Disney's biggest blunder?

Blackie Pueblo · Post by **Blackie Pueblo** » Aug Thu 23, 2007 9:54 am

BirdandRobot wrote:1. The crass removal of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
2. The dumbing down of EPCOT -- Replacing charming, subtle attractions like World of Motion and Horizons with boring "thrill" rides and inferior incarnations, alteration of architecture, overabundance of Disney characters, etc.
3. The Tiki Room Under New Management
4. The death of nostalgia in Main Street, USA -- Eliminating the Main Street Cinema, House of Magic, the Penny Arcade, and others in favor of stores that sell the same crap as every other Disney store.
5. The giant hat in front of The Great Movie Ride.

Good points all BirdandRobot! You bring up several bad decisions. The death of nostalgia is a very bad decision that I never thought about until you brought it up.

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we are curious."
---Walter Elias Disney

BirdandRobot · Post by **BirdandRobot** » Aug Thu 23, 2007 11:35 am

If Walt Disney were alive, I think he would be horrified to see what has become of WDW's Main Street, USA. Hopefully someone in Disney management will realize this and make an effort to restore the original Main Street.

Croaker · Post by **Croaker** » Aug Thu 23, 2007 11:45 am

I wonder if Walt would just sell it off to Wal-Mart? thus it would be like every american town. and of course only 3 registers would be open.

dimagineer · Post by **dimagineer** » Aug Thu 23, 2007 11:51 am

Jacca5660 wrote:EISNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

True... but we would not have things like Animal Kingdom without him.

The worst for me was the removal of Horizons.

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Aug Thu 23, 2007 12:20 pm

dimagineer wrote:True... but we would not have things like Animal Kingdom without him.

Almost proves the point right there, lol Just Kidding............Or am I?????????

EggSalad · Post by **EggSalad** » Aug Fri 24, 2007 10:54 pm

MISSION: SPACE

DisBeamer · Post by **DisBeamer** » Aug Sat 25, 2007 4:16 am

I'd like to agree with Eisner, but he actually didn't start out that badly and was at least to some extent responsible for pulling Disney out of a slump (in the early part of his reign), so I can't say he was all bad. Keeping him past his 'expiration date' I'd qualify as a blunder, though.

The 'dumbing down' of Epcot is probably the biggest one for me. Or rather what it's a symptom of; Disney turning away from its heritage and trying to half-way cater to thrill seekers rather than doing what they've done best for 50 years, and creating experiences. I like roller coasters as much as the next person, but I'm not as inclined to ride them over and over. One ride on a coaster pretty much gives you the whole experience in one shot. One ride on, say, Pirates of the Caribbean and you're just scratching the surface of what there is to see.

js3901 wrote:since John Lassester came on board, they are doing hand-drawn animation again. I believe we have a thread on it somewhere.

There's a couple of mentions of it here and there. Talk about the Frog Princess (which I think is the first 'traditional' coming down the pipes) was here though. Stands out in my memory because I'm so excited about this.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Aug Sat 25, 2007 7:38 pm

Eisner gets a lot more heat than he probably deserves. The problem with Eisner was just how long he stayed. He peaked out years ago and it was a pretty darn good peak, but the problem is the same almost anywhere - when someone achieves such accomplishments (people seem to forget the 'new classics' were all under his reign and some of the greatest attractions at the parks as well) when they start to turn bad it really is hard to get rid of them. You really have to hope that people in those situations realize they've gone as far as they can and go out with dignity and a beautiful legacy - it's really the same in any where - business, government, professional sports etc. Many people can do a great job...for a while but the great people learn to accept when their time has come. Disney's biggest blunder wasn't Eisner, it was more his own blunder to stick around for the last few years - although it's the shareholders and the fans who really suffer the most unfortunately

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Aug Mon 27, 2007 2:17 pm

OK, I have plenty to say against Eisner, but I will grant him this:

The boss is only as good as his employee's. I think one of the biggest problems during his reign was to overwhelming "Fat in the Middle". Iger realized this and started cutting the fat when he took the reigns. Less management means things can get done faster and more efficiently. I still say there is too much management in WDW, Cut the Fat, Cut the Fat!

Cheshire Cat · Post by **Cheshire Cat** » Aug Mon 27, 2007 2:42 pm

Eisner started off doing good for the company but stayed around too long and started causing problems. Iger (that's the big cheese now right?) fixed a few of Eisner's mistakes but now seems to be making all new ones in less time than it took Eisner to begin cause problems.

rmorton50 · Post by **rmorton50** » Aug Mon 27, 2007 2:44 pm

Yeah tiki room is pretty bad. If they had atempted to update it in a less annoying manner it may not have been as bad. I like a lot of the way the new music is portrayed in the tiki room (especially when the tikis sing "in the still of the night") However, too many of the classic songs have been removed with miniscule cameos in the finale. I dont understand why it had to be "under new management". They could have thrown in a few new songs or updated exsisting songs without giving the show an annoying plot with Iago.

I agree, the Tiki Room, under new management, was a really bad choice. They could have changed the songs and updated the technology without having to introduce two really annoying characters.

blinkereye123 · Post by **blinkereye123** » Sep Tue 04, 2007 4:46 pm

Hey folks. I guess anything I have to say on this subject will probably be of no surprise to anyone but when it comes to Disney I just can't help myself. IMHO the greatest blunder ANY entity can make is to sell it's own audience short and not think they'll undersand any new conceptsjust because they don't have that immediate 'company stamp' to identify it. Let's face it, some of the best rides/shows/attractions at any of the parks weren't based on exsisting Disney movies or tv shows when they first opened and yet they managed to become true classics in their own right. If the company really, REALLY wants to get back it needs to starting taking chances again and let the audience find their new experience instead of, I hate to say it, cannibalize itself just because it's easier. Trust me, we'll all be better off for it in the end. Well, until later, peace.

chefbuns · Post by **chefbuns** » Sep Tue 04, 2007 5:18 pm

I agree Journey into Imagination ROCKED at the beginning. I can't believed they changed it. I also miss Horizons. I guess I agree with almost everyone here.

Calypso · Post by **Calypso** » Sep Thu 06, 2007 7:35 am

The Fantasia cap right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard in MGM!

tmptnr · Post by **tmptnr** » Sep Sun 09, 2007 9:43 pm

I have to go with Journey into Imaginatoin. I loved dreamfinder, and the story behind Imagination. Classic 80's epcot attraction. Yes it may have needed an uplift.... but I personally dont like what they did to it and the queue length tells it's own story.... today this ride is normally a walk-on.... at least when I go