Imagineering Right Now

[future_imagineer]

What exactly is the deal with WDI at the moment? I've heard that Iger might/will be downsizing it significantly, and that it is becoming entirely 'project-based' now... is this true?

I really, really don't want to be wishing for another boardroom coup... but Iger hasn't impressed me at all so far, and if he's going to be decimating WDI...

[mcjaco]

I haven't heard any news lately, but I know when he came on board he felt the structure was too top heavy, and upper management was getting in the way of many decision processes.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Imagineering has been downsizing for quite some time.
2) They actually laid off enough staff to vacate one whole building.
3) It looked like there might be a pause to the build-down.
4) But, the layoffs continue.
5) From the articles, looks like a lot of dissatisfied Imagineers.
6) At least those that are still left on-roll.

[Ian]

You say that assuming WDI, as it's currently configured, is a successful and positive influence on the company's direction. It's not.

Most people in WDI will tell you that their culture is riddled with negative politics, poisonous, and inefficient.

Iger's changes are intended to try and break that up. It's actually a good thing, not a bad thing.

[lockedoutlogic]

You say that assuming WDI, as it's currently configured, is a successful and positive influence on the company's direction. It's not.

Most people in WDI will tell you that their culture is riddled with negative politics, poisonous, and inefficient.

Iger's changes are intended to try and break that up. It's actually a good thing, not a bad thing.

To be honest....i haven't a clue what goes behind the closed doors at imagineering.....

But their track record has not been very good...at least on the surface....over the last 10 years....

I don't really know what the issue has been....but they haven't scored enough recently with the redesigns and new developments....in my opinion

I can think of the "redesigns" of EPCOT Pavilions, Stitch, Laugh Floor, Chester and Hester......

It just seems as though for every "good" attraction...there is still a 2 to 1 bad to good ratio....

...perhaps it's just me.....????

[Ian]

Actually, the misses seem to be focused almost exclusively in WDW. DL's Imagineering has done some good things lately (subs redo, Pirates overlay, etc.), but yeah WDW's WDI team has been near pathetic.

In fact, just about their only "hit" has been Everest. The rest of their recent efforts have been anywhere between mediocre and terrible.

If read the big Imagineering blog that's out there, you'll get a sense of just how bad things are in portions of WDI right now.

Or talk to Mufasa ... he'll tell you ....

[wilshade]

You would think that in a heavily competitive market, such as Central Florida, sooner or later enough pressure will be brought to bear on WDW Imagineering that changes will have to be made for the better.

[mjstaceyuofm]

I would go so far as to even call EE good and not great. There's a lot to like about it, but I can see the naysayers opinion when they say it's just a thrill ride with some overlay added to it.

I'd like to see a first class dark-ride imagined for WDW.

[Aurora]

I would go so far as to even call EE good and not great. There's a lot to like about it, but I can see the naysayers opinion when they say it's just a thrill ride with some overlay added to it.

I agree with that. There's something about WDW imagineering that misses the mark.

One of the best rides I've ridden at either of the US Disney parks was the Indiana Jones ride at DL. It was a LOOOOONNNNNG time before that that I felt like a kid experiencing a new Disney attraction. DL got it on the nose with that one.

[cgriff]

I would go so far as to even call EE good and not great.

Expedition Everest is the most exciting ride I have ever experienced at WDW, hands down... A true, modern e-Ticket attraction. Of course every attraction cannot appeal to every person, even EE I guess. One person's "failure" is another person's "favorite".

cgriff

[StrangeCargo]

What exactly is the deal with WDI at the moment? I've heard that Iger might/will be downsizing it significantly, and that it is becoming entirely 'project-based' now... is this true?

I really, really don't want to be wishing for another boardroom coup... but Iger hasn't impressed me at all so far, and if he's going to be decimating WDI...

Well, if you feel that way about Iger, then you just haven't been paying attention. (sorry, I don't mean to be mean, but it's true) What he has done for the entire Walt Disney Company in the last two years has been beyond anyone's expectations. The company is thriving and more profitable and company morale is on an upward spiral. Is there room for improvement? Ofcourse! But Iger's track record the last 2 years gives us ample reason to believe that he is the right one to guide those improvements.

