When did Disney start overpromising and under delivering?

durangojim

durangojim

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I’ve been a Disney fan for close to 50 years, especially the theme parks, but over the past five years or more, in addition to the decline of service and quality, Disney seems to say they’re going to do one thing and then do something much less ambitious. Galaxy’s Edge may be the most egregious example of this. Promising a dinner show, roaming droids and aliens, guest reputation, etc. Even the Toy Story Land concepts were grander than what we got. I don’t get this same impression from Universal. Will Disney ever exhaust its good will and reputation capital with guests or should we just assume that when Disney shows introduces concepts they’re nothing more than ideas which may or may not actually happen with the amount of detail that was shown?
 
John park hopper

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
durangojim said:
I’ve been a Disney fan for close to 50 years, especially the theme parks, but over the past five years or more, in addition to the decline of service and quality, Disney seems to say they’re going to do one thing and then do something much less ambitious. Galaxy’s Edge may be the most egregious example of this. Promising a dinner show, roaming droids and aliens, guest reputation, etc. Even the Toy Story Land concepts were grander than what we got. I don’t get this same impression from Universal. Will Disney ever exhaust its good will and reputation capital with guests or should we just assume that when Disney shows introduces concepts they’re nothing more than ideas which may or may not actually happen with the amount of detail that was shown?
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You have pretty much summed up my feelings about Disney. It began about 15 - 25 years ago and has only gotten worse
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
I think you could begin to see a decline beginning towards the end of Eisner run when he started to lose focus on Dis and get more self focused. That began the fight to try to get him out. But the real fall started shortly into the Iger years when he tried ( and some will say succeeded ) to make Disney a global entity, reaching out to diversify the brand. At that point so much was ignored and put on the back burner because there were other major interests to focus on. The guest interest and pleasure was no longer the goal or primary thing that mattered.
A lot comes down with both Eisner and Iger putting their own reputation and interest first. They wanted to be seen as major players and fit in with other big wigs of industry.
 
T

TalkToEthan

Well-Known Member
Overpromise and under deliver 2001:

Based on models, drawings, interviews/presentations and generalized hype Disney grossly misrepresented California Adventure
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
durangojim said:
I don’t get this same impression from Universal.
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Universal quite wisely does the opposite: dribbles out very little information until the last minute (e.g., Velocicoaster was built in plain sight for months before Universal would admit it was anything other than a new churro cart, which became a running joke), or until (as with Epic) something is so far along that it's a certainty.

I don't even bother getting excited about anything Disney announces anymore: they've cried wolf (or cried "ameeeezing stuff coming"), only to have a project canceled or the best parts whittled away, so many times now that there's just no point.
 
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Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
IMHO Disney has given their creatives a little too much press time too early in a project's lifecycle since the internet became a thing. It can only end in disappointment when you let someone from WDI go on and on about what they invision on barely green-lit project before the finance, legal, and engineering departments have even seen the concept art.

Many ideas are great on paper but don't work in the real world. Given the option, it is always better to underpromise and over-deliver.
 
el_super

el_super

Well-Known Member
Since 1955:

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danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Master Yoda said:
IMHO Disney has given their creatives a little too much press time too early in a project's lifecycle since the internet became a thing. It can only end in disappointment when you let someone from WDI go on and on about what they invision on barely green-lit project before the finance, legal, and engineering departments have even seen the concept art.

Many ideas are great on paper but don't work in the real world. Given the option, it is always better to underpromise and over-deliver.
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I agree with this, but I wonder how many guests this actually impacts? I wonder what percentage of guests are immersed in Disney news day to day?
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
danlb_2000 said:
I agree with this, but I wonder how many guests this actually impacts? I wonder what percentage of guests are immersed in Disney news day to day?
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Not much before having widespread internet access. Now that we have 24/7 access in our pockets, it is almost impossible to escape. Disney can't so much as release a new cupcake without an army of people posting it on every social media platform in existence.

In the long long ago, info was a little harder to come by. You could find stuff if you dug for it but you weren't hit over the head with it every time you looked at your phone. Hell, I can remember showing up to WDW in early April of 1998 and being completely taken by surprise that there was 4th park open for previews and I lived only 160 miles from WDW.
 
O

ohioguy

Well-Known Member
Sadly, I think it's a trend for may companies. I know Apple has been doing this for a few years now. Better to remain silent and surprise than reveal all your cards upfront. I don't know if it's the pressures of competition or the demands of stockholders who are to blame.
 
bwr827

bwr827

Well-Known Member
They should definitely take more of the Universal approach and stay quiet, at least on details, until closer to reality.

The microscope of fandom is the problem. And expectations are everything.

While Galaxy’s Edge was being developed, I was not paying any attention to WDW. I knew they were building a Star Wars land, that’s it. After it opened, I heard that it was tough to get on Rise.

I didn’t know or expect any of the extra features the OP mentioned. So, when I eventually visited, I was blown away by what is there. I loved it.

Compare that experience with someone grumbling their way past Millennium Falcon, seeing only what was missing.
 

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