New Jim Hill article

[dxwwf3]

It's just the nature of things, that negative actions or comments impact much more than positive ones. I'm sure if Steve had a rating system on this site, it would be at least 10:1, maybe 20:1 positive to negative. It's just that some of the negative is so inflammatory (and usually flames out) that it gets the most attention.

If people can't recognize that entering a chat room or website...they probably have no business visiting.

When it comes to criticism....I would say we are nothing to the self evaluation within WDI. I find it hard to believe that they would say....OK, you got 50 things right, but two items are bad.....good enough for me, lets let it go. No, they are constantly doing internal evaluations and corrections.
If you can't take feedback...you're probably in the wrong business.

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[dxwwf3]

Imagine how the Imagineers who designed and built the Wand must have felt.

If they really cared about it, probably they are happy that it lasted longer than just about anyone thought it would. It wasn't like the thing was designed to be up there for decades.

 

[dvcnut39]

When I start getting a little upset over the quality of some of the newer rides, attractions, fireworks, etc... I always try to remind myself of a Disney saying I heard years ago. To paraphrase- Walt had more imagination in the tip of one finger than all the Imagineers combined. I think they're doing their best with the funds they're permitted to spend. Walt didn't have that problem. He did what he wanted and it always turned out great.

 

[tirian]

Imagine how the Imagineers who designed and built the Wand must have felt.

Actually, they agreed that it was long past time to remove it. The wand was designed as a temporary structure, and nobody in WDI thought otherwise.

I want to echo what Brucie said earlier, too:

If any Imagineers are reading this blog, we do appreciate everything you do, and we know that because of you, Disney parks are still the best theme parks on earth. We also understand that budget cuts and other interferences sometimes hinder you from realizing a project's full potential, and we hope that those incidents don't discourage you from fulfilling your dreams of being Imagineers.

 

[darthjohnny]

I think they're doing their best with the funds they're permitted to spend. Walt didn't have that problem. He did what he wanted and it always turned out great.

That wasn't always the case.

Take Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When they were making the movie, they found that when the Prince went to lean in and kiss Snow White, he made a weird jerking motion. When the animators brought it to the attention of Walt, they said they could fix it, but it would be costly.

Walt's response: "Let the prince shimmy." So even Walt did let some things slide.

 

[EpcotServo]

My thoughts?

Steve's right.

The "Imagineer" is right.

Jim Hill is worthless (so is Miceage/chat *zing*)

Toy Story Mania is fun.


That is all


*end of line*

Wow. Not usual, but I agree with EVERYTHING in that post 100%.
:lol:

First off, the wrongness.

He overblew the seriousness of the delay.

He was SOOOO wrong about "Throwing a sheet" over Mr. Potato Head. (A themed curtain was built in to the system LONG before he wrote that article.)

And the audio issue is pretty wrong. I've been on five times and I've nerver heard any audio leaks so loud that they even blipped on my radar. The audio in the queue was quiet at first, but's it's now adjusted properly. (Just took em' two hours to do it! :sohappy

Now about that article, assuming it's true...

There was a time where I would've fought this opinon to the bone, but now...I agree. It's understanable.

A few things though...

-This is just ONE Imagineer, of MANY.

-We just got mentioned because we're the big one, next to Micechat (Who will now believe that all Imagineers are out to destroy everything Walt believed in.) And by the time we got done with Spaceship Earth, if you were an Imagineer, you'd be hard pressed to come back here to see how we handled THIS one.
:lol:

-Congrats to WDI though! This one's a hit.
:wave:

 

[tirian]

-We just got mentioned because we're the big one, next to Micechat (Who will now believe that all Imagineers are out to destroy everything Walt believed in.)

*Cleans up water spit all over keyboard while laughing* :lol:

Congrats to WDI though! This one's a hit.
:wave:

Ditto.

 

[fyn]

If any Imagineers are reading this blog, we do appreciate everything you do, and we know that because of you, Disney parks are still the best theme parks on earth. We also understand that budget cuts and other interferences sometimes hinder you from realizing a project's full potential, and we hope that those incidents don't discourage you from fulfilling your dreams of being an Imagineers.

This can't really be stressed enough. The people on this site are here, simply and truly, because of the work that the Imagineers do. We're their most loyal, and as a result, most critical fans. I hope the letter was fake, or that the CM who wrote it misconstrued criticism as a personal attack, because with any product your most loyal customers are your biggest evangelists. Every time a fan from this site tells a friend, coworker, or stranger that they should visit Walt Disney World we're providing a strong objective (i.e. not paid for by Disney marketing) position that gives value to both potential Customers and the Walt Disney Company. Given the steps my company takes to show how we value our most ardent supporters, I'm surprised Disney doesn't do more to show its appreciation for sites like WDW Magic.

The "imagineer's" sentiments regarding who their attractions are targetting are troubling if held by other people within the organization, which is why I hope its fake.

 

[theadmiral459]

I dont think the imagineers should get the criticism. I think the accountants who have final say on a project and cut the funding out of these attractions is the real reason some of them appear to have less imagination in them than in past years.

