Jim Hill: Does he really know?

[mitros]

Does anyone know how accurate Jim Hills predictions are? I was searching Jim Hill.com and found a number of things that he has talked about actually come to pass. I was searching his archives and found the article from February of this year where he talks about project Gemini He claims a 350 to 500 million dollar Gemini project changing Epcots FW to something called Discoveryland that would almost totally change the way FW was run. He claims a new thrill coaster, an addition of ariel to the living seas and changing that all around, adding a jr auto ride in conjuntion with test track. Completley changing the concrete, steel and neon aspect of the area around the fountain to a lush tree lined area, tearing down Wonders of life, and leaving that area undeveloped for "future use" Putting in some kind of hedge maze near immagination, plus a LOT of other things. He claims WDI showed this plan to Rusullo who supposedly thought it was a great idea, but did not think Eisner would go for it while the economy is in the state it's in. {a possible 500 million dollar price tag}. What are your thoughts on Jim Hill? He seems to have hit the nail on the head on a number of things.

 

[Mooobooks]

The money for Project Gemini is ostensibly going to come from the money set aside for a fifth theme park in Florida that they have now decided not to build in the near future.
Jim Hill is often on the money, but sometimes not. This has nothing to do with his ability to prognosticate, but more to do with the fact that corporate Disney seems to change its mind constantly.
Things that are true when reported still many not come to pass.

 

[Another Voice]

I don't think Jim Hill "predicts" anything. He simple passes along what he hears from various sources inside the company and elsewhere. As with all rumors - plan can change, his sources can misunderstand, or he sees just a small piece of the puzzle and misinterupts what's really going on.

I've found Mr. Hill to be fairly good about what's going on at WDI (where most of his sources seem to be). He does a much better job with the history of the company. But he does suffer, however, from such a narrow view to what's going on inside. When he gets things "wrong", it's mostly because he doesn't have the full story (the original Life and Health pavilion was not cancelled because they couldn't get the 40 foot heart to work, for example). He has also been known to withhold and/or alter information to protect people and (I believe) make things appear better than they really are. When one tries to make a living from rabid fans, one has to play to the "everything's so magical®!" bias.

As for Project Gemini…yes the plans existed. What Mr. Hill isn't telling you is that they were basically drawn up to interest Microsoft in dropping that $500 million to partner in Epcot/Discoveryland (there was never any money "set aside" for a fifth theme park). But it turned out that Bill wasn't interested. The ideas will sit around for a while. Some may come to pass; a lot won't. The decisions making process at Disney is extremely erratic (that's what happens when so much authority welded by one CEO); the parks are especially problematic because of their place in the current "mindset".

 

[wtg2000]

I enjoy Jim Hill's historical ancedotes about the Disney Company. They are never outlandish and ring true as to the types of things that happen in corporations, and how plans changes.

I agree. I don't think he makes predictions. He reports on things that he has heard from his sources. Many ideas get bandied about that never come to fruition.

 

[Mooobooks]

Jim's got a good "Why For" column just up today with information about a new Little Mermaid attraction going into the Living Seas at Epcot.
http://www.jimhillmedia.com/main/index.htm

 

[d-r]

"Oh, they were going to redo it as little mermaid, just like I said, but then something happened to change their minds. And they are going to make the tiki room to have lilo and stitch, just like I said, just not anytime soon. Oh, yeah, the lilo and stitch dvd will be a two disc special edition, just like I said, only it won't come out for a couple more years. Why for? Because I'm just making this crap up as I go along, kids."

 

[Mooobooks]

Jeez, d-r, sarcasm REALLY doesn't suit you.
The information Hill relayed came directly from Eisner's mouth.

 

[wtg2000]

Actually, the article is about a Finding Nemo attraction going into EPCOT.

I'm not sure what the one poster's sarcasm is about either. I don't think he's making it up. He reports things as he hears them, and as often happens, plans change.

My mother was shown plans for a Greek Hotel around the Seven Seas Lagoon by a CM - asking for her opinion. Never happened. People got shown plans for Beastly Kingdom by CMs in surveys. Never happened.

