Sped2424
Well-Known Member
New ip? Where is that being talked about!
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The Spirit Takes the Fifth ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
- Status
Spirited Monday Musings:
So if I were getting married for the first time and hosting a podcast (not that I EVER would) do you think I'd be taking shots at Tom Amity Boi Corless? C'mon, Tom, it's supposed to be the happiest day of your life thus far. And you're thinking about me? I'm touched, albeit in an Imagineer/fanboi sorta way. Still, I do genuinely wish you and Ms. Litton nothing but the best because I am sure the kids deserve that! And @disneyphilip, you gotta control your hate for me and this forum. It can't be good for your limited brain cells.
Did someone say that just in time for the holidays Le Cellier has raised its prices? Shocking, really. What's more shocking is that people think it's any better than mid-level chain (Outback, Longhorn) fare.
So, could a theme park in O-Town be planning to open a large scale attraction next year ever so quietly? It sure isn't Disney.
Say what you want about MAGIC bands. Love 'em. Hate 'em. Couldn't give a flying eff about 'em. Just don't call them revolutionary or something that's gonna change the industry because they aren't and they won't.
Great opening for Frozen. Looks to be the first true blockbuster from WDFA this century. One doesn't make a trend, though.
Oh, and what's that you say? Thor has quickly petered out in the USA and is well below $200 million? That's cool as it has made enough overseas to break even.
TDR continues to do gangbusters business and does so without smoke, mirrors, MAGIC Bands and discounting gimmicks. But the relationship between Disney and the OLC has been such that WDFA might want to do a direct to video sequel to Frozen ... just call it Frigid.
Even though I'm going to DLP for the holidays, I must admit I'd love to be at DLR too!
So if I were getting married for the first time and hosting a podcast (not that I EVER would) do you think I'd be taking shots at Tom Amity Boi Corless? C'mon, Tom, it's supposed to be the happiest day of your life thus far. And you're thinking about me? I'm touched, albeit in an Imagineer/fanboi sorta way. Still, I do genuinely wish you and Ms. Litton nothing but the best because I am sure the kids deserve that! And @disneyphilip, you gotta control your hate for me and this forum. It can't be good for your limited brain cells.
Did someone say that just in time for the holidays Le Cellier has raised its prices? Shocking, really. What's more shocking is that people think it's any better than mid-level chain (Outback, Longhorn) fare.
So, could a theme park in O-Town be planning to open a large scale attraction next year ever so quietly? It sure isn't Disney.
Say what you want about MAGIC bands. Love 'em. Hate 'em. Couldn't give a flying eff about 'em. Just don't call them revolutionary or something that's gonna change the industry because they aren't and they won't.
Great opening for Frozen. Looks to be the first true blockbuster from WDFA this century. One doesn't make a trend, though.
Oh, and what's that you say? Thor has quickly petered out in the USA and is well below $200 million? That's cool as it has made enough overseas to break even.
TDR continues to do gangbusters business and does so without smoke, mirrors, MAGIC Bands and discounting gimmicks. But the relationship between Disney and the OLC has been such that WDFA might want to do a direct to video sequel to Frozen ... just call it Frigid.
Even though I'm going to DLP for the holidays, I must admit I'd love to be at DLR too!
With posts like this I can only ask are you looking to snag an exec position with ... UNI?
Will Jason Garcia ever do a hardhitting story on anything about his beat?
Doubtful. The guy is afraid to attend HHN's ... seriously, he Tweeted it! And Disney PR is much scarier.
You seem more negative (finally!) about FP+ and even NGE than you were say six months ago. It's OK, The Weatherman and his BoD feel the same way!
Excuse me, but do you know where I can get the monorail to the Sea Life park and the Harry Potter one?
I wouldn't say that, but Kirkman, his ego and the desire to push total blood and gore over character development is going to turn me off very soon. You don't kill everyone for shock effect because soon there is none at all and viewers are left saying 'Who the hell is this and why should I care?'
TinkerBelle8878
Well-Known Member
Spirit had written a little bit earlier: "There are rumors that Iger is looking at another acquisition, but I don't intend to stir that rumor's flames."
