Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[rael ramone]

I wonder how Iger would feel if his own home were to fall into disrepair. Does he talk to his caretaker and say 'Good work, your not keeping my boat house looking fresh with a new coat of paint means you are saving me money on supplies & possible outside labor'.

Did Iger even spend a second in the actual guest areas of the parks? Or is stuff like appearance, guest satisfaction, etc. considered immaterial for him? (Does he find out everything he feels he needs to know by just looking at guest counts, merch. sales, etc)...

 

[michmousefan]

Clubber Lang did. Of course, Rocky then decided to change the way he trained to regain the "Eye of the Tiger" and then went on to defeat Clubber in the rematch. For some reason I don't see Disney regaining the "Eye of the Tiger" from MyMagic+. I see it as acceptance of their fate of getting knocked out cold. It's like an aging fighter having that one last fight not for glory but for a final payday.

Yeah, I was focusing on the eventual winner... i.e., the rematch. I have every confidence that MyMagic will not give WDW any sort of Eye of the Tiger, but I also have confidence that they will recover from this mis-step and return to being the "world champion" of theme parks. It might just take longer than any of us wants it to...

 

[rael ramone]

I took a different step this year. I have been soured in the past few years first by ADRs and the DDP, then with upkeep and finally with NextGen. So I just sold all of my BCV points for the this year and then some. I then went out for cocktails and a nice filet with a small fraction of the proceeds.

While someone may be using my points, it is one less family going down to WDW, and the family using my points may have stayed in a deluxe if not for buying my points.

When I bought my DVC points in early 2002, I was betting on TWDC to maintain its standards and vision. I missed on that one....

I wonder how many will end up just 'walking away' from their DVC....

 

[djlaosc]

Personally, I think Disaster is the most underrated attraction in Florida and I keep hearing it may be going away. It's no secret that Universal is really putting on the pressure, the only complaint I'd have is that they're only building D and E-tickets. I can't even believe I just wrote that sentence, but it's true. They are only building major attractions and I'm somehow viewing that as a problem.

You've got Kodos and Kang, Kidzone in 2016/2017, there could be something in Jurassic Park possibly (extended Camp Jurassic, the theater from the film have been mentioned as ideas elsewhere, but nothing confirmed yet), and if Disney class "Be our Guest" as an attraction, then can "Krusty Burger", "Moe's Tavern", "Kentucky Fried Panda", "General Changs" and "Duff Gardens" all be classed as attractions?

 

[Horizons78]

^ Post of the day. That needs to go viral or something.

Thanks Lee. It was either treatment, or a visit from two.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I wonder how many will end up just 'walking away' from their DVC....

Nah. They'll do what we do; use our DVC so we can visit Universal!

 

[RSoxNo1]

I totally agree! Nothing has made me, a crusty old curmudgeon, stand with mouth agape, with Wow on my lips. It was unbelievable. The old subway scene is getting old, but still works well, but doesn't fit in as well as it did when the attraction was named Earthquake, but I'll give it a pass because it is still a cool way to end an attraction.

I hope you are wrong about it being delegated to the world of memory only. I just discovered it. I need to go back to see what detail I missed while in the state of shock.

I quote lines from that show as much, if not more than any Disney attraction save maybe, "Are you seeing an increase in lateral forces?"

 

[RSoxNo1]

You've got Kodos and Kang, Kidzone in 2016/2017, there could be something in Jurassic Park possibly (extended Camp Jurassic, the theater from the film have been mentioned as ideas elsewhere, but nothing confirmed yet), and if Disney class "Be our Guest" as an attraction, then can "Krusty Burger", "Moe's Tavern", "Kentucky Fried Panda", "General Changs" and "Duff Gardens" all be classed as attractions?

The biggest thing that they lack is a true competitor to Fantasyland. They simply don't have the roster of characters. Having said that, an expanded Seussland could accomplish this as well as any park in Florida outside of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[djlaosc]

I quote lines from that show as much, if not more than any Disney attraction save maybe, "Are you seeing an increase in lateral forces?"

Ours, I think is "WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT! WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!"

 

[George]

If NextGen is a bomb, attendance continues to slowly drop...what are the odds that Disney sells WDW? I admit they're pretty low, but a 1-2 billion dollar mistake is pretty big. I'm going to go with 2.1% whereas, before this, I would've guessed 0.0045%. Also, do the odds of wonderful new attractions and places to explore go up if NextGen is a failure or a success? I've thought about this and it seems like either scenario leads to small chances of infrastructure investment. I suppose that now is the time to really whip the team of lackeys who have supposedly been working on reviving Walt lo these many decades into shape. They don't seem to think I'm serious any more. *sigh* :lookaroun

 

[djlaosc]

The biggest thing that they lack is a true competitor to Fantasyland. They simply don't have the roster of characters. Having said that, an expanded Seussland could accomplish this as well as any park in Florida outside of the Magic Kingdom.

If they could add Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon attractions to the current Kidzone (I would have also built Despicable Me in Kidzone, but of course it used an existing theatre by replacing Jimmy Neutron), and add Grinch and Lorax to Seussland - then they could have the characters needed to compete with Fantasyland. Of course, there has been talk that the Dreamworks deal was finishing (Shrek removal), so it might not happen, but those 4 Dreamworks franchises could help them compete.