Back in 1990 (I think) Disney revealed plans for all kinds of new attractions like Russian pavilion, Dick Tracy ride (similar to Buzz), Baby Herman's buggy ride, etc, Muppets Great Movie Ride, etc...

None of these ever happened. I'm sure the Project Gemini is a real plan at Imagineering (as shown by some of the patent listings), but that doesn't mean it will ever happen, or that Jim Hill is making it up.

 

[Mooobooks]

That's right, Finding Nemo--yikes! Brain Freeze!

 

[d-r]

OK, I don't think he necessarily "makes things up" in that I do think he writes stuff he "hears," but I do think he "makes up" the covers for the things he misses on - oh, they were planning that, but those plans change, you know. I guess I'm saying that I don't trust any info he says more than I trust anything else I hear - a grain of salt.

 

[Mooobooks]

Well, d-r, since you don't trust anything you hear, we really shouldn't pay attention to anything you say, because it's based on information you don't trust. Ergo, your opinions are based on information you don't trust ... except your own information, of course.

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Hey, this is not the New York Times we're dealing with. It's somebody's website on the internet....

Well, the thing is with Jim Hill's articles, as well as any news we hear from/about/regarding/through the grapevine on Disney is that it's always "subject to change". Under those circumstances, a little indulgence to "juice up" a story is easily explained away. I gotta agree with DR, I'm not so sold on Jim Hill and his ability to predict or get us information that is anywhere close to being reality. I'd much rather read a cryptic post from AV or get real good info from Al Lutz on DL. Some of his stuff translates to WDW...

 

[All Aboard]

I gotta agree with DR

I could be wrong, but isn't this a case of a Spartan and a Wolverine coming together?

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

You are correct, it happens every once in a while. It was Friday the 13th and a full moon a couple days ago....

I can assure you that on Football Saturdays we are diametrically opposite...

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Scoop, I think this may be one of those exaggerations Jim Hill is known for… The story he has listed with regards to Pal Mickey is a story on the whole Destination Disney thing, which Pal Mickey is a part of, and thus, in his mind, he thinks he broke the Pal Mickey story. Of course, the whole Destination Disney as mentioned in his “news-breaking” article all hinges on this new high-speed rail which will most likely never happen making it a perfect Jim Hill story.

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by thedscoop
By the way, to be as fair and clear as possible, here is the statement I was referring:

Just wondering if anyone has told him that it came out before then? Does he even know?

 

[H_Pepper]

Well, there are just too many pieces of fiction in his latest "scoop" on Pal Mickey to completely enumerate here. However, I'll just pick off some of the low hanging fruit:

1. Pal Mickey receives the location signals via infrared light. Although it is possible for Disney to also have included an IR transmitter into the toy, it would necessarily be very low power. He's only running on 3 AA batteries for crying out loud. At best the range would only be 10 feet or so in the daylight.

2. In order to get any data out of the toy, it would have to have a clean line of sight to a receiver for an extended length of time. This transfer would also have to occur in an area where only 1 Pal Mickey was at a time. If 2 or more were "downloading" your locations to Disney, the result would just be infrared "noise". I would like to know where in any of the theme parks, the conditions would permit this kind of transfer. It also would not be "real time data" as quoted by his "secret source".

3. A quick search of the WDW phonebook does not show any department called "Operations, Strategy and Technology".

4. WDI did not install the infrared transmitters into the parks. They were designed and installed by the WDW Engineering department. They are also just "transmitters". They don't "receive" anything.

5. As long as Jim Hill is quoting fictitious people, I think a quote by Woody from Toy Story fits the situation rather well:

Woody: "Look, we're all very impressed with Andy's new toy."
Buzz: "Toy?"
Woody: "T-O-Y... Toy!"

Pal Mickey is just a really cool and innovative child's toy. Not a sinister henchman of big brother (or even a Space Ranger).

 

[Bstanley]

Well, I don't know much about Jim H. or the 'My Pal Mickey' device, but speaking in a general sense - the electronics inside the toy needed for tracking it's movement through the park are small, consume virtually no power and have been around for quite some time. My ID badges for the last 20 years have done exactly that.

I do agree that communicating via infrared wouldn't be a good choice.

-bruce