James Cameron, Joe Rohde, Tom Staggs and Disney executives touring Animal Kingdom

FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Via Doombuggies, Cameron and Rohde have been to the Mansion queue.
So take this for what's it worth, but i got this straight from the horse's mouth (one of my coordinator friends who worked today). Cameron and Rhode along w/ a gaggle of Disney executives toured the Mansion queue. According to what he saw with his own two eyes, Cameron looked "bored" and Rhode looked "ed". Can only imagine TDO was brainwashing Cameron into thinking interactive queues will be the end all be all for Avatarland. But i love that Rohde is livid.
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WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Lee said:
The Mansion queue, though I can't say it really bothers me, is the polar opposite to Rohde's style. You won't see anything that heavy-handed at DAK on his watch.
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I'm a little upset they didn't invite me along ... :king:

Although I can understand why they wouldn't be thrilled with it ... these queues just seem to exist to justify those at WDI who believe in them and in the inability of guests to stand in line without something to play with:eek:

I actually got out of what was listed as a 20-minute wait for Pooh Saturday night because the kids in the interactive queue were making such a ruckus (always wanted to use that word in a post) and the whole thing slowed down the line tremendously.

Oh well, soon we can look forward to similar treats at BTMRR and TT from what I hear.

~GFC~
 
M

MickeyPeace

Well-Known Member
Rosso11 said:
Actually if you look at the first picture he is being escorted by Universal employees. Look at the name badge it's clearly Universal. It looks like the Disney employees have the lanyards around their necks, probably some kind of VIP lanyards.
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They all have lanyards in the first picture except one person who is wearing a badge. The badge is not clear and looks exactly like a Disney badge.

There are clearly there to research and are not "enemies" to anyone. That is the point I"m making. That kind of thinking is erroneous. Or should I say...narrow minded?

:animwink:
 
Rosso11

Rosso11

Well-Known Member
Wdwprince said:
They all have lanyards in the first picture except one person who is wearing a badge. The badge is not clear and looks exactly like a Disney badge.

There are clearly there to research and are not "enemies" to anyone. That is the point I"m making. That kind of thinking is erroneous. Or should I say...narrow minded?

:animwink:
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Mr. Morrow in his very next post stated he was joking and being sarcastic about the enemies line so don't get all excited about his original post. And just to clarify that is a Universal badge not a Disney badge. They were clearly there touring the parks together and I am sure were even given access to backstage areas of the park. Obviously that is only speculation but I have been back stage a few times at the Magic Kingdom when Universal execs were touring around. It's a very strong rivalry but they both respect each other and love showing off each others new toys.
 
Alektronic

Alektronic

Well-Known Member
puntagordabob said:
Most of the ambiance of the Toy Story area of Paradise Pier was way better than I thought it would be when I first saw it in Oct 2010, and to be honest I went to DCA expecting to hate all of it lol... though perhaps the carnival games could be a little less prominent..... the coaster and the mickey Wheel along the lagoon with all the lights as if it were truly along the ocean was really cool.

Of course I would never ride much of what was there except the wheel.
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You should have been there in 2001 when it first opened mainly carnival rides and carnival games, except for Soarin' and California Screamin' then in 2002 Dino-Rama opened in AK and guess what? more carnival rides and carnival games.

So not even 10 years later they are spending over 1 billion dollars to redo DCA and a half a billion dollars to help fix AK, which they wouldn't have to do if they had proper planning and did it right the first time.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
whylightbulb said:
Well said Steve. He is a good communicator and politician. If people want to praise him for that than I think that's fair. I just wish they wouldn't heap praise on him for being a creative genius. I've seen far too many supposed creative managers, in many companies, receive the accolades when they really had little to do with the success of the projects they worked on. In fact, in many cases, they impeded and hampered the progress by playing their political games.

Once again - no axe to grind with respect to Rhode personally - just trying to bring a little reality into the temple of Rhode worship.
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You are not the only one who feels that way, trust me.

