The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I don't know that Mary Niven is so amazing, but she is very good at disguising just how tough she is. I think people find her unassuming and she has used that to survive from Cynthia Harriss's reign of destruction until today. She has also fought for projects to better DCA and gotten money that wasn't allocated. The fact Monstropolis is moving ahead has lots to do with her perseverance.
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You're so sneaky and coy, I love it.

And of course the fact Monstropolis is back on!
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
I know plenty of people from O-Town who liked Colglazier personally. He seemed very good at selling the whole idea of the Disney MAGIC. But he was awful at keeping his park in show condition as we know. DL has some issues now that they, frankly, didn't have before MC took charge.
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You know, I just don't think you can trust anyone who has spent the last 20 years in WDW to do Disney showmanship right. They've just lowered themselves to a whole different level in the Orlando parks, and for so long, that anyone who earned their executive stripes in that culture over the last decade or two like Colglazier did can't be trusted. They just don't know what the standards are and what the expectations are.

Once Dick Nunis left, things went on a downward sloping trajectory that has ingrained itself in the culture there, from ride foremen to Senior Vice Presidents.

WDW1974 said:
I don't know that Mary Niven is so amazing, but she is very good at disguising just how tough she is. I think people find her unassuming and she has used that to survive from Cynthia Harriss's reign of destruction until today. She has also fought for projects to better DCA and gotten money that wasn't allocated. The fact Monstropolis is moving ahead has lots to do with her perseverance.
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Somehow that doesn't surprise me. They had in-park balloon tests and repeated Al Lutz scoops in 2012-13 on this project (And to date, I think Al Lutz/Miceage was the only insider blogger who mentioned Monstropolis online. Lutz was certainly the first to even mention the concept.). And then it died for the reasons Lutz/Miceage fleshed out in late '13.

But if Monstropolis in DCA was such a promising idea, I can't believe they'd just drop it entirely because of the MyMagic- budget disaster out in Florida. Sure the budgets for big stuff all got frozen for 2013 and '14, but Disneyland will still be there 10, 20 and 30 years from now. So it's not surprising if Mary Niven is keeping Monstropolis bubbling on a back burner somewhere. Especially if she's got 18 months before she has a real shot at becoming the Disneyland Resort President.
 
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GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
TalkingHead said:
Compared to what it used to be, it is. Like so many of WDW's "improvements" over the past decade+, the improved version is an uneven mixture of "a little bit better" and "considerably worse."

Remember when all the talk was about the descent being plussed? And people were taking pictures of the hidden triangles and whatever else was allegedly being added?

What's the descent like these days? Is it still the dark corridor?
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For me it's still every bit of a headliner or E-ticket or whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure how the other guy defines a 2nd string attraction, but in my mind that equates to a C ticket or less. No way SSE falls into that category in my book even with any of the changes you mentioned.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
michael.fumc said:
For real!!!!!! I don't understand!!! I get that DCA was in trouble and needed carsland and I am glad they got it and it is amazing!!!! But I believe DHS is in trouble enough to get something big!!!! Why not do something Montropolis, cars, frozen, Star Wars, or something new and big there!!!!!
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DHS, and the rest of WDW's MAGICAL parks, don't get new rides and major investment because of this inconvenient truth:

Park Attendance

2008
DHS 9.6 Million
DCA 5.5 Million
2009
DHS 9.7 Million
DCA 6.1 Million
2010
DHS 9.6 Million
DCA 6.3 Million
2011
DHS 9.7 Million
DCA 6.3 Million
2012
DHS 9.9 Million
DCA 7.8 Million
2013
DHS 9.7 to 9.9 Million (just guessing)
DCA 10.0+ Million (rumored from Miceage)

DHS pulls in steady attendance year after year. DCA was struggling and needed a lot of help. The irony is that the new DCA might surpass one or more of the parks in WDW for 2013 attendance figures. :eek:
 
H

huntzilla

Active Member
WDW1974 said:
Podcasts allow folks who are anything but experts to spread their ignorance to others.

They are like listening in to a conversation that you want to end, but it never does.

Now, before someone yells that I am painting with a broad brush, sure I'll say there are exceptions ...but the rule is the rule.
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Can I apply for an exception? I'll give you a ride to your car again when you need it.
 
Darth Sidious

Darth Sidious

Authentically Disney Distinctly Chinese
SosoDude said:
Just wondering if you have tried watching any of the show "Turn" on AMC. I love it, but the wife cant get into it.
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I have heard good things about it, I plan on watching it myself now that I've caught up on Mad Men. Glad to hear you love it as well, I think AMC has been doing a great job with originals lately.
 
truecoat

truecoat

Well-Known Member
tamotu99 said:
Well if Avatar gets Soarin 2.0 then Soarin will lose a lot of appeal leaving that park with basically 1 headline ride Test Track, a few boat rides (one with some new models in, supposedly) a couple of 2nd string rides Soarin, Mission Space and SSE and a few countries to see and explore, oh and a seas pavilion that is literally 'look at these animated fish and turtle not the real ones', an energy pavilion that is coming up on 20 years without any update and an imagination pavilion that is lacking in one important thing imagination
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I don't follow you here. They build a ride that is rumored to be an advanced version of the Soarin' ride in a different park, with a different theme and Soarin' will lose its appeal?

People will probably stop riding Pirates when the Avatar boat ride opens also.
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
I have posted this article in the past here, but is worth revisiting given the release of Maleficent this past weekend.
http://variety.com/2011/digital/news/disney-exec-studios-should-lean-on-tentpoles-1118041020/
Walt Disney Animation Studios chief technical officer Andy Hendrickson, in a talk at the Siggraphconference Sunday, laid out the thinking behind the studio’s feature strategy. The bottom line: The average number of viewers per release is falling, and studios need to fight that trend with tentpoles.

The number of tickets sold domestically, Hendrickson said, is roughly flat since 2005. But with the exception of a drop after the 2008 financial crisis, the number of titles released has grown considerably. Even that dropoff only took the number of 2010 tiles back to 2006 levels. Therefore the average number of viewers per release is falling.

“Profit equals the ability to capture more than the average share of viewers,” Hendrickson told attendees at the confab in Vancouver.

Hendrickson also said that while the market for homevideo has not shrunk, revenues from each streaming purchase are the same as from VHS rentals. The high-revenue DVD era between VHS and streaming is looking like the aberration.

The equation for studios, according to Hendrickson, is: Declining home profit plus the need for more viewers equals a focus on tentpole films.

“A tentpole film is one where you can seed the desire to see the film to everyone in every distribution channel. It’s the only kind of film you can spend $100 million marketing,” he said.

Hendrickson’s talk was mainly focused on solving problems in digital production on tentpoles, but he began with an “Econ 101″ presentation on the movie business.

“People say ‘It’s all about the story,’” Hendrickson said. “When you’re making tentpole films, bull.” Hendrickson showed a chart of the top 12 all-time domestic grossers, and noted every one is a spectacle film. Of his own studio’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which is on the list, he said: “The story isn’t very good, but visual spectacle brought people in droves. And Johnny Depp didn’t hurt.”

Visual spectacle, he said, drives attendance in a film’s first few weekends. And unlike years past when a movie like “The Lion King” might stay in theaters as long as a year, almost all movies are out of theaters quickly now. “Once you’re out of theaters your maximum profit potential is over,” he said.
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stevehousse

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
Maleficent opened to $170 million globally this weekend...not bad...

Spirit, did u get to read the new interview with Cameron just 2 days ago talking about Avatar Land and how it will have multiple attractions! I hope this means the boat ride is still on...
 

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