[StrangeCargo]

To be more specific, take a look at some of the major decisions Iger made very early on, some before he even officially took over from Eisner.

Disbanding Strategic Operations Commitee: This entity was a creation of Eisner's. Many throughout the company, including those in imaginearing, felt that this was the place ideas went to die. Basically, this commitee would evaluate any upcoming projects and look for ways to "reduce costs" by replacing elements of a proposed project with cheaper alternatives. Imagine being in imaginearing or film making and having parts of your project scrapped by pencil-pushers who have no idea what people actually want to see. Much of the "bad" attractions being complained about in WDW in this very thread were a result of the Strategic Operations Commitee.

As any reasonable person can deduce, this is not a good system for productivity. Before Iger officially took over, he announced that this commitee would be disbanded. Control over the projects would be turned over to those who were actually invovled in it's creation, be that in film making or imaginearing.

[StrangeCargo]

Here's another big one that everybody knows,

The acquisition of Pixar:

For awhile it looked like Disney wouldn't be able to secure a renewal to it's deal with Pixar. That would have been a disaster since all of Disney's biggest films were from the Pixar stable. And can you imagine Universal or some other studio taking over the deal with Pixar, instead of Disney! That would not bode well for the company's future. Again, this was a result of Eisner not being able to come to terms with Pixar's owner, Steve Jobs of Apple.

Shortly after Iger took over, not only was a new deal with Pixar negotiated, but Iger announced that Disney would be buying Pixar too! Now Disney had complete access to all of Pixar's future films, but it also now owned the wealth of creativity that came along with it, like John Lasseter.

[StrangeCargo]

I don't mean to ramble, but I feel to do the story justice, I must go on

Restructuring Animation and Film Divisions:

Iger also announced that Disney would be reducing the amount of films it releases each year by one third. This would be so that rather than the studio juggling more productions that it can handle, the film makers can concentrate their efforts on a smaller number of films and, hopefully improve quality. The same goes for animation. New talent from Pixar and elsewhere was brought in to re-energize this floundering division. We have yet to see the full results of this since making an animated film can take several years, but soon enough we will with a bold return to hand drawn animation in the upcoming Princess and the Frog and others.

[StrangeCargo]

And here's just one more. Since this board is a themepark oriented one, this one is most applicable:

Major investments in Themeparks including California Adventure:

Honestly, how did you feel when you heard that DCA would be getting a one billion dollar(+) makeover? What a bold decision, no? The makeover cost more than it cost to build the park in the first place! But it doesn't end there.

Although it has yet to be announced, major investments not too much unlike the one in DCA are coming to Hong Kong Disneyland. Disneyland Paris' Studio park has also had some major improvements added, with more on the way. And lastly, although no announcements have been made, rumors run high that major development in WDW is on the way too. We'll just have to see.


My point in all of this is that even though we may hear of reports involving Imaginearing making major changes, or downsizing or what have you, we need not think of it as a negative action. All we have to do is take a good hard look at all the other major organizational changes the company has made under Iger the last 2 years and we see a pattern, do we not? A pattern involving change for the better. All this boils down to is, that even though Iger himself is not a storyteller like Walt was, he is however, for the first time in a long time, allowing the many story tellers throughout the company to have the freedom to tell their stories, and isn't that what Disney is all about?

Iger has managed in his short time as leader to win over some of his most hardened skeptics, including Roy Disney. It's easy to see why.

[future_imagineer]

I would strongly beg to differ on Pixar. That was one of the very worst things that he could have done. I like Pixar. I am a big fan of their movie. But Lassater has taken over WDI, evidently, and Pixar is taking over the parks. A better agreement than the previous one should have been reached, or TWDC should have acquired Pixar without giving Jobs and Lassater whatever they wanted. Sorry, nothing is worth letting Walt DIsney World becoming Pixar World.

[mcjaco]

^ You have to remember that the Pixar rides were well into development well before Iger and Lasseter came on board. So some of this falls back on the last years of Eisner too.

