The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[TP2000]

Another note about my brief first-time-since-1993 Epcot run: While I didn’t do World Showcase yesterday, I did venture far enough to see the Eyesore Barges for myself. Holy crap.
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It’s like the visual punch line in a sitcom episode about theme park designers… in a new season of Black Adder.

Oh my Gawd. I'm obviously out of the loop, I had no idea it was that bad out there.

And this is for their 50th show at Epcot Center? They wanted to make World Showcase look like a post-apocalyptic floating junk yard to celebrate the 50th????

Reportedly the main reason Harmonius is going has little to do with the actual quality of the show and is more because top execs, up to and including Chapek, were mad at just how bad the barges look during the day.

Okay... but... did no one above a Dockers-clad assistant manager not know this was how that show was going to look like during park operating hours? Was no one of any importance paying attention in the meetings, or were the show designers and Entertainment Department executives purposely lying and hiding what their project would actually look like for paying customers just so they could get it approved and funded (meaning salaries for themselves)???

And this was a surprise how? Is this the level of ineptitude we're dealing with?

Exactly.

How was this major project a surprise to WDW's Execs and/or the Burbank Execs they report to???

There are only three possible answers to that question:

1.) No executive leader bothered to ask what the show equipment would look like during the day, or knows enough about Disney's theme park standards (obviously now abandoned) to ask. Result: Execs = Idiots.

2.) Executive leaders knew in advance it would look like this, but they thought this was not a problem for their "product". The tourists from Ohio are too stupid to care, aren't they? Result: Execs = Idiots.

3.) The executive leaders in the Entertainment Department who wanted this big project to get approved (to keep them employed and paying the mortgage on their cheesy Lake Nona McMansion) purposely hid and/or lied about how ugly this show infrastructure would look. Result: Execs = Idiots.

The most terrifying scenario is that it was an ongoing combination of two or all three of those answers. Which means the executive incompetence is so bad and so pervasive that it may be irreversible at this point. WDW may be past the point of no return with this level of incompetence and cluelessness.

 

[mlayton144]

Oh my Gawd. I'm obviously out of the loop, I had no idea it was that bad out there.

And this is for their 50th show at Epcot Center? They wanted to make World Showcase look like a post-apocalyptic floating junk yard to celebrate the 50th????

Okay... but... did no one above a Dockers-clad assistant manager not know this was how that show was going to look like during park operating hours? Was no one of any importance paying attention in the meetings, or were the show designers and Entertainment Department executives purposely lying and hiding what their project would actually look like for paying customers just so they could get it approved and funded (meaning salaries for themselves)???



Exactly.

How was this major project a surprise to WDW's Execs and/or the Burbank Execs they report to???

There are only three possible answers to that question:

1.) No executive leader bothered to ask what the show equipment would look like during the day, or knows enough about Disney's theme park standards (obviously now abandoned) to ask. Result: Execs = Idiots.

2.) Executive leaders knew in advance it would look like this, but they thought this was not a problem for their "product". The tourists from Ohio are too stupid to care, aren't they? Result: Execs = Idiots.

3.) The executive leaders in the Entertainment Department who wanted this big project to get approved (to keep them employed and paying the mortgage on their cheesy Lake Nona McMansion) purposely hid and/or lied about how ugly this show infrastructure would look. Result: Execs = Idiots.

The most terrifying scenario is that it was an ongoing combination of two or all three of those answers. Which means the executive incompetence is so bad and so pervasive that it may be irreversible at this point. WDW may be past the point of no return with this level of incompetence and cluelessness.

The original concept was to hide the tacos and stargate structure with fountains - and when they tested the fountains it was nothing stronger than a mist with these giant behemoth black eyesores not being hidden at all. They were continuing the test the daytime fountains as recently as 2 months ago. God I hope the 4 black tacos and stargate are removed in short order and bring back the beauty of world showcase.

 

[mlayton144]

The original concept was to hide the tacos and stargate structure with fountains - and when they tested the fountains it was nothing stronger than a mist with these giant behemoth black eyesores not being hidden at all. They were continuing the test the daytime fountains as recently as 2 months ago. God I hope the 4 black tacos and stargate are removed in short order and bring back the beauty of world showcase.

For a visual - the right is the concept , the left is the execution of the concept. These are millions and millions of dollars of investment …. Bring back illuminations please

 

[CaptinEO]

For a visual - the right is the concept , the left is the execution of the concept. These are millions and millions of dollars of investment …. Bring back illuminations please
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I saw these in the water when it was being built, a few months before the 50th. Pictures don't do justice to how big these things are. It's like a giant Live Aid music festival is set up in the water. These things are massive.

The fact that designers thought spraying a few streams of water from these barges would completely obscure it is laughable. Do they not realize water is see through?

No amount of mist will hide a giant steel monstrosity.

This was all greenlit when Chapek headed Parks, and now he leads the whole company.

Remember Disney used to put balloons up for sight line testing years ago? How did this go all the way from concept to completion?

Did they really think the mist would cover these things up? It comes across as so ignorant at every step of the process.

 

[mlayton144]

I saw these in the water when it was being built, a few months before the 50th. Pictures don't do justice to how big these things are. It's like a giant Live Aid music festival is set up in the water. These things are massive.

The fact that designers thought spraying a few streams of water from these barges would completely obscure it is laughable. Do they not realize water is see through?

No amount of mist will hide a giant steel monstrosity.

This was all greenlit when Chapek headed Parks, and now he leads the whole company.

Remember Disney used to put balloons up for sight line testing years ago? How did this go all the way from concept to completion?

Did they really think the mist would cover these things up? It comes across as so ignorant at every step of the process.

It might truly be the worst investment in the history of Disney parks - at least superstar limo was a low budget hack and tucked away in a corner , monstrosity is a good word for this. The idea isn’t terrible - a celebration of Disney music sung in many languages in the name of world harmony - but those damn structures are insulting to look at

 

[CaptinEO]

It might truly be the worst investment in the history of Disney parks - at least superstar limo was a low budget hack and tucked away in a corner , monstrosity is a good word for this. The idea isn’t terrible - a celebration of Disney music sung in many languages in the name of world harmony - but those damn structures are insulting to look at

I think you're probably right, at least from an attractions standpoint. Worst investment in Disney Parks would be Disneyland Paris, which took something like 20 years to turn a profit.

Mission Breakout also made part of California Adventure ugly. Tower of Terror was a run down hotel but at least it didn't look like a badly done arts and crafts project with random colors.

But Harmonious ruins the entire sight-lines of all of Epcot. This was expensive too, mission breakout was just a fast tracked overlay.

I agree the show idea itself seems fine and fitting for Epcot. I just couldnt believe how big those things were and it blatantly just looks like concert equipment. They didn't even try to disguise it.

 

[TP2000]

For a visual - the right is the concept , the left is the execution of the concept. These are millions and millions of dollars of investment …. Bring back illuminations please
View attachment 667522

That's hysterical!

And it doesn't help the sinking realization that the current Parks executives, in Orlando and Burbank, are idiots. In fact, that makes it worse that they would think spraying some misty water on those floating trash heaps would somehow make them disappear.

But honestly, it's all just so hysterically funny at this point that it's best to just laugh at them.

 

[TP2000]

As a reminder for you young'uns, this is what World Showcase was designed to look like. Back when the executives in Orlando and Burbank all knew what they were doing. And knew why they were doing it.

When their 50th started, I must have been so wrapped up in laughing at KiteTails crashing into the bleachers that I completely missed this Epcot disaster.

Seriously, what the hell are they doing out there???

 

[drizgirl]

I imagine they're gone. Reportedly the main reason Harmonius is going has little to do with the actual quality of the show and is more because top execs, up to and including Chapek, were mad at just how bad the barges look during the day.

Well geez I would hope so. They should plug in sooner next time.

 

[drizgirl]

As a reminder for you young'uns, this is what World Showcase was designed to look like. Back when the executives in Orlando and Burbank all knew what they were doing. And knew why they were doing it.

When their 50th started, I must have been so wrapped up in laughing at KiteTails crashing into the bleachers that I completely missed this Epcot disaster.

Seriously, what the hell are they doing out there???

You aren’t exactly a WDW regular so I can let that pass. But the Disney execs? There’s no excuse. Maybe this is just proof they never actually visit the parks.

 

[Supreme Leader]

When I went to WDW this past summer I was shocked at how ugly these barges made World Showcase look. Those things are massive. And ugly.

 

[mickEblu]

Sacrilegious to do at Plaza Inn or no?

 

[mickEblu]

So I was walking into the park today talking to my wife about something random and then I saw it. Was not thinking of it at all. I noticed it from where I stood in the picture below…

It’s not the worst but it’s obviously not real. It actually even photographs better than it looks in person. It’s too perfect, flat and too green.

It looks especially artificial when next to real plants as seen in the picture above

To compare here’s some real grass still in the Hub …

I’m going to standby what I said. The Mickey Floral and Haunted Mansion lawn should have been off limits. All the other smaller planters around the park are ok but they could and should have left at least those two areas alone.

 

[TP2000]

Sacrilegious to do at Plaza Inn or no?

View attachment 667665

Sacrilegious to not have the fried chicken? Yes.

Or...

Sacrilegious to get your mashed potatoes in a shape that makes any 13 year old boy giggle? No.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sacrilegious to do at Plaza Inn or no?

View attachment 667665

The Plaza Inn pot roast is very good, it doesn't get the love the chicken does. The pot roast is for those in the know.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

As a reminder for you young'uns, this is what World Showcase was designed to look like. Back when the executives in Orlando and Burbank all knew what they were doing. And knew why they were doing it.

When their 50th started, I must have been so wrapped up in laughing at KiteTails crashing into the bleachers that I completely missed this Epcot disaster.

Seriously, what the hell are they doing out there???

Yeah I think Harmonious is a really nice show but that isn’t an excuse for how horrible it looks during the day. Thankfully they are gonna fix that.

 

[mickEblu]

The Plaza Inn pot roast is very good, it doesn't get the love the chicken does. The pot roast is for those in the know.

It is really good! Nice n tender n flavorful. It’s always hard to pass up on the chicken though

 

[mickEblu]

The Haunted Mansion turf isn’t any better and like said it actually looks considerably better on photo than it does in person. The photo doesn’t capture the sheen on the turf from when the sun hits it.

They should make the entire lawn the way it is on the right side…

 

[DLR92]

The Haunted Mansion turf isn’t any better and like said it actually looks considerably better on photo than it does in person. The photo doesn’t capture the sheen on the turf from when the sun hits it. View attachment 667751View attachment 667752View attachment 667753


They should make the entire lawn the way it is on the right side…

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View attachment 667755

I definitely prefer the ivy ground cover.

 

[mickEblu]

I definitely prefer the ivy ground cover.

I agree just make all the HM lawn Ivy and bring back the real grass for the Mickey floral. Everything else is “ok.” I mean don’t get me wrong even smaller planters in the hub look pretty bad especially when you get that sheen but they re not focal points. I just wish there was someone at TDA and Burbank who could make these decisions with a little more tact.

The artificial turf at Storybookland kind of works as it’s just the border around flowers/ letters.