Apart from your ubber corporate loyalty what tangible evidence do you have to support this opinion passing as fact?
None apparently. It would appear he's going through a phase of trying to pose as an insider now (whether to troll, get attention or both). It has become quite a popular thing as of the last few years, what with the ThemeParkOne and DisneyConstruction23 types joining and posing with "insider info" and telling people to be patient when their claims can't be backed up or elaborated upon. He'll also probably be long gone by the time Pandora opens as is usually the case, so there's no need to provide evidence due to the long nature of construction.
It's the equivalent of an imagineer saying the Mine Train will have lots of surprises and characters from the movie. Just PR bull without substance, ignore as usual. There's a whole lot to be afraid of about Pandora, not even including the still negative feelings about the movie and the debate on whether AK should be getting it. The problems are much more severe than that. Budgets are inevitably going to get even more mutilation with the $2.5billion and rising failure of nextgen, and we don't have a powerful Lasseter like figure to ensure the expansion doesn't end up sucking (there's no one of quality involved in this project that I imagine has any political leverage).
Rohde may be a talented imagineer, but he certainly doesn't have any sway in the company given that he has been still unsuccessful in getting executives to approve a fix for the yeti (despite a solution that doesn't require any ride downtime existing according to Martin). Even Tony Baxter had more political power than Rohde and he was forced into semi retirement (AKA fired) for trying to insist on quality. Cameron may be also meticulous with his own projects, but he is an outside to the Disney company and would not have the sort of political sway (knowing where the skeletons in the closet are) that Lasseter has. If they had any power in the matter, we'd be getting a lot more than just a simulator and a C-ticket boat ride. This is already quite obviously a value engineered version, and the plans we've seen were made before the nextgen debacle crashed on them and became a money pit. There are already signs around property and with higher prices that they're trying to cover up the nextgen mess, future projects yet to be built don't bode well budget wise.
The project may be years and years away still and there's little to say whether it will turn out good or bad from a concept form, but the current problems with nextgen and budget cuts elsewhere aren't what i'd call promising. Lot more reasons to be worried than excited. By that time Iger will be gone too and it will be someone else's mess to clean up.
This. Potter was built when the movies were still being released. It's popularity will become less rabid, but the series is not in any danger of fading into obscurity. They are still seen as incredibly well written books and will be remembered for a very long time to come as classics (if not forever), regardless of how the fanbase for it in pop culture cools down. Forbidden Journey is beloved not just because of its Harry Potter tie in but because of the inherent ride quality surrounding it.
When I first rode Splash Mountain I hadn't even seen Song of the South or anything related to it, but it quickly became one of my favorite rides despite not knowing anything about the franchise (it's a quality ride whether you know about the source material or not). Indiana Jones hardly has anything currently going on movie wise, but its Disneyland ride continues to be incredibly popular for the same type of reasons. And consider the Haunted Mansion's continued popularity, with absolutely no popularity of other media to drive its lines. Pirates only got a movie tie in in the 21st century, having been open many decades prior to the film and being beloved by all. If you make a good ride, it can stand on its own two feet without the help of a pre-existing franchise. The franchise ties helps to bring in initial crowds, but it's not even necessary in the long run provided the ride is good.
" mean? Are you claiming to have inside sources, or does the smiley mean you don't know any more than the rest of us and are just making it up as you go along?