I took it to mean that its another IP. I could be wrong. But these two were the first things that popped into my head.
GymLeaderPhil
Well-Known Member
I just saw that they're offering FastPass+ for the Comedy Warehouse Holiday Spectacular at the Studios.
That's the ticket. That will definitely be a fruitful choice. I'm going to FastPass+ a show or spectacular. A place where there's ample capacity. Thanks NGE, you're really changing how this whole theme park game is played.
That's the ticket. That will definitely be a fruitful choice. I'm going to FastPass+ a show or spectacular. A place where there's ample capacity. Thanks NGE, you're really changing how this whole theme park game is played.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
Isnt studio ghibli about to die due of lack of funding and the retirement of Mr. Miyasaki?
I specifically didn't mention what Iger was eyeing to keep talk like this down. ... And it isn't anything close to what anyone here is talking about. This wouldn't be an IP grab, per se.
Hey, @Lee, do you think old Sumner is going to let anyone come into his house and take anything let alone all or part of HIS company?
flynnibus
Premium Member
I'm disappointed in the choices they've made so far. I was not negative 'at first sight' because I believed (and still do) that the theory has the potential to shift the theme park paradigm in a good way. But it all boils down to what you do you prioritize and how you execute. So far the execution has been sloppy and I'm not liking the choices that have been made so far that we can see.
I mean just looking at the last 3+ weeks.. as soon as you had more than 1-2 days where FP return lines got to the point where you have to have CMs staffing 'the line starts here positions' - someone should have called a pow-pow and said is going on here and fixed it then and there. If the technology isn't performing as expected - there should be a plan B in development now.. or they should be threatening to pull the whole thing and not pay the vendors.
I don't fault them for doubling down and trying to make it work - but I do fault them for what obviously has been poor product management during development, poor design work in scoping the requirements, and what appears to be a slow response to adapting. They @#$%$'d up.. and they are being slow to adapt and correct.
@WDW1974 - http://disneyandmore.blogspot.ca/2013/12/shanghai-disneyland-update.html
Looks like Alain does care. Not one but two named shout outs bridging the article.
Yep. Saw that and meant to headline my musings post with it, but then found out the new power couple in Disney Lifestyler circles (sorry, no longer Ricky and Mrs. Ricky) were thinking about me on their podcast and forgot!
I meant to post on his blog as there seems to be confusion with the whole boat ride, which WAS included on the menu I provided.
Interesting that he says Frontierland was budgeted out for the second time in a row. That must have happened many years ago because I never knew it was ever in the plans. And Toy Story was definitely thrown in as last-minute filler, which is sad. I also don't know how this plays with HKDL, which was supposed to have an Asian exclusive on the land (although it might have been five years, I don't recall right now).
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Are you referring to the comment Miyazaki San made where he said he wanted to shut down Ghibli and turn it into an IP management firm a la Seuss Enterprises?
Keep in mind he said this in 2010 before Arriety and The Wind Rises did the business they did.
Last edited:
Someone needs to make sure WDW1972 knows this.
RandySavage
Well-Known Member
There is a series of really long but well-written and fascinating posts by 'ResortCruiser' on Mice Chat about TDR-OLC-Disney. To find it you have to google "Has Tokyo Resort Had It's Management Nightmares?"
Some samples:
"There are some who have an almost religious reverence for the Tokyo Disney Resort and Oriental Land Company. For quite a while, OLC essentially earned the sentiment, but, it all began to change in 1996. OLC went public in order to raise the funds for DisneySea. Long story short, there had always been a tug-of-war between the bold dreamers (like Kawasaki Chiharu and then Takahashi Masatomo) and the profit obsessed, bean-counting executives, especially those of Mitsusi Fudosan. If most Mitsui Fudosan executives had their way when Takahashi san was first negotiating with Walt Disney Productions, Maihama would have been just another housing development.