Totally agree i heard from an imagineer first hand who was talking about some of the projects they work on disney tells them to come up with ideas on a certain theme well when they finally come up with these ideas if you want to call it that and put it on paper bringing it to disney, then they come up with a price and disney tells them to make that in half the budget which really tough for them to do so. So what you have now is a half the job an attraction which WDI has no control over it's the funding is the biggest problem and WDI takes the blunt of it all because there name is on it

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Totally agree i heard from an imagineer first hand who was talking about some of the projects they work on disney tells them to come up with ideas on a certain theme well when they finally come up with these ideas if you want to call it that and put it on paper bringing it to disney, then they come up with a price and disney tells them to make that in half the budget which really tough for them to do so. So what you have now is a half the job an attraction which WDI has no control over it's the funding is the biggest problem and WDI takes the blunt of it all because there name is on it

But it didn't take those crafty imagineers long to figure it out and properly pad and accessorize a project so that even after a "trim" they are able to present what they wanted!

And with a decent management team in place...if you make a good, substantiated argument for your project, chances are good for a properly funded green light.

 

[CrashNet]

Doesn't seem a very genuine article if you ask me.

Bingo. Everyone needs to keep in mind that his "friend" in Imagineering could be the receptionist at the front desk who makes the coffee every morning. And by analysis of writing style, the article, previous articles, and the email itself, the text is WAY too similar, and if you want my honest opinion, Jim Hill is fully aware of the comments made about his site, and I wouldn't put it past the writers to come up with something just to get reaction and hits.

 

[EpcotServo]

Bingo. Everyone needs to keep in mind that his "friend" in Imagineering could be the receptionist at the front desk who makes the coffee every morning. And by analysis of writing style, the article, previous articles, and the email itself, the text is WAY too similar, and if you want my honest opinion, Jim Hill is fully aware of the comments made about his site, and I wouldn't put it past the writers to come up with something just to get reaction and hits.

Yea, what's funny is if you go back and read all of his E-Mails from his "Unknown sources" they all sound like they came from the same person.
:lol:

 

[JennyTablina]

I gotta say....I side with the Imagineer on this one. Yes, there's alot of unwarranted criticism. I also agree they should avoid reading online forums.

Face it. If there had been an Internet in 1982, someone would have complained about Spaceship Earth's squeaky ride vehicles, the lack of music, dull narration, and the lame ending. They would have ignored the amazing architecture, the animatronics, and the unique story. And those same 1982 Fanboys would have taken full credit for "forcing Imagineers" into adding Cronkite's narration, "Tomorrow's Child", and improving the descent.

The idea isnt to totally ignore public opinions, an internet forum is full of varying opinions and it's one of the many ways companies can scope out how their product is being recieved. Though I'm sure they pay more attention to suggestions from people they actually ask.

This is also assuming that all Disney fanboys are bitter trolls, which they are not in the slightest. If anything the majority of Disney fans are a pretty happy lot who welcome most new park additions, all rides have their critics.

Also Imagineers didnt have Internets in 1992, but they still faced public opinions in some way or another. I dont think anyone celebrates "forcing" the imagineers to do anything, bar the bitter trolls but its not that hard to spot whos being a troll or whos being honest in their opinion

You know that an Internet review of the Haunted Mansion's soft openings would have slammed the crappy "Hatbox Ghost" effect and then faulted Imagineers for being too cheap to fix it.

Of course, Imagineers made all those improvements without the prompting of an online fan base. And they will continue to do so.

They've done it without prompting most of the time. Regardless eather the imagineers would of known to fix it or resort guests, Cast Members ect. would of brought it to their attention. Imagineers need to listen to their audience. Heck you need to be in touch with them to know what they want and what makes them happy. Donest mean you take everything everyone says to heart but Critisism isnt always *bad*. Critisism helps an artist to see things they might of missed or maybe they could of improved on. You cant grow creatively if you turn a blind eye to everyones opinions

Soft openings are called "test and adjust" for a reason-- they need to work out the kinks. For better or worse, the immediacy of the internet can turn a "preview" into a "final review" (I''m frustrated to see how many websites still have online videos of the SSE rehab soft openings, but not the much-improved final product)

Some will fault Disney for "rushing to open" incomplete attractions. And maybe in this Internet age they need to consider that (and take the online fire for taking too long to build new attractions). But without audience previews, it would be impossible for them to experiment with audio levels, wear-and-tear issues-- or in the case of live shows like MILF-- proper timing.

Nobody complains about soft openings, in SSE's case it was because it clearly wasnt all quite there yet. But I'm sure the Imagineers were not pleased eather as it was park management that wanted it open again in time for the busy crowds. Sure people complained but this is natural, specially for a ride thats had a major change. The fans care about the parks and regular visitors tend to have fond memories of the original ride, if you change a ride you have to face facts that some people will get a little upset but they'll come around to the new version in time.

