Walt Disney Imagineers Unveil Mysterious Portrait...

[The Empress Lilly]

So stupid. This money can be better spent maintaining Splash Mountain or fixing Expedition Everest. I bet this vanity project is yet another slap in the face to tony baxter by fitzgerald, jacobsen, and their cronies and what the hell kind of name is "baranbis t. billionaire" or whatever it just screams "dumbing down"

I don't think Tony Baxter's portrait was used against his will. Indeed, one ought not to discount the possibility mr. Baxter posed for it, quite aware of the full nature of this project.

 

[alissafalco]

Honestly, I wouldn't ride Space Mountain as I think that has some SERIOUS structural issues. I mean Disneyland's SM was literally days away from something happening that would be a nightmare scenario when they immediately shut it down and Florida's space mountain track is even older. It's really not safe

Is there anything that you know for sure? Or is this just speculation? Because I am seriously getting really scared to go back to WDW until there are some major changes. I just dont understand how ride maintenance and safety is not the top priority in ANY park.

 

[articos]

I don't think Tony Baxter's portrait was used against his will. Indeed, one ought not to discount the possibility mr. Baxter posed for it, quite aware of the full nature of this project.

He would definitely know. And it was taken from a photo, no need for him to pose.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

If they're not spending money on the ride they should have spent some of it on putting air conditioning on the upper level. Anyone who has to be up there for any period of time during the summer will melt...

 

[marni1971]

Is there anything that you know for sure? Or is this just speculation? Because I am seriously getting really scared to go back to WDW until there are some major changes. I just dont understand how ride maintenance and safety is not the top priority in ANY park.

To clarify - Disneylands Space Mountain was literally days from a structural failure. If not less. It was closed down with no notice when 3rd shift pointed out certain things.
As it stands, most of the WDW mountain has track older than Anaheim's. It may not be getting any younger, but there is no indication however it is in any way nearly as bad a condition.

 

[Lee]

To clarify - Disneylands Space Mountain was literally days from a structural failure. If not less. It was closed down with no notice when 3rd shift pointed out certain things.

As I heard it, the structural failure had already begun with a large piece of support falling off.

Falling bits of support are scarier than something maybe falling on your head. Unless you are with the Disney legal department, which as become obsessed with something falling on a guest.

 

[HMF]

Honestly, I wouldn't ride Space Mountain as I think that has some SERIOUS structural issues. I mean Disneyland's SM was literally days away from something happening that would be a nightmare scenario when they immediately shut it down and Florida's space mountain track is even older. It's really not safe

It might take a Big Thunder at DL-type incident for TDO to wake up.

 

[Beholder]

The country wakes up to the headline "tourist KILLED at Walt Disney World Resort due to poor maintenance!", and I guarantee it would become the safest place on the planet, not to mention all the scapegoats that would get canned. Pathetic, but that may be what it takes. Kind of like the really bad intersection in your neighborhood that always is creating problems. Needs traffic lights, but won't get them until someone "important" gets hurt.

 

[SirLink]

It might take a Big Thunder at DL-type incident for TDO to wake up.

A tree branch falling off a man made tree not enough? A piece of rock work falling in a guests boat on Splash not enough? Monorails colliding and killing a pilot because the manager was... well you know, wasn't enough? The numerous incidents on Primeval Hurl I mean Whirl not enough(granted this is a different problem aka stop being cheap problem but still)?

TDO has had numerous chances to fix/wake up. They are concerned about lower resort occupancy rates and wanna fix that, but show quality or even safety issues - nah! Let them eat Mickey Bars!

 

[Kuhio]

Thats the story in the other parks too, you just don't have the Ravenswood mega-story.

Paris' version of the Mansion is really awesome in its own right, it's very different from any of the others though (but still taking clear elements from them). The story ties very interesting and creatively into Big Thunder too.

Backstories that are created organically to tie together disparate parts of an entire land can be effective if they're handled well. I like DLP's Thunder Mesa background, and I think HKDL's Grizzly Gulch is also an example of a holistic backstory that works.

