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.