Personally I think live audience testing in the park is awesome, it gets people invloved and most of the time gets them buzzing too. I remember seeing video of the new animated Disney characters in the Dream along with Mickey show. That slowly was phased in just after the show started but it was really exciting stuff. Just as I'm sure folks who get to preview Toy Story Mania this coming week are pretty buzzed too. Soft Opening is for figuring out how its all coming together and how the test audience likes it

And guess what? Now with the internet people can learn about these new rides and get excited too! You could say some people might get spoilered but regardless of negitive or postive opinion, any news is good news really. People will be more aware of a new ride and it might make them book another trip to Disney.

And Imagineers don't have to be constantly reminded of past stumbles that may or may not have been their doing. For goodness sake... in this thread someone already brought up "Tiki Room Under New Management"-- a decade-old refurb of an outdated C-Ticket attraction that was created under an entirely diffrent management team. I join them in saying "Get Over It!" Do you really think Iger, Lassiter, and Co. would really replicate that again? They've gotten a heck of a lot more right than wrong. Even Walt has his bombs (ohhhhh, I can't believe I just spoke such heracy!)

Imagineers dont have to and possibly dont read a forum, or if they do they really shouldnt take it to heart. The Tiki Room comment was a joke, all fandoms tend to have a few things they remember fondly as a disaster or something. Also being super-happy-positive all the times no good. Just as you said Walt had his bombs (and he did, Flying Saucers comes to mind, even Imagineering admits that ride was lousy) so does the current Imagineering department.

People have opinions and are quite within their rights to state them, you cant change that. Imagineering cant change that. But this fellows taking it too personally. Considering one of Jim Hills articles lately mentioned there was still a culture of high paranoia at Imagineering, this only further confirms this point.

 

[Tim G]

Imagineers dont have to and possibly dont read a forum

IMO they do... sometimes...

 

[TP2000]

First off, this is all coming from Jim Hill, so the source is really sketchy. (Still waiting for the bulldozers to move in for the fifth theme park that opens in three years!)

But let's play along and assume this Imagineer is some mid-level guy who has worked on a few rides in the last 10 years. For the most part I can understand where this Imagineer is coming from. While his explanation wasn't very kind and certainly wasn't very gracious, the veil of anonymity seems to have loosened him up to say what he really feels.

That said, I found one of his main arguments rather troubling. This quote in particular from the Jim Hill article raised a warning flag for me... "When it comes to Walt Disney World, we're not out to please the annual passholders. Our goal here is service the tens of millions of other guests for whom a Disney World vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. People like that are going to love 'Toy Story Mania."

Uh, really? Midway Mania was originally created and designed for DCA, and since it looked so promising it was added to DHS also. DCA is the ultimate locals park, where 700,000+ local Annual Passholders keep the place afloat and cause Sunday to be the busiest day of the week because all of the AP's aren't blocked out on Sunday.

So if you designed Midway Mania specifically for DCA, but you are now stating that you purposely are "not out to please" that hugely important demographic for that struggling park, then who are you designing things for exactly?

I totally understand the derision and lack of patience from Imagineers aimed at a 20 year old fanboy typing in his Midwest bedroom and complaining on a message board after he watched the latest YouTube video of a new ride. But there's also a big chunk of the Imagineer's opinion that seems to be coming from a genuine dislike and disinterest in the one demographic that has kept DCA afloat for the past 7 years.

It's the apparent dislike for a big chunk of the customer base that is really troubling when you think about it for a bit.

 

[Bamboo7ster]

"How typical. We spend $70 million to build this damned attraction, then pile on the theming. Even go so far as to try and match the color of those hand-kilned bricks that Steve Jobs selected to build Pixar Studios out of. But do we get praised for our efforts?"

Since when did we start believing that the more money spent the better the attraction? Imagineering should be focusing on quality, not quantity.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Why give Jim and his made up story's the oxygen of publicity?

As for the imagineer real or otherwise, pretty sad when they cant except that many of the paying public are less than enamoured with some of their latest creations. They need to realise that expectations are elevated and tastes change.

Its my post and Ill moan if I want to. Thats what happens in the real world.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I don't trust Jim Hill! He don't know anything about Disney!

 

[sillykid]

In these times I feel that it's hard to believe that an imagineer would let someone quote them of those words whether thier name was attched to it or not. I have no issue with Jim's site and find that he has some interesting topics at times. I just don't see an imagineer stating things like.....(paraphrasing)
Every five years
Once in a lifetime vacation

We know that all business is built upon returns. If Disney felt so strong that it's goals were to have people come once every 5 years or once in a lifetime, they could not survive. Disney knows better. Look at the examples such as DVC, every other year new marketing campaign, etc.

Do I believe that sites and annual pass holders have been too critical?
You better believe it. Though from first reads here, I have seen some great posts about the ride.
I have lost respect for Jim's site for posting that, and am amazed he would.

 

[EpcotServo]

Another HUGE hole in the story...why does the "Imagineer" call it Toy Story Mania when I've heard firsthand that the Imagineers hate the name, hence why the REAL name for both attractions are Toy Story MIDWAY Mania.
:hammer: