How & What Would Roy Disney Jr Feel & Do?

[CJLove79]

*******To Pete & the Dis Crew******This would make a great topic of discussion for a Dis Unplugged show******

Hey everybody, I was reading articles about how Disney World has strayed away from its original credos & goals set by Walt. Pete even said a few Podcasts ago that the customer experience is virtually non existent based on their current & future plans. So then I started thinking what would've happened if Roy Disney Jr was still alive? He was the only direct Disney Family Member who was on the company's board and he was one of the most visible spokesman for the company. I still remember him doing the special intro to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on VHS. I chose Roy Jr because prior to his passing, he was, to me, a modern version of his famous uncle, heck he even looked like him. He was around during the internet age, he saw the Disney animation rennaissance, he was around for all of the major decisions pertaining to the parks prior to his death, etc. I've read tons of articles where Roy would make sure that the ideals of his uncle were still the foundation in the theme parks around the world. And at the same time, he made sure that there was still innovations to move the company forward.

So I bring this topic to my fellow Dizzers. How do you think Roy would feel about the following:

MyMagic Plus
FastPass Plus
The constant crashing of the systems
Non Disney entities in their parks (Avatar)
Inconsistent theming (Frozen in World Showcase)
Loss of detail on some attractions
The slow decline in cleanliness/maintenance of the parks
Overall decline in guest experience

I have my own opinion which would be a whole novel if I posted it entirely on here so I'll try to be brief. Even though he wasn't on the Board during the tail end of his life, I feel that if he was, he would've helped steered the ship in the right direction. The company as a whole is great and they've made some great decisions since his passing. But if he was still alive and well, still an active & powerful member of the Board, I can honestly see him ripping Iger a new one for messups like the Free Dining episode. This man embodied everything his uncle held near and dear to him. He cared about the main things that made Walt start Disney World / Land in the first place, to build a magical place for families to escape to, a place to leave your worries aside, a Hakuna Matata oasis. LOL. I think MyMagic Plus, My Disney Experience as a whole would've been fixed a long time ago, I think we wouldn't have Frozen in EPCOT, we would have it in New FantasyLand, I don't even think Avatar would've even been considered for an attraction. I feel he would've tried to hire more people to keep the parks cleaner. They're clean for the most part but in comparison to how it was in the past, there's some tweaking needed. All in all, I think the above major issues would not be major issues if Roy was still around.

Ok everybody, give me your input, let's talk about this....

 

[BugsDaddy]

I think everyone has their opinion but I don't see as much "wrong" with the parks as you see. I think that Disney needs to put more emphasis on the customer experience but not all things they have come out with in the last several years have been bad, in my eyes.

Also, time has a way of making the past look much more ideal than it really was.

Walt was not about standing pat and not utilizing the technology that was available to him. In fact, he loved technology. I think he would be right on board with MyMagic Plus and Fastpass plus. By the way, both Walt and Roy were very involved with integrating their movie themes into the park so I think they would also be on board with both Avatar and Frozen.

I would say that you have a point when it comes to the details in regards to cleanliness of the parks and maintenance. I think more emphasis needs to be placed on that and also getting their IT systems up to a standard that everyone would expect from such a large company.

 

[CJLove79]

I think everyone has their opinion but I don't see as much "wrong" with the parks as you see. I think that Disney needs to put more emphasis on the customer experience but not all things they have come out with in the last several years have been bad, in my eyes.

Also, time has a way of making the past look much more ideal than it really was.

Walt was not about standing pat and not utilizing the technology that was available to him. In fact, he loved technology. I think he would be right on board with MyMagic Plus and Fastpass plus. By the way, both Walt and Roy were very involved with integrating their movie themes into the park so I think they would also be on board with both Avatar and Frozen.

I would say that you have a point when it comes to the details in regards to cleanliness of the parks and maintenance. I think more emphasis needs to be placed on that and also getting their IT systems up to a standard that everyone would expect from such a large company.

Oh yeah man, I feel that both Roy and Walt would be cool about My Disney Experience and technology as a whole also. I just feel that if Roy was still around, he would definitely make sure that the site doesn't crash as often as it does. As far as mixing movies into the theme park, of course mixing Frozen makes sense, it's Avatar that doesn't. I love Avatar first off, can't wait for the sequels. Having an attraction dedicated to it is fine..... SOMEWHERE ELSE. LOL. I don't think it's right for Disney and feel that as theme rich the movie is, Roy would probably pass on it while asking Cameron to partner with them in other ways. I have to say that this thread is heavily opinion based but it's a great topic.

 

[GAN]

For some reason, Disney's IT has never been up to the standard for the times -so I'm pretty certain it wouldn't matter if Roy was around or not. Now, I would hope that cleanliness and guest experience would be near the top of his list.

