Any idea when we can buy WDW annual passes?

[Eric Smith]

I fear if Walt is alive today that the modern press would Vilify him. He was a conservative and in this hyper PC environment his views and actions would be not be received well. Heck, it was only a couple of years ago Meryl Streep took some real unsavory potshots on Walt's legacy (you can google it).

Can we stop with the political slant for at least a day?

 

[whiteness]

There are a ton of Disneyland passholders though. Even a small percentage of them would have an impact.

The Disneyland passholders that crowded the parks were primarily local. Unless they are willing to move to Central Florida, they would not have anywhere near the same impact at WDW. Non-local passholders' impact would be similar to WDW day ticket purchasers, IMHO, which are freely available now.

But, anyway, it's a moot point, because Disney has nothing much for Legacy Passholders: a magnet would be nice...

 

[whiteness]

It's not Walt vs Chapek. There have been a few other CEOs in the interim. You can't argue with the results.

Those other CEOs are no longer in charge, either.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I understand that they operate as two separate units, however they have a shared history, destiny and public image. Also, largely shared IP.

And, yes, Walt has nothing to do with it. He's dead. And what a pity, because he was the heart and soul of the business. Which has been sorely lacking in both since his untimely demise. We need leaders like Walt. Now more than ever.

Walt died 5 years before WDW even opened. If you think there’s been no heart and soul since he died, why do you even want an AP at all?

 

[whiteness]

Walt died 5 years before WDW even opened. If you think there’s been no heart and soul since he died, why do you even want an AP at all?

*Sigh* having ridden WDW's version of POTC, I concede your point.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

*Sigh* having ridden WDW's version of POTC, I concede your point.

I think there has been plenty of heart and soul poured into WDW over the years.

I am much more concerned about the impacts of the retirements/departures of legacy imagineers like Joe Rohde and Kevin Rafferty than wondering what Walt would think about ticket sales during a pandemic.

 

[AvidDisReader]

Can we stop with the political slant for at least a day?

No political slant intended, just stating an opinion. Did not say if I agreed or not. Historically speaking, one of the biggest problems I have with all politicians and pundits is we take historical figures out of the context of their day.

 

[Evita_W]

For those that did cancel and could qualify to purchase another one, it took 2 says short of a month to get a call back, but they automatically applied a previously purchased ticket and our DVC discount, so it was super simple.

 

[whiteness]

I am much more concerned about the impacts of the retirements/departures of legacy imagineers like Joe Rohde and Kevin Rafferty than wondering what Walt would think about things right now.

Anyway, the original point of my post was not whether the parks (or the company) is declining by degrees. Sometimes, it seems that way, but it is capable of creative brilliance, too, and I hope that will continue.

I just don't see Chapek walking the parks, talking to guests and taking a personal interest in their experience. Walt was a lot closer to the guests, and I think he would have felt their concerns more personally. Granted, the company is so much bigger now, and maybe even Walt would have distanced himself at this point in the company's evolution. Probably.

It is what it is. Let's hope that WDW is able to open up AP sales again soon.

 

[Eric Smith]

Those other CEOs are no longer in charge, either.

You said Walt was the "heart and soul of the business" which has declined since his passing. That's patently false.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It's not Walt vs Chapek. There have been a few other CEOs in the interim. You can't argue with the results.

well, Walt was never CEO ....

 

[whiteness]

You said Walt was the "heart and soul of the business" which has declined since his passing. That's patently false.

I would say that, in my opinion, the company's "heart and soul" has declined. Admittedly, this is highly subjective, and depends on what one does and does not value about a company and it's moral, as opposed to financial, compass.

But, the fact is, we simply cannot know how Walt, or anyone else would have handled this absolutely unprecedented pandemic. I can romanticize past leaders, but they were also a product of their times and context, so it is just conjecture and fantasy to imagine that they could have done anything differently, let alone better.

 

[Eric Smith]

well, Walt was never CEO ....

That's what OP said

 

[Eric Smith]

I would say that, in my opinion, the company's "heart and soul" has declined. Admittedly, this is highly subjective, and depends on what one does and does not value about a company and it's moral, as opposed to financial, compass.

But, the fact is, we simply cannot know how Walt, or anyone else would have handled this absolutely unprecedented pandemic. I can romanticize past leaders, but they were also a product of their times and context, so it is just conjecture and fantasy to imagine that they could have done anything differently, let alone better.

Walt crushed a union strike and made it so that the girl who voiced Snow White never found work again. I like Walt and I think he did good things, but there's a lot of romanticizing going on here.

 

[whiteness]

Walt crushed a union strike and made it so that the girl who voiced Snow White never found work again. I like Walt and I think he did good things, but there's a lot of romanticizing going on here.

He was a product of his times, for good and bad.

It's not possible to know how he would have handled the present situation. And it's not possible to know if the leaders that followed him could have built Disneyland (indeed, if they would have even tried.) This is all fantasy and conjecture anyway.

 

[rpb718]

I thought this was an AP thread, not a WWWD thread.

 

[vacationer1954]

Those other CEOs are no longer in charge, either.

The point is that they have done as much as Walt did for the company, if not individually at least collectively. Pile on top of Eisner and Iger, Jobs, Feige and Lucas, and Disney's most passionate supporters are going to eventually have to come to grips with the fact that the company that bears Walt's and Roy's name is much more a product of what it has become than what it was when Walt died. People trying to claim that it should all be about Walt sometimes flippantly say that if it isn't going to be exact as they personally think Walt would want it to be then it shouldn't be called the Disney Company anymore. Perhaps they're correct. "Industrial Light and Magic" would probably be a better corporate name.

 

[whiteness]

The point is that they have done as much as Walt did for the company, if not individually at least collectively. Pile on top of Eisner and Iger, Jobs, Feige and Lucas, and Disney's most passionate supporters are going to eventually have to come to grips with the fact that the company that bears Walt's and Roy's name is much more a product of what it has become than what it was when Walt died. People trying to claim that it should all be about Walt sometimes flippantly say that if it isn't going to be exact as they personally think Walt would want it to be then it shouldn't be called the Disney Company anymore. Perhaps they're correct. "Industrial Light and Magic" would probably be a better corporate name.

OK, I concede that all of those folks, collectively, and given the foundation, time, vast resources and etc. at their disposal, accomplished a lot with the park/parks they inherited.

I also think that Walt, given his initial starting point, resources at his disposal and sadly all too short time afforded to him, also accomplished a lot with "his" park.

I'll leave it to others to judge which accomplishments were relatively more impressive, all things considered.

 

[CastAStone]

Bob says stay on topic! Or else! *shakes fist*

 

[Pyotr]

It’s been over three weeks and I’m still waiting for Disney to call me back about my AP. I called last week and they said I was still on the list but they are 7-14 days behind.