There are many reasons I feel similarly - I have no issue with him personally, but I just don't see the "ultimate imagineer" title he has been anointed with, when you actually go down through his list of credits and the success/failures of various projects.
 
WDWFREAK53

WDWFREAK53

Well-Known Member
Alektronic said:
You should have been there in 2001 when it first opened mainly carnival rides and carnival games, except for Soarin' and California Screamin' then in 2002 Dino-Rama opened in AK and guess what? more carnival rides and carnival games.

So not even 10 years later they are spending over 1 billion dollars to redo DCA and a half a billion dollars to help fix AK, which they wouldn't have to do if they had proper planning and did it right the first time.
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Not only that...but they could've spent the money 10 years ago...when you got more bang for your buck.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
Really interesting that Scott Trowbridge is involved in this, at least in some capacity at this stage. I've been interested to see what his big contribution to WDI will be.
 
A

ADP2

Member
wdwmagic said:
Really interesting that Scott Trowbridge is involved in this, at least in some capacity at this stage. I've been interested to see what his big contribution to WDI will be.
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Agreed! I was surprised to see him in the picture with Cameron yesterday at WWoHP. Trowbridge's resume is pretty impressive. He had a big hand in developing the Amazing Adventure's of Spiderman at IOA. Still my favorite attraction on the planet.
 
whylightbulb

whylightbulb

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I did see some posts on Joe's talent as an Imagineer and how much his celebrity status plays a role. I know the man, but I can't claim he is a friend or anything that would give deep insight. I believe he is a very good designer for TODAY'S WDI. The Flower Street campus isn't exactly filled with great talents that are just forced to the darkness so the celeb Imagineers can get out in front of the fanbois and social media. ... I absolutely agree with lightbulb about his storytelling and enthusiasm (which I think Steve also mentioned) and knowledge of his source material getting folks excited. I'll never forget sitting with him (alone) as he described the plans for Forbidden Mountain/Everest. It was impossible to not feel like something great was coming. ... But there certainly are legit criticisms of his work (going back to Maelstrom).

That said, I think when you look at WDI's talent pool, the man is easily one of top guys. But he is MUCH better at having a cohesive vision for creating something (like DAK) and throwing in layers of detailing than he is at actual design.
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Ahhh yes...where are all the John Henchmen and Marc Davismen of today at WDI? They are sitting behind desks silenced. Their only voice, represented by their writing and drawing, being muffled by the sounds of political rumblings and egos.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
Doesn't this fit right in with the rest of the film industry though?

Thousands toil virtually anonymously while Producers and Directors get all the fame and fortune?
 
M

MickeyPeace

Well-Known Member
Rosso11 said:
Mr. Morrow in his very next post stated he was joking and being sarcastic about the enemies line so don't get all excited about his original post. And just to clarify that is a Universal badge not a Disney badge. They were clearly there touring the parks together and I am sure were even given access to backstage areas of the park. Obviously that is only speculation but I have been back stage a few times at the Magic Kingdom when Universal execs were touring around. It's a very strong rivalry but they both respect each other and love showing off each others new toys.
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Thanks that was the point I was making.

It's fun when people who are against attacking attack.
 
C

COProgressFan

Well-Known Member
Alektronic said:
So not even 10 years later they are spending over 1 billion dollars to redo DCA and a half a billion dollars to help fix AK, which they wouldn't have to do if they had proper planning and did it right the first time.
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This is the genius of the Walt Disney Company in the 2000's. It would be much cheaper in the long run to do these projects right the first time, than have to go back and fix/update everything 10 years later.

But as we know, Wall Street only cares about the next quarter, not what's going to happen to a company 10 years down the line.
 
C

COProgressFan

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I actually got out of what was listed as a 20-minute wait for Pooh Saturday night because the kids in the interactive queue were making such a ruckus (always wanted to use that word in a post) and the whole thing slowed down the line tremendously.
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That queue is just horribly obnoxious, noisy, and now thanks to its "interactivity" even slower moving than before.
 

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