The dreamers lost their leader when Takahashi san passed away in 2000. His loss, the forces at Mitsusi Fudosan, and the pressure to please stockholders (most of them extremely large institutional investors like banks and insurance companies) have lead to a cultural change at OLC, to a much more bottom-line driven approach. Nothing changes quickly in this country (Japan). It's a cultural thing. So, even with those forces at play that I mentioned, it still took a few years for that change to reach its tipping point, for the money men to fully take the reins. It happened 2007, just after the the fifth anniversary of DisneySea. Despite it opening six years after his death, I see DisneySea's Tower of Terror as the final note of the thirty year long Takahashi Masatomo era."
"About Tower of Terror, it had indeed been slated for opening day. It was put off not only for budgetary reasons (who could argue that the $3.2 billion cost of the park without it was somehow insufficient?), but also because of, well, romance. As DisneySea's dedication plaque states (from Michael Eisner's opening day speech), "Here we chart a course for Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Fun ..." With Tower of Terror, OLC management felt the opening day image of the park would be tilted too much toward "adventure" to appeal to middle-aged and older couples (empty nesters). They're a large demographic with substantial disposable income that, with few exceptions, is not interested in Tokyo Disneyland, but one of the groups that DisneySea was specifically designed to attract. OLC didn't want media images of screaming guests, plummeting down a massive and menacing tower, to overpower images of romantic meals, beautiful views, and peaceful gondola rides.
Unfortunately, what's actually occurred over these intervening years has been another example of the lack of leadership in the post-Takahashi san era. The themes adopted at DisneySea were the fortunate and spectacularly executed answer to the problem of Japan's declining and aging population. More than 70% of Tokyo Disneyland's visitors are girls and young women, a segment of the Japanese population that's steadily and, in historic terms, drastically shrinking"
They're rabid repeat visitors (repeta) and there will likely be enough of them to sustain Tokyo Disneyland for some time to come, but two parks? No. Three parks? Absolutely not. (Yes, there's land for three parks at Maihama and many steps have been taken to ensure it stays that way.)
DisneySea was created to broaden the appeal, but instead of marketing it properly to the guests it was designed for, OLC has virtually replicated its Tokyo Disneyland approach; advertising kawaii, Disney characters, character-based shows, and pushing Duffy, the park's own kawaii mascot. It cannibalizes guests from Tokyo Disneyland and paints an image of DisneySea that's unappealing to older couples and many males. It makes for good numbers in the present, but it's an extremely short-sighted approach.
Again I say, OLC needs a bold leader in the vein of Walt Disney and Takahashi Masatomo. It needs someone with the intestinal fortitude to stand up for Tokyo Disneyland's founding ideals, that wringing out every last bit of profit at the cost of safety, a respected workforce, and show, while also ignoring the changing reality of the world around you, is not a viable long-term strategy.
No one can say it better than Walt Disney -
"Our goal at Disneyland is to always give the people more than they expect. As long as we keep surprising them, they’ll keep coming back. But if they ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten times that much to get them to come back.""
"OLC is being understandably cautious about how they'll use the remaining land at Maihama,. There's certainly no rush. Who knows exactly when the time will be right, but I think it's safe to say it'll be at least a decade. It won't happen until attendance is maximized at DisneySea, where there's still land for expansion. Which brings to mind one of the most absurd things I've heard come out of the mouth of an executive. Kagami san has repeatedly stated that there's no room for more attractions at Tokyo Disneyland. Anyone who's familiar with the original Disneyland and its wonderfully creative use of limited space knows it's crazy to say that sprawling Tokyo Disneyland has no more room. But Kagami san isn't crazy and he isn't an idiot. His statement is absurd only on its surface. He's saying it because Tokyo Disneyland can already handle more than 17 million guests a year. Once DisneySea's potential capacity is reached, a number similar to Tokyo Disneyland's, it'll be time for a third gate. Another gate means another ticket, a longer stay at the resort, and more Milial hotels. (Milial Resort Hotels is the company within OLC that operates the Disney branded hotels at the resort, the Palm and Fountain Hotel in Shin Urayasu, and the four Brighton hotels which they acquired, one of them also in Shin Urayasu.) It's a much more lucrative plan of action than adding more to Tokyo Disneyland. I'd love to see more at Tokyo Disneyland, but if being patient means we get a third gate, I'm personally fine with it, as long as it at least lives up to the very high standard that's been set by DisneySea."
