Walt Disney Imagineers Unveil Mysterious Portrait...

[lazyboy97o]

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

Somewhere inside Disney, the motivation has changed. The use of Imagineers' names, for the most part, were originally not so much about recognition and promotion, but layering an experience. Names on the gravestones in the Haunted Mansion was to have some personal fun while filling the need of a tombstone to have a name. Now it's about marketing "secrets" to fans who like to feel superior because they're "in the know." What was once merely part of the design experience is now more and more part of the marketing package.

 

[flynnibus]

much like hidden mickeys - instead of being easter eggs... accenting things... they are being trust to the front and flaunted.

 

[dinodak]

much like hidden mickeys - instead of being easter eggs... accenting things... they are being trust to the front and flaunted.

Honestly, what percentage of folks who visit Disney have any clue who Tony Baxter is?

 

[flynnibus]

Honestly, what percentage of folks who visit Disney have any clue who Tony Baxter is?

Even without knowing who he is - the thrusting of a story and art to front here where it's not necessary is part of it.

It's like laying things around JUST to make a hidden mickey, instead of arranging necessary items obscurely into a hidden mickey.

 

[Lee]

Even without knowing who he is - the thrusting of a story and art to front here where it's not necessary is part of it.

Not necessary today, agreed.
But...in some future time where more guests are (by necessity) standing in standby queues for extended lengths if time, those stories could prove to be quite welcome diversions.

I've been thinking about it a but, and I think Indy at DL could be seen as the first NextGen style queue. Long standby queue with loads of interactive elements and visual treats. They knew guests were going to be in that line forever, and so they did what they could to bake the wait bearable.

Now, looking ahead to the implementation of the new FP system, I see a similar trend. Pile as much story and stimulus into the queue to entertain the guests that will be spending long stretches of time there.

They aren't adding story for fun, they are adding it to address a foreseen need.

 

[SirLink]

Not necessary today, agreed.
But...in some future time where more guests are (by necessity) standing in standby queues for extended lengths if time, those stories could prove to be quite welcome diversions.

I've been thinking about it a but, and I think Indy at DL could be seen as the first NextGen style queue. Long standby queue with loads of interactive elements and visual treats. They knew guests were going to be in that line forever, and so they did what they could to bake the wait bearable.

Now, looking ahead to the implementation of the new FP system, I see a similar trend. Pile as much story and stimulus into the queue to entertain the guests that will be spending long stretches of time there.

They aren't adding story for fun, they are adding it to address a foreseen need.

But they wouldn't need to add it to address these 'needs' if they weren't doing this Next Gen project. They could have gained the data mining benefits by just putting an RFID in a the ticket media and be done.

It seems at least to an outsiders perspective that they have over engineered a simple solution for a more complex and more costly one.

 

[WDW1974]

Over the years, various WDI Creative Dev leaders have wanted Baxter out of the company. It's amazing to me that the man is still employed on Flower Street, given this continuous hate fest. Unless, of course, the infamous tell-all publication rumored to be vaulted in the bowels of Baxter Manor a la Gringotts is true. Then staying or going would be totally up to Tony and what he desired for his future.

I can't help but think that Tony calls all the shots regarding his future precisely because no one at TWDC ever wants that book written (I'd co-author with him in a second!) ...sadly, that doesn't mean he gets to do anything meaningful with his team.

Look at all the crap that has been placed into WDW since he was last given a sniff.

 

[WDW1974]

I feel like this, much like the Haunted Mansion extended/interactive queue, adds too much to the "story" of the attraction....this fills in the holes left in the initial story (again, like HM) that guests would/could fill in for themselves....I preferred when their stories were a bit more suggested and abstract, not so literal and hokey.

THIS!!!

 

[WDW1974]

And this money couldn't have gone toward fixing the rainbow caverns, the falling rocks, the exterior queue lights, etc? Ugh.