As a side note, I had a stroke of luck at the 20th WDW Anniversary -as I was making my way down a fairly crowded Main Street, I looked up and found myself right in front of Roy and Michael Eisner. I basically thanked them and told them they were doing a great job, they returned the thanks and told me to enjoy the rest of my day!

 

[OKW Lover]

Just a really minor point - he wasn't "Roy Disney Jr", he was Roy E (for Elias) Disney. His Dad was Roy O (for Oliver) Disney.

 

[CJLove79]

Thanks, I stand corrected. I said Roy Jr mainly so people will know which Roy I was talking about. LOL.

 

[OKW Lover]

Now to address the OP's actual question and supposition; I didn't know Roy personally but did root for him during what I'd call the "Eisner revolt". I don't know how anybody could assume that Roy would like/hate the current state of the Disney Company, its films and parks unless they really knew Roy. Similarly, I'd say the same about Walt. Sadly, the number of folks that worked with either one (especially Walt) is getting smaller every day.

Basically it seems to me that anybody who says Roy (or Walt) would have hated/loved something in the parks or film is simply projecting their feelings.

 

[CJLove79]

Oh yeah, most definitely this thread is more opinion based than anything. Granted most of us didn't know them personally. But I was asking for the opinions based on what we do know about them. I will never claim to be an expert but I've done some research. So I based my opinion from what I learned about Roy accomplishments and what he tried to accomplish before he died a few years back.

 

[tjevans]

Now to address the OP's actual question and supposition; I didn't know Roy personally but did root for him during what I'd call the "Eisner revolt". I don't know how anybody could assume that Roy would like/hate the current state of the Disney Company, its films and parks unless they really knew Roy. Similarly, I'd say the same about Walt.

Basically it seems to me that anybody who says Roy (or Walt) would have hated/loved something in the parks or film is simply projecting their feelings.

To an extent, yes. However, one can take their public statements and extrapolate from that (assuming that they remained logically consistent--something humans tend to not do).

For example, Walt said in an interview that he didn't care about money. To him, it was just a tool to make stuff with. (And as an aside, anyone familiar with the history of the Disney company knows this is true. It was Roy's job to try to find ways to afford Walt's dreams). He also stated, according to a recent podcast with Jim Hill, that he didn't think more than 40,000 people should be in DL at any given time; the crowd detracted from guests' enjoyment. Given those statements, one could logically surmise that Walt would be against maximizing profit at the expense of the guest experience. Whether current policies, such as MM+, does that, is a subject on which people may differ.

 

[CJLove79]

To an extent, yes. However, one can take their public statements and extrapolate from that (assuming that they remained logically consistent--something humans tend to not do).

For example, Walt said in an interview that he didn't care about money. To him, it was just a tool to make stuff with. (And as an aside, anyone familiar with the history of the Disney company knows this is true. It was Roy's job to try to find ways to afford Walt's dreams). He also stated, according to a recent podcast with Jim Hill, that he didn't think more than 40,000 people should be in DL at any given time; the crowd detracted from guests' enjoyment. Given those statements, one could logically surmise that Walt would be against maximizing profit at the expense of the guest experience. Whether current policies, such as MM+, does that, is a subject on which people may differ.

See? That's why I feel that Roy Disney would've made sure that the company can still be cutting edge with the parks without sacrificing the guest experience. Pete said how the old commercials use to talk up the guest experience and now they don't which is true. Roy was carrying out his father, mainly his uncle's, legacy. So I seriously doubt we would have the tech issues or decline in Park maintenance issues that Disney World has been having the last few years. I'm a Disney fanatic till the day I die, I hope that one day someone will give the guest experience a great shot in the arm. Bob Iger has been outstanding as head of the company so far. I just wished that in addition to the major corporate achievements he's made, he also innovated and enhanced the customer experience. Don't get me wrong, I Love MDE and the MagicBands, they're brilliant for a techie like me. I just feel that if Roy was still around, he would've saw to it that the customer experience was still substantially present.

 

[kbelle8995]

I don't know how Walt or Roy would feel about the current state of the parks or the company. Anything I say regarding that would be putting my feelings about certain things on them.

I don't like MB or MDE but then again not a techie person and not everyone who visits the parks is. It's changing in this day and age. Walt as we know loved new technology while Roy was more fiscally conservative. They made a brilliant team. I have mixed feeling about both Eisner and Iger. I think that they have made good decisions and bad ones. I think Disneyland has greatly improved what they are giving guests whereas I think what WDW does is hit and miss

I don't know how Walt or Roy would feel about it. Is it fair to say they would like some things and dislike other things? To say they would love certain things and hate others seems to be imprinting my opinions on the legacy of these two men.