HMF
Well-Known Member
This must be a good day for Tom Fitzgerald.
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- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
I knew this last fall. I hoped circumstances would have changed, but he was thrown under the bus by Marty years ago in favor of lesser talents like Tom Fitzgerald and Eric Jacobson and even Joe Rohde.
He was given a no-win project in Disneyland's 1998 Tomorrowland redo and when it failed, due to lack of funds and scope, he was basically done.
I wonder if he'd like to write a book with moi?
Probably not if he indeed hopes to consult.
Atomicmickey
Well-Known Member
Now the Twitterverse is saying he's not retiring "wait for the press release tomorrow".
'Cause, the Twitterverse knows all.
And they're watching. Wave at 'em. Hi, Twitterverse!
'Cause, the Twitterverse knows all.
And they're watching. Wave at 'em. Hi, Twitterverse!
HMF
Well-Known Member
I would love to read that book. It would make Disney War look like Corporate fluff.I wonder if he'd like to write a book with moi?
.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
I wonder if he'd like to write a book with moi?
DO IT... You won't do it! Seriously though reach out to him and see... I would definitely read it.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Exactly! I dont plan my trips at all.
One time I was living in Georgia and I was going to Publix and somehow ended up at Pop Century for a few days.
I don't know. I'm hoping to speak with someone who was at his small gathering today ... I believe he is remaining to consult, but if Disney hasn't let him near anything of consequence in the 21st century, one would wonder why that would change now.
Disney enjoys the corporate hacks that have infiltrated 1401 Flower anyway.
Apparently, fanbois on the Twitverse are whining that this is a hoax and are clueless as to what 'consulting' in WDI-speak is. ... God, I love being a Disney fan sometimes!
I need more info, so I'm going to go find some (so much for a quiet night and saying goodbye to 30 Rock), but if I were UNI Creative, 'd double his ridiculously high salary and do whatever it took to get him just because of what it would symbolize to bring him on board.
I'm guessing the consulting arrangement is designed precisely to keep him from doing so.
Disney wastes the talent it has. @Eddie Sotto may be too close and too poltical to say so, but I've had enough folks who worked there and continue to tell me the same thing.
HMF
Well-Known Member
This time next year, Tony Baxter Executive VP, Universal Creative.
BlueSkyDriveBy
Well-Known Member
I just posted on Eddie's thread about my thoughts for Tony's future.
Now that he's a free range Imagineer, I'd like to see him become the next John DeCuir.
Darth Sidious
Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
Eddie just said over in his thread that Tony did say he would be retiring from full time employment. He also stated he would be working with WDI as a consultant but he didn't have any details on the arrangement yet.
Longhairbear
Well-Known Member
Is there any truth to a rumor I read elsewhere that Disney's websites, and reservation systems crashed today, or yesterday?
From a UK perspective...
At the moment, we stay on-site, so Disney will be able to track when one of our keys open our doors, when we enter the parks, when our keys are used to get Fastpasses, and when we use our Free Dining credits. With RFID, it seems that Disney wants to track us more than this, and with FP+, they could be looking to try to increase hotel occupancy, if they start to give you more FP+ for staying at Deluxe Hotels, etc.
But, for us, if they take away free dining (QSDP) and Extra Magic Hours - we have already said that we will start looking at off-site hotels (we're already planning a night at Universal next visit anyway) - for us, prebooking Fastpasses is not worth the extra cost that Disney charges, and if others are like us, this could actually backfire and hotel occupancy could continue to drop, and Disney will lose the ability to track when we enter our rooms, and when we use our Dining Credits, and if we buy a RFID protecting wallet, then they will actually be able to gather less information on us than they currently are!
