Rumor Siemens is going to end their sponsorship with the parks - Spaceship Earth and IllumiNations

[larryz]

My best friend's sister's boyfriend heard from this guy who talked to this girl who heard from a bus driver who read on Twitter that Disney insisted that Siemens change their name to "Sie-persons" in order to continue their sponsorship, because Disney does not want to offend any guest of any gender visiting WDW, but Siemens refused.

Thank you, Sie-mone...

 

[Timothy_Q]

Epcot without SSE is like Expedition Everest without a yeti. . . . Wait, let's not go there.

Epcot without SSE is like DHS without GMR

...

 

[ford91exploder]

So you're saying that because Disney rejected Siemens offer to brand new monorails they pulled all of their sponsorships? That seems extremely questionable.

Siemens wanted Branding on a SINGLE Monorail which was not an unreasonable request given the Starbucks,Sunglass Hut and Havianas stores in the parks, Disney said NIX and probably insulted Siemens in the process. But the FLAT NO to the Monorail does speak volumes about Disney's priorities.

1 - It seems that the new Monorail was offered in lieu of cash, Disney needs CASH and the monorail offer was not attractive but WHY Disney needs constant infusions of cash is puzzling, Unless you subscribe to the view that The Mouse's business is actually NOT doing well.

OR

2 - Disney intends on discontinuing the monorail

But no matter what it looks like Disney burned their bridges with Siemens, The 'no conventions to be booked at Disney properties' as reported kind of says the sponsorship talks ended badly.

Edited to correct attribution

 

[the.dreamfinder]

As a business, yes of course. But as an art form, yes too (don't tell the the Imagineers who brushstroked every inch of fine detail at Pandora that it's not art work, for example.)

But the business people don't see it that way and the decision making lies with them.

 

[jpeden]

Siemens wanted Branding on a SINGLE Monorail which was not an unreasonable request given the Starbucks,Sunglass Hut and Havianas stores in the parks, Disney said NIX and probably insulted Siemens in the process. But the FLAT NO to the Monorail does speak volumes about Disney's priorities.

1 - It seems that the new Monorail was offered in lieu of cash, Disney needs CASH and the monorail offer was not attractive but WHY Disney needs constant infusions of cash is puzzling, Unless you subscribe to the view that The Mouse's business is actually NOT doing well.

OR

2 - Disney intends on discontinuing the monorail

But no matter what it looks like Disney burned their bridges with Siemens, The 'no conventions to be booked at Disney properties' as reported by @larryz kind of says the sponsorship talks ended badly.

Playing Devil's Advocate here - I can understand turning down one monorail. It would be hard to justify to the customer base why there was one super nice, new monorail train and the other ones looked like junk comparatively.

I also understand from a business point why they'd want cash over capital. If someone offers to give you a car, but you already have one and it's going to cost you more in insurance and maintenance and operational costs than your current one you own, you're probably going to say thanks but no thanks.

That being said, unless anyone was in the room where it happened, or personally knows someone who was, we'll probably never know why it happened or exactly what transpired for what reasons.

 

[ChrisFL]

anyone know the approximate cost of sponsorship per year for SSE? I heard rumors that Test Track was $10 million a year for GM but no idea if that's accurate

 

[TeriofTerror]

This has all originated from a Tweet - https://twitter.com/lielder3/status/880429536860655616
Have we been able to confirm with any other source? Not saying it isn't correct, but I have no idea if this tweet is accurate or not.

Well, in all fairness, Twitter is apparently the prime source of communication for the U.S. government these days.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Is there even a Siemens convention going on right now? I couldn't find any evidence through quick googling.

 

[deWild]

If they're truly hurting for money, sounds like Bob has almost bought back all the shares he can at this point and ESPN is really tanking...

 

[mcrgw29]

2 - Disney intends on discontinuing the monorail

They just poured a ton of money into automating it. Still isn't doing well.

Playing Devil's Advocate here - I can understand turning down one monorail. It would be hard to justify to the customer base why there was one super nice, new monorail train and the other ones looked like junk comparatively.

It was a fleet of 12 new monorails, not just one.

 

[Rteetz]

According to the employee email sent out the sponsorship would end Oct. 9th.

 

[aladdin2007]

any chance they would revisit the scrapped 2007 tomorrows child ending as part of an overhaul down the road sponsor or no sponsor?

 

[BlindChow]

Siemens wanted Branding on a SINGLE Monorail which was not an unreasonable request given the Starbucks,Sunglass Hut and Havianas stores in the parks...

[me, riding the Starbucks™ Monorail, holding a Starbucks Frappuccino™ which I bought at the Starbucks™ booth in that very cabin] exactly!

 

[HMF]

any chance they would revisit the scrapped 2007 tomorrows child ending as part of an overhaul down the road sponsor or no sponsor?

If the eventual refurb actually happens I would bet on something new for the descent.

 

[Fantasmicguy]

Many pavilions have been running Sponserless for sometime....
Energy Sponsorless since 2004
Mission Space since 2016
Imagination since 2010
Living Seas since 2001

And almost all of those have stagnated.

 

[Gabe1]

So you're saying that because Disney rejected Siemens offer to brand new monorails they pulled all of their sponsorships? That seems extremely questionable.

So you are saying it is FAKE NEWS???

A sponsor wanting something in return they can bring back to their board and shareholders for the funds they are shelling out to sponsor things at Disney? That is questionable to you? Really?

Is there even a Siemens convention going on right now? I couldn't find any evidence through quick googling.

Well it wasn't a difficult Google Search or at least for me. They are in
Boca Raton this week, they started on Monday, they depart tomorrow.

Would you like assistance Googling it?

 

[po1998]

If the screens were removed, how much would it cost to replace the triangles and curtains with some decent lighting effects or something else better than what is there now. 250-500k? A million? Even if they kept the screens would it really be that expensive to fix the descent so that if someone looks away from the screen, its not embarrassing?

 

[Fantasmicguy]

Horizons and Wonders of Life was a while ago so I don't think you can count those into any trend with current management.

Point taken with GMR, although they are investing a lot of their own money for a new replacement attraction once TCM is gone.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

Disney is investing money into GMR but screens are cheaper to take care of than AA's.

 

[Gabe1]

It was a fleet of 12 new monorails, not just one.

Yes. The entire Epcot Monorail system. Not just one.

Sometimes I do not grasp Disney. They have shareholders they answer to, so do their sponsors. Sometimes you have to give something back to the sponsors for them to be able to sell it back to their boards and stockholders.
A little lounge with a Coke Freestyle machine just doesn't balance the sponsorship.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Well it wasn't a difficult Google Search or at least for me. They are in
Boca Raton this week, they started on Monday, they depart tomorrow.

Would you like assistance Googling it?

The automation summit? It doesn't sound like some place they'd announce something like this...

"The annual Automation Summit is a user conference for manufacturing professionals who use Siemens automation technologies. Don't miss the opportunity to attend 50 user led presentations, participate in hands-on training, hear the latest product roadmaps, provide input during a feedback session, learn best practices from the Customer Excellence Award winners, ask questions to the technical experts in the Technology Café and enjoy a fun night networking with your peers. "