Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Sales guys can sell anything. Just take this guy for example. I totally believe he loves these products:
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Tony Baxter D23 Interview: slams NextGen and The Myth of the Story
- Thread starter Captain Neo
- Start date
Or at least claim to. It seems that on the Internet, that's good enough.
asianway
Well-Known Member
To those with mental illness or on the payroll, it certainly is
BlueSkyDriveBy
Well-Known Member
Doesn't matter whether or not you believe. All that matters at the end of the day is what I know to be true.
Even with incontrovertible evidence, I doubt you'd actually accept it. Seems to go against your inherent nature to be contrarian for no other reason that pushing other posters' buttons.
Even with incontrovertible evidence, I doubt you'd actually accept it. Seems to go against your inherent nature to be contrarian for no other reason that pushing other posters' buttons.
lmao no. He did not retire.
That may be all that matters to you. But your self confidence isn't enough to convince me.
That being said, I don't much care. I really could care less if a long time employee was pushed out because he didn't share management's vision. In fact, that's a perfectly good reason to move someone out and get people in that will help move the company forward. I realize that posting this here will be seen as some kind of strange heresy, but it is what it is.
BlueSkyDriveBy
Well-Known Member
Wow. I had no idea that the Disney Parks and Resorts weren't moving forward.
Really? They're stagnating? Nothing new is being built? No new parks or resorts anywhere on the planet? Nothing new being added to existing parks and resorts? The whole business model is a losing enterprise that drags down corporate profits overall?
In reality, it has little to do with "sharing management's vision" and more about getting rid of the old guard who were upstaging the new kids. Even though the newbies lack the requisite experience and/or talent to make effective design decisions, like every young Imagineer before them, they're unwilling to admit their weaknesses. Instead of reaching out to the senior crew for guidance in honing their skills and minimizing missteps, as Baxter did during his initial years in Glendale, this bunch takes offense at the mere suggestion of learning from mentors. They would rather burn their political capital by campaigning to push the senior Imagineers into retirement instead of utilizing their talent and decades of experience.
The new kids are either too arrogant and/or too stupid to realize that much can still be learned from those who built the parks they're tasked with maintaining now. Unlike the first and second generation Imagineers, these punks are not fans of the experiences they've been hired to create. They look down their nose at those individuals who basically write their paychecks, the guests who come to the parks and resorts. It's a twisted sort of elitism in which they view their lives as superior to the "low life" existence of those who've made their employment with WDI possible. These newbies hate the fans, especially the fans in management positions above them, like Tony.
Again, it's pointless to continue arguing with you, given that your main goal in posting on this site is to be contrarian. Because, hey, it's really cool to make people all flustered and bothered by p*ssing on their heroes, right?
If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing this at the behest of Vaughn or Mangum. But I doubt they're smart enough to utilize social media in such a simple and straightforward manner.
FrankLapidus
Well-Known Member
Tony's vision has produced Journey into Imagination!, Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours, Splash Mountain...
The current management's vision has seen them blow millions of dollars on NGE.
As a Disney theme park fan, I know who's vision I prefer.
Yes, but you don't get to choose the direction of the company or who it employs.
Senior management's job is to steer the ship. Employees who do not follow management's lead need to be replaced. They MUST be replaced.
Personally, I have no idea if this is what happened to Baxter, but it's what some in this thread claim happened to him.
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FrankLapidus
Well-Known Member
They're steering it in a direction that is far removed from the Disney most of us here grew up with and love. Tony Baxter is, first and foremost, a Disney fan like all of us on this forum and because of that, because he wants to maintain the high standards that were set by his mentors, incredible geniuses like John Hench, Marc Davis and Claude Coats, he has been pushed out he door. He's lost his job because he has an affinity with the fans, because he dared to expect the current management to respect and add to the incredible legacy of creativity and innovation that they were made responsible for.
I'm well aware that I'm not choosing the direction of the company or its employees, that doesn't mean that I can't comment when I see those who do have that responsibility nudging a legend and genius like Tony Baxter out the door. Thankfully, Tony's legacy is there for all to see and will be still be enjoyed by millions of people for decades to come, when Tom Staggs and Jay Rasulo are long gone and forgotten.
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You know, it doesn't mean that other people can't comment about it, either... Even if they don't agree with you.
FrankLapidus
Well-Known Member
rnese
Well-Known Member
I believe I can sum it all up. The new generation at DWI have been brought up and raised in a culture that values social media, shock value, and instant gratification. To them, Peter Pan's Flight is "lame" because guest's can't follow Captain Hook on Twitter, Wendy isn't using vulgarity, and the DWI staff doesn't receive a trophy after each successful ride cycle.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Because nothing sets up good decisions making like priming yourself for group think.
BrianTheMute
Member
Maybe I'm the only one, but to me it didn't sound like he was slamming NextGen at all. He was slamming intrusive technology, which I don't think nextgen really is. With nextgen, you *don't* have to take out your phone or a device and type in your name for a pirate to speak to you, as Tony pointed out as intrusive. You don't have to do a thing, the wristband does everything. That's what makes nextgen so awesome, in my opinion at least. Think of the little kids, who don't know anything about the technology, think of the excitement and amazement they'll feel the first time they meet a character and that character calls them by name. The first time they step into an attraction and it is somehow personalized for them. They won't know it's because of their bracelet, they'll think the characters are just that good, they'll think its just part of the Disney magic, and it will make their freaking day. I think that is the point that needs to be focused on.
Magic is technology, always has been and always will be. Years ago it was a cage with a secret compartment to hold a dove, today it's a bracelet with near limitless possibilities. Magic has to change with the times.
Magic is technology, always has been and always will be. Years ago it was a cage with a secret compartment to hold a dove, today it's a bracelet with near limitless possibilities. Magic has to change with the times.
I can only imagine that you either didn't read my post, have never held a management position, or (more likely) both.Because nothing sets up good decisions making like priming yourself for group think.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I remember Jim telling a story from Joe Rohde where he compared the novelty of smart phones to the novelty of wrist watches in the early 1900s. People couldn't stop looking at their wrist much in the same way people can't stop looking at their phones. If I remember correctly, Rohde basically said, "eventually in a few years people will start looking up from their phones again and they will expect to see something interesting." It's basically the same idea that Tony Baxter had. They need to make things more interesting than the phone.
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Iger and Staggs may understand Tony's role and impact (and the legacy/history of Disney) but may not care. It is all about the money.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Tony is a lifer.
May this not be the last of his delightful commentary on timely topics.
I can understand why some folks may be confused.
Watching the presentations he was involved in at D23 can give someone the impression he is still working for the Company. He even had on his nametag....
Dedicated fan...that he be.....even if not getting paid *in the usual manner*....
Bless em*.
May this not be the last of his delightful commentary on timely topics.
I can understand why some folks may be confused.
Watching the presentations he was involved in at D23 can give someone the impression he is still working for the Company. He even had on his nametag....
Dedicated fan...that he be.....even if not getting paid *in the usual manner*....
Bless em*.
tongaloosh
Active Member
I agree with your agreement. It seemed to me that he likes the fact that the guest is no longer a passive part of the experience, being pulled through a story that would happen whether or not they were there. The interactive and enhanced ride elements, such as in Indy, help make the riders part of the story.
That said, I also think that a pirate knowing me by name would throw me out of the ride's story. Who's that pirate? Why does he know who I am? Oh, right, I'm wearing the magic handcuff I paid $XX.XX (plus tax!) for in order to have a more "interactive" experience at Disney. I wonder how much data Disney's mining off of me right now. What's that? The ride's over? When did that happen??