 

[Skibum1970]

If NextGen is a bomb, attendance continues to slowly drop...what are the odds that Disney sells WDW? I admit they're pretty low, but a 1-2 billion dollar mistake is pretty big. I'm going to go with 2.1% whereas, before this, I would've guessed 0.0045%. Also, do the odds of wonderful new attractions and places to explore go up if NextGen is a failure or a success? I've thought about this and it seems like either scenario leads to small chances of infrastructure investment. I suppose that now is the time to really whip the team of lackeys who have supposedly been working on reviving Walt lo these many decades into shape. They don't seem to think I'm serious any more. *sigh* :lookaroun

With the buildup of that resort, WDW won't be sold as I can't imagine a price tag high enough to swallow the hotels, DVC resorts, and the theme parks. Also, NextGen impacts not just WDW but all theme parks. What would probably happen is that certain aspects (ex. Fastpass+ for resort guests, wristband tickets and fast pay) would be retained while other aspects would fall away. Thus, executives would point to successes and gloss over the failures. In that way, they save their jobs, bury NextGen, and move on with the familiar line, "Nothing see here, move along, move along".

 

[janoimagine]

WDI was a MAGIC factory in the truest sense. Hell, the entire company was.

It truly was. In the mid 90's I was fortunate enough to get an internship via my School (CCS Detroit, MI) with the Animation Department in Burbank, my goal ultimately was to become an Imagineer someday, or so I had hoped. It was thru that, that I had the opportunity to walk around with Tony in what I would call the room of rejections, models, sketches and drawings of that attractions that never came to be, at the building on Flower Street. I remember leaving that day feeling dejected because of all the great work that I had seen rotting on shelves and tables and wondering how I was ever going to top that. It took me several years to see that Tony wasn't trying to discourage me from following my dreams, rather show me just how hard I would have to work to truly achieve that dream. Unfortunately I realized that after I began my career in Advertising.

Tony is one of the great's, and it is sad that WDI has turned into a bad game of office politics.

 

[alissafalco]

I just posted to Tony Baxters fan page on Facebook. I just said that I hope to see you working for Universal, your talent should not be wasted. I know he's not affiliated with the page but I do wonder if he ever looks at it.

As for UNI/IOA park tickets, why can't they just have you buy a park hopper if you want to ride Hogwarts Express? People can still buy a one day one park pass and have the option to upgrade to park hopper if they decide they want to ride Hogwarts.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The de-evolution of the Disney CEO:

Walt Disney: “I have an idea.”

Roy Disney: “It was Walt’s idea.”

Card Walker: “Would Walt have thought it was a good idea?”

Michael Eisner: “What’s your idea?”

Bob Iger: “What are the financials supporting your idea?”

Business history is replete with examples of successful ideas that made no sense financially when first imagined. Exceptional business leaders author innovative ideas. Strong business leaders recognize innovative ideas and nurture them.

Iger knows how to interpret a financial report.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

Either have UNI/IOA park-goers pay extra for train tix. In other words, an extra-MAGIC experience (you knew that was coming!) OR ... here it comes ... make Potter a virtual third gate. The Potter BRAND being so strong, imagine paying for a Hogwart's ticket that allows you access to both 'lands' in each park (yep, likely using RFID tech ... although any type of media would be fine). Sure, some folks might grumble who have gotten used to WWoHP as part of regular admission, but some might not care. Heck, all those Potter-bashers might enjoy paying 'less' for a ticket sans access to The Boy Who Lived's world.

How would APs play into this model? Disney is alienating theirs while Universal seems to be doing all they can to please us. As well they should. The APs kept them afloat for at least a year or two pre-Potter.

 

[tracyandalex]

I guess this fits best here.
I have been on My Disney Experience looking around since we just booked a resort reservation and I was asked to take a survey. Of course I did (I always do) and one of the questions was weird to me, but kinda made me think of MM+ and NextGen. I can't remember the question exactly but it about how my Disney Experience influenced my trust in Disney or my level of trust in Disney, something along those lines. I thought that was an odd survey question.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I guess this fits best here.
I have been on My Disney Experience looking around since we just booked a resort reservation and I was asked to take a survey. Of course I did (I always do) and one of the questions was weird to me, but kinda made me think of MM+ and NextGen. I can't remember the question exactly but it about how my Disney Experience influenced my trust in Disney or my level of trust in Disney, something along those lines. I thought that was an odd survey question.

The sad thing is that most of the people that Disney is targeting with this wouldn't likely even bat an eye at such a question.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Bob Iger is on the live call... YES!!!

 

[woody98]

I wonder how many will end up just 'walking away' from their DVC....

My wife and myself have been discussing this as a possibility depending on how our vacation goes this fall. Ive decided to give disney the benefit of the doubt and try everything that is nextgen and after 2 weeks see how it goes. If it sucks then the DVC'S will go. Might be the push i need to take that cruise or trip to Hawaii that nvr seems to happen or maybe DLP