Test Track Live Chat with Imagineer

alphac2005

alphac2005

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
Well, as others will likely point out, that IS the purpose of The Disney Parks Blog. It's not real interaction between the company and its biggest fans/consumers. One could argue that is what SHOULD be. I'd run the whole social media program that way.

But they prefer fake, condescending and smarmy and, sadly, many of the fans don't know any better and don't care.
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I clearly understand that it is such and it's another example of how this company is always behind the times and playing catch-up. It took them forever to acknowledge their fanbase, which they just simply talk-down to after acknowledging them, forever to acknowledge that people actually knew about ride closures, refurbishments, etc. Then they decided to start "acknowledging" some of these details, but instead of being forthright and actually interesting & revealing to their customer, we're stuck with "PR MAGIC!" When my company deals with our consumers, we prefer to take an honest approach about things, not languish in PR drivel.

For a company that is so about their message and brand, they do a poor job of executing it in many ways. Is it because the company is so bloated in size? They are stuck in the past with their PR operations. When I was in the entertainment business back a decade and a half plus ago, Disney PR was a nightmare, where it seemed like a privilege for them to just acknowledge your existence (they were far worse than the cronies at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which is saying a lot) and it seems that not much has changed in how they operate.

As echoed by others, the closer we get to the "new" Test Track, it seems like we're getting the same ride with lots of black and neon colors. And don't forget, we're going to get to add up our points and junk in the post show. Sounds like they're really working on people getting their $100 worth for a day at Epcot. Hmmmm.
 
alphac2005

alphac2005

Well-Known Member
SirLink said:
I know this is going to sound a bit strange, but could TWDC Marketing department really have created a 'faux' celebrity imagineer, to make the fanboys squeal?
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I was just in my LinkedIn account and her profile does reflect Imagineering and connections of people within the organization, so she appears to be clearly legit, but it looks like she hasn't been there long at all.
 
P

ptaylor

Premium Member
Well that online chat has me more concerned than ever about Test Track's future.

Nothing personal against that Imagineer, but I'm a little concerned that a signature ride such as Test Track is in the hands of someone who seems to have so little experience. What happened to all the big name Imagineers handling projects of this importance?

The concept of the new Test Track seems very week. All this talk of being inside a computer and 'digital'. It all sounds like an excuse to use lots of screens, darkness, lighting, and interactive elements in the queue to soak up the boredom.

On the subject of the chat. I would rather just have a good old fashioned press release that gives some concrete facts. I know that the social media handbook that all these large corporations use tells them they must "engage" and "interact" directly with the consumer, but it just does not come across well at all.
 
Jim Possible

Jim Possible

Active Member
"Can you tell us about some of the new features of the ride?"

"You're in a car. With four wheels. It's just like riding in a real car. It's MAGIC!"

"Umm... will it make extensive use of screens or will there be real physical props?"

"Disney magic transcends physicality. The ride will make extensive use of a dark show area. And the car has four wheels."

"Can you tell us about the new pre-show..."

"Yes! There will be a pre-show, and afterward, guests will be loaded into ride vehicles with four wheels. Also, it's in the dark."

"Wow, that's pretty..."

"Magical?"

"Vague."
 
Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
ptaylor said:
Nothing personal against that Imagineer, but I'm a little concerned that a signature ride such as Test Track is in the hands of someone who seems to have so little experience. What happened to all the big name Imagineers handling projects of this importance?
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It's not...She's an assistant project manager who makes sure things are moving along as they should be. The experience of TT is in hands of imagineer Trevor Bryant who is the show producer of Test Track.
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Clamman73 said:
It's not...She's an assistant project manager who makes sure things are moving along as they should be. The experience of TT is in hands of imagineer Trevor Bryant who is the show producer of Test Track.
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Excellent. Since you have an inside track (heh) on information can you tell us anything about the scaffolding?
 
HMF

HMF

Well-Known Member
Clamman73 said:
It's not...She's an assistant project manager who makes sure things are moving along as they should be. The experience of TT is in hands of imagineer Trevor Bryant who is the show producer of Test Track.
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Not to mention Trevor Bryant also worked on a certain Epcot Attraction that a vocal base demand be re-built to this day.
 
Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
jt04 said:
Excellent. Since you have an inside track (heh) on information can you tell us anything about the scaffolding?
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No inside track. Look up vids of him talking about the project at the press event that she also spoke at too some months ago.
 
HMF

HMF

Well-Known Member
Clamman73 said:
No inside track. Look up vids of him talking about the project at the press event that she also spoke at too some months ago.
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I strongly feel that if the chat was with Trevor who is an old school creative type rather than Melissa who is a Project management person it would have yielded a more satisfying discussion.
 
baymenxpac

baymenxpac

Well-Known Member
guys, the parks blog is part of disney's public relations strategy. the reason you're getting vague responses is because all this is supposed to do is build anticipation towards the test track reopening, not necessarily give you any real information.

as a guy with a lot of experience in this matter, i can tell you that this one place a PR executive can control the message. that's why blogs have become such a popular part of PR campaigns over the years. a chat like this isn't any different than anything disney posts on their facebook page or tweets through their twitter account. it's all vanilla language with no substance. temper your expectations any time you see something happening through the parks blog.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
baymenxpac said:
guys, the parks blog is part of disney's public relations strategy. the reason you're getting vague responses is because all this is supposed to do is build anticipation towards the test track reopening, not necessarily give you any real information.

as a guy with a lot of experience in this matter, i can tell you that this one place a PR executive can control the message. that's why blogs have become such a popular part of PR campaigns over the years. a chat like this isn't any different than anything disney posts on their facebook page or tweets through their twitter account. it's all vanilla language with no substance. temper your expectations any time you see something happening through the parks blog.
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Part of the problem is that Disney was once able to cultivate celebrity Imagineers who knew what could be said, but came across as a genuine person not somebody being poorly written lines.
 

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