MiceAge on the latest news regarding MyMagic+ : Read it and weep.

ABQ

ABQ

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
Iger goes back to his steel walled office, locks the door and spends some quality time figuring out how much of his Disney stock to convert to cash and deposit in his Swiss account. Life goes on as normal. And he lives happily ever after. BTW, that weird noise you hear is Walt Disney spinning in his grave.
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Do you picture him back there playing with his dolls like Rick Moranis in his portrayal of Dark Helmet?
I do.
 
B

Bolna

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Just a quick note before bed (those yams smell so good and my Spirited green bean casserole is to die for ...that special ingredient? Know any missing fanbois?) ...but Miceage actually got very large chunks of this story wrong ... Hey, @KevinYee you might want to tell Dusty and Company they way overextrapolated this one and it's gonna hurt their cred.

Parts were right, but large parts -- like DL's 60th being off are flat out inaccurate.

I will post more as time and the holiday allow. But folks need to take a deep breath, even if NGE is pure evil, it hasn,t frozen all projects everywhere indefinitely. Not true.

Oh, and thanks to @WDWFigment for being the only one in the Twitverse classy enough to acknowledge that I broke the news on Shanghai's developmental menu, even after flying back from his second Asian parks escapade this year ... He better post his thoughts in my Spirited thread!!!

now back to baking and bed ...
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just thought that quoting this would make sure that it does not get lost in the fast moving thread...

Oh - and thanks @WDW1974 for taking some time out from your holiday preperations to find us some more info on the subject!
 
tissandtully

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Just a quick note before bed (those yams smell so good and my Spirited green bean casserole is to die for ...that special ingredient? Know any missing fanbois?) ...but Miceage actually got very large chunks of this story wrong ... Hey, @KevinYee you might want to tell Dusty and Company they way overextrapolated this one and it's gonna hurt their cred.

Parts were right, but large parts -- like DL's 60th being off are flat out inaccurate.

I will post more as time and the holiday allow. But folks need to take a deep breath, even if NGE is pure evil, it hasn,t frozen all projects everywhere indefinitely. Not true.

Oh, and thanks to @WDWFigment for being the only one in the Twitverse classy enough to acknowledge that I broke the news on Shanghai's developmental menu, even after flying back from his second Asian parks escapade this year ... He better post his thoughts in my Spirited thread!!!

now back to baking and bed ...
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How accurate was the part about DHS SW Land being cancelled? Also, fan boy casserole sounds awful.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
OFTeric said:
I think people need to go back and re-read what was written.

Do not confuse "on hold" with cancelled.
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The article suggests (and I believe WDW1974 has indicated) that Star Wars and any other non-Avatar projects in WDW are essentially cancelled due to MM+ cost overruns. That there is no plans to invest money in new attractions in WDW until MM+ "makes money". That would probably mean we are 3-5 years from any new projects being green lit, let alone completed.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that they would do that if the resort is collectively "hurting" as much as insiders say. If attendence and guest spending is down and MM+ isn't helping, is the executive attitude simply going to be "well, we aren't going to spend any more money there"? Or is it going to be "this isn't working, we should try something different, like building a new land with new attractions like we did successfully in DCA"?

Furthermore, if Star Wars in DLR gets taken "off hold" and begins, it would make too much sense for them not to use at least some elements in DHS given that the develoment cost is already being spent, the park needs new stuff to bolster faltering attendence, and it will have the synergistic impact with the new movies that Iger loves. I guess that's my basic point -- I think star Wars at both DLR and WDW will be greenlit sometime in the next year. I'm skeptical that it would only go forward in DL. This news is only a postponement for accounting measures, not a change in philosophy.
 
tissandtully

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
The article suggests (and I believe WDW1974 has indicated) that Star Wars and any other non-Avatar projects in WDW are essentially cancelled due to MM+ cost overruns. That there is no plans to invest money in new attractions in WDW until MM+ "makes money". That would probably mean we are 3-5 years from any new projects being green lit, let alone completed.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that they would do that if the resort is collectively "hurting" as much as insiders say. If attendence and guest spending is down and MM+ isn't helping, is the executive attitude simply going to be "well, we aren't going to spend any more money there"? Or is it going to be "this isn't working, we should try something different, like building a new land with new attractions like we did successfully in DCA"?

