Kirby86
Well-Known Member
Consultants most likely Tiana's is Carmen Smiths and Charita Carters project they get final say Disney wouldn't bring back the old guard to override their decisions.
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News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress
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Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
NO! They are paying the old timers to keep quiet and not say how the current leaders are destroying the parks.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Magenta Panther often engages in exaggerated hyperbole, but I wouldn't actually be surprised if what he's claiming is true in this instance. I haven't personally seen any such comments from imagineers specifically, but I have seen that exact behavior from cast members on twitter. I don't have sources on hand at the moment, but examples were posted either in this or the other thread.
Clearly not in this case. And yeah I do think it's probably more that they're being paid to keep quiet or offer vague comments of endorsement. Clearly it worked to fool some people, myself included (I should have stuck with my initial instincts that it was BS like everyone else knew). They're allowed to offer their opinions and suggestions to the teams i'm sure, but the teams are under no obligation to actually listen.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
it’s been obvious since the outset he was brought on as window dressing and to soften the blow.
Thats okay— everything we've seen and heard since instills confidence that this project is in the most capable and surest hands possible.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
You just know the VPs at WDI are going to try and recoup his “consulting” fee by saying this was a violation of his NDA
No. I'm not aware of all conspiracy theories.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
If there is an NDA, my guess is he probably didn't violate it. Depends on the terms of course. I would imagine it was something like "don't reveal anything about the new ride" and MAYBE "don't offer negative criticism of the new ride". Tony is clearly a smart man though, and he was very careful about what he said on there. He made it clear that he's not happy that Splash was removed, but the full extent of what he said about the retheme was "I hope it turns out well". What can they reasonably do to punish him for that? Like yeah, we can tell he's not happy with it, but legally speaking that's going to cause Disney problems if they mess with him over it. If anything, Tony can cause Disney a ton of PR trouble by making his unfiltered opinions on the retheme public instead.
The actual "conspiracy theory" in this situation was that Tony Baxter was involved with and happy about the retheme. Might be time to join me in admitting a mistake instead of digging further antagonizing people who turns out had good reason to be concerned. I'm humble enough to apologize and admit I was wrong, are you?
People these days like the pretend valor that they are doing something really righteous. The pressure of others gets humans to do that.
That's the bad part about consultants. As you stated, there is never an obligation to listen when they already know what they want to do.
Oh, so he does have an NDA?
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty much certain he does, and it probably applies broadly across their entire roster of in-planning projects whether he's involved or not. He was again quite careful to avoid revealing any details or personal thoughts about the Tiana ride in that interview. I'm also sure he's been kept up to date on it given his status, connections and the fact that he can basically come and go from the office whenever he wants. Unless he's deliberately chosen not to keep updated.
Anyhoo...
Tony's previous remarks was confidence in the retheme. He didn't comment, AFAIK, up until now, about the original theme or why it was being rethemed.
Which has been Disney's stance, namely, not to trash the original theme, but just talk about how great the retheme will be. Disney doesn't want to publicly get mired in bad-mouthing a well-liked ride. It's just that we all know why it's changing without Disney saying why.
In this interview, Tony is now talking about the decision to retheme. He's defending the original theme. It seems he doesn't agree with the need to retheme it.
So, Tony:
1. Defends the original theme.
2. Defends the new theme.
3. Disagrees with the perceived need to retheme it.
All those can be true at once.
His defense of the original theme is not a put down of the new theme.
"Marty is happy about the retheme" doesn't necessarily imply he was on board with the need to retheme. Just that -- with a retheme being inevitable -- he gave his input, and said nice things about what's to come.
Tony's previous remarks was confidence in the retheme. He didn't comment, AFAIK, up until now, about the original theme or why it was being rethemed.
Which has been Disney's stance, namely, not to trash the original theme, but just talk about how great the retheme will be. Disney doesn't want to publicly get mired in bad-mouthing a well-liked ride. It's just that we all know why it's changing without Disney saying why.
