This message board is about to become very interesting...

[Ghostbuster626]

Dinoland is primarily for kids .I didn't find it too exciting but my kids loved it.I dont know if people realize that parts of WDW are for kids!?!As far as new big e ticket rides goes the more the better for us adults,but they need to leave some of the more mundane rides for the little ones.

If I recall Walt Disney didnt build Disneyland for kids...he built the parks for everybody. I dont think Disney should be the home of insane roller coasters or "poohs playful toilet". Disney is supposed to be about high quality attractions (some thrilling, some just fun) to a wide audiance. Examples of this would be: Pirates of the Caribean, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, big thunder, etc...these rides contain thrills but almost everyone can enjoy them. And I know some kids cant meet the height requirements for rides like Star Tours and big thunder...but then thats what rides like POTC and the Fantasyland dark rides, and the submarine voyage and cable cars are/were for. This needs to be recognized by the new Disney Leadership. Also dinoland is garbage, I was 11 or 12 when I first went to Animal Kingdom and even then without reading peoples moaning on the net..I didnt like what they did with Dinoland. I mean look at what Universal did for Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure..THATS how you do a real dinosaur land...it needs to be like a zoo but with dinosaurs or something like a research center. Not themed to look like some gross roadside attraction.

Also, alot of you keep saying Lasseter isnt in charge..but I dont think you understand something. Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder and a board member. Iger reports to Jobs. If John Lasseter has a problem at Imagineering he can call Jobs up and get it greenlit. But it wont come to that because Iger is giving Lasseter the necessary budget to restore WDI to its former glory. On top of that, Lasseter reports DIRECTLY to Iger....he doesnt run the day to day of WDI but he does have greenlight powers and if he sees a cool project he will green light it and tell Iger to just go with it because it will boost attendance in the park and make Disney lots of money..which will make Iger look good. And nobody will interfere with him at WDI because he such a respected creative guy. So I dont think anyone is going to interfere. John lasseter & co. will do what they want and in the process make millions of fans and shareholders smile and turn Disney into a respectable company again and make the company big bucks. Its WIN-WIN-WIN. Only a fool would get in the way.

 

[matthope03]

Well I am going to go ahead and put my neck on the line and say that I believe the next major E-ticket attraction announcement will be for the Disney MGM Studios. That attraction will be a Monsters Inc. themed ride. My reasoning for this, DAK will most likely pass the attendance of Disney Studios this year with the opening of EE. Disney also just announced a new Monsters Inc ride in Tokyo as well as just opened one in Cali. Just thought I would throw this one out there to see how many people will shoot this down.

 

[peter11435]

If I recall Walt Disney didnt build Disneyland for kids...he built the parks for everybody. I dont think Disney should be the home of insane roller coasters or "poohs playful toilet". Disney is supposed to be about high quality attractions (some thrilling, some just fun) to a wide audiance.

Must I remind you that even Walts Disneyland was home to a playground or two. There are old photos out there is a rather ugly Fantasyland themed playground. For those that dislike PPS this would have most likely disgusted you, it was essentially a metal bar swing set you might find in your local park.

 

[jedimaster1227]

Actually the Rainforest pavillion/coaster and the SSE coaster were never part of the plan. Those were strictly fan rumors never part of WDI plans. Also the plan was to make Future World less future oriented. Thats why it was to be renamed Discovery Island.

Really, everywhere I had every read had pointed to more than just that.

 

[Tom]

Also, alot of you keep saying Lasseter isnt in charge..but I dont think you understand something. Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder and a board member. Iger reports to Jobs. If John Lasseter has a problem at Imagineering he can call Jobs up and get it greenlit. But it wont come to that because Iger is giving Lasseter the necessary budget to restore WDI to its former glory. On top of that, Lasseter reports DIRECTLY to Iger....he doesnt run the day to day of WDI but he does have greenlight powers and if he sees a cool project he will green light it and tell Iger to just go with it because it will boost attendance in the park and make Disney lots of money..which will make Iger look good. And nobody will interfere with him at WDI because he such a respected creative guy. So I dont think anyone is going to interfere. John lasseter & co. will do what they want and in the process make millions of fans and shareholders smile and turn Disney into a respectable company again and make the company big bucks. Its WIN-WIN-WIN. Only a fool would get in the way.

