Spirited Spring Break News, Observations & Thoughts ...

[stevehousse]

Apparently TMZ is running a story stating that Singer was never even in Hawaii at the time of the alleged assaults because he was in Canada working on X-Men at the time. He has paperwork and proof stating he was never there.

In regards to the documentary, seems like this might be publicity for the docu after all? The whole situation seems iffy, we will see what happens.

Fox's statement about the issue was really that there is no issue and this is a personal matter and not a studio matter. Has ABC / Disney made any statements yet. I just found out Singer directed the pilot forthe upcoming ABC show "Black Box"...

 

[PhotoDave219]

Apparently TMZ is running a story stating that Singer was never even in Hawaii at the time of the alleged assaults because he was in Canada working on X-Men at the time. He has paperwork and proof stating he was never there.

In regards to the documentary, seems like this might be publicity for the docu after all? The whole situation seems iffy, we will see what happens.

Fox's statement about the issue was really that there is no issue and this is a personal matter and not a studio matter. Has ABC / Disney made any statements yet. I just found out Singer directed the pilot forthe upcoming ABC show "Black Box"...

ABC and Disney are not involved. They have no need to make a statement.

 

[articos]

Apparently TMZ is running a story stating that Singer was never even in Hawaii at the time of the alleged assaults because he was in Canada working on X-Men at the time. He has paperwork and proof stating he was never there.

In regards to the documentary, seems like this might be publicity for the docu after all? The whole situation seems iffy, we will see what happens.

Fox's statement about the issue was really that there is no issue and this is a personal matter and not a studio matter. Has ABC / Disney made any statements yet. I just found out Singer directed the pilot forthe upcoming ABC show "Black Box"...

He did not direct, just EP as part of a deal with ABC. Simon Curtis directed the pilot. At the moment, the entire story is rife with rumors flying everywhere - I think it best to let the facts get shaken out. ABC has not made any statements and likely won't.

 

[wdwmagic]

It's my understanding that this is the annual travel agents convention thingy combined with the usual suspects.... So it's not just a media event, it's an annual event…

So when you ask why certain the travel agents ended up being invited to the shindig? It's because it was mainly for them in the first place…

I think that is spot on

 

[wdwmagic]

Aw damn it! I swear, if TDO effs THIS attraction up, then heads should roll and there should be an organizational shakeup from top to bottom. All the years spent to build this thing, and it's a DUD???? No excuse, none whatsoever for this. This is a scandal. "Yeti, The Sequel". TDO will NEVER live this down.

Nah, it's fine.

 

[GoofGoof]

Aw damn it! I swear, if TDO effs THIS attraction up, then heads should roll and there should be an organizational shakeup from top to bottom. All the years spent to build this thing, and it's a DUD???? No excuse, none whatsoever for this. This is a scandal. "Yeti, The Sequel". TDO will NEVER live this down.

It's one random guy in Twitter who said he heard someone call it Yeti part 2. Typical move. He's not saying its from him so If it opens tomorrow he can say it wasn't him that said it he was just repeating what he heard. If it makes you feel any better I "heard someone say" there were no issues and the Twitter rumor was complete bunk.

 

[truecoat]

Most of those have crazy 'fine print' that basically says it may be OK for a 16 year-old girl to date an 18-year-old college freshman ... but if that 16-year-old wants to date and have relations with the 33-year-old fanboi that lives next door in Mom's basement then he's going to jail unless her parents look the other way.

A TRUE age of consent deal for a 16-year-old would give said individual full rights over their sexual choices and their bodies.

It seems that a lot of states do give full rights as long as the other party isn't in a position of authority or influence, a teacher or manager for example. Some do have restrictions that the other party must be under 30. Most of the close age exceptions are when the person falls under the age of consent. This would be a 15 yo and 13 or 12 yo.

There are 8 states having 18 as age of consent. Some having 17, most 16 and Hawaii and Idaho 14.

 

[Funmeister]

Aw damn it! I swear, if TDO effs THIS attraction up, then heads should roll and there should be an organizational shakeup from top to bottom. All the years spent to build this thing, and it's a DUD???? No excuse, none whatsoever for this. This is a scandal. "Yeti, The Sequel". TDO will NEVER live this down.

OH! THE OUTRAGE! It was "dud" before it was even built. The entire LAND is a flaw. There are four or five different themes (I have posted about this before) that do not even match or go together. I am not talking about the "transition" from the circus to Mermaid or Mermaid to Beauty and the Beast.

It was poorly planned and clearly quickly thrown together. As @WDW1974 once mentioned (I believe) there is no substance...at all. This area should have been anchored with a major E ticket on the scale of Splash Mountain. Add an updated version of Pinocchios Daring Journey next to an expanded and updated Pinocchio themed restaurant.