I'm not a fan of the over-Pixarization of the parks, but 1) they are the biggest films to come out of Disney for some time, so you have to expect it, 2) one look at kids faces when they see Nemo, and you get why Pixar is everywhere, 3) none of them are major E-tickets so, I'm not too worried. Besides, when Joe Rhode comes up with something like EE, it has to give you hope that there are still real creators within WDI.

[Ian]

I see these comments about the "over-Pixarization" of the theme parks and I really just don't get them at all.

Okay look, I've been known to point out the fact that Disney has some under-exposed characters of their own from a theme park perspective and that they could probably do a better job in being a little more broad-based with what they use for projects.

But come on ... Pixar has, inarguably, produced some of the most beloved characters in all of animation history. Since Katzenberg left Disney, they've produced animated dud after animated dud. What characters would you have them exploit??? Chicken Little?? The cows from Home on the Range?? Seriously ... the one even moderately popular character they came up with was Stitch and you want to talk about overexposed?? He was plastered all over the place in WDW. And not in a good way!

Pixar, meanwhile, has produced the characters from Toy Story, Nemo, Lightning McQueen, the Incredibles ... franchise after franchise after franchise.

Iger was brilliant to acquire Pixar, brilliant to put Lasseter in charge, and brilliant to leave him alone to run WDI and WDFA. Without Pixar and Lasseter, Disney would be nothing right now. They'd be relegated to also-ran status in animation and storytelling and they wouldn't have a single, solitary current marketable character around which to base a theme park ride.

The last popular animated character they created is like 20 years old.

One other comment about Iger ... it takes a very long time to turn around a very big ship. You can't just come in on day one and tear everything apart. It doesn't work that way. I think Iger recognizes what needs to be done, has already done some of it, and is trying to do the rest. It just takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[lockedoutlogic]

I love everest...don't get me wrong....


but are we overestimating the smashing success of this thing?

It's good fun....but isn't it really a modernized version of big thunder mountain?

Has anyone ever been on it where the Yeti was actually working?

Can't you get just as big of thrill from rock-n-roller coaster for a fraction of the pricetag?


I'm just saying....they spent alot...it apparently gobbled up all the juice at AK for 4 years....four very critical years in the park's development......

but in the end it is a disney "mountain"....a nice ride that provides a thrill....but won't get tickets sold by itself?

[lockedoutlogic]

I see these comments about the "over-Pixarization" of the theme parks and I really just don't get them at all.

Okay look, I've been known to point out the fact that Disney has some under-exposed characters of their own from a theme park perspective and that they could probably do a better job in being a little more broad-based with what they use for projects.

But come on ... Pixar has, inarguably, produced some of the most beloved characters in all of animation history. Since Katzenberg left Disney, they've produced animated dud after animated dud. What characters would you have them exploit??? Chicken Little?? The cows from Home on the Range?? Seriously ... the one even moderately popular character they came up with was Stitch and you want to talk about overexposed?? He was plastered all over the place in WDW. And not in a good way!

Pixar, meanwhile, has produced the characters from Toy Story, Nemo, Lightning McQueen, the Incredibles ... franchise after franchise after franchise.

Iger was brilliant to acquire Pixar, brilliant to put Lasseter in charge, and brilliant to leave him alone to run WDI and WDFA. Without Pixar and Lasseter, Disney would be nothing right now. They'd be relegated to also-ran status in animation and storytelling and they wouldn't have a single, solitary current marketable character around which to base a theme park ride.

The last popular animated character they created is like 20 years old.

One other comment about Iger ... it takes a very long time to turn around a very big ship. You can't just come in on day one and tear everything apart. It doesn't work that way. I think Iger recognizes what needs to be done, has already done some of it, and is trying to do the rest. It just takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I agree with everything you just said...

As far as Iger....he's a hollywood suit...no question.....

but at least he seems to get it.....Ovitz never would have.....Pressler never did....it seems Eisner forgot about it after his heart attack....


I think Iger is doing as well as can be expected...check that....better than could be expected so far....

And i think Eisner is his driving force....multiple personality Mikey insulted and belittled him twice as many times as he praised him....

Iger got the job simply because no one else could stand to be in the same room as Eisner when his downfall came....

...Iger has a chip that i think grinds at him....and can only be removed if he surpasses his predecessor....