I guess I'm not getting your point. Iger is CEO. Jobs is now a Disney Board Member, and also largest stockholder of PIXAR, not WDI. As far as I know, WDI stands for Walt Disney Imagineering (correct me if I'm wrong). Sure, you may like to think that in-house politics will give Lasseter greenlight power over WDI, but on paper that just isn't so. He's in charge of the animation side of the company, which is far removed from the theme park side these days.

I personally hope that Lasseter takes Disney Animation to a whole new level, both in hand drawn and CGI animation. The parks are making a heck of a comeback, and now it's animation's turn. I'm anxious to see what this merger, along with the recent placement of Iger to the position of CEO, will bring for the company as a whole.

 

[peter11435]

I guess I'm not getting your point. Iger is CEO. Jobs is now a Disney Board Member, and also largest stockholder of PIXAR, not WDI. As far as I know, WDI stands for Walt Disney Imagineering (correct me if I'm wrong). Sure, you may like to think that in-house politics will give Lasseter greenlight power over WDI, but on paper that just isn't so. He's in charge of the animation side of the company, which is far removed from the theme park side these days.

I personally hope that Lasseter takes Disney Animation to a whole new level, both in hand drawn and CGI animation. The parks are making a heck of a comeback, and now it's animation's turn. I'm anxious to see what this merger, along with the recent placement of Iger to the position of CEO, will bring for the company as a whole.

I think his point is based on the fact that under the new deal John Lasseter will also be Principal Creative Advisor (whatever that means) at Walt Disney Imagineering. And there are rumors that he will have green light powers at both WDFA and WDI.

 

[DisneyWales]

In charge of Disney Animation you mean...

Exactly, hes a creative consultant TO WDI, i dont understand why everyone is now saying hes going to turn WDI upside down.

Im assuming his new role means that any WDI attraction involving Pixar Characters have to be run by him, but seeing as ultimately Disney still own the characters they can do what ever they want with them.

I think the one thing we should really be excited about is Steve Jobs being on the Disney Board, look at the turn around hes done with Apple. To be honest thats the part im most intrested in, even if its just from a technology standpoint, Disneys had alot to gain from Steve Jobs, and Apple has even more to gain back.

Lassiter is a good producer, but hes not amazing.

 

[Lee]

Just tossing my 2 cents in...bit not much more. I don't want to tick off any WDI folks that I count on.....

I think Lasseter will be good for WDI, even thought I am not convinced that he will have all that much stroke...yet. My thoughts:

1. J.L. is not running WDI. Goodman, Fitzgerald, and Co. still are...for now. Sure, Lassater will have creative input, but until we see for sure that Iger and Jobs are going to loosen the purse strings...nothing has really changed. There is now just another player in the game over there.

2. I feel fairly sure, and others do as well, that Marty is on the way out. Yeah, legend and all that, but he's lost touch with the old-school WDI way of thinking (dreaming) and doing. The way I hear it, he sided with the money guys a few times too many. Nice guy though....

3. Hopefully, we are seeing the pendulum swinging back towards the creative and away from the financial. WDI has been "over-managed" as I see it. I hope the true creative types (at leas the ones that are left) will be given a bit more freedom.
A return to - WDI: "Here is what (insert park name) needs and this is what it is going to cost. It's worth it because (insert reason)."
Instead of - Management: "Here is $(insert restrictive budget amount). Do the best you can with it."

Ok...I'm rambling now...

Oh, one last thing. I know many of you here tend to cast a bit of a doubtful eye on many of Jim's articles, and that's fair. But just to let you know...the stuff in todays article...dead on. I heard it from some who were there.

 

[S.E.A.]

Another Disney Renaissance is on the way.

what's even cooler is that Lasseter is a Disney theme park fan boy. That means he'll be greenlighting all the amazing things that WDI is capable of creating, we don't have to cry everytime OLC gets something fantastic anymore.

The dark ages are over.

 

[peter11435]

Another Disney Renaissance is on the way.

what's even cooler is that Lasseter is a Disney theme park fan boy. That means he'll be greenlighting all the amazing things that WDI is capable of creating, we don't have to cry everytime OLC gets something fantastic anymore.

The dark ages are over.

Lets not get too excited. We don't yet know how the future will unfold.