Furthermore, if Star Wars in DLR gets taken "off hold" and begins, it would make too much sense for them not to use at least some elements in DHS given that the develoment cost is already being spent, the park needs new stuff to bolster faltering attendence, and it will have the synergistic impact with the new movies that Iger loves. I guess that's my basic point -- I think star Wars at both DLR and WDW will be greenlit sometime in the next year. I'm skeptical that it would only go forward in DL. This news is only a postponement for accounting measures, not a change in philosophy.
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Except that park attendance is way up, it's just not up enough to fill the BoD pools with gold coins so they can all Scrooge McDuck over the holiday season.
 
OFTeric

OFTeric

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
The article suggests (and I believe WDW1974 has indicated) that Star Wars and any other non-Avatar projects in WDW are essentially cancelled due to MM+ cost overruns. That there is no plans to invest money in new attractions in WDW until MM+ "makes money". That would probably mean we are 3-5 years from any new projects being green lit, let alone completed.
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How is that different from what is happening today?

Look at the time between projects right now. 3 - 5 years. That seems to be a pretty reasonable timeline. We "fans" get blinded by the glittery stuff in between those 3 - 5 years. Another celebration, another castle display, another film upgrade.

Avatarland opens in 2015 3 years after New Fantasyland.

Starwars Land could open in 2018 which isn't unrealistic with the way management has been running things.
 
DznyGrlSD

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
RunnerEd said:
So when are the firings going to happen? In the economy that we're languishing in, I hate to see anyone lose their job but the people pushing this crap have been making huge promises along with huge pay checks and have not performed. Not only has the promised tech not performed, the parks have languished because of it all while getting more expensive for the average vacationer. Where's Trump when you need him....You're Fired!!!
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http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...disney-cruise-line-disney-institute-karl-holz
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
OFTeric said:
How is that different from what is happening today?

Look at the time between projects right now. 3 - 5 years. That seems to be a pretty reasonable timeline. We "fans" get blinded by the glittery stuff in between those 3 - 5 years. Another celebration, another castle display, another film upgrade.

Avatarland opens in 2015 3 years after New Fantasyland.

Starwars Land could open in 2018 which isn't unrealistic with the way management has been running things.
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Avatarland is currently not scheduled to open until 2017.
 
M

Mammymouse

Well-Known Member
pcaudill said:
Most publicly traded companies cannot spend $2.0 billion with no true ROI by the stated date without heads rolling. I really don't see how changes have not been made since this debacle unfolded or how the executives can plead ignorance.

WDW and DL are amusement parks, first and foremost (theme parks for the purists). When did that mean freezing ride development at one of the most visited parks/resorts in the world? I had hopes when they changed the focus from a princess meet-n-greet land to actually include the mine ride. Now, I'm thinking that the train has officially jumped the tracks.

Only things that MM+ gives is longer lines, confusion, and a feeling of being watched. That probably wasn't the ROI presented to the board a few years ago.
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Exactly!!!!.....ATTRACTIONS ARE THEIR BUSINESS!!! What is DisneyParks without attractions? Just a somewhat fancy group of hotels with overpriced restaurants. Not keeping attractions foremost is only a course for doom. What did they expect that the crowds that they kept luring by building more hotels were going to do at Disney? Sit around the pool?? Of course the crowds at the Parks (WDW in particular)are ridiculous to manage - there is very little to do anymore with that amount of guests. A bored guest is a grumpy guest. What is that saying about "idle hands"?

I SO wish the execs would put on their cargo shorts, tees and baseball caps and stay at the Parks on a bonifide 5 day vacation.
 
Travel Junkie

Travel Junkie

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Just a quick note before bed (those yams smell so good and my Spirited green bean casserole is to die for ...that special ingredient? Know any missing fanbois?) ...but Miceage actually got very large chunks of this story wrong ... Hey, @KevinYee you might want to tell Dusty and Company they way overextrapolated this one and it's gonna hurt their cred.

