"I don't think the imagination pavilion works anymore." - Tony Baxter

[JWG]

You know what I do when something of mine doesn't work? I FIX IT. Just sayin' I understand that Tony wants to, not directed at him.

 

[articos]

Please provide a link to this post (and I don't mean this in any kinda' smart*** way), 'cause I find it hard to believe that it was just as hard in Walt's day to get things moving at TWDC as it is today.

Not meaning he's talking about back then. Just saying Eddie's talking from his experience when he was with WDI in the 90s, and in many ways, the challenges of getting things approved are not what you would expect, then or now.

Here's the post: #3421. Thought it was a timely addition to the discussion, since he just posted.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Please provide a link to this post (and I don't mean this in any kinda' smart*** way), 'cause I find it hard to believe that it was just as hard in Walt's day to get things moving at TWDC as it is today.

Walt and Roy Disney had difficulty raising capital just like anyone in business. Walt has become a legend today but even into the 1950s, he and Roy struggled to find the money to pay for Disneyland. It's the main reason other companies owned most of DL when it first opened. (I think Walt and Roy only owned about 30%.) DL was an almost instant success and Walt & Roy used the profits to buy back ownership from their partners, who were happy to get back their investment and turn a quick profit.

In business, getting things moving is mostly about setting a direction and raising the money for it. Walt set the direction and, together, Walt and Roy were pretty good at raising capital. Bankers and investors didn't simply hand money to the Disney brothers, although Walt was a good pitch man. It was only for about the last 5-10 years of his life, after the financial successes of DL and Mary Poppins, that Walt started morphing into the icon that we think of him today.

Today, TWDC has the capital and business clout to get things moving without having to beg. What they lack is the direction to spend it on WDW. Today's TWDC's senior executives simply don't have a passion for WDW, they have a passion for money. In Walt's day, TWDC had the direction but not the money. Today, TWDC has the money but not the direction, at least when it comes to WDW.

At this point, it will take billions to "fix" WDW. I don't think anyone high up at TWDC has the stomach to foot that bill.

 

[donaldtoo]

Walt and Roy Disney had difficulty raising capital just like anyone in business. Walt has become a legend today but even into the 1950s, he and Roy struggled to find the money to pay for Disneyland. It's the main reason other companies owned most of DL when it first opened. (I think Walt and Roy only owned about 30%.) DL was an almost instant success and Walt & Roy used the profits to buy back ownership from their partners, who were happy to get back their investment and turn a quick profit.

In business, getting things moving is mostly about setting a direction and raising the money for it. Walt set the direction and, together, Walt and Roy were pretty good at raising capital. Bankers and investors didn't simply hand money to the Disney brothers, although Walt was a good pitch man. It was only for about the last 5-10 years of his life, after the financial successes of DL and Mary Poppins, that Walt started morphing into the icon that we think of him today.

Today, TWDC has the capital and business clout to get things moving without having to beg. What they lack is the direction to spend it on WDW. Today's TWDC's senior executives simply don't have a passion for WDW, they have a passion for money. In Walt's day, TWDC had the direction but not the money. Today, TWDC has the money but not the direction, at least when it comes to WDW.

At this point, it will take billions to "fix" WDW. I don't think anyone high up at TWDC has the stomach to foot that bill.

I think what it amounts to is we're pretty much sayin' the same thing, actually, just in a different way, maybe?
I have gathered same from what I have read and am in agreement with what you said up there.
I have not reread any of the biographies in quite some time but, yes, I seem to remember them having to mortgage themselves to the hilt and owing BoA and others out the wazoo many times.
What I was basically tryin' to say, I guess, is that even though they had to do all those things to get the capital and money was sometimes very hard to come by, they managed to get things done regardless, and in a timely manner for the most part. There was focus. Now, TWDC has money comin' out it's collective wazoo and so much having to do with the Parks (which, as you stated above, Disneyland was pretty much finally the turning point financially, and there was pretty much no looking back after about a year of that puppy bein' open), WDW especially, seems to not get done, or when it does get done there is no proper focus.
And also, for the very reason you stated above, it seems to be mostly a lack of interest in WDW, especially, by the senior suits.

 

[Figments Friend]

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.

Agree....i have heard of that happening many times.
They do enjoy spending a pretty penny now ....

 

[Figments Friend]

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.

God that makes me sad.
It is almost like Disney wants Tony out because he has....wait...imagination, or at least a creative desire to DO SOMETHING?
I would think Disney would want to encourage people like him to create more of what obviously has worked successfully for them that Tony had a major hand in BTMR, Splash, etc.
Maybe that is just the reason they want him out....they do not want to pursue such major creative projects, or have issues with him on a personal level because he stands up to what he believes in and will not be a *yes-man* and crumple under pressure from the uppers.
This makes me feel glum....

 

[Figments Friend]

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 had to re-quote this sentence, as i just find this so depressing!
Why why WHY is Disney suppressing Tony*s interest in creating a new Imagination?
Nooooooo!

 

[Figments Friend]

I wonder how many RPMs Uncle Walt is spinning at today?

-
Bravo. POST OF THE YEAR