Add one more dark ride and do the originally planned Alice expansion and that would have been much more enticing than trying to tilt your head when the sun is right to line up three rocks to see Steamboat Willie.

 

[wdisney9000]

there is no substance...at all. This area should have been anchored with a major E ticket on the scale of Splash Mountain. Add an updated version of Pinocchios Daring Journey next to an expanded and updated Pinocchio themed restaurant.

Add one more dark ride and do the originally planned Alice expansion

Thats sounds way better than the choppy collage of areas they threw together. I think it totally messed up the flow of walking through Fantasy Land. The castle walls segregate it as if its better than the original. New Fantasy Land is very much like the Fisker Karma. Years in development, around one billion spent in production and absolutely stunning to look at it...then you drive it and realize it isnt much more than a dud with a beautiful shell over it. Sure, there are many who cling to the belief that its AMAZING and refuse to believe anything else (sound familiar?, *cough* fanbois). Theyre mostly the people who paid the $100,000 price tag. You can buy one for half that now. Oh yeah, and Fisker went bankrupt.

 

[mahnamahna101]

OH! THE OUTRAGE! It was "dud" before it was even built. The entire LAND is a flaw. There are four or five different themes (I have posted about this before) that do not even match or go together. I am not talking about the "transition" from the circus to Mermaid or Mermaid to Beauty and the Beast.

It was poorly planned and clearly quickly thrown together. As @WDW1974 once mentioned (I believe) there is no substance...at all. This area should have been anchored with a major E ticket on the scale of Splash Mountain. Add an updated version of Pinocchios Daring Journey next to an expanded and updated Pinocchio themed restaurant.

Add one more dark ride and do the originally planned Alice expansion and that would have been much more enticing than trying to tilt your head when the sun is right to line up three rocks to see Steamboat Willie.

Hmmm....
Dream Fantasyland Expansion (with Universal-style usage of $500 million):

1. Little Mermaid looks great on inside AND out - $80 million (same price as FJ but still a D ticket)
2. Snow White and Pooh get nice upgrades - $30 million ($110 million)
3. Peter Pan gets a slightly nicer one - $20 million ($130 million)
4. It's a Small World gets its own personal upgrade as well - $20 million ($155 million)
5. Dumbo stays as one - $0
6. Philharmagic gets an update - $25 million ($180 million)
7. Wonderland mini-land replaces Storybook Circus (Alice labyrinth, Cheshire Cat coaster and enclosed Tea Cups) - $75 million ($255 million)
8. Speedway is bulldozed with half going to Fantasyland, half going to Tomorrowland - $5 million ($260 million)
9. Wreck-it Ralph E-ticket styled after Radiator Springs Racers, with Hero's Duty in Tomorrowland part and Sugar Rush in Fantasyland part - $120 million ($380 million)
10. A Storybook Land Canal Boats-styled ride themed to Tangled goes where SDMT is - $40 million ($420 million)
11. B&TB Restaurant - $15 million ($435 million)
12. B&TB dark ride - $65 million ($500 million)

Unlike the actual New Fantasyland, this one would actually take 5 years to do right and it would greatly reduce the capacity problem for MK (Adventureland could use Fire Mountain, Tomorrowland could use another E-ticket, Frontierland could use another attraction, etc).

It would also leave room for a Frozen attraction/mini-land in the future if they were willing to move the berm and backstage areas a little bit

This is all blue sky though!

 

[Funmeister]

Hmmm....
Dream Fantasyland Expansion (with Universal-style usage of $500 million):

1. Little Mermaid looks great on inside AND out - $80 million (same price as FJ but still a D ticket)
2. Snow White and Pooh get nice upgrades - $30 million ($110 million)
3. Peter Pan gets a slightly nicer one - $20 million ($130 million)
4. It's a Small World gets its own personal upgrade as well - $20 million ($155 million)
5. Dumbo stays as one - $0
6. Philharmagic gets an update - $25 million ($180 million)
7. Wonderland mini-land replaces Storybook Circus (Alice labyrinth, Cheshire Cat coaster and enclosed Tea Cups) - $75 million ($255 million)
8. Speedway is bulldozed with half going to Fantasyland, half going to Tomorrowland - $5 million ($260 million)
9. Wreck-it Ralph E-ticket styled after Radiator Springs Racers, with Hero's Duty in Tomorrowland part and Sugar Rush in Fantasyland part - $120 million ($380 million)
10. A Storybook Land Canal Boats-styled ride themed to Tangled goes where SDMT is - $40 million ($420 million)
11. B&TB Restaurant - $15 million ($435 million)
12. B&TB dark ride - $65 million ($500 million)

Unlike the actual New Fantasyland, this one would actually take 5 years to do right and it would greatly reduce the capacity problem for MK (Adventureland could use Fire Mountain, Tomorrowland could use another E-ticket, Frontierland could use another attraction, etc).

