Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[WDW1974]

George is an ops guy and he's there to fix NGE implementation and to restore some show quality issues. If you've noticed he's done both. They are currently returning rides that needed it and were neglected. Nobody should expect him to champion change and new attraction building though. His change is fixing.

Basically true.

This is his reward for decades of playing good soldier and allowing Cynthia to (blank) all over him in 2002. He gets to come home and be head queen of the kingdom (a joke, take it easy fanbois!) ... He's here to implement NGE and further One Disney and then go live in Islesworth with Andy in retirement in 2016. He's no savior. And the fact he has been kept in hiding shows they don't even trust him with the lifestyler brigade.

 

[WDW1974]

Not only cheesy, I think also "tuna-y" and "pastrami-y" - see menu here

I don't think I have ever actually set foot in there ... maybe soon?

 

[flynnibus]

All this healthcare talk... I still don't even understand what exactly it is that this healthcare program all is or entails? and how it will impact big corporations like Disney?

It significantly impacts them because it puts another body over them evaluating how much their employees work and what they offer them as benefits. Companies that have a history of huge work forces for who they do not offer benefits to will be shuffling how they manage their labor.

 

[WDW1974]

Based on this post, I'm inferring that Iger is thinking, or planning the third gate to be Marvel-based. Is it possible for these plans to change years from now? What are the possibilities of a Marvel gate in Anaheim actually happening?

Being that Iger will be gone by 2016, I place the chances no better than 50/50. At least I hope so.

 

[WDW1974]

Does it get a full season? Or quietly disappear right before November? I don't know how much deep under Iger's thumb ABC is.

I'd be shocked if it didn't go the full 22. Iger wants to exploit them across as many platforms as he can.

 

[flynnibus]

Let's see... IBM just dropped medical coverage for 110,000.

shifted providers would be more accurate. Instead of covering them via the corporate benefits provider, they are offering them money to get coverage through another provider or the open market.

Basically.. making their healthcare a flat line expense rather than having to accept their impact on their normal corporate plan.

Its interesting relative to Disney mainly because IBM opt'd to exclude what might be considered their high risk patients.. the elderly. It might be reflective of Disney to also steer towards a stipend for medical coverage vs covering people themselves.

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974 what are your thought on Disney World giving part time workers the option of switching to fulltime to get more benefits from the Affordable healthcare act?

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/10/02/2716951/disney-world-obamacare-promote-full-time/

What do I think?

I think it is a half-hearted PR move that they planted in the media, so no one looks too closely at how they really treat their CMs.

 

[WDW1974]

You really think WDW only had 427 part-timers working more than 30hrs a week? Just how many College Program kids do you think are on property??

Meanwhile, the same TWDC has been cutting hours for DLR employees to ensure they stay UNDER the limit.

This 'annoucement' sounds of spin spin spin city.

Sounds like it because that is exactly what it is.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Supertalented artist Claire Keane left Walt Disney Animation last week.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/animator...aire-keane-leaves-disney-animation-89321.html

Dear John,
Talent retention is really important.
Sincerely,
The Dreamfinder

 

[Funmeister]

Iger has a big enough ego that he will do or announce something before he retires. There is no way he allows Universal show him up on both coasts. The problem is he will probably announce a new ride based on the Fantastic Four movie that was never released (BAD!), a stunt show based on the old Captain America tv show and a new land based on the Star Wars Christmas special.

Another huge problem with Disney is they have the right tools...they just do not know how to properly use them. Hammering nails with a wrench and digging hole with a screwdriver. OH...and the tools are pure gold and borrowed/acquired from someone else.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

Positions at most companies are measured (after the fact) as FTEs, that is Full Time Equivalents. FTEs to park attendee hours or customers per hour or patients per day or sales per day or whatever is being measured is a flexible budget item that needs to be optimized.

Adding additional full time classified employees, will not necessarily change the desired number of full time equivalents per park guest hour (or whatever). The easy fix is to reduce the hours of the part time employees or utilize them in a more flexible manner to yield the same flex budget ratios. Additional full time employees will remove hours from the part timers as a matter of fact.

 

[Funmeister]

@WDW1974 Have you heard anything if Disney is trying to revive a boutique park experience? Not another theme park but smaller entertainment offering (original Boardwalk, Studio tour, etc.)

