IT's Time for Disney to let someone else run it's parks

[tuck]

WDW and DL need to be runned by a outside company or bought out by a outside company ... like Tokyo Disneyland is runned.. Disney gets rolyities and designs attactions... but thats IT.... Eisner is flushing the parks down the toilet and with a outside company running it... everyone is Happy... Disney gets money and the visitors gets better runned parks to enjoy... their's a few that thinks this is a bad idea.... BUT... I think TOKYO DISNEYLAND/DISNEY SEA has more magic and immagination than any other Disney parks......and THAT's a FACT.... cause you got a owner that cares about it's parks and visitors.....

 

[seashoreCM]

Careful, careful!

Let's not have Disney act too fast on this one.

Otherwise we won't have Walt Disney World any more. It'll be Marriottworld in this corner, Motel6world somewhere, 6Flagsworld somewhere else, Hersheyworld, Ramadaworld, Cokeworld, Sonyworld, and so on, maybe even a Universalworld smack dab in the middle.

Once that magnificent 47 square mile piece of land known as WDW is sold off piece by piece, it can never be put back together again.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Bob O]

I dont want a outside company to run the parks at all. But disney needs to get rid of the current ceo-eisner- and bring in some one new to run the company. And get out of trying to run a tv station and go back to the roots of the company.
Running the parks and creating movies be they live action/animated. They have gotten too far away from what the company great by spreading themselves way too thin into subjects that dont mix with what made this a great company.

 

[Dznefreek]

get rid of the current ceo-eisner- and bring in some one new to run the company

Remember you could get someone worse............2 words Mike Ovitz.

 

[Mr D]

Sell DCA to Yahoo

Or better yet, a reputable food chain such as Wendy's or Subway.

But my guess is that it will for at least 10 years be the Edsel of Disney, would have been better if it was a Tucker....

 

[ohanafamily]

If the other parks can be looked at as an example, DCA will get better over time. I do not agree that an outside company should buy the parks; I do hope that the new leadership will appreciate the Disney "Cash Cow" that the parks once were, and work to restore them.

 

[manning]

"Remember you could get someone worse............2 words Mike Ovitz."
-----------------------------


Then again, you could get someone better!!

 

[Panthius]

After Paul Pressler decided to, thankfully, take the CEO position of Gap, didn't Disney name Jay (?) Rasulo to head the American parks for Disney? I am willing to give Mr. Rasulo some time to show what he can do. I do not know anything of what he has done in the past, but I do know that the chances are very likely that he will not be any worse than Paul Pressler.

Panthius

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

It could be a LOT worse. Many companies have tried their hand at theme parks and self destructed. Six Flags parks have become an embarrassment. Marriott tried and failed. Its better to have the devil you know than the devil you don't. It takes a very special talent and tons of cash to do what Disney does.

Guests at the Japan parks spend more then at the american parks. Right now investment is paying off there as it did here in the nineties when every new thing increased revenue. That may change as growth slows. (As it did here)

Disney will continue and cut costs until spending big is the only answer to kick start visits again. The real danger, to me anyway, is if they decide at some point that the necessary capital will no longer achieve an appropriate return for investors. And then they could spin off the parks to someone much worse than Disney.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[King Triton]

I noticed there has been some bad decisions over the recent years concerning the parks. Example: Getting rid of Horizons and World of Motion, and going cheap on DCA (they need to add more broadway type shows like Aladin to save that park). Disney needs someone who understands the importance of keeping the Disney magic. Not putting in the cheapest ride. Forget about bending over backwards to please teenagers with thrill rides. Thrill rides are OK, but combine that with Disney's unique dark rides. Tokyo DisneySea has the True Disney Magic. What where they thinking when they built DCA?? Epcot or AK needs a ride like "Journey Into the Center Of Earth." That awesome ride is a prime example of combining a thrill and dark ride. Why can't we have that over here?? Disney is right on track with Fantasmic and the Spectromagic parade - now that's is the Disney touch. I'm still bummed out over the bad decisions to improve Epcot. Don't remove Horizons - build a Horizons II ride. Add a dark ride to every country in the world showcase at Epcot. Come on Disney - use your imagination! I love Disney with all my heart - that's why I want them to do it right.

 

[mickeyfan1]

that DL would always be evolving? Sorry to disagree, but Horizons and World of Motion were old, and needed updating. Corporate sponsors put their cash elsewhere, pavilions are remodeled, torn down, and changed with new sponsorship. Or the old sponsor is willing to foot the bill for a remodel, SSE and Test Track, same sponsor, redone rides. I don't see any reason to have a ride in every country, but there is room for renovations at some of the countries. And I am a DCA cheerleader. If you read the reasoning behind it, it makes perfiect sense. I am sorry that so many people think, it's not DL, so it's bad. No it's not DL, it's a totally different concept. I love Soaring over California, the ferris wheel is cool, 2 rides in one. I haven't ridden either coaster yet, but I will. I went there with an open mind, to see what the next park was like. I loved it. I think it will get better with time.

