www.orlandosentinel.com
He apparently worked on Captain EO.
I definitely agree. When I visited in the beginning of 2019 for a brief 3 day trip I think the most fun I had was in AK. MK is as you said a less charming copy of Disneyland, so while I enjoyed it and some of the differences were cool to see, it wasn't some standout park to me. HS didn't have GE when I went so it was a half day park even with looking at the exhibits / watching a street show or two, but it did have my favorite ride in the world, ToT, so that was a huge plus. EPCOT was definitely fun to go to to eat and walk around, but it is nowhere near in the shape it could be in compared to it's previous iterations. My parents and I's day where we started in AK was incredible. It was lightly raining in the morning which I honestly think adds a bit to the atmosphere of that park in a way, although it is obviously gorgeous on a beautiful sunny day as well. Pandora was breathtaking, the floating islands, even if I know how they do it, is still incredible to see in person. Africa and the safari ride were incredible to see all the real animals, and the Asia portion with Expedition Everest was very cool to see in it's own way. Just walking around the park it has a sort of authenticity to it, not to use the word immersive but there is definitely something unique about the attempt at realism in that park unlike every other Disney park that presents an idealized version of whatever it is presenting. Plus all the cool little trails and details around the park you can get lost just walking around not riding anything or watching any show and still have so much fun. In my opinion it is definitely the most unique park and with Pandora it got bumped up a ton more ranks in entertainment and beauty factor.
It was never his decision to fix the yeti.
and it shows.
Yeah, Joe Rhode is very respected at the East Coast with Walt Disney World fans/visitors compared to DL. Sure we make fun of his ear, but he's very admired for his contributions with Animal Kingdom for almost 30 years.I think that's fairly obvious, all things considered. This news hit as I was driving somewhere between Medford and Roseburg, but it's culturally notable even if that part of southern Oregon is not (although stunningly beautiful!).
Mr. Rohde's time has suddenly passed, like the Four Seasons from Philadelphia trying to still get radio airplay in 1967 when everyone suddenly wanted only psychedelic sounds from San Francisco. Perhaps, the entire era of Celebrity Imagineers! has now passed in the Covid collapse era of 2020.
WDI just can't afford that sort of thing any longer.... The 7 figure incomes. The big homes in Pasadena or La Canada or Anaheim Hills. The 3-Tesla garages with contractual charging stations at their WDI office. The routine "research trips" for three weeks at a Ritz-Carlton in foreign lands that are required for new attractions that are conveniently themed only to countries that have a Ritz-Carlton?
Yeah, Mr. Rohde's time has passed. The entire collapse of the theme park industry (except Florida) during Covid just put that nail in that coffin.
While your previous comments were valid, and Mr. Rohde clearly had talent, the distended ear on a man nearing Social Security age was nothing but creepy. And Disney knew it was creepy; thus the constant portraitures and official photographs of Rohde that always had his grossly distended ear facing away from the camera or artist.
But for those who adore Mr. Rohde, just go to Tokyo DisneySea and pull a Fastpass for their Tower of Terror. It's pretty much nothing but a Joe Rohde fangasm from pre-show to ride finale'. It almost ruins what is genuinely a great attraction, except for the creepy adulation of an Imagineer that the average Japanese has never heard of.
But at least the Oriental Land Company was wise enough to insist his distended ear not be shown to Tokyo guests.
Yeah, good point. He wasn't really a West Coaster. The Mission:Breakout thing appears to be his final hurrah, and one of his rare projects in the Pacific time zone. He was mostly a Florida guy, with lots of side hustle from the Oriental Land Company.