 

[Goofyernmost]

No, it means there are more locals at DLR than WDW. Nothing more. By that measure, all of the international resorts are actually 'locals' parks too.

The local comparison simply doesn't work as an argument for much of anything except fanboard fodder.

I would have to disagree with that just a little (you knew I would, didn't you) because it would depend on the argument. If the argument were that because DL has a larger Local Fan base, they are heard louder then whatever local, I'm there everyday fan base, at WDW are. I would also classify the international Disney's as locals due to the fact that there are just not that many people from other countries that travel the distances that we do in the US. And even we don't trek from the east coast to the west coast with any regularity. To me WDW has a diversity of visitors from all over the globe as it's base, hardly any with local roots (comparatively). WDW's base may be loud, but there are no where near as frequent. Squeaky Wheel(s) instead the singular.

Other then that I agree that there is not difference other then just as a statistic.

 

[Figments Friend]

Not to mention Starbucks was right across the way, which is the greatest addition to EPCOT since the original Imagination.

Whoa....
While i agree that the Original Imagination Pavilion was the greatest addition to EPCOT ever, i am surprised by your comment.

Greater then Horizons...?

 

[WDW1974]

All this healthcare talk... I still don't even understand what exactly it is that this healthcare program all is or entails? and how it will impact big corporations like Disney?

It will cost them. Not likely as much as massive data mining and trip planning apps, but there's really nothing in it for Disney if they have happier, healthier workers because , just like guests, workers are just bodies and you can replace one with another.

 

[WDW1974]

Let's see... IBM just dropped medical coverage for 110,000.

Sickening.

 

[WDW1974]

@WDW1974 Have you heard anything if Disney is trying to revive a boutique park experience? Not another theme park but smaller entertainment offering (original Boardwalk, Studio tour, etc.)

They are always thinking. But I know of no current plans. They added Wild Africa Trek for almost nothing and got a large part of the boutique animal park they desired without building it.

 

[WDW1974]

I would have to disagree with that just a little (you knew I would, didn't you) because it would depend on the argument. If the argument were that because DL has a larger Local Fan base, they are heard louder then whatever local, I'm there everyday fan base, at WDW are. I would also classify the international Disney's as locals due to the fact that there are just not that many people from other countries that travel the distances that we do in the US. And even we don't trek from the east coast to the west coast with any regularity. To me WDW has a diversity of visitors from all over the globe as it's base, hardly any with local roots (comparatively). WDW's base may be loud, but there are no where near as frequent. Squeaky Wheel(s) instead the singular.

Other then that I agree that there is not difference other then just as a statistic.

I do not disagree with you enough to argue the above beyond saying that folks in other countries travel internationally far more than most Americans do. Other than the wealthy and what some might term upper middle class, most Americans don't leave the borders. Hell, most stay close to home to begin with. So a New Jersey family buys into DVC and spends a week at the World every summer.

 

[Figments Friend]

I agree that a message board is not the ideal format for the type of feedback the company would want to collect. Most people on message boards are annonymous and would be way less likely to say some of the things that they say if it was pinned to their names professionally or personally. Maybe the Al Lutz thing worked for DLR partially because it was primarily a blog from someone who was the unofficial spokesman for the fan community and an identified person. This site isn't intended to be that and IMHO shouldn't be. The WDW based blogs sites are mostly lacking any strong criticism. They are just fan sites.

I am not an insider and I have no idea if people from Disney monitor this site or not. People who are insiders say that the site is monitored. IMHO the tone (from some posters) is likely to cause someone who works for the company to discount a lot of what is said. Put yourself in their position. Part of your job is to monitor a bunch of online sites and take a flovor of what the fan community is feeling. You would probably throw out the outliers (extreme positive and extreme negative) and focus on the middle. Like I said, I think there are a lot of good critical observations made here that could and should be viewed by the company but sometimes they get burried in pages of over the top comments.

Agree with some of your points here.

Rest assured, folks within the Company are most certainly indeed reading.
Have for some time here at WDWMagic...goes back several years.

I think this is good thing, and i hope they find it entertaining.

You have to admit, we can be a entertaining lot at times..!

 

[John]

Back to our regularly scheduled bickering.....So how about those big a$$ strollers at WDW?