Parts were right, but large parts -- like DL's 60th being off are flat out inaccurate.

I will post more as time and the holiday allow. But folks need to take a deep breath, even if NGE is pure evil, it hasn,t frozen all projects everywhere indefinitely. Not true.

Oh, and thanks to @WDWFigment for being the only one in the Twitverse classy enough to acknowledge that I broke the news on Shanghai's developmental menu, even after flying back from his second Asian parks escapade this year ... He better post his thoughts in my Spirited thread!!!

now back to baking and bed ...
Click to expand...

The article does seem a tad melodramatic. They come to conclusions that don’t make sense. For example they mention that Iger is angry about the delays in My Magic + which I don’t doubt is true, but shutting down virtually all WDI projects until MM+ is profitable is over the top. The more logical explanation is further down in the article. Shanghai Disney is behind schedule and needs help. This is Disney P&R’s number 1 priority anyway so diverting resources to get it on schedule is logical. MiceAge has already stated that the bulk of Star Wars for DL will not begin construction until late 2015 or 2016, so they have plenty of time to meet that deadline while temporarily diverting WDI resources to finish Shanghai.
No insider info here, but it is reasonable that WDW projects other than DVC, Disney Springs and Avatar are on hold (WDW1974 has already said this is so), while at DL they are put on a slight pause while they focus on Shanghai. The plans for the 60th at DL are new fireworks and parades, which do not need as much lead time as rides. The redo of the Fantasyland dark rides along with Monstropolis may or may not be the true casualties of the MM+ overruns and/or Shanghai. Star Wars Land has plenty of lead time to still be on schedule if they decide to hold off and re-examine things.
To me MiceAge was making connections that simply weren’t there. They took Iger’s anger towards MM+ overruns and diverting resources to Shanghai as one issue when they more than likely were separate issues.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
OFTeric said:
Well even worse. So that would mean Starwars Land to open around 2020 or 2023
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See, that is what I am saying. I don't believe that. I think we will see SW greenlit sometime in the next year and opening in WDW by 2018 or so. And I expect parts of it to open prior to that.
 
Foolish Mortal

Foolish Mortal

Well-Known Member
RunnerEd said:
So when are the firings going to happen? In the economy that we're languishing in, I hate to see anyone lose their job but the people pushing this crap have been making huge promises along with huge pay checks and have not performed. Not only has the promised tech not performed, the parks have languished because of it all while getting more expensive for the average vacationer. Where's Trump when you need him....You're Fired!!!
Click to expand...

I would have no problem if higher ups with Golden parachutes that are responsible for this mess lost jobs. In fact I HOPE they do (but they won't). Get rid of them now before they can do more damage. Sad part is that somehow day to day CM's are probably going to lose jobs.

Mammymouse said:
I SO wish the execs would put on their cargo shorts, tees and baseball caps and stay at the Parks on a bonifide 5 day vacation.
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You and me both !! Problem is corporate execs are cowards. No matter what the business.
 
DisneyGentleman

DisneyGentleman

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
There was a time when Disney looked at this and said, "Our customers don't know what they want, but if we create some magical they will love it." For decades this approach was successful and there was no reason to believe it wouldn't continue to be so. It was reinforced most recently by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Cars Land. Now, they look at this quote and said, "How can we deceive our guests into paying more and getting less." This is reinforced by cuts everywhere that coincide with price increases and a new plan that attempts to sell people on quicker access to attractions that don't generate waits.
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I find it a very cynical approach to running a business:

Don't bother creating something magical - create virtual magic. Tell "dumb customers" what a great time they are having, and they will believe.

Offer bland food in unique surroundings, and they will believe it is special.
Sell cheap merchandise at premium prices and they will believe in the quality.
Replace value with "virtual value" and design a computer system to optimize your return.
Live off the memories of things past, and the fools won't know the difference.

Yet, those of us here do know the difference and we are scared.
 

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