 

[KevinPage]

Marty Sklar is still in charge of Creative...

Well we will have to see for how much longer.

I don't try to make it like I know anything about the inner dealings, but has Marty just become a figurehead and not a "champion" of creativity and more of a "let's do the best we can do" agains the suits :veryconfu

 

[Ghostbuster626]

I guess I'm not getting your point. Iger is CEO. Jobs is now a Disney Board Member, and also largest stockholder of PIXAR, not WDI. As far as I know, WDI stands for Walt Disney Imagineering (correct me if I'm wrong). Sure, you may like to think that in-house politics will give Lasseter greenlight power over WDI, but on paper that just isn't so. He's in charge of the animation side of the company, which is far removed from the theme park side these days.

I personally hope that Lasseter takes Disney Animation to a whole new level, both in hand drawn and CGI animation. The parks are making a heck of a comeback, and now it's animation's turn. I'm anxious to see what this merger, along with the recent placement of Iger to the position of CEO, will bring for the company as a whole.

According to the new deal Jobs is largest shareholder of the WALT DISNEY COMPANY! This will be 100% once the deal is completed this summer.

And Listen I didnt say a thousand e-tickets are gonan get greenlit overnight. What I said was the Eisner era is over and we are basically back in the same spot we disney fans were in 1984...the company has just gone through some bad years and a new management team is here with a new vision and tons of creative talent. At the very least we can rest easy that Disney legacy of making truely world class attractions and high quality animated movies has been revived.

 

[imagineer boy]

Must I remind you that even Walts Disneyland was home to a playground or two. There are old photos out there is a rather ugly Fantasyland themed playground. For those that dislike PPS this would have most likely disgusted you, it was essentially a metal bar swing set you might find in your local park.

Okay, I know alot about Disneyland when it first opened, and I seriously do not recall there ever being a play ground there. I have never seen any photos, or videos of it what so ever. Could you show me if you have one?

Even if there was one, keep in mind, Disney back then wasn't the huge multi-billion dollar company it is today, so back then, building an attraction like Everest was unheard of. Once it became more and more successful, more quality attractions that Walt had dreamed of were possible.

 

[dizneycrazy09]

As hard as it is to believe, Project Gemini is/was not that old. It was created about 5 years ago if I remember correctly. The plan was to find a way to bring back guests to Epcot after the Millenium Celebration ended. Gemini was a way to bring out the "Better" of future world in Disney's eyes. This plan mainly consisted of three different projects in two phases.

Phase 1:

Retheme Future World to be more Future Oriented

Insert Soarin' into The Land

Close Spaceship Earth- Gut it and redo the interior

Phase 2:

Add on a Rainforest Pavilion or coaster to The Land (Notice the pattern we are seeing with the land?)

Insert a new coaster- Timeracers into the SSE geosphere and carve tunnels in it to let the coaster exit the building and come back around.

Use old Global Neighborhood Network center to house entrance and exit for the ride.

thanks a lot for the info. but how about fire mountain I think was the name they mentioned? Never heard that one before.

 

[Budahman]

Anyways, I was wondering how you guys feel on the matter and what you would (realistically) like to see be done at the parks?

I think Disney is doing just a fine job. Sure, they could have less attractions down at certain times or not as many being refurbuished at times, but I think the new attractions they bring in are going well. I'd personally hate to see a ton of new thrill rides come in and make disney less family friendly.
For that matter, I'd hate to see a ton of slow motion rides come in as well. Alittle of each is just perfect.

 

[peter11435]

Okay, I know alot about Disneyland when it first opened, and I seriously do not recall there ever being a play ground there. I have never seen any photos, or videos of it what so ever. Could you show me if you have one?

Even if there was one, keep in mind, Disney back then wasn't the huge multi-billion dollar company it is today, so back then, building an attraction like Everest was unheard of. Once it became more and more successful, more quality attractions that Walt had dreamed of were possible.

The photos were posted online somehwere (possibly mouseplanet), unfortuanatly I can't seem to find them now. I know how different the company was then, my point was simply that even Walt built lightly themed playgrounds.

 

[Jheyman]

Steve Jobs

Exactly, hes a creative consultant TO WDI, i dont understand why everyone is now saying hes going to turn WDI upside down.

