Ah, excellent! A timely and well-organized response! And so, since I am also a timely and well-organized kind of guy, let's get to the rebuttal.
Hennie- Though I see where you are coming from on this subject, it seems as though you have created points that I have never made. But that will come with time. Right now, let us see what you have said, shall we?
HennieBogan1966 said:
So you're going to tell me that Walt Disney himself, (of course I'm sure you had personal conversations with him), would NEVER have tried to sell ANY merchandise which tied in directly with his attractions? You expect me and the buying public to believe that?
Not at all, simply because I never made that point. I was directly answering your statement that said "it simply doesn't make sense not to" (referring to selling merchandise for an attraction). I just commented that Walt did not hawk merchandise when he felt it was unnecessary with some attractions such as "Carousel of Progress" or "The Enchanted Tiki Room." So therefore, I was saying that Disney has had a PROVEN track record of POPULAR atttractions that did not sell merchandise. So, not only does this "make sense," but some of the more popular attractions in the world have used this strategy. At no time did I say that he did this for every attraction.
HennieBogan1966 said:
You mention PoC, as an example. Well, let's see. Last I checked, there's quite a selection of merchandise right outside the attraction.
No doubt, in fact I have bought a great percentage of it! But if you read my post again, you will see that I did NOT mention POTC as an attraction that does not sell merchandise, but rather to your comment that "every attraction isn't built with every age group in mind." So I do not know from where you got this statement of mine.
HennieBogan1966 said:
As well, there are shops carrying HM, Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventure, etc. etc., merchandise throughout the MK. Same with Splash Mountain. Lots of merchandise available at that attraction as well.
Indeed, except Splash Mountain was not conceived or built in Walt's time. Again, I was stating that Walt did not sell merchandise for EVERY attraction he oversaw, NOT that he never sold merchandise. Current Disney management, on the other hand, is a completely different story. They would sell anything they could get their hands on if it meant an increased profit for the next fiscal quarter.
HennieBogan1966 said:
You say there's no story in the attraction (SGE). Well, wouldn't think you would necessarily need to re-create the movie in the attraction, seeing as the movie did several hundred million dollars in box office receipts. MOST people go into the attraction already familiar with the back story.
Perhaps I phrased my response incorrectly. I was not talking about the "backstory" for SGE, but rather the story for the attraction itself. I was commenting on your statement that "(SGE) was not about selling merchandise alone." I was saying that, due to the abhorrent lack of any kind of effort in terms of the attraction's story direction, this attraction WAS about selling merchandise alone. Nobody can seriously think that, with what Disney has accomplished, management went into SGE thinking "let's build the best attraction possible." So if not, then why did they build the attraction in the first place? Two words: STITCH MERCHANDISE!
HennieBogan1966 said:
Again, to believe that Walt Disney was intelligent enough to create all he did, but NEVER give thought to merchandising/moving product along with it, is a bit insulting to his legacy I beleive.
I agree whole-heartedly. So it's a good thing I didn't say anything to the contrary.
HennieBogan1966 said:
Show me an athlete or movie star these days that doesn't use crass self-promotion in order to make some extra coin. It's called business. I fully expect Disney to continue to find ways to make money. If they didn't, they wouldn't have been around as long as they have.
But the point that I was making was, Disney makes its money in the theme park division by building revolutionary attractions, which arouses the public's interest, curiosity, and imagination, and not by building attractions whose sole purpose was to be a pre-show for a series of gift shops.
HennieBogan1966 said:
To say that patrons come ONLY for the rides and nothing else, I believe, also does Disney a great disservice as well. So you're saying they could take out ALL shops that offer merchandise, and NOT lose any business? Is that what you are getting at? You're against cross-merchandising? Against using attractions to help move merchandise, and visa/versa?
No, but I AM against cross-merchandising being MORE IMPORTANT than the attractions in management's eyes! INNOVATION SPELLS FINANCIAL SUCCESS. I'm sure anyone who has taken business courses will recognize that important phrase.
Walt Disney said that everything he and his talent created was fueled by a sense of curiosity, confidence, courage and constancy. Walt always said, "I believe in being an innovator." Disney's lack of innovation in recent years, however, has compromised not only a Disney core value but the financial stability of the company.
In everything that Walt Disney created with his team of artists, he dared, he risked, and he never blamed. He also never imposed limitations upon artists, but rather created a safe haven in which the artist's imagination could thrive and create the seemingly impossible, subsequently exciting and driving Disney audiences through the front gates of its theme parks. This, ultimately, is what fueled Disney's past financial successes, as well as its future successes, which management now coasts upon and arguably is driving into the ground.
THAT was what I was arguing. I look forward to your response! :wave:
