Legendary Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde Retiring

[Maistre Gracey]

I was always disappointed that (at least according to the third hand reports) he did not put up a fight to keep the Adventurers Club.

 

[WB1971]

Do we think there will be any serious projects in the next few years? Likely not much for him to stick around for at this point. Sad.

 

[rteetz]

Do we think there will be any serious projects in the next few years? Likely not much for him to stick around for at this point. Sad.

The island has an agreement and the ships are being built so unless something drastic changes they have to do something with the island.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The island has an agreement and the ships are being built so unless something drastic changes they have to do something with the island.

But now we have to balance that with the latest statement during the SEC filing
“We may take additional mitigation actions in the future such as raising additional financing; not declaring future dividends; reducing, or not making, certain payments, such as some contributions to our pension and postretirement medical plans; further suspending capital spending, reducing film and television content investments; or implementing additional furloughs or reductions in force,” said Disney.

which means we may still be in for a world of hurt and DCL may bear some more of that. While they have an agreement already, Lighthouse Point would be easier to cut loose than some of their other plans as well as the 2 future ships (the Wish is a done deal, but could just visit Castaway).

Not saying these things will happen, but it is a lot of capital outlay and if Disney is looking to make cuts, that's a big one totaling in the Billions (with a B) over the next 5 years.

 

[maverik85]

I am sad to see him go but hope that he will consult on projects in the future. Maybe with the pandemic halting so many projects for the time being he felt it was a good time to step back and travel and follow other passions for awhile but could be available to consult on projects in the future. Fingers crossed.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I am sad to see him go but hope that he will consult on projects in the future. Maybe with the pandemic halting so many projects for the time being he felt it was a good time to step back and travel and follow other passions for awhile but could be available to consult on projects in the future. Fingers crossed.

Same here. Joe Rohde was the one who made AK possible, and his unique approach to projects was what made AK stand out from the rest. Whoever succeeds him with imagineering future AK projects is definitely going to have big shoes to fill, so Rohde should definitely consult.

 

[Mit88]

This thread is 2 weeks old, and I’ve participated in it, but I keep reading the title and thinking it’s going to read “Legendary Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde passes away”

 

[ford91exploder]

I very much doubt that Joe Rohde will be invited to consult on anything for Disney, Mainly because of the antipathy current management has toward 'creatives' in general (the reasoning behind that is 'creatives' create real physical things and that costs money,

Anything which does not have a substantial immediate effect on the bottom line is now considered 'wasteful' hence we have projections instead of AA's, broken AA's in permanent B mode. Sadly Joe's talents will probably go into custom aircraft and yacht's like one of the other greats Eddie Sotto and no more will he create physical stories for us to enjoy as Disney park guests.

I was hoping he would stay with Disney forever as a counterweight against the finance types infesting Disney corporate

 

[rteetz]

I very much doubt that Joe Rohde will be invited to consult on anything for Disney, Mainly because of the antipathy current management has toward 'creatives' in general (the reasoning behind that is 'creatives' create real physical things and that costs money,

Anything which does not have a substantial immediate effect on the bottom line is now considered 'wasteful' hence we have projections instead of AA's, broken AA's in permanent B mode. Sadly Joe's talents will probably go into custom aircraft and yacht's like one of the other greats Eddie Sotto and no more will he create physical stories for us to enjoy as Disney park guests.

I was hoping he would stay with Disney forever as a counterweight against the finance types infesting Disney corporate

Consulting is the current way of WDI so I wouldn’t doubt it at all. They would much rather outsource or bring in people on a project by project basis vs. full time.

 

[jkh36619]

Consulting is the current way of WDI so I wouldn’t doubt it at all. They would much rather outsource or bring in people on a project by project basis vs. full time.

You didn't expect ford91explorer to say anything positive about Disney did you?

 

[ford91exploder]

You didn't expect ford91explorer to say anything positive about Disney Management did you?

