WDI Layoffs

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Hey, maybe theyre just clearing out salary space to bring Tony back?

Please don't tease us like that. My heart skipped a beat.

Can anybody post names at all? I literally cannot find anything about this anywhere.

I haven't been able to find a single word outside of this thread...

FWIW I'm not posting names because:

A.) I could be wrong

B.) I don't think I am and I don't wanna be "that guy" who outed it.

It was very hard to find ppl to talk about WDI today. The silence is deafening.

Dang.

I'm hoping Joe is at least safe for now ...so Pandora/ Marvel stuff can get the Joe Treatment. :\ As for the rest... ehh... if a house clearing is necessary, then it's necessary... still sucks to hear, though.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yea, no. At the Conference Call last week, UNIversal Beijing is fully designed already.

Universal Studios Beijing to open in 2020. All attractions are already designed and laid out. They have been working on this park for 12 years.

So if anything, these hires are for the third park and future expansions that Uni is poaching.

Universal Studios Beijing has finished Concept Design. And while Universal includes a lot of detail at that level it does not at all mean design is done. The current phase is Schematic Design, then Design Development, then Construction Documents.

 

[pheneix]

It's on Twitter so here we go!

Joe Rhode has apparently been sacked from WDI. Tom Firzgerald too.

 

[Cletus]

It's on Twitter so here we go!

Joe Rhode has apparently been sacked from WDI. Tom Firzgerald too.

HOLY SMOKES! Joe??

 

[COProgressFan]

It's on Twitter so here we go!

Joe Rhode has apparently been sacked from WDI. Tom Firzgerald too.

Wow.

 

[Cletus]

https://twitter.com/westcoasternet/status/761563346818654213?lang=en

 

[asianway]

It's on Twitter so here we go!

Joe Rhode has apparently been sacked from WDI. Tom Firzgerald too.

I wonder what Joe's LTD tally is for expense reports

 

[Coaster Lover]

Wow... if true, Joe has been sort of the unofficial face of WDI for a few years now... if he is gone, do you think we ever see the Yeti actually get fixed now?

 

[pheneix]

Plausible deniability fully on order over here. I'm glad he "went there" so I could.

https://twitter.com/westcoasternet/status/761563346818654213?lang=en

 

[Coaster Lover]

Just goes to show... that "dream job" of being an Imagineer for Disney might not be the dream that many thought it would be...

 

[Andrew C]

Wait...where does it say Joe Rohde has been let go?

 

[asianway]

Wait...where does it say Joe Rohde has been let go?

On the westcoasternet twitter, corroborated by the OP

 

[Andrew C]

On the westcoasternet twitter, corroborated by the OP

yeah, I am just not finding that on the twitter feed itself...

Edit: ahh I see the post about "earrings" so I assume that is it...

 

[Voxel]

yeah, I am just not finding that on the twitter feed itself...

It's not directly said but implied with wonder if earrings get seperate severance packages

 

[zakattack99]

yeah, I am just not finding that on the twitter feed itself...

Edit: ahh I see the post about "earrings" so I assume that is it...

https://mobile.twitter.com/westcoasternet/status/761562038216732672

EDIT: See you found it... I will leave this for others

 

[spresso81]

It's on Twitter so here we go!

Joe Rhode has apparently been sacked from WDI. Tom Firzgerald too.

I am not shocked by this news. Pandora is way over budget to the point money is being reallocated to cover for its expenses from other projects. All of the world travel for research purposes by Joe and team might have been nice – but Chappies more operational focus sees this as excessive and a huge waste of money. In some ways, I think keeping Imagineering inline on costs is a good thing (I hate to side with ops but Imagineering costs are just wacky at Disney) as it should not cost over $100 mil to building a family coaster in fantasyland or $300-400 million to build TSL. Either someone is cooking the books or bad at managing costs.


Pros & cons on this news:


Pro - I will not have to see Joe’s gross giant earing again! I have never liked seeing it on TV and seeing live at the AKL was not any better.


Con - He did amazing work at AK and I think Everest even w/o the Yeti is an amazing ride/experience.

 

[Sonconato]

Joe...my last hope...I'm going to get sick now.

 

[Andrew C]

To be honest...a massive WDI and parks reorganization could be a good thing...we will have to see how it all plays out.

 

[peter11435]

Joe...my last hope...I'm going to get sick now.

This is not the first time this has been rumored. I wouldn't freak out until we know for sure.

 

[todd23]

It seems weird they would get rid of Joe Rohde so shortly after having him as the face of the Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy change at DCA.