In this interview, Tony is now talking about the decision to retheme. He's defending the original theme. It seems he doesn't agree with the need to retheme it.
So, Tony:
1. Defends the original theme.
2. Defends the new theme.
3. Disagrees with the perceived need to retheme it.
All those can be true at once.
His defense of the original theme is not a put down of the new theme.
"Marty is happy about the retheme" doesn't necessarily imply he was on board with the need to retheme. Just that -- with a retheme being inevitable -- he gave his input, and said nice things about what's to come.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
If you think he said anything positive about the new ride, you weren't listening properly. Tony's extremely brief comment about the new ride was that he hopes the team behind Tiana are taking into consideration how the new scenes they create will interact with the existing ride system. Particularly the big drop. Even in a vacuum, that comment is one of concern, not a positive one. The broader context was tied into the commentary directly preceding that, in how they played up the fear of the big drop during the ride. Especially the lengthy discussion about the psychological fear the final lift was meant to convey. These are the same concerns many of us here have been expressing as well. He also tied it to his criticism for how Disney will often remove things without a competent replacement plan just because someone in the company doesn't like something.
If he had anything good to say about the ride, he'd have simply and clearly said so. The fact that he didn't even provide a generic "I think the retheme stands to be a quality attraction on its own" is very telling. He instead concluded with a word of warning/concern. As it stands, we already know from what Disney has revealed about the final lift that his warning is being ignored. It's quite apparent he's not only angry that they got rid of Splash, but that he's also not a fan of its replacement by any stretch. I'm also sure he knows a lot more about the project than any of us do.
If you still want to believe the team working on the ride will turn in a quality ride, then that's fine. As unreasonable as it is, I hope they prove us all wrong and do exactly that, because who wants the ride to be bad? But continuing to cling onto the idea that Tony is involved, or that he has a positive opinion about Tiana is ludicrous. Even my own source no longer believes this (and for what little it may be worth, last exchange we had, they also still believe the ride will be good in spite of this). I've admitted i'm wrong, it's time for everyone else who still clings onto this to do the same and move on.
If he had anything good to say about the ride, he'd have simply and clearly said so. The fact that he didn't even provide a generic "I think the retheme stands to be a quality attraction on its own" is very telling. He instead concluded with a word of warning/concern. As it stands, we already know from what Disney has revealed about the final lift that his warning is being ignored. It's quite apparent he's not only angry that they got rid of Splash, but that he's also not a fan of its replacement by any stretch. I'm also sure he knows a lot more about the project than any of us do.
If you still want to believe the team working on the ride will turn in a quality ride, then that's fine. As unreasonable as it is, I hope they prove us all wrong and do exactly that, because who wants the ride to be bad? But continuing to cling onto the idea that Tony is involved, or that he has a positive opinion about Tiana is ludicrous. Even my own source no longer believes this (and for what little it may be worth, last exchange we had, they also still believe the ride will be good in spite of this). I've admitted i'm wrong, it's time for everyone else who still clings onto this to do the same and move on.
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Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
The video was posted a page or two back. About 40 minutes into it.
Smiley/OCD
Well-Known Member
He spent it all on mega millions tickets…
Smiley/OCD
Well-Known Member
If he didn’t sign an NDA, I can’t wait for the book…
They made a non-mountain out of a Chickapin Hill-By Tony Baxter.
Midwest Elitist
Well-Known Member
A while back one of the sources I know (a few people here as well) actually met Tony at Disneyland and he was disappointed about the retheme even then. Out of respect, I never shared who it was (photographic evidence). And to be fair, I think most of us here now have access to insiders, at various levels of the company.
Also, this isn't to you, but a general statement for some: stop trying to turn the negative statements from people into positives. Anyone not huffing pixie dust can see right through it. Being genuine is such a rarity these days.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
This is off-topic, but I would be very surprised if most members of this forum had access to insiders.
Disney Glimpses
Well-Known Member
Especially when it comes to detailed specifics of WDI projects. And most folks on these teams aren't going to share intimate details of these projects to anyone, including friends and family.