FTFY in that I have many good things to say about Disney, I have no good things to say about the Disney senior leadership.

Disney’s current management is busily tearing apart a legacy that took decades to build, See Kodak, RCA, Sears, IBM and many others for examples of how this ends. Senior Leadership enrich themselves with financial engineering while the core businesses are gutted. (See entertainment cuts).

Yes Disney COULD have afforded to continue the furlough telling Wall St analysts to ‘get stuffed’ as Bezos and Musk do frequently. They could have even discontinued some of the benefits.

the wholesale firing of long term entertainment and seasonal staff indicates Disney has no intention of bringing most of those workers back. Irrespective of what the corporate spokesmodels say. The only people whose words matter are those of the Bobs and BoD all of which have been silent on the subject in hopes people will forget Disney’s mass firing.

 

[OKW Lover]

Disney’s current management is busily tearing apart a legacy that took decades to build, See Kodak, RCA, Sears, IBM and many others for examples of how this ends.

Great examples of companies that did not re-invent themselves.

 

[ford91exploder]

Great examples of companies that did not re-invent themselves.

Actually all the companies listed did all the things that Disney is doing -Disney is now in the gut the core business stage to chase latest shiny object with money taken from core businesses.

Did you know that RCA bought Banquet Frozen Foods just when it was surrendering the professional video market to Sony,Ikagami, JVC it had the FIRST ‘electronic news gathering camera’ the TK-76. Which was great camera with a long run even after RCA stopped supporting it Because it was not as profitable as frozen dinners supposedly.... Funny how Japan Inc thought otherwise and were correct.

 

[rteetz]

Actually all the companies listed did all the things that Disney is doing -Disney is now in the gut the core business stage to chase latest shiny object with money taken from core businesses.

Did you know that RCA bought Banquet Frozen Foods just when it was surrendering the professional video market to Sony,Ikagami, JVC it had the FIRST ‘electronic news gathering camera’ the TK-76. Which was great camera with a long run even after RCA stopped supporting it Because it was not as profitable as frozen dinners supposedly.... Funny how Japan Inc thought otherwise and were correct.

What exactly does this have to do with the topic?

 

[middlechild]

RCA was doing what Disney is doing today. When luminaries like Joe Rhodes retire, and the increase in revenue (profit) from theme parks is stagnant, they (meaning the board of directors) looked for other revenue to inflate the bottom line. More often then not they guess wrong. Investing in Disney+ because "families" do not spend dollars are the parks, that the Joe Rhodes of Imagineering do not make a peak in park revenue, because movies are stagnant, because animation is no longer funny,etc. So Bob Chapek never replaces Joe Rhodes, cuts deep into Imagineering, cuts streetmosphere, cuts employees, and pursues frozen dinners for that revenue bump.

 

[OKW Lover]

Wow. Just amazed at all the great stuff Joe has created for us Disney fans.

Also amazed at how much gloom and doom us Disney fans have for a future without Joe.

 

[Mome Rath]

Rohde's boots... to go to the Walt Disney Archives.

What all was included in the DAK II Expansion he listed on the boots? And, I love how Avatar is the standout! lol

 

[rteetz]

Rohde's boots... to go to the Walt Disney Archives.

What all was included in the DAK II Expansion he listed on the boots? And, I love how Avatar is the standout! lol

I would imagine that includes Pandora, expansion of Africa to include FOTLK, Rivers of Light theater, and new entertainment offerings.

 

[Mome Rath]

I would imagine that includes Pandora, expansion of Africa to include FOTLK, Rivers of Light theater, and new entertainment offerings.

Ah, I see. I remembered an expansion, just not what all was included in it, RoL I figured, forgot FotLK.

 

[AvidDisReader]

Rohde's boots... to go to the Walt Disney Archives.

What all was included in the DAK II Expansion he listed on the boots? And, I love how Avatar is the standout! lol

Forget the boots, I would really prefer those real cool ear rings he wears--LOL