It would also leave room for a Frozen attraction/mini-land in the future if they were willing to move the berm and backstage areas a little bit

This is all blue sky though!

One problem...not your ideas...your pricing is based on Universal spending and NOT WDI. That proposal would push $1billion based on Disney math.

 

[DisneyDad1977]

One problem...not your ideas...your pricing is based on Universal spending and NOT WDI. That proposal would push $1billion based on Disney math.

Like and quote for unfortunate truth.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hmmm....
Dream Fantasyland Expansion (with Universal-style usage of $500 million):

1. Little Mermaid looks great on inside AND out - $80 million (same price as FJ but still a D ticket)
2. Snow White and Pooh get nice upgrades - $30 million ($110 million)
3. Peter Pan gets a slightly nicer one - $20 million ($130 million)
4. It's a Small World gets its own personal upgrade as well - $20 million ($155 million)
5. Dumbo stays as one - $0
6. Philharmagic gets an update - $25 million ($180 million)
7. Wonderland mini-land replaces Storybook Circus (Alice labyrinth, Cheshire Cat coaster and enclosed Tea Cups) - $75 million ($255 million)
8. Speedway is bulldozed with half going to Fantasyland, half going to Tomorrowland - $5 million ($260 million)
9. Wreck-it Ralph E-ticket styled after Radiator Springs Racers, with Hero's Duty in Tomorrowland part and Sugar Rush in Fantasyland part - $120 million ($380 million)
10. A Storybook Land Canal Boats-styled ride themed to Tangled goes where SDMT is - $40 million ($420 million)
11. B&TB Restaurant - $15 million ($435 million)
12. B&TB dark ride - $65 million ($500 million)

Unlike the actual New Fantasyland, this one would actually take 5 years to do right and it would greatly reduce the capacity problem for MK (Adventureland could use Fire Mountain, Tomorrowland could use another E-ticket, Frontierland could use another attraction, etc).

It would also leave room for a Frozen attraction/mini-land in the future if they were willing to move the berm and backstage areas a little bit

This is all blue sky though!

This is not the appropriate thread for your dreams. There is an entire section on this form dedicated to that kind of crap.

 

[CDavid]

Hmmm....
Dream Fantasyland Expansion (with Universal-style usage of $500 million):

1. Little Mermaid looks great on inside AND out - $80 million (same price as FJ but still a D ticket)
2. Snow White and Pooh get nice upgrades - $30 million ($110 million)
3. Peter Pan gets a slightly nicer one - $20 million ($130 million)
4. It's a Small World gets its own personal upgrade as well - $20 million ($155 million)
5. Dumbo stays as one - $0
6. Philharmagic gets an update - $25 million ($180 million)
7. Wonderland mini-land replaces Storybook Circus (Alice labyrinth, Cheshire Cat coaster and enclosed Tea Cups) - $75 million ($255 million)
8. Speedway is bulldozed with half going to Fantasyland, half going to Tomorrowland - $5 million ($260 million)
9. Wreck-it Ralph E-ticket styled after Radiator Springs Racers, with Hero's Duty in Tomorrowland part and Sugar Rush in Fantasyland part - $120 million ($380 million)
10. A Storybook Land Canal Boats-styled ride themed to Tangled goes where SDMT is - $40 million ($420 million)
11. B&TB Restaurant - $15 million ($435 million)
12. B&TB dark ride - $65 million ($500 million)

Unlike the actual New Fantasyland, this one would actually take 5 years to do right and it would greatly reduce the capacity problem for MK (Adventureland could use Fire Mountain, Tomorrowland could use another E-ticket, Frontierland could use another attraction, etc).

It would also leave room for a Frozen attraction/mini-land in the future if they were willing to move the berm and backstage areas a little bit

This is all blue sky though!

One problem...not your ideas...your pricing is based on Universal spending and NOT WDI. That proposal would push $1billion based on Disney math.

New Fantasyland is often derided, and not without cause, for emphasizing style over substance. However, that "style" costs money, and if you want an immersively themed land it is going to cost more. Clearly, Disney's efforts lean too far towards a land which looks really good but lacks depth to the experience. But, we wouldn't want it the other way around either, with great attractions in plain buildings and crudely themed surroundings. If you want a balance of both themeing and substance, you cannot accomplish both for the same $500 million (even at Universal spending patterns). The above suggestions would require a substantially increased budget.

