Oh no, say it ain't so, Joe..

[Creathir]

Oh no! What will happen to this dude if Joe is not around anymore.

So, overall, I’m sure Joe both bucks the trend in terms of his “method” and pay. He’s likely a dinosaur, of sorts, to the Iger and Chapek crowd, but he carries a “ton” of goodwill with the global community. Furthermore, Josh is likely a fan, and I can’t see him letting Joe go.

But, in all honesty, I’m sure it is/was being discussed and, I sure, Joe knows that. The tiffins talks, parks blog, Instagram series, etc are all ways of “diversifying” his value to TWDC.

Lastly, and I say this with a grain of salt, if he does get canned, he will have a job within seconds at Universal, Carnival, etc. Slap his name on an attraction, and, all of a sudden, it is holy ground...except for Dino land (LOL).

The rumour mill is in overdrive but it may be past tense.

Joe stated he was still at WDI, so we don’t have to worry.

 

[Unbanshee]

As of last night, Joe is still at WDI and this thread is still baseless. We'll see if that flips at some point

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Joe is a face for WDI and sells trips for them. He sold out an Africa ABD in minutes. He also books out those Tiffins talks yearly. I’m going to wait and see on this. I could see a retirement but firing is crazy.

This rumour has come up before and turned out to be false, and I think for the reasons you mention it would be a bad move.

Even if they didn't feel he was necessary for developing new attractions and could be replaced with a lower-salary new hire, he is a big marketing asset for them that generates revenue in his own right. I'm sure they could find a way to keep him as a figurehead with a significant salary cut who continues to do events and Disney+ programs from time to time. Still, they have to use someone to design the attractions as well and announcing Joe Rhode is involved in something is a good way to drum up enthusiasm from the beginning. So much of Disney's brand is wrapped up in the mystique of Imagineering as setting Disney Parks and attractions apart. Right now, Joe Rhode is one of the few things they can point to as evidence for that.

Maybe I am being naïve, though, and I suppose he's probably not that far off retirement age.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

and I suppose he's probably not that far off retirement age.

He is 65. Same age as Disneyland.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Joe is doing a lot of press for the AK Disney+ series right now. I wonder if they’d instead push him to take a consultant role instead of a full time.

That’s entirely possible. I don’t see them completely cutting ties with him, but maybe something less involved if Imagineering is being restructured.

 

[Doberge]

Lastly, and I say this with a grain of salt, if he does get canned, he will have a job within seconds at Universal, Carnival, etc. Slap his name on an attraction, and, all of a sudden, it is holy ground...except for Dino land (LOL).

Some imagineers may be worth holding onto alone to keep from consulting on Epic Universe, which shouldn't on hold forever.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

As of last night, Joe is still at WDI and this thread is still baseless. We'll see if that flips at some point

Jen Fickley-Baker is still at Celebration Place... until December.

To be clear, I think Joe being canned is unlikely.

What is likely would be that Joe, like Scott, wanted to put something up due to a third of WDI losing their jobs.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Let’s remember that Joe is an executive at WDI. If these cuts go up to executive level we are in serious trouble.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Some imagineers may be worth holding onto alone to keep from consulting on Epic Universe, which shouldn't on hold forever.

The creative direction of Epic Universe is largely set and there were already plenty of former Imagineers working on it. People moving between Disney and Universal is nothing new or unusual. Scott Trowbridge worked at Universal Creative.

 

[Eduardo Cz 1982]

He seems like a weird one to get rid of doesn‘t seem right. He is so key...wasn’t he working on Lighthouse Point?

Well..... the situation with Cruise liners is a complicated one right now so..

 

[Surferboy567]

Well..... the situation with Cruise liners is a complicated one right now so..

If they already bought the island...I’m not sure it will matter. It will bounce back...eventually. Definitely will take a long time, but the new ships are still coming.

 

[danv3]

Doesn't seem like they'd outright lay off their highest profile Imagineer. I could imagine a mutually-agreed retirement with an 18-month consulting term.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

It’s sad - and telling - that one of the “do not fire” criteria is that person is working on the Splash Mountain revamp

 

[Surferboy567]

It’s sad - and telling - that one of the “do not fire” criteria is that person is working on the Splash Mountain revamp

It makes sense though? It’s not just limited to Splash you wouldn’t normally fire those working on upcoming projects such as:

TRON
Guardians
PLAY!
Spaceship Earth (maybe)
HarmoniUS
Frozen
Splash
Fantasy Springs
Avengers Campus
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Lighthouse Point?

etc

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

It makes sense though? It’s not just limited to Splash you wouldn’t normally fire those working on upcoming projects such as:

TRON
Guardians
PLAY!
Spaceship Earth (maybe)
HarmoniUS
Frozen
Splash
Fantasy Springs
Avengers Campus
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Lighthouse Point?

etc

Virtually all of those listed have already broken ground and passed the point of no return, practically speaking. Splash has a few pieces of concept art.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s sad - and telling - that one of the “do not fire” criteria is that person is working on the Splash Mountain revamp

That’s not really known. It’s supposition.

It makes sense though? It’s not just limited to Splash you wouldn’t normally fire those working on upcoming projects such as:

TRON
Guardians
PLAY!
Spaceship Earth (maybe)
HarmoniUS
Frozen
Splash
Fantasy Springs
Avengers Campus
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Lighthouse Point?

etc

That depends on the role and how Disney intends to move forward. You can replace people or make them take on additional responsibilities. You can also utilize third parties and freelancers to fill vacated positions.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Who does imagineering work for by the way? Josh? Or report right to Chapek?

WDI should be separate, the way Pixar is. I wonder if Chapek will demand layoffs at Pixar as well?

Bob Weiss should be making all of the calls, and should be able to create new revenue streams for WDI rather than being forced to lay-off 400 employees.

 

[Rteetz]

Who does imagineering work for by the way? Josh? Or report right to Chapek?

WDI should be separate, the way Pixar is. I wonder if Chapek will demand layoffs at Pixar as well?

Bob Weiss should be making all of the calls, and should be able to create new revenue streams for WDI rather than being forced to lay-off 400 employees.

One of the crazy things about WDI. It’s always really been viewed as an outside company that has a monopoly on building and creating for Disney Parks and Resorts. They’ve been subcontracting more and more and I think that’s only going to get larger now. They’ll hire people for WDI on a project by project basis rather than in full time positions.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Who does imagineering work for by the way? Josh? Or report right to Chapek?

WDI should be separate, the way Pixar is. I wonder if Chapek will demand layoffs at Pixar as well?

Bob Weiss should be making all of the calls, and should be able to create new revenue streams for WDI rather than being forced to lay-off 400 employees.

Weis reports to D’Amaro. Eddie Sotto tried to get Walt Disney Imagineering to do more which is how they ended up doing Encounter at LAX.

One of the crazy things about WDI. It’s always really been viewed as an outside company that has a monopoly on building and creating for Disney Parks and Resorts. They’ve been subcontracting more and more and I think that’s only going to get larger now. They’ll hire people for WDI on a project by project basis rather than in full time positions.

Project hires are nothing new. There was a huge layoff after EPCOT Center opened. They tried utilizing more third parties with Shanghai Disneyland and it didn’t work out. In the meantime Universal Creative has become more like Walt Disney Imagineering.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Weis reports to D’Amaro. Eddie Sotto tried to get Walt Disney Imagineering to do more which is how they ended up doing Encounter at LAX.

Yeah that’s a problem. It’s the definition of micro-management and it’s bad for morale at all levels.