Thing is, they feel like they need more backstory for these interactive queues.
The changes that are coming will likely greatly increase the number of guests that will be standing (even longer) in the standby queue. If you have to wait 90min or more for BTMRR...might as well have something interesting to look at.

welcome to the MAGICal world of Next Gen and FP+ ... all these ignorant fanbois who don't understand what is happening and just champion anything that has a hint of Pixie Dust in it are gonna be in for a rude surprise when attractions that never had waits suddenly have 30 minute ones on uncrowded days. But at least they'll have these ridiculous interactive queues to play in ... you know, until things break during the first week they are open and are never fixed.

Seriously, they have no idea what's coming ... like sheep ...

FWIW, as you know, it won't affect me. If I go to TDR and don't/won't wait more than 20-30 minutes for ANYTHING, I sure as hell won't be waiting in the artificially created lines at WDW. I'll just be spending elsewhere and they can replace me with a line of rubes who don't know any better.

 

[WDW1974]

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.

That is all true, but one does wonder how close Disney will allow it to get to failure before the attraction gets shut down for 18 months and is completely rebuilt.

I don't have any doubt if they found something while walking the track tonight that showed disaster was imminent that it would be shut down even if Phil Holmes pulled every last bodily hair out.

But just being in bad shape or 'could use some work' ... well, that's a different matter entirely.

 

[WDW1974]

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

Windows on MSUSA have always been a way of honoring greats (or sometimes, just those with political power) that have helped get the place built. They are as much as part of MSUSA as ... dare I suggest it ... a cinnamon bun.

That's different than what is happening now. I don't need to see the Fantasyland Imagineers honor themselves (again, that would be like me giving myself an award for the Most MAGICal Member Here Since 2008!) by painting cherubs with their faces or their children's on the ceiling of BoG ... or by seeing the current MK VP annoint himself with a paining in said land (considering how widely disliked he is both in and out of the company, I find it very ballsey) or even an Imagineering great like Tony become part of the attraction (even with his ego, I don't believe for a second that this idea came from him!)

I wonder how many of the UNI Creatives have nods inside the FJ queue ... what's that you say? None ... interesting priorities.

 

[WDW1974]

Even without knowing who he is - the thrusting of a story and art to front here where it's not necessary is part of it.

It's like laying things around JUST to make a hidden mickey, instead of arranging necessary items obscurely into a hidden mickey.

Ah, but OBVIOUS MIckeys have become part of the fun of a MAGICal WDW Vacation. Get with the program or go to UNI, so the lines will be shorter for me (God, I love that ignorant line!)

Can you imagine a time when WDW resorts had no characters in their carpeting or wallpaper or curtains?
I can and it was a better time.

 

[SirLink]

Windows on MSUSA have always been a way of honoring greats (or sometimes, just those with political power) that have helped get the place built. They are as much as part of MSUSA as ... dare I suggest it ... a cinnamon bun.

That's different than what is happening now. I don't need to see the Fantasyland Imagineers honor themselves (again, that would be like me giving myself an award for the Most MAGICal Member Here Since 2008!) by painting cherubs with their faces or their children's on the ceiling of BoG ... or by seeing the current MK VP annoint himself with a paining in said land (considering how widely disliked he is both in and out of the company, I find it very ballsey) or even an Imagineering great like Tony become part of the attraction (even with his ego, I don't believe for a second that this idea came from him!)

I wonder how many of the UNI Creatives have nods inside the FJ queue ... what's that you say? None ... interesting priorities.

Now now Spirit we both know if they did that JKR would of done something so unMAGICAL to UC. If Holmes was so unliked how has it took them this long to get rid of him? And then make a portrait of him - at least he is painted like the villain of Hunchback I s'pose.

 

[WDW1974]

Not necessary today, agreed.
But...in some future time where more guests are (by necessity) standing in standby queues for extended lengths if time, those stories could prove to be quite welcome diversions.

I've been thinking about it a but, and I think Indy at DL could be seen as the first NextGen style queue. Long standby queue with loads of interactive elements and visual treats. They knew guests were going to be in that line forever, and so they did what they could to bake the wait bearable.

Now, looking ahead to the implementation of the new FP system, I see a similar trend. Pile as much story and stimulus into the queue to entertain the guests that will be spending long stretches of time there.

They aren't adding story for fun, they are adding it to address a foreseen need.