Thats sounds way better than the choppy collage of areas they threw together. I think it totally messed up the flow of walking through Fantasy Land. The castle walls segregate it as if its better than the original. New Fantasy Land is very much like the Fisker Karma. Years in development, around one billion spent in production and absolutely stunning to look at it...then you drive it and realize it isnt much more than a dud with a beautiful shell over it. Sure, there are many who cling to the belief that its AMAZING and refuse to believe anything else (sound familiar?, *cough* fanbois). Theyre mostly the people who paid the $100,000 price tag. You can buy one for half that now. Oh yeah, and Fisker went bankrupt.

Pardon the OT, but I thought when Top Gear tested the Karma it was found to be a decent (if heavy) ride? Or was James May "just being entertaining"?

 

[Darth Sidious]

Someone in the know... Break down the budgetary differences between an identical project at Disney and at Universal. Where is it that they hemorrhage cash? Are they paying higher prices for materials or construction because they have one firm they use no matter what? I understand this talk of WDI charging a lot but that is moving money from one cost center to another within the company.

 

[mahnamahna101]

Someone in the know... Break down the budgetary differences between an identical project at Disney and at Universal. Where is it that they hemorrhage cash? Are they paying higher prices for materials or construction because they have one firm they use no matter what? I understand this talk of WDI charging a lot but that is moving money from one cost center to another within the company.

Disney's just that inefficient... case in point, a clone of a C-ticket Omnimover cost $10 million more than Forbidden Journey, a brand new E-ticket which also has sets and AAs incorporated into the ride along with screens, did.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Disney's just that inefficient... case in point, a clone of a C-ticket Omnimover cost $10 million more than Forbidden Journey, a brand new E-ticket which also has sets and AAs incorporated into the ride along with screens, did.

Yeah, I know they're inefficient but what specifically do they routinely do differently than Universal. For such a large corporation it's unacceptable to go over budget and to even budget something so high above industry standards.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yeah, I know they're inefficient but what specifically do they routinely do differently than Universal. For such a large corporation it's unacceptable to go over budget and to even budget something so high above industry standards.

Universal outsources a lot of their work. Becoming too bloated is a problem all companies face.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Universal outsources a lot of their work. Becoming too bloated is a problem all companies face.

I know all about the bloated issue I just find it strange two fierce competitors have wildly different price tags on comparable CAPEX in P&R. What does Uni outsource that Disney keeps in house? Creative?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Someone in the know... Break down the budgetary differences between an identical project at Disney and at Universal. Where is it that they hemorrhage cash? Are they paying higher prices for materials or construction because they have one firm they use no matter what? I understand this talk of WDI charging a lot but that is moving money from one cost center to another within the company.

Yeah, I know they're inefficient but what specifically do they routinely do differently than Universal. For such a large corporation it's unacceptable to go over budget and to even budget something so high above industry standards.

According to insiders here, the main reason Disney blows through through exponentially more cash on projects than they should is because of "bloat" inside the corporation as well as WDI. What precisely this entails can be better explained by people such as Lee, Martin and WDW1974, but suffice to say the cost of materials as well as rate of inflation doesn't even begin to explain the absurd amount of cash they routinely bleed on new projects. This was not an issue during the 90's and before and still doesn't seem to be an issue for Universal.

There are a lot of things happening inside Disney (and have been for at least a decade or two now) that don't make any sense and should be considered unacceptable by a major corporation. I would say that it's not a matter of budgets getting out of hand, they're cut more than not in fact (as was New Fantasyland's budget). The problem is again that they are horribly at making the most of a provided budget. As mahnamahna101 stated, $500 million would actually have gone an incredibly long way for Fantasyland if Disney just wasn't so inefficient and bloated that they plow through cash like an unlucky gambling addict.

Universal outsources a lot of their work. Becoming too bloated is a problem all companies face.

Disney has begun outsourcing their work as well, there may not even be a world of difference between the two anymore regarding to looking outside for project assistance. Perfect example of Disney doing this is recently shutting down of their animatronics division and outsourcing to Garner Holt (the same company Universal uses). It's a problem all companies can face, but this is a relatively new problem for Disney (traceable to within the last decade or two) and it's possible to avoid by being a proactive leader and keeping an eye on things.

I know all about the bloated issue I just find it strange two fierce competitors have wildly different price tags on comparable CAPEX in P&R. What does Uni outsource that Disney keeps in house? Creative?

As far as I am aware, Universal has their own creative force just as Disney does. So likely here they don't outsource any more than Disney does. Many of the employees at Universal's creative department are apparently former Disney imagineers, a lot of whom were fired some years ago (either under Eisner, Iger or both, someone else can answer this).