News Round Up 2018

[MickeyMinnieMom]

There was a Wreck it Ralph playground at Epcot?

Set up in time for F&W, I believe.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

There was a Wreck it Ralph playground at Epcot?

Set up in time for F&W, I believe.

Yeah, it was installed and opened the first day of Food & Wine and promoted as part of the “activities for kids” for the festival - but then was reported to be permanent and not automatically taken down at the end of the festival

.... but it wound up only lasting about 3 weeks

 

[tlmadden73]

Set up in time for F&W, I believe.

.... but it wound up only lasting about 3 weeks

IT lasted THREE weeks? heh. Wow. That's a type of mistake that unfortunately could get someone fired. Whoever green-lit a metal playground with no shade at a theme park in Florida is not doing their job.

As someone who has been going to WDW now with kids (our next trip my daughter will be 2 and son will be 6), I think the lack of playgrounds there is a shame.
My son loved Honey I Shrunk the Playground -- we spent an hour there easily while the other adults did attractions when my son was 3. Casey's splash pad is nice .. but just a splash pad. Even the hotels don't seem to have much in the playground department. My son had fun (on that same 3yo trip) at the playground at Fort Wilderness while we waited for our reservation at Trail's End.
We are looking forward to the dinosaur area at AK (going there previously without kids, I never even knew that area existed .. heh).

I get it, probably liability and upkeep concerns, *sigh*, but kids (a huge chunk of WDW's audience) LOVE climbing around on things.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Why was it so difficult to put a shade canopy over that playground?

You know one of those semi see through kinda deals that filters the sun. They can't really cost that much.

 

[rteetz]

 

[tlmadden73]

Why was it so difficult to put a shade canopy over that playground?

You know one of those semi see through kinda deals that filters the sun. They can't really cost that much.

Right .. tearing it down is cheaper than installing a canopy to fix the "hot" issues? I don't understand decisions companies make sometimes.
You'd think they would want it up throughout the fall to help promote the new movie (which is probably why they put it up in the first place).

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Why was it so difficult to put a shade canopy over that playground?

You know one of those semi see through kinda deals that filters the sun. They can't really cost that much.

Right .. tearing it down is cheaper than installing a canopy to fix the "hot" issues? I don't understand decisions companies make sometimes.
You'd think they would want it up throughout the fall to help promote the new movie (which is probably why they put it up in the first place).

I was wondering that too and makes me think there is something else to it ... you’d think if it was just the heat they’d at least try some sort of covering before just abandoning it/ripping it out

 

[Phicinfan]

Who knows about the accuracy of this but obviously India has been one in consideration for a long time for EPCOT and this would fit into the whole rumor about multiple parks competing for the Shanghai Pirates ride system

Again, not saying I think this is definitely going to come to fruition but there is at least some logic around this being a legit rumor and not just clickbait

Martin at WDWMagic.com had a post back in June I think in 2017 that stated india may be coming. So this has legs.

To that point though, as I pointed out in the rumor tracking thread - this ride is being discussed for 2 parks - AK and EPCOT - if EPCOT it would be part of the Pavillion. None of this is locked or green lit though. Still in "blue sky" mode.

He also called out, Brazil has been pushed back to 2022 vs. 2021 per previous reports...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Martin at WDWMagic.com had a post back in June I think in 2017 that stated india may be coming. So this has legs.

To that point though, as I pointed out in the rumor tracking thread - this ride is being discussed for 2 parks - AK and EPCOT - if EPCOT it would be part of the Pavillion. None of this is locked or green lit though. Still in "blue sky" mode.

He also called out, Brazil has been pushed back to 2022 vs. 2021 per previous reports...

yeah - guess previously I hadn't thought about how that ride system could/would be used in EPCOT - so this at least connects those dots for me. Obviously I know nothing is set and things are fluid but that aspect of the rumor going back to your prior reports makes sense to me

 

[patster734]

I was wondering that too and makes me think there is something else to it ... you’d think if it was just the heat they’d at least try some sort of covering before just abandoning it/ripping it out

Has it been ripped out? The pictures that I’ve seen recently is that the area has been blocked off with potted trees.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Has it been ripped out? The pictures that I’ve seen recently is that the area has been blocked off with potted trees.

WDWNT reported it as "already dismantled" - but certainly possible that wasn't an accurate report

 

[tlmadden73]

Martin at WDWMagic.com had a post back in June I think in 2017 that stated india may be coming. So this has legs.

To that point though, as I pointed out in the rumor tracking thread - this ride is being discussed for 2 parks - AK and EPCOT - if EPCOT it would be part of the Pavillion. None of this is locked or green lit though. Still in "blue sky" mode.

