Walt Disney World General
Topic: Latest: Through Jim Hill Imagineer responds to fan criticisms

#	Author	Message
61	mickeyboy43 Mon 5/5/2008 7:18p	*In fact, some of the very same people worked on DisneySea at the same time as they were working on California Adventure.*** And yet, two completely different products. One rocks, the other... doesnt. And I agree, Jim HIll does sound completely ridiculous sometimes in his letters from people. Someone here or at Miceage described as him picking a name (Jim E.) and throwing a dart at a map (from Butt-Crack Pennsylvania I believe) and writing a letter to adress somethimg he wants to talk about. Either way, its another way to look at things, and though it is often annoying, its occaisonaly worth a look. Credibility left?
62	SingleParkPassholder Mon 5/5/2008 9:43p	I'm with leemac and the others. Unless Jim Hill produces a name and face to go with the comments, he's quoting his imaginary friend, not his imagineer friend. A lotta hoo-hah over nuthin'.
63	mickeyboy43 Mon 5/5/2008 10:16p	Like I said though, it brings him an oppurtunity to bring up whatever he feels like. I would like to meet the guy (JH) just to see how much of a nut he is and to find a face behind his writing. His style is so laid-back southern (like the way I used to talk in person), but he lives in the rugged backwoods of New Jersey?. I dunno. Id like to meet Lutz too.
64	DlandDug Mon 5/5/2008 10:20p	>>You know...Disneyland didn't have baby comfort stations for 50 years either but those ADD to the guest experience...at least from a parent perspective.<< Hmmm. The Baby Care Center (originally sponsored by Pablum) has been a feature of Main Street USA since 1955.
65	Dznygrl Tue 5/6/2008 2:01a	So let me get this straight. Stuff that's good enough to give "once in a lifetime" visitors a little giggle is the standard they're aiming for? The majority of this demographic doesn't even know the difference between Disney and Six Flags, nor do they care. Way to set the bar high. I really hope this letter is fake. If not, WDI could be in even more trouble than I thought.
66	SingleParkPassholder Tue 5/6/2008 5:20a	"I would like to meet the guy (JH) just to see how much of a nut he is and to find a face behind his writing. His style is so laid-back southern (like the way I used to talk in person), but he lives in the rugged backwoods of New Jersey?. I dunno. Id like to meet Lutz too." Er, .... ah, ... well,... you'd think that...ah- never mind.
67	jpjobes Tue 5/6/2008 7:17a	"Why? Because the APers know the most of what the "Disney touch" is and should be all about. Anything less makes it less Disney and more like just any other amusement park. If each generation strips away more and more of the "Disney touch", the brand will eventually cease to exist. Does it make good business sense to end up with just another amusement park?" If APers know the most about the "Disney touch", then they should be working for Disney, where they'll be able to make a difference. As a brand, no one would argue that Disney is in the development or introduction stage, some would say that the brand is still in the growth stage (as they expand and continue to diversify), some would say that the brand is in the maturity stage, but it would be hard to argue that the brand is in the stage of saturation, which occurs prior to the decline of a brand. Even at the theme parks, which now make up less than 20% of the company's revenue, that would theoretically mean that everyone who wanted to visit a Disney park had done just that. As long as the majority of visitors are first-time or infrequent, the existance of the Disney brand of theme park is not in danger. When the effective price for admission starts to drop, we'll know that the Disney park brand has reached a saturation point.
68	DlandDug Tue 5/6/2008 8:08a	>>...the existance of the Disney brand of theme park is not in danger.<< I don't think the post was commenting on the survival of Disney as a brand, but rather the viability of it as a unique brand. The salient question is this: >>Does it make good business sense to end up with just another amusement park?<< And it's a good question. Unfortunately, when the question was put to the MBAs and accountanteers who effectively steered the company through the 90s, the answer was a resounding "yes!" Disney theme parks are unique because of the original business model: Disneyland is a show. That is because it was built by a film producer who wanted to change the paradigm of an industry (amusement parks) that had basically gone stale and even negative in the minds of the paying public. That the public response was overwhelmingly positive is not in question. So the sharp pencil types, always looking at ways to increase profits, will try to figure ways to achieve the same results with a lower investment. The attitude, too often, is that attractions cost money, and shops and food outlets make money. So the "show" is sacrificed to make way for another gift shop or high end eatery. (DCA, anyone?) This has always been the issue with "show business." It takes a visionary entertainer to figure out what people want, and to then get it to them. As Walt Disney said, there's very little collateral in dreams.
69	dshyates Tue 5/6/2008 8:15a	"Our goal here is service the tens of millions of other guests for whom a Disney World vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." So the repeatability factor is no longer an issue? Since I have been before I guess they are done with me. "They're just going to be thrilled that they got to ride through a 3D shooting gallery that starred the 'Toy Story' characters." Is it just me or does this make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up? "we're not out to please the annual passholders." Good to know. I shan't run out and get one then. But if they aren't out to please the regulars then how long will they be regulars? Some wackos in marketing call those AP holders that Disney hates so much a "base demographic". Just piss off your base demo and see what happens. While TSM is less than exciting to me, and the IASW move just screams Special Ed Marketing 101. The scolding from Marty and this discounting of concerns in this article point to a Disney that deserves less of my attention and money. Hey, its their company.
70	Kar2oonMan Tue 5/6/2008 8:16a	Exactly right, Doug. And it takes an even more rare kind of vision -- someone to give the public what they want BEFORE they even know they want it. That's why no one on a guest survey came up with things like "I'd like a musical journey through a city being ransacked by fun-loving pirates" or "How about an attraction that shrinks people down to explore the world of the molecule?" Too many recent things at DL do appear to come directly from those surveys. If this Imagineer is indeed real, his/her attitude reveals an awful lot why things seem creatively lazy lately.

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