands are often tied by management and budget constraints. In the next few years i hope they are given a little more rein, as i think CarsLand proved magic can happen if they can have their way.
SirLink
Well-Known Member
I would argue its not so much budget constraints as WDI can't budget properly. They would rather use more expensive products to achieve the same effect as what you can get from a local DIY store. And by all accounts came in way over budget.
Sure it is, if it takes 7 years from idea to being built then there is something intrinsically wrong in WDI, you will know better than me - but how many layers of management are in there that aren't needed? How many accountants are really needed?
EpcotFanForever
Active Member
Very interesting point - I'm curious to here the "why" for this one.
Many large, established companies have the same issue of reinvention and lack of innovation. Is that the case at Disney too?
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Google (less so by far) and Pixar were built with a culture of quality bred into them. ... Now, you may say so was Disney, which would be true, but it was taken over and basically destroyed by non-creatives getting power and people being hired for all the wrong reasons and is basically known for having bad pixie dust now.
Nothing is ever impossible when people put their minds and efforts together at change, but there isn't even a desire to do so on a grassroots level ... and the toxicity at 1401 Flower is stronger now than it was 10 or 15 years ago (and it was bad then too!)
SirLink
Well-Known Member
So right around after WDI finished the work on TDS for OLC interesting?
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
He is already considered long in the tooth. He had some health issues a few years back, but appears to be fine now. Disney has wanted him gone as far back as the 1990s. He has largely had projects of small scale to work on. They haven't let him touch a WDW project in ... decades at this point, I believe.
He'd love to work on a new Imagination pavilion, but no one at Disney would love for him to stay and work on a new Imagination pavilion.
I've had folks tell me the tension between he and Eric Jacobson was palpable during IAAPA this week. Even during their panel together with Marty, Rick Rothschild and Bob Rogers, Tony cut Eric off when Eric was having difficulty 'splaining why attractions go in specific parks and why there's a difference between the MK and EPCOT.
Most at WDI wouwd like Tony to have been gone years ago, sadly.
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
Well all of that above is def sad. Apparently WDI has worked on new plans for Imagination for years now but TDO wont spend the money and buy it. I guess both are to blame in their own way. With the new trackless antarctica ride coming to sea world, this would be the perfect time and place to implement a trackless style system in a new Imagination. But TDO going for something like that especially with no sponsor whatsoever, is probably just interesting dreaming at this point.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
How does John factor into all of this?
aladdin2007
Well-Known Member
He made a visit to the pavilion recently. Could have meant something but probably means nothing.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Oh sorry, I should clarify. Within the context of WDI politics and his views on the current state of WDI.
WED Purist
Well-Known Member
There's no reason figment "ears" should be sold on Main St, and people like Tony realize that. I don't recall when everything became 'Disney Parks' (did you happen to see Werner Weiss' April fools post this year?), but it signaled a shift in approach, and not for the better.