JMHO, I expect flames...................

 

[ohanafamily]

mickeyfan1,

I might have tried to flame you if I could remember Horizons, but I never even realized where it was until after it closed. DW told me about it.

I would like to see more rides at EPCOT, but I do understand that we are not dealing with a perfect world (or administration, but I wanted to use the pun...)

I am also on record for telling people that it takes 3-5 years for a new park to get to the point where it is a destination; look at DL Paris, how long did it take to be accepted in Europe.

It takes time for the rides to develope etc.

I am sure I will be corrected by someone with real statistics, but I still say DCA needs a couple of years before it blooms. JMHO as well

 

[raidermatt]

Disn't Walt say that DL would always be evolving?

Why yes he did! And perhaps you can fill me in on just how DL is evolving in anyway that would fit with Walt's concepts... I don't think that when Walt said the parks would always be changing/evolving and never finished, that he meant DL's Tomorrowland would "evolve" into a deserted warehouse district.

Epcot is sinking fast, and its due to a lack of attention. The numbers show that Test Track has done very little to slow the decline in attendance.

I have no problem at all with just about ANY attraction being replaced, as long as its done for the right reasons, and as long as its done with Disney quality and showmanship, and with Disney's goal of providing FAMILY entertainment.

There has been far too little of that in recent years.

As for DCA, there's nothing wrong with liking it. Everybody has different tastes. But when you evaluate something Disney has done, or what ANY company does for that matter, we have to look beyond what just you or I like. Sure, we can offer our opinions about whether we think the Disney audience will like something, but we cannot argue with what the audience actually does, and there's just not enough people who like DCA.

 

[KNWVIKING]

... I don't think anyone actually dislikes DCA, there just isn't enough of it to justify the admission price. The park has great potential and hopefully ToT is just the beginning.

 

[Razor Roman]

Originally posted by raidermatt
Epcot is sinking fast, and its due to a lack of attention. The numbers show that Test Track has done very little to slow the decline in attendance.

Am I the only one that thinks Test Track is a stupid idea for a ride? Or at least a ride that is the centerpiece of Epcot?

"Ride in a GM Car at 60mph!" I did that when my fiancee and I took her Impala for a drive from NJ to WDW last year!

I was a College Program CM when Test Track opened, and love Disney, but it's a lame ride to advertise as the center of the park.

The rest of Epcot comes off as a shopping mall with a $45 admission fee.

 

[raidermatt]

I don't think anyone actually dislikes DCA, there just isn't enough of it to justify the admission price.

Depends how you define dislike. It is an amusement/theme park after all.

But it does not appeal to the Disney audience. And, yes, it was meant to. It was supposed to convince current visitors to add at least a full day to their trips, and sometimes even 2 or 3. But the guests don't do it, and the local guests don't come unless you throw it in with a Disneyland admission, like Disney now does with both APs and single day admissions.

The Maliboomer, Orange Stinger, Mulholland Madness, Superstar Limo, etc. are not "attractions" that appeal to enough Disney guests. Even the best ride in the park, Soarin', was built with virtually no story or themeing.

I was a College Program CM when Test Track opened, and love Disney, but it's a lame ride to advertise as the center of the park.

For the most part, I agree. It could have been much better. The problem is that its the only relatively new attraction Epcot has.

 

[King Triton]

I agree too that Test Track was a stupid idea. It lacks charm and imagination. (sorry, I need something more magical than crash dummies) If you want a thrill ride, then add a cool roller coaster combination dark ride. You see a long line for Test Track because there is so little left to do at Epcot. I still say Disney should have kept Horizons and World of Motion. The old Epcot of the 80's was so much better.

 

[KNWVIKING]

...and went to DCA 3 or 4 different days, but not full days. We very much enjoyed parts of it,saw areas that were lacking and other areas that were just okay. I guess since my childhood memories revolve around summer days and nights at the Jersey shore,hitting the rides and games at the Atlantic City,Ocean City & Wildwood boardwalks, the theming of DCA was very acceptable. I'm not a Disney "purist" so I probably don't "get it" the way some of you's do, but I know what I like and dislike and I enjoyed DCA. However,after having been there, I would never pay more then $25.00 for an admission to the park as it is now.

As for TT: IMO, the attractions at Epcot were more for educational purposes then thrill affects. One of the problems with FP on a ride like TT is that you don't get a chance to see the displays that are in the que,people rush right past them. There are even more informative displays after you get off the ride,but people rush right past them also.