Tony Baxter and Disney

Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence

Well-Known Member
Model3 McQueen said:
Here's a man who poured his heart & soul into america's theme park, who unfortunately gets to witness it all go upside down. I hope we can get more people like Tony back into Disney.
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I know that sometimes he visits the parks. I could not imagine being Baxter and putting all of that heart into those attractions and seeing them all run into the ground like that.
 
Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence

Well-Known Member
Disney Analyst said:
Maybe of interest to some.





(40:20 in part 2, splash mountain discussion starts).
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Yes, I have seen these. I think it's interesting that someone who never says anything bad about anything or anyone, aside from the New Tomorrowland business, has finally had it with the revisionist history and finally just snapped and said something. Especially since there were people on the artist formally known as the bird app trying to say that he was racist, I am glad that he finally said something. Especially since he seems like someone who is always trying to do the right thing the right way, and really cares about being mindful and respectful.
 
Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Dear Prudence said:
I know that sometimes he visits the parks. I could not imagine being Baxter and putting all of that heart into those attractions and seeing them all run into the ground like that.
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It is hard indeed, and especially hard when you see your own contributions to the park seemingly and systematically removed or grossly altered.
Breaks your heart, really.

I have had the pleasure of spending time with Tony at Disneyland Park.
The commentary was insightful and riding Attractions together was nothing short of pure delight.
The man 'gets it' and the Disney Company of today is a lesser entity without him in some kind of central creative role.
But the Company he once worked for, and the Company i once wanted to work for, no longer exist.
🫤

-


-
 
Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence

Well-Known Member
Figments Friend said:
It is hard indeed, and especially hard when you see your own contributions to the park seemingly and systematically removed or grossly altered.
Breaks your heart, really.

I have had the pleasure of spending time with Tony at Disneyland Park.
The commentary was insightful and riding Attractions together was nothing short of pure delight.
The man 'gets it' and the Disney Company of today is a lesser entity without him in some kind of central creative role.
But the Company he once worked for, and the Company i once wanted to work for, no longer exist.
🫤

-


-
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I couldn't choose between the heart or the sad react, but he really seems like an absolute delight. He went from being an ice cream scooper to the greatest imagineer Disney had ever seen, What a great man.
 
AdventureHasAName

AdventureHasAName

Well-Known Member
Dear Prudence said:
I know that sometimes he visits the parks. I could not imagine being Baxter and putting all of that heart into those attractions and seeing them all run into the ground like that.
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I've thought a lot about this over the years, especially since now I'm at an age where I can see retirement (in my chosen field) on the horizon. If I were in his position, I think I'd be pleading with Disney executives to "Just leave it alone until I'm dead. It's not gonna be that far off in the future. Once I'm dead, you can ruin it any way you want. Just don't screw it up while I'm alive and can see it."
 
CaptinEO

CaptinEO

Well-Known Member
Dear Prudence said:
I know that sometimes he visits the parks. I could not imagine being Baxter and putting all of that heart into those attractions and seeing them all run into the ground like that.
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On the flipside Tony's work did replace many classic attractions that Walt Disney himself was involved with.

Though at least in Tony's case his replacements were very well designed attractions that became classics in their own right, and Walt didn't live to see his work be replaced.

With modern imagineering I just really don't know.
 
Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
WondersOfLife said:
Credit to Brad Christian on a Facebook group...

"This afternoon I was seeing the new Captain America show at Disney’s California Adventure. Rodgers: The Musical was about a half hour from starting when I looked up and Disney Legend Tony Baxter took his seat next to me. If you’ve been to a Disney Park in the past 50 years you’ve been impacted by Tony Baxter.
Tony Baxter is a Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend. If there is an award in themed entertainment… he has won it.
Just a few of his contributions include Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination. The entire Disneyland Paris park was created under his direction.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad maybe his most notable contribution. You can see his ‘portrait’ hanging in the Walt Disney World queue, and I just noticed he now hangs in the Disneyland version a few days ago.
I mentioned that to him, and he told me how the Disneyland version is a recent addition that was hung only a few years ago when a comic book series about Big Thunder was being released.
He was thrilled to see the Hyperion Theater alive again. We discussed the show and if it has potential to move forward.
He was looking to see how full the theater was and if the top balcony was full. He mentioned that at the premiere he and the imagineering crew were stuck up there. All the Marvel Team got the floor and select D23 were in the middle. This was his first time seeing the show from a good seat.
He mentioned how the two previous tenants of Frozen and Aladdin were both 45 minutes and how he wish Rogers was as well.
I asked him about expansion of the Avengers Campus at DCA, and his only solution is to tear the whole thing down and start over. He said the only thing worth saving is the Guardian’s Tower.
The Spider-Man Ride being so problematic… you could see his disappointment and distaste for the ride. He mentioned Universal Studios Spider-Man Attraction being far superior.
I asked him if the interactivity and gameplay was justification for such a poor ride. He disagreed and pointed to Toy Story Midway Mania. He says he plays Midway every time he is in the park, and went on to explain how the gameplay is practical and works so well.
He thinks the Hollywood portion of DCA needs to make up its mind. It can’t be both authentic Hollywood and a backlot. They need to go one way or another.
He would love to see the Hyperion incorporated into a legit theater that could have Lion King or something playing in a sit down production… think Cirque at Disney Springs. The theater has so much potential with its enormous seating capacity.
We discussed Tomorrowland and how it is in such rough shape. He would move Carrousel of Progress from WDW back to its home in Disneyland. He mentioned that the original moving turntable of theater was removed years ago so this is far fetched idea. However- a revamp is so needed. He said the third scene would be 1964, so the final scene can still be the future.
He said he would bring back Rex Allen’s voice and utilize AI for the new dialogue. He mentioned how James Earl Jones has sold his voice to Disney so the company can use AI for future Mufasa and Darth Vader… even long after he passes.
He told me about how he regularly hosts a Movie Night and recently had AI create the famous Disneyland Announcer Jack Wagner’s voice to introduce the feature presentation! (Wagner died in 1995)
I loved how though retired he took photos of each scene in the show… you could see he was still dreaming, planning and creating. Great Storytelling was center to it all.
Finally I asked him if with the economy if the Disney Parks would actually be getting the millions of dollars that Bob Iger has said the company is committing.
This is when he mentioned ‘new Disney’ and we briefly spoke about how the company is at a Crossroads. You could feel the weight of the last few years as I spoke about changes…
The lights began to dim and the show began, but I left our conversation with a quiet optimism."

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Thank you for sharing that. Disney needs someone like Mr. Baxter again. That was awesome:)
 

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