In contrast, retrofitting an individual attraction with an explicit backstory that it doesn't need delivers much less bang for one's buck (TNT pun mildly intended).

That's especially true with regard to the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland: any backstory elements added to its BTMRR can never be feasibly used to add coherence and a richer layer of meaning to the land as a whole, due to the disparate thematic natures of Splash Mountain and the CBJ.

(Can you imagine? "Barnabas T. Bullion was born and raised in the same briar patch as Brer Rabbit. But ol' Barny had to travel hundreds of miles to the American Southwest to find his own laughing place -- one filled with gold!")

 

[TalkingHead]

21st-Century TDO's mantra.

FIX THINGS THAT ARENT BROKEN AND LET THE REST FALL APART...THE GUESTS DEMAND IT (ACCORDING TO OUR IN-HOUSE SURVEYS).

 

[lazyboy97o]

That's especially true with regard to the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland: any backstory elements added to its BTMRR can never be feasibly used to add coherence and a richer layer of meaning to the land as a whole, due to the disparate thematic natures of Splash Mountain and the CBJ.

It's actually kind of sad. Frontierland at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom were never intended to be Westernland, which is what Tokyo Disneyland has in name and Disneyland Paris has in substance. The Frontier was more than the wild west and it was naturally assumed that the audience at the American parks would know this and recognize the far wider scope of the lands, especially at the Magic Kingdom where Liberty Square and Frontierland work together to tell a grander experience.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

21st-Century TDO's mantra.

FIX THINGS THAT ARENT BROKEN AND LET THE REST FALL APART...THE GUESTS DEMAND IT (ACCORDING TO OUR IN-HOUSE SURVEYS).

I'd probably personally edit that slightly instead to read-
"Break things that aren't broken and let the rest fall apart"

 

[FigmentJedi]

That New Fantasyland isn't actual backstory, it's just marketing. When the area's all finished and out there, this whole nonsense of "Oh villains are keeping us from seeing this new area" will fade away. There's a definite difference between the New Fantasyland site and Mr. Bullion becoming a part of a town that already includes a punnily named guy like Professor Cumulus Isobar

 

[Mad Stitch]

As I heard it, the structural failure had already begun with a large piece of support falling off.

Falling bits of support are scarier than something maybe falling on your head. Unless you are with the Disney legal department, which as become obsessed with something falling on a guest.

This is the first I've heard of Space Mountain. This has gotten ridiculous.

 

[flynnibus]

So much for subtly anymore...

How long before the Imagineers plaster their names on each vehicle or right in the guide books? People don't come to worship the workers that are supposed to be BEHIND the magic. They are not and should not, be the show themselves.

 

[menamechris]

Backstories for backstories. Now that is detail. Especially since most people don't care about the original backstory - they just want to ride the ride and have fun. Disney seems terribly obsessed with creating news lately for their blog. And apparently justifying the existence of the Imagineering department by having them create projects, only to scrap or shelve them.

What exactly is going on? How many meetings were spent nailing down this overly detailed storyline "project" when there is real work to be discussed and done?

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

The storyline really seems fairly similar to DLP's version of Henry Ravenswood with the exception of an earthquake swallowing the town...

 

[SirLink]

So much for subtly anymore...

How long before the Imagineers plaster their names on each vehicle or right in the guide books? People don't come to worship the workers that are supposed to be BEHIND the magic. They are not and should not, be the show themselves.

Ya mean how basically Joe Rohde signed a building in DAK(Africa) or no different to windows on Main Street and quite frankly its OK ... Phil Holmes in Gastons is far more disturbing and cause for concern than the Imagineers being part of the show(or very little left of the show).

 

[flynnibus]

Ya mean how basically Joe Rohde signed a building in DAK(Africa) or no different to windows on Main Street and quite frankly its OK ... Phil Holmes in Gastons is far more disturbing and cause for concern than the Imagineers being part of the show(or very little left of the show).

The windows in mainstreet are subtle I think.. tho a bit played out now as they struggle to fit more and more people. This and the phil holmes picture are way over the top IMO