Im assuming his new role means that any WDI attraction involving Pixar Characters have to be run by him, but seeing as ultimately Disney still own the characters they can do what ever they want with them.

I think the one thing we should really be excited about is Steve Jobs being on the Disney Board, look at the turn around hes done with Apple. To be honest thats the part im most intrested in, even if its just from a technology standpoint, Disneys had alot to gain from Steve Jobs, and Apple has even more to gain back.

Lassiter is a good producer, but hes not amazing.

Lets not forget Steve Jobs isn' the best buisnessman in the world. He is a large reason that Apple took such a dip before the ipods and such. But keeping that in mind he one of the great thinkers in the world (and if he was a better buisnessman that m----soft company wouldn't be such a household name) but I digress. Being as he is such a great thinker but not so worried about the $$$ I overall agree that his input as to ideas comming out of WDI maybe the best thing we get out of this deal.

 

[wannab@dis]

According to the new deal Jobs is largest shareholder of the WALT DISNEY COMPANY! This will be 100% once the deal is completed this summer.

I really don't understand why you think that will make a difference in the number of attractions that 'may' be added to the parks.

First...
Being a board member doesn't give Jobs access to affect basic project management or budget decisions. A board member is a governance role, not a management role.

Second...
If anything, as the 'largest' shareholder (which hopefully you understand doesn't mean majority) he would be more inclined to follow the route that feeds the most money to his pocket. He's been known to make bad decisions for the quick buck instead of good decisions for long term payoffs. Shareholders want money now, not in 10 years... that's why park/movie budgets get slashed all the time.

Be careful what you wish for... it could come back to haunt you. There are some bright and knowledgable people on these boards... try to be a little more open minded to what some posters have said.

 

[Ghostbuster626]

I really don't understand why you think that will make a difference in the number of attractions that 'may' be added to the parks.

First...
Being a board member doesn't give Jobs access to affect basic project management or budget decisions. A board member is a governance role, not a management role.

Second...
If anything, as the 'largest' shareholder (which hopefully you understand doesn't mean majority) he would be more inclined to follow the route that feeds the most money to his pocket. He's been known to make bad decisions for the quick buck instead of good decisions for long term payoffs. Shareholders want money now, not in 10 years... that's why park/movie budgets get slashed all the time.

Be careful what you wish for... it could come back to haunt you. There are some bright and knowledgable people on these boards... try to be a little more open minded to what some posters have said.

Steve Jobs was also the CEO and I believe majority shareholder of Pixar and he did a fine job there by being "hands-off" and allowing lasseter and company to go wild. No reason hes going to change now. He knows the critism that Eisner has endured for being a cheap, stupid, micromanaging son of a b*tch and he will make sure that he does not follow the fool. On top of that Jobs isnt just another joe smoe board member, this guys a master idea man...he already said he will meet with Iger and Lasseter once every 2 months to talk about the state of Disney and what needs to be done. He will be taking a role in reviving the company. Iger isnt a fool either..he WANTS Disney Feature Animation and the Theme Parks to return to the quality they were circa 1992 when the company was most profitable. I mean this is the reason why Disney spent over 7 billion dollars to acquire pixar and then fired David Stainton so that Ed Catmull & Lasseter could replace him. This is why Iger is giving Lasseter creative power at WDI. The Cheapo Eisner "good enough for six flags" era is over and a bright new dawn is slowly rising. All the cynical vampires out there are going to melt once the sun fully rises over the new Magic Kingdom.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I really think it depends on the market. The thing about Disney is that the quick bucks were being made in animation. The cheapquels and poor releases were done to save money and increase bottom lines. Mechandising took a close second. The parks merely got budget cuts and were somewhat ignored. I agree that Jobs goes for the quick buck many times. However, he has credibility and has obviously been developing a relationship with Iger to at least some extent. So, looking at everything, we have a creative mastermind in a position of strong influence that is tempered by several other people. We've got a budget-conscious person at the helm, but one that is obviously willing to work and look to other people (at least in power). And we have another creative person as an idea board that is part of but still separated from a part of the company that was neglected for quite awhile and now seeing resurgence.

Again, this is EXTREMELY theoretical, but it has potential to work. After all, look what happened when you had the creative-managerial combination of Eisner and Wells!