I know that people on here do not like free dining, and I am not talking about sit-down restaurants/ADRs, I am just talking about quick service. For us (and probably lots of people from the UK), Free Dining has been useful to counterract the change in exchange rates (£:$). We converted the same amount of £s into $s for spending money in 2007 and 2011. In 2011, for every £1.00 that we took we got $0.30 less than we did in 2007 (in 2007, the rate was £1:$1.90+, in 2011, the rate was £1:$1.58, and in 2013, it has been as low as £1:$1.53 - for comparison, September 12 2001, the exchange rate was £1:$1.46, January 2002 it was as low as £1:$1.41), so everything was automatically more expensive. In 2007, we had to pay for food. In 2011, we had free QSDP. In both years, we spent the same amount of £s. So, for us, free dining "paid" for the drop in exchange rates. I wonder for how many other families it is the same.
It seems as though UK attendance to WDW will be dropping throughout the next year or so (fuel taxes have increased, so flights are more expensive [some flights have nearly doubled in price this year]), one Tour Operator seems to be pulling out of Orlando, and others are cancelling/combining flights. So, if our exchange rate continues to drop, and we lose free dining - I would bet on seeing a lot less UKers in the parks, and I would also imagine a drop in UK hotel occupancy.
I'll say this, on a UK WDW site that I am also on - NextGen/MyMagic+ seems to be going over as well on there as it is here!
At the moment, we stay on-site, so Disney will be able to track when one of our keys open our doors, when we enter the parks, when our keys are used to get Fastpasses, and when we use our Free Dining credits. With RFID, it seems that Disney wants to track us more than this, and with FP+, they could be looking to try to increase hotel occupancy, if they start to give you more FP+ for staying at Deluxe Hotels, etc.
But, for us, if they take away free dining (QSDP) and Extra Magic Hours - we have already said that we will start looking at off-site hotels (we're already planning a night at Universal next visit anyway) - for us, prebooking Fastpasses is not worth the extra cost that Disney charges, and if others are like us, this could actually backfire and hotel occupancy could continue to drop, and Disney will lose the ability to track when we enter our rooms, and when we use our Dining Credits, and if we buy a RFID protecting wallet, then they will actually be able to gather less information on us than they currently are!
I know that people on here do not like free dining, and I am not talking about sit-down restaurants/ADRs, I am just talking about quick service. For us (and probably lots of people from the UK), Free Dining has been useful to counterract the change in exchange rates (£:$). We converted the same amount of £s into $s for spending money in 2007 and 2011. In 2011, for every £1.00 that we took we got $0.30 less than we did in 2007 (in 2007, the rate was £1:$1.90+, in 2011, the rate was £1:$1.58, and in 2013, it has been as low as £1:$1.53 - for comparison, September 12 2001, the exchange rate was £1:$1.46, January 2002 it was as low as £1:$1.41), so everything was automatically more expensive. In 2007, we had to pay for food. In 2011, we had free QSDP. In both years, we spent the same amount of £s. So, for us, free dining "paid" for the drop in exchange rates. I wonder for how many other families it is the same.
It seems as though UK attendance to WDW will be dropping throughout the next year or so (fuel taxes have increased, so flights are more expensive [some flights have nearly doubled in price this year]), one Tour Operator seems to be pulling out of Orlando, and others are cancelling/combining flights. So, if our exchange rate continues to drop, and we lose free dining - I would bet on seeing a lot less UKers in the parks, and I would also imagine a drop in UK hotel occupancy.
I'll say this, on a UK WDW site that I am also on - NextGen/MyMagic+ seems to be going over as well on there as it is here!
SirLink
Well-Known Member
It crashes all the time ... its as stable as a tweaker in an 9.0 Earthquake...
Lee
Adventurer
Ask him. I'd be the first to pre-order that baby...I wonder if he'd like to write a book with moi?
flynnibus
Premium Member
See... Twitter does have value. Even to you now
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Love this comment! That being said... It was working when I was on there today. Not that there was anything to book... 'twas not a room available besides the deluxes for a good long while. Only art of animation came up as having a room available. I assume there is something fairly big going on at Disney next week... They can't all be there for limited time magic
