Why does it take so long to complete a Disney project

Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Ralphlaw said:
Construction takes 3 years? I'm not naïve, and I know that some additional planning and modifications are probably required as well, but taking 3 years to build the thing is akin to Thomas Friedman's year to fix a broken escalator. Again, given that pace, it would have taken 10 years to build MK and Epcot after breaking ground. That can't be what you're saying.
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Sorry, but, I disagree with that completely (except for the Thomas Friedman escalator caper, of which I have no knowledge)
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
marni1971 said:
The Universal parks still have a can-do mentality where problems and decisions can be made on the fly. Disney projects have too many decisions still made by committee.
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Which can be both a good thing or a bad thing. I can not begin to tell you the extra work that can be created when the wrong person makes a decision on the fly.
 
R

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
Sorry, but, I disagree with that completely (except for the Thomas Friedman escalator caper, of which I have no knowledge)
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What might help convince me is a timeline. I know that nobody here knows precisely what is happening with the Rat project, but a breakdown of every 6 months might be very interesting. What is happening during this first 6 months? And then the second 6 months? And forward until opening? I just have this gut feeling that most of those 6 month timeframes could be painlessly condensed to 2 or 3 months, some tasks could be done simultaneously, etc . . . Yes, Disney can take it's own sweet time if it wants to, but it certainly makes me wonder how inefficient the entire management structure has become. Again, quit talking and begin doing. Does anybody at Disney remember that Walt said that?
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Master Yoda said:
Which can be both a good thing or a bad thing. I can not begin to tell you the extra work that can be created when the wrong person makes a decision on the fly.
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Oh indeed, that as well. It's not just a joiner or spark who makes the decision on the floor - it has to go higher - but the decision can be made in minutes or hours, not weeks. As frequently happens.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Ralphlaw said:
What might help convince me is a timeline. I know that nobody here knows precisely what is happening with the Rat project, but a breakdown of every 6 months might be very interesting. What is happening during this first 6 months? And then the second 6 months? And forward until opening? I just have this gut feeling that most of those 6 month timeframes could be painlessly condensed to 2 or 3 months, some tasks could be done simultaneously, etc . . . Yes, Disney can take it's own sweet time if it wants to, but it certainly makes me wonder how inefficient the entire management structure has become. Again, quit talking and begin doing. Does anybody at Disney remember that Walt said that?
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Could be... also could be a whole lot less then inefficiency and be planned procedure, that you or I might not agree with because we have one constant desire... we want the new attraction. They have a whole lot of things going on at the same time. Prioritizing is not inefficiency, it can be seen as good management. And since we don't know the details all we can do is say they don't know what they are doing. My point is that we just don't know, but, we do so love to sit in our armchairs and criticize without having a clue. I guess it does no harm because we don't have the power to do anything about it anyway, but, what an exercise in futility.
 
POLY LOVER

POLY LOVER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
danheaton said:
Having worked at a very large company for years, I think a big part of it is the amount of layers that a project must go through at an entity the size of Disney. There's no comparison between this corporation and the company that Walt ran or even the one that built Epcot in the late '70s and early '80s. Disney also uses a lot of outside vendors wherever they can, and that will be slower (but more cost-effective in general) that doing it with in-house staff.

With all that said, I do believe that Disney moves slower than it should at times. I recognize that these are complex attractions that often incorporate new technologies, but you just don't see the sense of urgency to get the parks updated more quickly. That also relates to the size of the company. They're focusing on quarterly earnings as a mature company than on growing attendance through attractions.
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I guess when the numbers are good you can take as much time as you want. I guess we will just have to wait until the numbers tank and a competitor lights a fire under them. You'll see how fast they can bring a project in.
 
R

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
I suppose Return On Investment is also a big part of my concern. Pixar invested millions to make the movie. DLP invested millions to build the first Rat attraction. Presumably millions are already being spent to get the thing built in Orlando.

A good company manages its cashflow intelligently by getting as much ROI as quickly as possible. Yes, the movie was paid for many times over, but there is still more to be made. Plus, tons of money is currently being spent. Waiting for three years to get an additional return on both those investments (the movie itself and the money going into the future ride at Epcot) is not a smart decision. If I pay one of my employees $20 per hour to work on a project, I would like to have a return an that $20 per hour as soon as possible, not three years from now. No, the project shouldn't be rushed and have problems down the road, but something tells me that they really don't "need" three years to prevent those problems. (Plus, some problems may occur no matter how much planning goes into it.)
 
POLY LOVER

POLY LOVER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ralphlaw said:
I suppose Return On Investment is also a big part of my concern. Pixar invested millions to make the movie. DLP invested millions to build the first Rat attraction. Presumably millions are already being spent to get the thing built in Orlando.

A good company manages its cashflow intelligently by getting as much ROI as quickly as possible. Yes, the movie was paid for many times over, but there is still more to be made. Plus, tons of money is currently being spent. Waiting for three years to get an additional return on both those investments (the movie itself and the money going into the future ride at Epcot) is not a smart decision. If I pay one of my employees $20 per hour to work on a project, I would like to have a return an that $20 per hour as soon as possible, not three years from now. No, the project shouldn't be rushed and have problems down the road, but something tells me that they really don't "need" three years to prevent those problems. (Plus, some problems may occur no matter how much planning goes into it.)
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Great points, another thought is the way technology moves today. three years is a lifetime in the tech world. Three years from now the ideas and design you started with can be dated/obsolete. Your competition can make your brand new ride look like an Edsel.
 
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POLY LOVER

POLY LOVER

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I see today that the NBA experience will open in 2019? A year before the rat ride. So that blows a lot of the justification for the rat ride taking 3 years out of the water.
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
Why does it take so long? Simple......
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