With your experience starting in 2008, you know a park that's taken different approach in some fundamental respects from the one that was conceived and designed during the 1990's and opened in 2001. I was lucky enough follow the parks development and even luckier to experience it before opening day. I appreciate hearing the articulate views of someone like yourself who has a very different perspective due to your arriving AD, rather than BD. (That would be "After Duffy" and "Before Duffy." )
You talked about "that same quality/narrative/immersion standard." It existed at DisneySea during the park's first two years, but it was more comprehensive and sophisticated than what they've done with Duffy. The park opened with an innovative approach in which environments, entertainment, food, and merchandise were integrated within each area to a degree far greater than had been attempted in the past. Interestingly, some of the most intense friction related to this was between OLC and the chefs from Disney who fought hard for menus authentic to each location. The chefs won initially, but the food at most locations gradually lost its authenticity to better suite the more pedestrian tastes of the young ladies. It was a given that DisneySea would win the Thea for best theme park of 2001, but the Themed Entertainment Association also took the unprecedented step of awarding the park an additional Thea for its innovative entertainment program. A primary element of that program was its extensive use of highly creative atmosphere entertainment. Unfortunately, after the park's first two years, the Treeman, the rock people (I'm not remembering what they were officially named), The Weathermen, the Used Camel Salesman, the monkeys in Lost River Delta, the belly dancers, and many, many other atmosphere entertainers disappeared, replaced by walk-around Disney characters, again to better appeal to ... guess who. Instead of sticking with a higher, adult oriented concept, marketing it properly, and allowing it to evolve, OLC got scared. They scraped it and fell even further back onto the Tokyo Disneyland model.
Two examples of the higher level of integration as it related to merchandise:
When the park first opened there was a nice selection of Nautilus themed goods at the (then more appropriately named) Nautilus Gifts in Mysterious Island's caldera. As someone who appreciates the works of Jules Verne and the wonderful Harper Goff Nautilus design, I was glad to see them. It was some cool stuff. But that was the problem. The stuff was cool, not kawaii. Sales were dismal. The audience was wrong. The park was filled with girls who didn't know a thing about Captain Nemo or the Nautilus and couldn't care less about buying something themed to it. They came to DisneySea expecting Tokyo Disneyland 2, because that's how it had been marketed to them. They were in the most ambitious, arguably, the most beautiful theme park in the world ... and they were disappointed. DisneySea was not made for them, but it was marketed to them. They stood there in Mysterious Island's caldera, with not a shred of kawaii in sight, and wished they were at Tokyo Disneyland.
On opening day, only about five percent of the goods at Aunt Peg's Village Store were Disney themed. It was a shop of New England themed nicknacks; ceramic and wooden items, like little lighthouses, country kitchen items, etc., many of them handcrafted, as if they were made by the residents of the area. They were the sort of things the wife in an older couple would purchase to decorate their home and remind them of the relaxing, romantic time they had at DisneySea's Cape Cod. But, again, the customers for those goods weren't there.
To be clear, it would have taken a focused, long-term, and well executed marketing campaign to convince the disinterested older demographic that a Disney park exists that would be of interest to them, to convince them that DisneySea is not Tokyo Disneyland. Unfortunately, efforts in that respect were and continue to be halfhearted at best and drowned out by the far louder advertising for things like Duffy seasonal events and Campus Days."
Since the passing of Takahashi san, management has been ham-hanedly reactive and, frankly, increasingly inept. Raging Spirits, for example, was a knee-jerk (almost panicked) reaction to complaints from boys and young men that DisneySea didn't have enough thrills. Putting aside that Raging Spirits, while beautifully themed, is just not a thrilling little coaster, DisneySea is not intended to be, and lets hope it will never be, Fuji-Q or some other hypercoaster thrill/amusement park. It's a theme park and there's no other one on Earth more deserving of the description. How to get more boys and young men excited about DisneySea without covering it in tubular steel coaster tracks is probably the toughest nut to crack in broadening the appeal of DisneySea. That's a whole other cans of worms, though.
