Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

wdwmagic

wdwmagic

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Moderator
Premium Member
WDW1974 said:
OK, so it's 2/1 ... HAPPY GAK DAY EVERYONE!!!:D

I admit I have been busy all morning and afternoon and while I should be heading for lunch, I thought I'd check in here and it sure seems quiet. I'm guessing Disney didn't put out any release on Tony Baxter because it's too early in the day and they like to bury bad news. ... But where's all the hoopla on the exec shuffle? Things have been quite quiet on that front.

No big blog posts and videos of Blondie interviewing Georgie at the Contemporary and talking about his months long stint as a teen busboy? ... Do I have to teach them everything?
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I believe that George is at a Disneyland farewell party today at DLR, so no grand debut at WDW for today.
 
BlueSkyDriveBy

BlueSkyDriveBy

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
So I guess Tony's Oz/Lone Ranger project went bust in the last couple weeks?
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One of the long-time insiders at LaughingPlace, leemac, claims that no new capital expenditure has been allocated for Anaheim. I guess the boatload of bucks they approved for DCA is supposed to suffice for the remainder of the decade.

If only that was actually the case.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I am going by info provided to me. I'm not going to speculate further and I don't think it's wise for you as well.

But if you don't think working for Disney could drive someone to do this, then you're mistaken.
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I don't intend to speculate any further other then to say that there are people out there that might kill themselves over afternoon and evening thundershowers. The implication here is that something about Disney pushed them over the edge, may be true, but there were a bunch of demons lurking about with or without Disney. :) To me it's just something that would happen while they were working at Disney, not because. It's easy to get away from Disney...you turn in your ears and walk away. If you say that they couldn't because they needed to work to support the family...killing yourself doesn't fix that does it?
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
BlueSkyDriveBy said:
One of the long-time insiders at LaughingPlace, leemac, claims that no new capital expenditure has been allocated for Anaheim. I guess the boatload of bucks they approved for DCA is supposed to suffice for the remainder of the decade.

If only that was actually the case.
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While I have serious doubts into my old pal Leemac's status with Disney these days. There's only so much you can do for them from the West Drayton area (near Heathrow for those non-familiar with the UK) or only so much needed ... and they did put his publication out of business.

That said, he may well be right here. Where's the DCA 2.0 Phase II? (in coffee table books of 2018?) ... Where's the Tomorrowland project that Iger was pushing for and George K told Steve Davison was happening? I dunno ...

I just know with Tony getting shown the door over a 15-year period while smarmy politcians like Bruce run the show in Glendale, just a little more of what makes Disney special, dies.
 
HenryMystic

HenryMystic

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
While I have serious doubts into my old pal Leemac's status with Disney these days. There's only so much you can do for them from the West Drayton area (near Heathrow for those non-familiar with the UK) or only so much needed ... and they did put his publication out of business.
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Well, according to him, he's in Shanghai right now, so I would assume he may be working with SHDL. But who knows?
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
WDW1974 said:
Wow!

I just need time to digest that. Anyone who thinks he is leaving on good terms, really ought to get a tutor in reading comprehension.

Idiots are running the company. Truly.
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Seriously... that letter is laden with so many direct jabs at what the company has become. It's not a barnburner.. but was pretty damn direct without calling out individuals. Just a tad short of using words like 'toxic', 'broken', etc.

The terse announcement from WDI leadership is even more telling. Almost zero admiration or cushioning in that.

From: WDI Communications
Date: February 1, 2013, 8:02:16 AM PST
Subject: Organizational Announcement - Tony Baxter

We'd like to share that, as of today, Tony Baxter is leaving his role as a creative development executive to become a part-time advisor to Imagineering. Tony began his 47-year Disney career as an ice cream scooper on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland while in college. After joining WDI in 1970, he was heavily involved in the concepts for some of our most iconic attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones. He also oversaw the creative aspects of the "original" New Fantasyland at Disneyland and was the creative lead for our second international park, Disneyland Paris.

In addition to his extensive portfolio work, Tony has long been an enthusiastic mentor to new Imagineers and will continue this mission in his new role. Like so many Imagineering greats before him, his creativity, passion and knowledge will have a remarkable impact on the next generations of WDI dreamers and doers. We thank Tony for his immeasurable contributions to the Disney legacy so far, and look forward to his next chapter.

Bruce | Craig
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Really? That's all they have to say about a legacy walking away?

Sounds like 'we dont need you...' type of send off.
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
This idea is a little evil, but I think it could work. Pixar slowly hires these talented old school imagineers and brings them up to Emeryville to expand it's theme park division into a full fledged design firm. Skipper John, Ed, and Roger demand that any attraction or land based on a pixar property go through them. As this team proves themselves, WDAS, Marvel and Lucasfilm demand that their theme park projects go through this Pixar design group because the output of WDI is getting increasingly worse. Under the weight of Comcast's long term investments in the UNI parks and the high standard of quality at Pixar Imagineering, WDI is shuttered.
 
WDW1974

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
HenryMystic said:
Well, according to him, he's in Shanghai right now, so I would assume he may be working with SHDL. But who knows?
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Well, one can take that at face value or not. Lee may well be there, but that doesn't mean he's working for Disney. Or he may not be there at all. ... I've had my suspicions for a very long time, but I don't want to waste time on Tony's 'retirement' day talking about Lee MacDonald.

Just because I tell you I'm writing you from Fairbanks and about to take the sled dogs for a run down to Pizza Hut (yes, I've been to the Pizza Hut in Fairbanks if you must know) doesn't make it so. That site has been dying for 5-6 years and has completely had issues since a certain Spirit left. Lee didn't post on his 'own' site for well over a year and, now, the only threads that get any traction are ones he is involved in ... and, yeah, I said I want to talk about Tony. We can discuss the other subject in private.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
the.dreamfinder said:
This idea is a little evil, but I think it could work
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Only if Management were interested in supporting a 'horse race' and see who ultimately prevails. But what signs are there that the board/CEO have lost faith in WDI? Management has been tightening ranks.. not weakening.

All it would take is Iger saying 'hands off' and such a notion would be squashed.
 

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