He also called out, Brazil has been pushed back to 2022 vs. 2021 per previous reports...

The bored pre-teen that sulked around the boiling hot World Showcase in the 80s is excited to have actual ride attractions scattered around the World Showcase to break up that long walk, especially due to the lack of attractions at Epcot in general.

 

[jlundeen]

The bored pre-teen that sulked around the boiling hot World Showcase in the 80s is excited to have actual ride attractions scattered around the World Showcase to break up that long walk, especially due to the lack of attractions at Epcot in general.

This made me laugh because our son, then in early 20s, sulked for our whole Millennium New Year's Eve trip because he wanted to be with his buddies instead of the family... he wore a black trench coat, and pony tail the whole trip, and I'm not sure he EVER smiled the whole trip. Small children were scared of him, and that was just fine by him.

Years later, he came back to all of us and apologized for being such a jerk, but hey, somehow we all had a great trip even with his attitude.

 

[rteetz]

News

Design-A-Tee replacement coming to Disney Springs in early October

 

[rteetz]

News

Bob Iger Comments on Alcohol at Disneyland and Less-Aggressive Release Plans for Star Wars Movies

 

[rteetz]

News

PHOTO: Steamboat Willie Popcorn Bucket Coming to Tokyo Disney Resort in November

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Interesting interview with Iger in the Hollywood Reporter, covering topics such as selling alcohol in Disneyland, slowing the rate of Star Wars movies, the streaming service, and how the company has changed in response to the #MeToo movement

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...service-james-gunn-star-wars-slowdown-1145493

Some interesting points:

How involved do you get in decisions to cancel Roseanne at ABC or fire James Gunn at Marvel?

I would say there is a blend of my helping to make the decision to my supporting the decisions that have been made. Roseanne was completely unanimous. We discussed how it would be communicated and when because there were a number of entities that had to be properly filled in, but the decision was completely unanimous. The James Gunn decision was brought to me as a unanimous decision of a variety of executives at the studio and I supported it.

There was backlash. You still support it?

I haven't second-guessed their decision.

******************

Has the culture at Pixar changed at all in the past eight months since the exit of John Lasseter?

Any time that you change leadership there is an inevitable cultural shift. There was a cultural shift at Disney when I took over for Michel Eisner after 21 years. John Lasseter was in his role for a long time, had an enormous influence on both the culture and the creativity of Pixar, and so of course in John leaving there is inevitable and was an inevitable cultural shift. To get into the details, I'd prefer not to.

What has changed within Disney as a whole as a result of the #MeToo movement?

I don’t want to talk about anybody, specifically, but it's critical for us as leaders in this industry to create safe environments for people who have been victims of abuse to speak up and feel safe about speaking up and for others who have witnessed abuse to do the same. It's critical. As difficult as this time may seem, it's high time that we all woke up to the need to protect the people that work for us and work with us.

How are you doing that?

First of all, you have to address specific issues with people, but beyond that, you have to make sure that you’re applying one standard to the company for all. There aren't two standards based on title, rank, importance, talent, whatever. Second, you've got to communicate very, very effectively to people that if they are a victim, if they have witnessed this, they must come forward because in not doing so they are only perpetuating an unsafe work environment, and that's not good.

********************

Finally, some Disneyland purists are upset that there's going to be booze for sale in Star Wars Land.

We have to be careful we don't let people drink and then go on Autopia. (Laughs.)

Funny. Walt did specifically say no booze at Disneyland.

Yeah, except I think Walt had a nip or two in his apartment at night. (Laughs.) I am a big believer in tradition. This just seemed like one of those traditions that if we changed it the empire wasn't gonna crumble.

 

[rteetz]

This just seemed like one of those traditions that if we changed it the empire wasn't gonna crumble.

Code for the profits will be more than the outrage.

 

[mcjaco]

When I saw that WiR playground, my first thought was, “No shade canopy? In Florida?” Whoever designed it must not have children...or have tried to play on a metal playground when he/she was a kid.

We just got back. This past week was brutal with "feels like" temps in the 100s. We did OK, but I really have no idea how they can build anything down there without shade cover and fans (I'm looking at you Toy Story Land). In a lot of cases, half the fans weren't working either. It was almost insult to injury.

We walked past the Wreck It Ralph area Tuesday, and wondered where the heck it went!

 

[BigRed98]

News

PHOTO: Steamboat Willie Popcorn Bucket Coming to Tokyo Disney Resort in November

I'm not a big popcorn bucket guy but that's one I would definitely buy.