Cast are increasingly viewing the OLC executives as amateurs because that's how they're acting. The hallmark of the Paul Pressler days at Disneyland was the problem of clueless suits, holed up in the TDA building, making decisions regarding park operations based on the bottom line, while disregarding decades of lessons learned. Well, that's pretty much what's happening at OLC right now, but with the added "bonus" of greater cast exploitation, made possible by the lack of proper employee unions in Japan. Executives are making decisions and implementing changes that often betray the fact that they have little understanding of the in the trenches workings of the parks. They're coming from a "Hey, this idea will save/make us some money!" perspective. It's happening more and more often that they attempt to impose some half-baked change that's immediately scaled back or completely abandoned due to its impractically. Among other things, it's bad for cast morale, as it makes the executives above them come off as, again, inept amateurs, with no real concern or understanding for them and only the motivation to wring out as much profit as they can.
All that said, I think I should be clear that I don't think Chairman Kagami is a bad person. He's a kind gentleman who always has a genuine smile and an enthusiastic wave for the rank and file cast. I've just observed that, without a strong force like Takahashi san, financial concerns have taken over the decision making process at OLC, that, however unpleasant it is to imagine, there's team of Paul Presslers, men without a full appreciation of their responsibilities, who are calling the shots. Just like the bad old days at Disneyland, the parks are being run more and more like some sort of regular business. But they're not a regular business. They're Disney parks."
Sorry for the uber-length, but the guy has written lots of fascinating stuff in the MC thread...
Some samples:
"There are some who have an almost religious reverence for the Tokyo Disney Resort and Oriental Land Company. For quite a while, OLC essentially earned the sentiment, but, it all began to change in 1996. OLC went public in order to raise the funds for DisneySea. Long story short, there had always been a tug-of-war between the bold dreamers (like Kawasaki Chiharu and then Takahashi Masatomo) and the profit obsessed, bean-counting executives, especially those of Mitsusi Fudosan. If most Mitsui Fudosan executives had their way when Takahashi san was first negotiating with Walt Disney Productions, Maihama would have been just another housing development.
The dreamers lost their leader when Takahashi san passed away in 2000. His loss, the forces at Mitsusi Fudosan, and the pressure to please stockholders (most of them extremely large institutional investors like banks and insurance companies) have lead to a cultural change at OLC, to a much more bottom-line driven approach. Nothing changes quickly in this country (Japan). It's a cultural thing. So, even with those forces at play that I mentioned, it still took a few years for that change to reach its tipping point, for the money men to fully take the reins. It happened 2007, just after the the fifth anniversary of DisneySea. Despite it opening six years after his death, I see DisneySea's Tower of Terror as the final note of the thirty year long Takahashi Masatomo era."
"About Tower of Terror, it had indeed been slated for opening day. It was put off not only for budgetary reasons (who could argue that the $3.2 billion cost of the park without it was somehow insufficient?), but also because of, well, romance. As DisneySea's dedication plaque states (from Michael Eisner's opening day speech), "Here we chart a course for Adventure, Romance, Discovery and Fun ..." With Tower of Terror, OLC management felt the opening day image of the park would be tilted too much toward "adventure" to appeal to middle-aged and older couples (empty nesters). They're a large demographic with substantial disposable income that, with few exceptions, is not interested in Tokyo Disneyland, but one of the groups that DisneySea was specifically designed to attract. OLC didn't want media images of screaming guests, plummeting down a massive and menacing tower, to overpower images of romantic meals, beautiful views, and peaceful gondola rides.
Unfortunately, what's actually occurred over these intervening years has been another example of the lack of leadership in the post-Takahashi san era. The themes adopted at DisneySea were the fortunate and spectacularly executed answer to the problem of Japan's declining and aging population. More than 70% of Tokyo Disneyland's visitors are girls and young women, a segment of the Japanese population that's steadily and, in historic terms, drastically shrinking"
They're rabid repeat visitors (repeta) and there will likely be enough of them to sustain Tokyo Disneyland for some time to come, but two parks? No. Three parks? Absolutely not. (Yes, there's land for three parks at Maihama and many steps have been taken to ensure it stays that way.)
