Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[MerlinTheGoat]

( Regarding Spirit*s comment on Tony Baxter having some adviser imput into the upcoming re-do of the Imagination Pavillion )

I found Spirit*s comment rather encouraging.
It is nice to know he is at least being allowed to talk to the people being put in charge of re-doing the Imagination Pavillion.

Tony has a LOT to offer, and just by talking to the man one can glean much insight and knowledge into designing something creatively. If he is being allowed to actually interact with the team assigned to this project, this can be a good thing.

Having him have even the slightest involvement is more promising then not having him involved at all, in my opinion at least.

This is good news. I am glad there is still some connection there.

While that could be good news, I just don't know how much good he can do if he's just in a "consulting and advice" position. Especially around people that supposedly don't like him nor want his advice (high tier people in WDI apparently don't like him and have been trying to keep him away from everything possible). It sounds like he has very little power, even less now that he was downgraded to consulting role. Even talking to people, I don't know whether he'll be able to accomplish much or anything...

I hope you're right and i'm wrong though. If he does accomplish anything, then yes it could be very worth it rather than not have him around at all.

 

[WDW1974]

Disney is acting like someone who is overweight that is willing to try absolutely anything to lose weight, except diet and exercise. In Disney’s case they are willing to try absolutely anything to maintain or increase attendance, except build and maintain innovative new attractions.

That may be the best thing you've ever posted , Tim.

It's a great analogy, though. ...oh, and I need to drop some Spirited pounds, so I know how true it is.

 

[WDW1974]

It's not a bad plan either. I'd love to see the numbers for people that visit overseas parks and also visit stateside parks as well as Disney World vs. Disneyland.

It's a tiny number. The number of folks who visit both USA resorts is barely a blip.

Some of us are FANBOI ROYALTY, though.

 

[WDW1974]

7 "F" bombs in the first article and 4 in the second.

She hated the "effing" MK more than she hated the "effing" Epcot or so you would "effing" think.

To be fair, I hate the effing MK more than I hats the effing EPCOT too!

 

[WDW1974]

Well, first, Disney has always been cheap, she was just getting ripped off unfairly because Disney has a special upcharge for people with larger um...assets.

Just like a $30 a night hotel is always going to be clean and well kept.

Duh...don't you ever travel anywhere? Everyone effing knows this.

<grin>

It appears she is from some tiny town in the northern most reaches of Minnesota. Not exactly a place that lends itself to worldly people or opinions.

 

[Figments Friend]

While that could be good news, I just don't know how much good he can do if he's just in a "consulting and advice" position. Especially around people that supposedly don't like him nor want his advice (high tier people in WDI apparently don't like him and have been trying to keep him away from everything possible). It sounds like he has very little power, even less now that he was downgraded to consulting role. Even talking to people, I don't know whether he'll be able to accomplish much or anything...

I hope you're right and i'm wrong though. If he does accomplish anything, then yes it could be very worth it rather than not have him around at all.

Well sure, it can end up being a case of * leading the horse to water, but not being able to make him drink*.

I would LIKE to think the people involved in the Imagination re-do would be open to listening to what he has to say. Why have him involved at all if they are just planning on ignoring his imput?

I think this is a good sign. Of course anything is possible...but i feel good knowing of his slight chance of influence.

 

[HMF]

While that could be good news, I just don't know how much good he can do if he's just in a "consulting and advice" position. Especially around people that supposedly don't like him nor want his advice (high tier people in WDI apparently don't like him and have been trying to keep him away from everything possible). It sounds like he has very little power, even less now that he was downgraded to consulting role. Even talking to people, I don't know whether he'll be able to accomplish much or anything...

I hope you're right and i'm wrong though. If he does accomplish anything, then yes it could be very worth it rather than not have him around at all.

Tony does have a cult following within WDI. Most of the higher-ups with massive egos don't like him but it doesn't mean he does not have supporters. Of course these supporters are probably quite concerned with their job security now but they are there.

 

[WDW1974]

Very true.

My wife and I (and our kids) lived a pretty comfortable lifestyle. My wife worked for one of the big banks (can't say which one because she's still under an agreement) until the day before Thanksgiving last year. Took her five months to find a job, and it pays 30% less than what she was making. At least I still have my job...oh, but wait. I was a software developer and systems administrator for one of the 'evil' defense contractors - although one of the smaller ones - when I got hit by the sequester. Fortunately I wasn't ever actually out of a job, and only had to take a small pay cut. The economy is getting better? Tell my mortgage balance that - and we bought in a subdivision that was about to sell out - so our house cost a good 15% less than most due to incentives so they could be done sooner, AND we put well over 20% down on the house.

At least we are both working and can still pay our mortgage. No Disney trips this year...and no new car next year, but other than that all is still better than most.

Well, I would say what makes you better than most is that you realize you have it better than most ...I truly believe that most Americans are so self-absorbed that they only see things from their small prisms.

 

[englanddg]

It appears she is from some tiny town in the northern most reaches of Minnesota. Not exactly a place that lends itself to worldly people or opinions.

Well, it wasn't her comments, per se...it was her reasonings for them.

When the average market rate for a room is 100 bucks a night, and you find something at 1/3 that.

That being said, I made that mistake once...exactly ONCE in my travels. I had gone to NYC, (Bronx, actually, right outside of Co-op city) and it was late and I didn't care to drive around aimlessly trying to find a place to stay (this was before GPS)...so, I ate at the diner near my place of work (REALLY good diner) and decided to snag a room at the hotel next door.

The rate was incredible for the night! $35 or something...I don't recall...however, the fact the hotel also posted an "hourly rate" should have tipped me off.

When I got to the room and realized that they only had 3 TV channels (all playing...um...you know what) and examined the condition of the place...well, lets just say I slept in my clothes on the chair...and bathed heavily in the morning.

