| # | Author | Message |
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| ADMIN
Mon 10/19/2009 1:54p | Message removed by an administrator. Click here for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards. |
12
| ADMIN
Mon 10/19/2009 1:58p | Message removed by an administrator. Click here for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards. |
13
| Spirit of 74
Mon 10/19/2009 2:10p | Thanks for the post, Lee.
I can tell it was heart-felt and I completely agree with it.
I also hope we're wrong about the future of WDI ... but I don't think so.
The Weatherman has no passion for the parks and Jay ... well, what more can I say. A friend and I joked that he must have a contractual clause that gives him a $15,000 bonus everytime he actually has to go on a ride at a park.
And I don't see Jay going anywhere until The Weatherman does.
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14
| davewasbaloo
Mon 10/19/2009 2:13p | It is very sad to hear you confirm what my fears have been. Disney seem to forget that it is their IP that is their USP, and although BPO strategies are not new, there has to be a creative heart.
Baby and bathwater really seem to come to mind.
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15
| skinnerbox
Mon 10/19/2009 3:54p | Thanks much for the posts, Lee. Very detailed and heartfelt. You spent a great deal of time writing them and it shows. Very much appreciated!
Regarding the future direction for Imagineering, I suspect the answer can be found in another part of the company. I keep hearing from my animation friends that Iger positively drools over the prospect of changing DAS in Burbank into a non-union shop like Pixar, to reduce pay and benefits. I don't know if it's actually feasible for him to do this, but apparently, the desire is strong.
Now, apply the non-union animators wet dream for Burbank to the highly paid designers at WDI in Glendale. Sure, they aren't union, but... they could become a job shop like Uni Creative, with just a handful of permanent salaried employees managing contracting/consulting designers, who receive no benefits and price bid with other job shoppers for the projects. Given what's been happening with the layoffs and forced retirements of senior Imagineers, I believe that this is exactly what Iger and Rasulo want WDI to become.
If Iger and Rasulo want to create theme parks a la Six Flags, they have the right. But... taking Disney parks and charging Disney prices while watering down the Disney Magical Experience to be more akin with Six Flags... that will ultimately backfire, especially with disposable income becoming less and less available.
Someone should start a WDI Layoff/Retirement betting pool (which second generation Imagineer is next to go, in which month, etc.)
If Chris Tietz and Tom Morris haven't already left, I'm guessing one of them is next, probably by January.
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| Jim in Merced CA
Mon 10/19/2009 4:06p | <Tim might have been able to draw, but let's face it many of the things he did over the last 15 years were design failures.>
What a crappy and inaccurate comment. And so untrue, as Leemac's post shows. |
17
| mstaft
Mon 10/19/2009 6:55p | I had read all about DLP Discoveryland before I ever saw it years later. I was astounded at its intricate beauty and detail- it was even better yhan I thought it could be. Maybe Tim's best work ever. After seeing that in 1998, it was clear his hands were tied with regards to his DCA work. Tim's genius will be missed. |
18
| ADMIN
Tue 10/20/2009 12:53a | Message removed by an administrator. Click here for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards. |
19
| sjhym33
Tue 10/20/2009 5:28p | This topic has been on my mind all day. Not just because I know many of the people talked about but because of the saddness it brings. It is sad for me to see how Disney has become a shell of itself. Imagineering not only was the highest honor you could achieve but in some ways it always seemed to be the last stand for the Disney I remember and went to work for. While the stalwarts remained in Imagineering there always seemed to be hope that Disney would return to its core and build incredible attractions that no one else could even come close to. As the Imagineering ranks get thinner and thinner and talent is "retired" I hold very little hope that Disney will ever be the leader it once was. |
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| sjhym33
Tue 10/20/2009 5:30p | And I have often wondered what Roy Disney thinks about the can of worms he opened years ago. |