DisneySea was created to broaden the appeal, but instead of marketing it properly to the guests it was designed for, OLC has virtually replicated its Tokyo Disneyland approach; advertising kawaii, Disney characters, character-based shows, and pushing Duffy, the park's own kawaii mascot. It cannibalizes guests from Tokyo Disneyland and paints an image of DisneySea that's unappealing to older couples and many males. It makes for good numbers in the present, but it's an extremely short-sighted approach.
Again I say, OLC needs a bold leader in the vein of Walt Disney and Takahashi Masatomo. It needs someone with the intestinal fortitude to stand up for Tokyo Disneyland's founding ideals, that wringing out every last bit of profit at the cost of safety, a respected workforce, and show, while also ignoring the changing reality of the world around you, is not a viable long-term strategy.
No one can say it better than Walt Disney -
"Our goal at Disneyland is to always give the people more than they expect. As long as we keep surprising them, they’ll keep coming back. But if they ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten times that much to get them to come back.""
"OLC is being understandably cautious about how they'll use the remaining land at Maihama,. There's certainly no rush. Who knows exactly when the time will be right, but I think it's safe to say it'll be at least a decade. It won't happen until attendance is maximized at DisneySea, where there's still land for expansion. Which brings to mind one of the most absurd things I've heard come out of the mouth of an executive. Kagami san has repeatedly stated that there's no room for more attractions at Tokyo Disneyland. Anyone who's familiar with the original Disneyland and its wonderfully creative use of limited space knows it's crazy to say that sprawling Tokyo Disneyland has no more room. But Kagami san isn't crazy and he isn't an idiot. His statement is absurd only on its surface. He's saying it because Tokyo Disneyland can already handle more than 17 million guests a year. Once DisneySea's potential capacity is reached, a number similar to Tokyo Disneyland's, it'll be time for a third gate. Another gate means another ticket, a longer stay at the resort, and more Milial hotels. (Milial Resort Hotels is the company within OLC that operates the Disney branded hotels at the resort, the Palm and Fountain Hotel in Shin Urayasu, and the four Brighton hotels which they acquired, one of them also in Shin Urayasu.) It's a much more lucrative plan of action than adding more to Tokyo Disneyland. I'd love to see more at Tokyo Disneyland, but if being patient means we get a third gate, I'm personally fine with it, as long as it at least lives up to the very high standard that's been set by DisneySea."
With your experience starting in 2008, you know a park that's taken different approach in some fundamental respects from the one that was conceived and designed during the 1990's and opened in 2001. I was lucky enough follow the parks development and even luckier to experience it before opening day. I appreciate hearing the articulate views of someone like yourself who has a very different perspective due to your arriving AD, rather than BD. (That would be "After Duffy" and "Before Duffy." )
You talked about "that same quality/narrative/immersion standard." It existed at DisneySea during the park's first two years, but it was more comprehensive and sophisticated than what they've done with Duffy. The park opened with an innovative approach in which environments, entertainment, food, and merchandise were integrated within each area to a degree far greater than had been attempted in the past. Interestingly, some of the most intense friction related to this was between OLC and the chefs from Disney who fought hard for menus authentic to each location. The chefs won initially, but the food at most locations gradually lost its authenticity to better suite the more pedestrian tastes of the young ladies. It was a given that DisneySea would win the Thea for best theme park of 2001, but the Themed Entertainment Association also took the unprecedented step of awarding the park an additional Thea for its innovative entertainment program. A primary element of that program was its extensive use of highly creative atmosphere entertainment. Unfortunately, after the park's first two years, the Treeman, the rock people (I'm not remembering what they were officially named), The Weathermen, the Used Camel Salesman, the monkeys in Lost River Delta, the belly dancers, and many, many other atmosphere entertainers disappeared, replaced by walk-around Disney characters, again to better appeal to ... guess who. Instead of sticking with a higher, adult oriented concept, marketing it properly, and allowing it to evolve, OLC got scared. They scraped it and fell even further back onto the Tokyo Disneyland model.