The internet helps with this sort of thing. Certainly didn't prevent her from sharing her HoneyBooBoo with us all... (and I don't mean her kids, they seemed really cute and like they had a great time)...

 

[WDW1974]

Lou Mongello-Rick Steves
Discuss

why?

 

[Cody5242]

Spirited Weekend Musings I:

One reason why Bob has lost a lot of support is his terrible record with the Studios. Sure, he brought Iron Man 3 to Disney. Do you know how little Disney will actually profit on the film (relatively speaking)?

According boxofficemojo, Iron Man 3 only cost $200 mill to make and I'm sure advertising was between $100-150 mill. So lets just say $350 mill. That's about a $850 million dollar profit. Unless they had split a lot of the earnings with Paramount?

 

[Cody5242]

@WDW1974 what about the budget for Avatar? Was addressed at the meeting or has it already been set and stoned?

 

[crispy]

Here's a thought I had while watching the American Girl movie Saige Paints the Sky on NBC (which the pre-empted two minutes before the end to show the Zimmerman verdict- ugh!). Since NBC and Universal are promoting the movie, they should look at having an American Girl presence in their parks. If you aren't familiar with American Girl, they are very pricy dolls (start at $110) that are targeted to girls between the ages of 5 - 11. They sell cute, overpriced clothing and accessories (with matching outfits for both girl and doll) to go with them, they each have stories and books, they promote history, and teach good life lessons.

If Universal wants to find something that will counteract the Disney princess culture, American Girl would be it. My daughters (ages 5 and 7) are obsessed with them as are most of their friends. They like Disney Princesses, but they rarely have asked for them. The will, however, pore over the American Girl catalog for hours every time we get one on the mail. They have already started their Christmas lists.

We took our girls to the flagship store in Chicago in March for their birthdays, and it was more anticipated than a trip to WDW. Many of the luxury hotels even sell American Girl packages (we stayed at a cheap hotel with no packages!). It's all a bit insane, but a lot of fun at the same time. I am sure a retail store would be very well received.

Anyway, just a thought. Don't shoot me!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

why?

Lou wants to be the Rick Steves of WDW and if you compare the two Lou tries to emulate what he does.

 

[Captain Neo]

I do have to wonder if Igers urgency in touring the BoD through Cars Land is so he can rush the WDI Projects through the approval process so D23 does not become a snore fest but that might just be me being optimistic and we all know what ends up happening when that happens.

Disney has been so strange with the D23 conventions in the sense that the'll do the convention and then 2-3 weeks later drop a major bombshell. I remember the first D23, which did have some good announcements actually, ended up getting overshadowed by the news that Disney was acquiring Marvel and the second D23 had no new park announcements, people complained, and then like 2 weeks later Disney announced partnership with James Cameron to make Beastly Pandora Kingdom at DAK. Watch there gonna do the same thing this time it will be a ho hum D23 and then when nobody expects it Disney will drop a shocker on us. I think Disney is going to rely on Episode VII exclusive news as the main anchor for this D23 convention.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Well said. I was talking to a friend yesterday who is planning a trip to WDW next March. She likes WDW and has been before. She was telling me how she was planning to spend the whole day at the NFL. I told her that wouldn't really be necessary because it's only a restaurant, a larger capacity Dumbo, Enchanted Tales with Belle, the LM ride, and some meet and greets and that I wasn't sure if 7DMT would even be open. She asked about touring Beast's Castle so I told she needed to make ADRs for dinner or stand in line for lunch. She was stunned that there wasn't more to do and see and that you couldn't look at Beast's Castle without eating there.

When you look at what was spent and how long it has taken for NFL, you just expect so much more. Yes, it's pretty, but there isn't a lot of substance. They made some nice buildings, but they didn't really add anything other than a restaurant and the LM ride. I don't know why they expected this to bump attendance when there just isn't that much to do or see. The Enchanted Tales with Belle was the only thing that was "magical" to me at all.

Well said. NFL is kind of a bust. I mean seriously, I'll be going to WDW this November, and you know what? I still can't get a freaking reservation for Be Our Guest! The main reason to visit NFL is still inaccessible to many park guests. What a freaking fail!

 

[flynnibus]

I've always thought the long lines for Pan were due to the low hourly capacity of the ride, not as much of it being that much more popular than the other MK dark rides.

You can't have a long wait without demand. If low capacity causes a Line to form... People look at the wait and make a choice if they will get in line or not. The lower the demand for the attraction, the less tolerance people have to waiting for it.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Tony does have a cult following within WDI. Most of the higher-ups with massive egos don't like him but it doesn't mean he does not have supporters. Of course these supporters are probably quite concerned with their job security now but they are there.

Yeah I know there are people in WDI that like him. I was referring to the higher ups with the massive egos when I said he wasn't liked. But i'm guessing those higher ups are unfortunately the ones with all the power (and i'm guessing the even more powerful corporate people aren't big fans of him either)...

 

[HMF]

(and i'm guessing the even more powerful corporate people aren't big fans of him either)...

If they even know about him. I would assume that most of the higher-ups in Burbank don't associate that much with the creatives considering that they have people under them to do that for them.

 

[WDW1974]

As if we needed yet another reason to dislike NGE and the MM+ nonsense.



Well, its nice to hear overspending and lack of fiscal responsibility is not just limited to Imagineering. Can we consider that a silver lining in some way?

Thanks as usual for the morsels of info.

Silver lining?

The only silver lining for me is that I wake up in the morning (or afternoon, sometimes) and I have all my faculties and control of my body and its functions. Beyond that, I'm just trying to maintain some semblance of sanity in an insane world.

(probably not the response you had anticipated)