Indy was built that way for two reasons. One, they knew how popular it would be and wanted to add things while people were waiting 2-3-4 hours (yes, they did!) to ride. Two, part was necessitated by the need to get people beyond the berm and out into the showbuilding.

FWIW, most of those effects haven't worked in years, but one would hope that is being fixed now with the ride down for six months.

 

[WDW1974]

Now now Spirit we both know if they did that JKR would of done something so unMAGICAL to UC. If Holmes was so unliked how has it took them this long to get rid of him? And then make a portrait of him - at least he is painted like the villain of Hunchback I s'pose.

Phil's bottom line shines like a shiny new BMW.

And that's really all that he and his superiors care about anyway.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Can you imagine a time when WDW resorts had no characters in their carpeting or wallpaper or curtains?

That's what happens when the people running Disney don't know what that word means beyond owning a stock of trademarked creations.

 

[SirLink]

Phil's bottom line shines like a shiny new BMW.

And that's really all that he and his superiors care about anyway.

Soon ... soon he will be gone. I take it Danny Boy is as bad.

 

[flynnibus]

Windows on MSUSA have always been a way of honoring greats (or sometimes, just those with political power) that have helped get the place built. They are as much as part of MSUSA as ... dare I suggest it ... a cinnamon bun.

My angle tho was that while yes.. they are a long tradition... they are subtle. They are for the most part up on second stories away from the eyes.. and even if you saw them.. they don't stand out as out of place. Tho I'd argue the volume of them has taken away from that.

That's different than what is happening now. I don't need to see the Fantasyland Imagineers honor themselves (again, that would be like me giving myself an award for the Most MAGICal Member Here Since 2008!) by painting cherubs with their faces or their children's on the ceiling of BoG ... or by seeing the current MK VP annoint himself with a paining in said land (considering how widely disliked he is both in and out of the company, I find it very ballsey) or even an Imagineering great like Tony become part of the attraction (even with his ego, I don't believe for a second that this idea came from him!)

I think its a combination of our 'knowledge' and their flaunting. I mean, hidden meanings in labels and signs are something they've always done. Those types of 'cameos' and the like are neat when done well. The old license plate things, etc. But like most things.. there is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing'. Now, we don't have subtle, we have in your face. But are they really that much more obvious? I think that is where the more educated current (through the availability of info on the net) fans hurt ourselves. It's so blatant because we know what was before, and what is added.

I mean we go back to Horizons... Tommy Boy even plays a starring role in several scenes. Is that as bad? For some reason I don't find a fault with that.. but these latest ones really rub me wrong. Maybe it's the vanity in the characters they are being overlaid onto?

Ah, but OBVIOUS MIckeys have become part of the fun of a MAGICal WDW Vacation. Get with the program or go to UNI, so the lines will be shorter for me (God, I love that ignorant line!)

I think we can agree it's basically just more of the dumbing down and relying on the gimmics/details rather than the core concepts that make something great.

It's almost as if WDI are making cheap knock offs of their own past works. Copying the techniques without grasping why they worked so well in their initial uses.

 

[GLaDOS]

Spirit, will DLR be subject to NextGen?

I hope not, but I fear the opposite.

 

[flynnibus]

Not necessary today, agreed.
But...in some future time where more guests are (by necessity) standing in standby queues for extended lengths if time, those stories could prove to be quite welcome diversions.

I've been thinking about it a but, and I think Indy at DL could be seen as the first NextGen style queue. Long standby queue with loads of interactive elements and visual treats. They knew guests were going to be in that line forever, and so they did what they could to bake the wait bearable.

Understand.. I do strongly believe that one of Disney's great contributions to the theme park experience is the themed queue and the conscious efforts to improve the 'wait experience'. From theming, to preshows, to the dedication to the grouper position, the greeter out front, etc. All set an expectation that improve upon the the guest experience.

But I'm not feeling it at this point how these elements are really going to improve upon that experience. Not only do they look like they will fall flat (like Space Mountains additions), they feel contrived (HM additions...), and don't seem to be a great fit into queuing dynamics. Dunno.. seems like ugly, gaudy, square peg trying to be forced into that sleek, efficient, round hole.