Two examples of the higher level of integration as it related to merchandise:
When the park first opened there was a nice selection of Nautilus themed goods at the (then more appropriately named) Nautilus Gifts in Mysterious Island's caldera. As someone who appreciates the works of Jules Verne and the wonderful Harper Goff Nautilus design, I was glad to see them. It was some cool stuff. But that was the problem. The stuff was cool, not kawaii. Sales were dismal. The audience was wrong. The park was filled with girls who didn't know a thing about Captain Nemo or the Nautilus and couldn't care less about buying something themed to it. They came to DisneySea expecting Tokyo Disneyland 2, because that's how it had been marketed to them. They were in the most ambitious, arguably, the most beautiful theme park in the world ... and they were disappointed. DisneySea was not made for them, but it was marketed to them. They stood there in Mysterious Island's caldera, with not a shred of kawaii in sight, and wished they were at Tokyo Disneyland.
On opening day, only about five percent of the goods at Aunt Peg's Village Store were Disney themed. It was a shop of New England themed nicknacks; ceramic and wooden items, like little lighthouses, country kitchen items, etc., many of them handcrafted, as if they were made by the residents of the area. They were the sort of things the wife in an older couple would purchase to decorate their home and remind them of the relaxing, romantic time they had at DisneySea's Cape Cod. But, again, the customers for those goods weren't there.
To be clear, it would have taken a focused, long-term, and well executed marketing campaign to convince the disinterested older demographic that a Disney park exists that would be of interest to them, to convince them that DisneySea is not Tokyo Disneyland. Unfortunately, efforts in that respect were and continue to be halfhearted at best and drowned out by the far louder advertising for things like Duffy seasonal events and Campus Days."
Since the passing of Takahashi san, management has been ham-hanedly reactive and, frankly, increasingly inept. Raging Spirits, for example, was a knee-jerk (almost panicked) reaction to complaints from boys and young men that DisneySea didn't have enough thrills. Putting aside that Raging Spirits, while beautifully themed, is just not a thrilling little coaster, DisneySea is not intended to be, and lets hope it will never be, Fuji-Q or some other hypercoaster thrill/amusement park. It's a theme park and there's no other one on Earth more deserving of the description. How to get more boys and young men excited about DisneySea without covering it in tubular steel coaster tracks is probably the toughest nut to crack in broadening the appeal of DisneySea. That's a whole other cans of worms, though.
Cast are increasingly viewing the OLC executives as amateurs because that's how they're acting. The hallmark of the Paul Pressler days at Disneyland was the problem of clueless suits, holed up in the TDA building, making decisions regarding park operations based on the bottom line, while disregarding decades of lessons learned. Well, that's pretty much what's happening at OLC right now, but with the added "bonus" of greater cast exploitation, made possible by the lack of proper employee unions in Japan. Executives are making decisions and implementing changes that often betray the fact that they have little understanding of the in the trenches workings of the parks. They're coming from a "Hey, this idea will save/make us some money!" perspective. It's happening more and more often that they attempt to impose some half-baked change that's immediately scaled back or completely abandoned due to its impractically. Among other things, it's bad for cast morale, as it makes the executives above them come off as, again, inept amateurs, with no real concern or understanding for them and only the motivation to wring out as much profit as they can.
All that said, I think I should be clear that I don't think Chairman Kagami is a bad person. He's a kind gentleman who always has a genuine smile and an enthusiastic wave for the rank and file cast. I've just observed that, without a strong force like Takahashi san, financial concerns have taken over the decision making process at OLC, that, however unpleasant it is to imagine, there's team of Paul Presslers, men without a full appreciation of their responsibilities, who are calling the shots. Just like the bad old days at Disneyland, the parks are being run more and more like some sort of regular business. But they're not a regular business. They're Disney parks."
Sorry for the uber-length, but the guy has written lots of fascinating stuff in the MC thread...
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Nice surprise to see you again so soon, Spirit!
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Randy, thanks for reposting that interesting article about OLC.
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